Resources

A comprehensive account of a large scale experimental PRA conducted for SCF in Vietnam. The approach taken and its justification (not agreed by all doners) is detailed. The methodology section is extensive, discussing the theory behind PRA, training, tools and fieldwork, as well as problems such as the external and timeconsuming production of the report. The final report gives details of the education system and educations problems encountered, in general terms and by specific commune. In some communes this is felt to be one of the most significant constraints, and potential solutions are discussed in detail.

This paper examines a participatory procedure of self-assessment of irrigation system performance by farmers in the Philippines. The procedure was aimed at improving system performance through strengthening irrigators associations' (IA) managerial capacity in planning and decision making regarding operation and maintenance, communication and conflict resolution. The assessment was part of a longer intervention to organize farmers in small groups based on water and task distribution. The first phase involved self-assessment by the original groups of the process of organizing smaller groups and catalysing collective action. In one-day workshops, farmers used symbols and maps to assess the situation. The second phase used a self-assessment questionnaire filled out monthly by IA group leaders, to assess their own performance in a range of management tasks. The experiment showed that participatory self-assessment was quite successful in eliciting candid appraisals of the existing situation. Pictorial analysis was a learning experience in which farmers identified unexpected causes of problems. These problems lay within the farmers' ability to resolve them, so the assessment facilitated follow-up actions to address them, which are listed in a table.

This book is the outcome of a workshop on participation organised by Duryog Nivaran, a South-Asian network of individuals and organisations concerned with large scale disruptions in society due either to natural disasters or conflicts. This introductory chapter gives a glimpse of papers included in the above book. The papers come from a group who have not only encountered the notion of participation in different capacities but have also understood it in different ways. Four of the seven papers included in the book look at participation primarily in the context of development and development projects; two of the papers look at the link between participation and political process at the macro level and raise questions about the relationship between development projects and political processes in wider society. Finally, one paper attempts to straddle these two worlds. The book contends that it is important to promote healthy critical debates on the concept and the experience of participation in various contexts. However, the emergence of participation as a new development orthodoxy needs to be questioned.

This report presents the participatory methodologies and methods used by MYRADA, an NGO working in South India. Avoiding the terms 'rapid' and 'appraisal', it prefers to use the term Participatory Learning Method (PALM). The key principles and applications of PALM are outlined, and a typical PALM training exercise introduced. This involves village camps, during which a series of interactions occur between villagers and outsiders which lead to an enhanced and shared understanding of complex rural situations. The process of a village camp and the conduct of PALM are described, and a range of PALM/PRA methods listed. the final section discusses potential extensions of PALM. These include the applications of PALM/PRA methods to new topics, development of new methods, removing outsiders from the exercises, learning how to handle dominant participants, and sequencing interactions. The key lesson emphasised is that villagers have much more knowledge and are better able to express it than they are normally given credit for. Villagers are increasingly becoming PALM resource persons.

This paper concerns the use of action research within a research institute both to meet immediate objectives of the staff and to learn about the research methodology. In a situation characterised by decreased funding and curriculum reform based on the concepts of experiential learning, the Checkland soft-systems methodology was adopted to manage a change in the role of university farms using a consensus approach. Two outcomes of the research process were (i) improvement in financial returns in the farms, a better working climate and greater use of farms in experiential education, and (ii) the researchers learned about the methodology and how it is able to accommodate purposeful behaviour and issues of power. Following description of the initial situation, the paper outlines the steps involved in applying the soft-systems methodology to that situation.

This paper introduces a Government of Sudan project to restore agricultural production and rehabilitate drought affected areas in western Sudan. This is to be done by (i) collecting information on tree and vegetation cover, and (ii) providing assistance to support institutions and communities in forest resource management and conservation. The project's main thrust is a farmer/client -oriented, participatory approach to forestry and research. The organisation of the project and the PRA methods used are outlined, and the activities involved are described in detail. The project involved collaboration between researchers, NGOs and clients (resource users). The advantages and constraints of these linkages are discussed in depth.