Resources

This handbook is based on the experiences of the CUSO-CCPD Training Programme for NGOs in Northern Ghana. However, examples are used to bring out the underlying principles which shaped the training process and generated participants' experiences. The emphasis of the book is strongly towards participatory approaches to development and training. Chapters 1 and 2 present the theoretical framework of the handbook - participatory training and the designing process of a participatory training programme. Subsequent chapters deal with data collection and project design, project planning, monitoring and evaluation, project management, and group animation. The handbook is very clearly written and organised, making the concepts extremely accessible.

This paper gives a short and clearly structured introduction to the stakeholder analysis component of ZOPP (objectives-oriented project planning), a participatory planning methodology. It discusses processes of identifying, classifying, describing and analysing interest groups (participants, non-participants, active/affected/beneficiary participants) and institutions. It discusses the questions which need to be asked in this process and how the process should be conducted.

There are several analyses of community participation in the literature on rural development, which define what is meant by participation and what it is for. South African analyses are rare. This paper reflects critically on one particular project experience in rural Bantustan in South Africa. The paper briefly defines what is meant by participation, with a focus on the practical implications of these meanings. The remainder of the paper explores some of the reasons for the practical difficulties of implementing a 'participatory' approach, with reference to a case study of one integrated rural development project. The project aimed to address the problems of land degradation, poverty and unemployment. The establishment and evolution of the project are described in sections on planning, pilot trials and demonstrations, interaction with development agencies and political liaison, pilot project implementation and sponsor dynamics, the changing role of the research institution and the establishment if a rural service centre. The paper concludes That what participation means and what participation is possible with what types of social organisation are influenced by many variables, including 'outside' actors, particularly as in this example, the research institute had its own goals in implementing the project.

This paper presents an approach to addressing the problem of rural housing shortage in India. Three contexts require external intervention: low housing quality of the poor and landless; rehousing of displaced people due to development projects; rehabilitation of victims of natural disasters. Interventions are often unsuccessful because of erroneous needs assessment. This study presents a participatory method to enable architects and planners to gather and analyse information to assist decision-making. The method is based on participatory information collection games, user-documentation of baseline data, participatory group analysis and evaluation of issues, and a tool for rapid information retrieval to prepare a 'user needs statement'.

This paper discusses two related questions: Are research results usable? Are the data actually used in decision-making? Both are determined by the researcher's choice of research methodology. The links between choice of research methodology and the application of results is discussed through a simple conceptual model. A satisfactory link requires a decision to allocate part of research capacity to the evaluation of previous research. To demonstrate the difficulties involved in rigorous analysis, a case study of ten years of research for agricultural development in three East African countries (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania) is reviewed. Deficiencies in agricultural planning and in applied research for agricultural development are discussed in detail. The causes of ineffective applied research are viewed as lying in scientific culture. An example of applied research with implemented solutions is given, emphasising the benefits of participant research and management procedures for planning.

These papers discuss the experience of the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP India) with participatory rural appraisal and planning (PRAP). The first contribution documents the adoption of RRA by AKRSP in 1988 and its subsequent applications by staff to a variety of topics. Since then, experience has led to shortening and intensification of RRA contacts with villagers and increasing involvement of villagers as team members. PRAP has become related to the production of village action plans. The paper contains reflections on the use of RRA in the organisation - the term has been loosely used and training relatively unstructured. In taking stock of their experience with PRAP, a list was compiled of all exercises conducted and their characteristics (given in Annex 2). It is suggested that PRAP should be integrated into AKRSP's work in a more structured manner, to facilitate future planning. the second contribution consists of guidelines for using RRA in the AKRSP context. This includes rationale for its use, objectives, methodology, exploratory RRAs, and topical RRAs.