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The paper is a descriptive and explorative study on the experience of the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction in the conduct of Participatory Action Research (PAR) and its contributions in the development of a community managed health programme in Barangay Pinagsanhan in Cavite, Philippines. The experience showed that the initial conduct of PAR helped in the codification of the people's concept of health. It also familiarised them with a more systematic learning process for the planning and implementation of a more culturally-sensitive community health programme. Recommendations to maximise contributions of the PAR exercise in enhancing community cooperation and the villagers' critical thinking capability are suggested. The institutionalisation of PAR as a management tool for the planning and implementation of community programmes is also discussed.

This paper reviews GTZÆs experience with participatory approaches since 1991, focusing on the organisational challenges implied by participatory development, both within GTZ and within in-country institutions at all levels. It outlines some concrete recommendations to re-orient GTZÆs approach to management, and ensure better quality control as a result of insitutionalising participatory approaches. Emphasis is made on the need for regional learning groups to reflect on GTZÆs experience with participation and suggest new ways forward. The paper also spells out GTZÆs present understanding of the dangers and challenges implicit in the institutionalisation of participatory approaches, with particular attention paid to the challenge of taking on vested interests that interfere with participation, and the challenge of assisting governments embarking on decentralization, which is recognised to be a fundamental enabling condition for participatory development.

The bulletin starts with an introductory article on the evolution of REFLECT (Regenerated Freirean Literacy through Empowering Community Techniques), which combines the Freirean approach to literacy with PRA. The teaching methods used in what is called a REFLECT circle (class) are described. Based on the result of the pilot projects, the article claims that REFLECT approach has been proved successful and cost-effective in teaching people to read and write and in enabling people to link literacy with wider developmental issues. Reports from the REFLECT pilots, country case study of El Salvador and Uganda, and adapting REFLECT to the urban context are included The expansion of REFLECT programme into new areas and the future of the programme is discussed. All the articles are translated into Spanish alongside the English.

This report covers the proceedings of a one-day seminar organised by the Aga Khan Foundation, UK on RRA/PRA. The main part of the report contains articles from Robert Chambers and Parmesh Shah which discusses the origins, pillars, principles, precepts along with the applications of PRA in various NGOs and government institutes in India. A second article by Chambers describes at length the practical approaches and methods involved in conducting Relaxed and Participatory Rural Appraisal with a precautionary note on the potential problems and dangers in using P/RRA. Questions regarding the methodological and practical aspects of P/RRA have been raised with implications for the further development of P/RRA. The annex of the report contains a wealth of knowledge on the use of P/RRA and the experience of various practitioners in using P/RRA in the field. These include Chambers' notes and illustrations on how to do participatory mapping, use of cartoons focusing on attitudinal and behavioural change and an annoted bibliography on wealth and well-being ranking. Shah's and others' articles on the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme's (AKRSP) experience in participatory rural appraisal, planning and impact monitoring describe the success of the programme in enabling village communities in rural Gujarat to conduct appraisals, develop village natural resource management plans, implement them and monitor and evaluate their impact through the use of P/RRA. Finally, G. J. Gill's article 'But how does it compare with the real data?' brings in the experience of a RRA training exercise in Western Nepal, which compares farmers' recall data on rainfall pattern to the data collected by a meteorology station.

This brief paper focuses on the importance of attitudes and behaviour, especially of the outside professionals, when using PRA in practice. The paper brings in several personal experiences of the author related to PRA practice in Pakistan. The paper contends that PRA practitioners should try to utilise the positive aspects of such experiences/encounters, while minimising the negatives ones at the same time. The emphasis is placed on examining differences in culture specific values and exploring possibilities of emulation and mutual learning.

This paper starts with a critical review of conventional research methodologies, such as the social survey and ethnographic research and their limitations and biases. It then discusses the main features of alternative research methodologies, such as conscientising and participatory research and their rationale. Part two of the paper provides a detailed account of Urban Research Centre's (URC) work on participatory research and action which emphasises understanding people's situations, institutions and perspectives and supporting them. Researchers involved in participatory research have to find new ways of collecting information involving people and disseminating it at the community level so that research can benefit both the researcher and the community.

Neighbourhood Action Packs have been developed with the help of 'professionals' and other 'local experts', to facilitate decision-making about the neighbourhood. They can be used to work out step by step what has to be done and who is best placed to do it, drawing on the knowledge of 'experts' of both kinds. This guide explains the methodology underlying the approach and some of the applications in the Neighbourhood Action Packs. These concern relations between locals and council or government representatives, education for neighbourhood change in schools, finding out about local needs and resources, doing local research and planning action. The Neighbourhood Action Packs are aimed at 'northern' country settings, but most of the issues involved are common to other settings as well.