Andrea Cornwall

This Introduction is taken from a more extensive resource pack (now unavailable). After a brief introduction to PRA, it looks at methods associated with:

• Space - mapping, transect walks, modelling
• Time - seasonal calendars, daily activity routines, lifelines, timelines and historical maps
• Networks and Linkages - diagramming, flow analysis, spider diagrams, problem walls and solution trees
• Prioritisation and Rapid Quantification – matrix ranking and scoring, treatment sequence matrices and wealth and wellbeing ranking.

With roots in approaches to popular education and participatory action research that place the learner and the ‘beneficiary’ of development at the centre of enquiry and action, the participatory visualisation methods associated with Participatory Rural Appraisal have been widely used as tools for learning and accountability. In this article, the author reflects on lessons learnt from using these methods in a participatory process evaluation of an educational programme aimed at addressing chronic malnutrition in an East African country.