PRA's First Generation: Making Sense of Lessons from the Field

This article argues that PRA, in its brief history, has helped community groups to make remarkable achievements throughout the developing world. Moreover the article highlights the lessons learnt from the application of PRA, such as the importance of participation, accountability, partnership and ownership and its impact on planning and management of development programmes. The article also outlines four key areas where additional field research, assessments, and dissemination are needed with a view to making PRA a more structured and operational approach to development planning and implementation. The paper concludes with recommendations for strengthening capacities of community institutions, developing methodologies and conducting research on devising new applications of PRA.