This brief article describes some of the problems the authors encountered conducting pile sorting and free listing with women in a slum area. It emerged that these women did not view their health problems in "lists" but rather as part of the socio-cultural context of their lives. The authors discover a more effective way of involving participants is to organise group meetings on specific topics.
This is a newsletter which describes the formation of the Midnet PRA group and includes a number of very short articles and thoughts on practitioners experiences with PRA in Southern Africa. Experiences shared include working with young people, in education, with periurban communities, for catchment management and for land reform. The methods used are discussed with details of venn diagrammes for community organisation, historical time lines. There are reports from trainings in Namaqualand and Namibia. The thoughts that emerged from evaluation/ reflection and planning meetings included the ideas of rapid learning and sharing and the need for more training. The final article summarises the PRA and gender workshop held at IIED in December 1993.
A three day training workshop and three weeks of fieldwork were conducted by a team of nine women in two parts (one typically urban and the other typically rural) of the Gaza Strip. The purpose was to understand the social and economic roles of women better, to obtain more information on women's projects and teach PRA methods to other women. A wide range of PRA tools were used. The PRA covered all aspects of women's socio-economic wellbeing including health. In the urban areas, health problems include the psychological and physical stress consistent with exposure to military activities. Possible development alternatives are discussed and ranked: a health clinic is the first of four alternatives in the rural area and the third of seven in the urban area
This thesis reconsiders women's health status from the perspective of changing and multiple productive roles. A reading of Foucault's 'The Birth of the Clinic' is used to problematise both the current focus of health care and the system of measurement through which it sees and represents the world. Shifting social and economic boundaries have radically altered the terrain of health policy and thus, health indicators are no longer focusing attention on the most central health issues. It is suggested that the apparatus of health indicators and their system of measurement is now inappropriate (from the author's abstract). The methodology combines quantitative and qualitative approaches. Chapter six focuses on the qualitative aspects of the research and would have the most relevance to urban PRA. A week of participatory urban appraisal was conducted in a slum in Santo Domingo. The purpose of the reserch was to gain an understanding of how women perceive the changes in their productive roles and the impact these changes have had on their health status. Methods used included semi-structured interviews, card sorting, constructing activity and time lines, ranking and scoring, and constructing a community map and history.
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The article describes the experience of participatory research in a squatter settlement in the Dominican Republic. The research was undertaken as part of a larger study which aimed to explore the links between urban women's changing and multiple productive roles and their health. The article summarises the qualitative participatory research, concentrating on the implications of PUA, in terms of method (what worked, and what did not), and where appropriate, substance (the urban debates uncovered in the process).
This paper considers the suitability of a housing project in Cordoba, Argentina for poor women-headed households. The project was designed to rehouse squatters who occupied land needed for public works. The paper considers the planning and the implementation of this project and examines the extent to which women-headed households participated in the project, documenting a considerable number of "hidden" women headed households. The objectives of the research were to make women and their needs visible, and to contribute towards developing a greater understanding of how women are affected by social housing policies directed at the poor urban sectors. Research methods used include interviews with women heads of households and key informants. The paper concludes with recommendations on how housing and human settlements policies can become gender-aware.
This article is a case study of the author's participatory research with the Annette Lomond garment workers' co-operative in the North East of England. It discusses the relationship between the researcher and the participants, power imbalances, accountability, empowerment, effects of the research project, and presentation of findings. She concludes that the aim of uniting research with action and education is not always possible within one project. This alters the balance of the relationship and the nature of accountability.
This short article describes the process and the outcome of a participatory urban appraisal carried out in Chainda (a large slum) on the outskirts of Lusaka. A number of methods used in the PRA approach were used for appraisal and planning. Although the process involved discussing most issues, people carried out detailed analysis and planning involving issues of improving livelihoods, support required by the women for the informal sector and institutional and power relationships. A number of adaptations were needed for use of PRA methods. The paper concludes that many participatory methods developed in rural areas work equally well in urban situations but need continuous adaptation. Also due to the intensive nature of the process in participatory urban appraisal the planning process gets linked with the political and administrative process quicker than happens in rural areas (author's abstract).
This document describes, in detail, the processes and the outcomes of a training workshop on participatory appraisal methods, the main objective of which was to develop a methodology for the study of urban poverty and violence in Jamaica. The training workshop, which was participated in by over a dozen people including the Bank staff, was carried out in three phases: an introduction to the methodology in classroom sessions, pilot fieldwork and review, and the planning for the main fieldwork . The report provides an example of how PRA tools can be used successfully in studying more sensitive issues in the urban context as well. The fact that a good PRA in practice can help to bring about changes in 'outsiders' view regarding the importance and practicality of PRA tools is demonstrated. The report contains annexes with tables and diagrams.
This paper examines participatory evaluation in projects of the NGO PLAN International in Senegal. Through brief case studies it compares the viability of PRA evaluations in urban and rural contexts, and reflects upon the extent to which the methods can be used to reach the least advantaged groups in the communities. A number of criteria are used in assessing PRA as an evaluation tool: limited dependence ono external facilitators; replicability; community 'buy-in' to the process; adaptability to local time constraints; broad participation; reliability of data; turn-around time from data collection to use. The author concludes that PRA is problematic in urban settings if a 'community' is assumed in the same way as in rural areas. Some aspects for improvement (e.g. need to be more focused, and to prevent it from being appropriated by certain groups to the exclusion of others) are discussed.
Main findings of a participatory impact assessment in which people's own perceptions and indicators of change are compared with conventional monitoring indicators. The report also includes information on the impact of the project on the lives of women and children and raises issues of sustainability, equity and degree of participation in activities and outcomes.