Carruthers, I.

One of the first papers to outline the suitability and merits of rapid assessment techniques in measuring the performance of existing canal irrigation systems. This was a response to the growing need to find cost effective methods to make manageable demands on staff, and to identify implementable actions with early benefit. The experience of irrigation systems assessment using traditional and more innovative techniques are outlined.

It introduces the idea of rapid appraisal within the context of rural development. Its key themes are the cultural tensions that arise in rural development research efforts; the scope of RRA, its function and principles, and its challenge in developing a new professionalism, based on rigour and cost effectiveness. In emphasizing the need for eclecticism, inventiveness and versatility, and in questioning some conventional values in research, especially in statistics, it does not undervalue traditional standards and methods where they fit well.