In search of a new impetus: Practioners' reflections on PRA and participation in Kenya

From tentative beginnings in the late 1980s, Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) has spread through Kenya 'like a bushfire'. In response to growing demand for 'doing participation', PRA has been popularised and marketised to such an extent that, as one Kenyan practitioner put it, 'everyone is doing something and calling it PRA'. PRA has become a routine requirement for development organisations, many of which have done little to change their ways of operating to accommodate a more participatory approach. The paper explores some of the different visions and versions of PRA as it has taken shape in the Kenyan context, highlighting differences that are rooted in the different pathways that have brought practitioners to use PRA, and in the enduring development institutions that have shaped practice. It suggests that the sheer variety of meanings and practices associated with PRA pose a serious challenge for efforts to enhance the quality of participatory practice. It poses the question of whether it is possible to arrive at a single vision of PRA and how quality standards could be agreed upon and enforced. It goes on to argue that deliberation on these issues is in itself valuable, even if no clear agreement is reached.