PRA - ten years after : did it fulfil the expectations?

This paper examines the use of PRA ten years after its introduction into mainstream development practice. It discusses the evolution of participatory models of project planning, the methods of rapid rural appraisal, and shortcomings of PRA exercises. While acknowledging the important contributions that PRA has made to development efforts, the author argues that they are not isolated interventions at the expense of other methods. He sees one of the key challenges ahead for PRA workers as being the better understanding of existing patterns of participation in rural communities, which were in existence long before NGO interventions. He concludes that the emphasis of PRA should be on "understanding the actual needs of the community and different priorities of different community members" rather than on the needs of NGO staff and facilitators.