Resources

The proceedings of a workshop focussing on three topics: rigour and integrity in PRA work, PRA training quality and funding and related pressures for compromises.
Annex 2 provides a case study of the community consultation methodology used by the Groundwork Trust in the community of Gellidog. Annex 3 outlines the Teenage Sexual Health Research Project being carried out in Wester Hailes using a participatory methodology. Finally there is an updated list of the PA network in Scotland.

Brief note on results of internal evaluation regarding the use of PRA by The Community Action Programme in Uganda. In the programme trained community facilitators used PRA techniques with partner communities to develop micro-projects. The report outlines some of the short-comings of the facilitation process based on the results of a survey of a random sample of the partner communities. The survey examined, attendance by men and women of PRA sessions, PRA tools remembered by participants and aspects learnt, the relationship between men and women's main problems and the final choice of micro-project and their level of agreement with it.

This video provides a good introduction to the potential benefits of PRA in implementing projects which benefit those normally excluded by conventional approaches. It contains interesting interviews with villagers who had previously participated in a PRA process. It also uses dramatised scenes to emphasise aspects of PRA, mostly concerning behaviour and attitudes. Which scenes have been scripted is sometimes confusing. Key points made are that marginalised people are usually not reached by conventional development approaches (03, 05, 30). The attitudes and behaviour of development workers and academics contributes to this (13, 37). PRA facilitates outsiders learning from villagers (08, 18) and overcomes conventional biases (34, 38). This is shown through the experience of Paraikulan villagers who worked with an NGO, SPEECH, to reclaim barren land. The outputs of PRA methods shown include mapping (19), wealth ranking (25), seasonality analysis (26), matrix ranking of problems (28), oral history (29), and Venn diagrams (32). Women were included in village development activities, through literacy classes and increased access to agricultural inputs (34). Villagers reflect on the subsequent activities to reclaim barren land and its impact on their lives (42), both in terms of production and increased confidence (44). A resident of another villager reports that the experience of Paraikulan set an example for other villagers (46).

This lengthy and detailed document represents a summarised report of the second Internal Evaluation of an ongoing Fourth phase implementation of the above named project in Bangladesh. The objective of this evaluation was both to assess the progress
of the project and to test some new methodological approaches that had been applied in order to further strengthen grassroots participation. The methods utilised were mostly PRA and they were applied at the beneficiary level. The emphasis was laid on the potentials of the participants to evaluate the present situation and outline realistic future options. The document is split into six major chapters which in turn outline the Terms of Reference, a discussion of the principles of PRA and a short introduction to the methods applied. Chapter three presents the executive summary which leads to a more extensive discussion of the findings in Chapter four. The observers comments and recommendations are used to draw some conclusions applicable for the on-going fourth phase implementation and for the planning of a fifth phase. The last chapter includes some appendices of the basic orientation and
results from the evaluation. A bibliography is added at the back.

This paper suggests that poor institutional and individual acknowledgement and understanding of dimensions of power within the practice of participation are important reasons for poor participatory practice and project failure.

Proposal for a project to explore the mechanisms of power and resulting powerlessness or empowerment in the current mental health system using video.

This paper discusses the way in which the current tools of participatory development, including PRA, can be used to promote either participation or control, depending on the way in which they are used.