PRA-Manual Embracing Participitation tools-only.pdf - PACA

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3.22 EMBRACING PARTICIPATION IN DEVELOPMENT: Wisdom from the Field 1.17.3 Analytical Proper analysis of information generated is crucial for the success of a participatory appraisal (as also in monitoring the implementation of activities during the implementation phase). Analysis should be understood as a continuous process of reviewing information, classifying, and verifying it before any conclusions are drawn. The first level of analysis is with the community itself. Very often visual outputs prepared by the community are not probed enough. Outputs have to be ‘interviewed’. A discussion must follow a visual presentation. Information given by only one group or individual should never be taken as applicable for the community as a whole. Triangulation is very important before any results can be finalized. It is important to remember that a participatory appraisal is an incremental process. Results from one set of analyses have to be linked to the analyses carried out earlier and that will be facilitated in the later stages. The role of the facilitators is important during this second level of analysis. While most facilitators are, with practice, able to master the use of methods in the field and in facilitating participatory appraisals, many find it very difficult to analyze the huge quantity of information that such a process can generate. 1.17.4 Process related Very often PLA is understood to be synonymous with ‘rapid’. This is a myth. A participatory process takes time to develop and evolve. A map or a matrix ranking exercise may take less than an hour for the community to prepare, but this is only a small step towards developing a participatory process. Part 3 A group of girls working on a visual analysis. Zambia Another common misconception is that of achieving a participatory process by merely facilitating a participatory appraisal with a community. It has been mentioned several times here that a participatory appraisal is only the beginning of a participatory process. Without following up the appraisal by the preparation of a community plan and its implementation in a participatory manner, the process is only half-baked. Methods, it must be repeated yet again, are only a means to facilitate a participatory process.
EMBRACING PARTICIPATION IN DEVELOPMENT: Wisdom from the Field 3.23 1.17.5 Institutional The greatest danger to the successful facilitation of a participatory process is the lack of understanding of the support that such a process requires in the long run. In order to support a participatory development process it is necessary to have the institutional willingness and capacity to: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ be flexible enough to allow the community to prioritize its own needs and plan its own action; have a flexible time-frame (participatory processes usually take more time to get started); have access to flexible funding (usually the funding plan is decided way before the first dialogues are held with the community and this may not match the community’s plans and priorities); be able to support the process initiated with the community (especially as the appraisal translates into preparation of plans and their implementation); and be able to negotiate with donors to gain support for the process. Participatory appraisals should not be initiated unless the above are ensured. A lot of interest has been generated in the use of PLA within the development community in recent years. While this creates the potential for greatly improving the way development projects are designed and implemented, there is an underlying danger. It is increasingly becoming fashionable to be able to say that, ‘we are using PLA’. Donors are placing the use of PLA as a condition for funding. In the quest for being able to join the bandwagon, a lot of poor quality work gets passed off as PLA. Many participatory appraisals never get followedup or translated into action, or are followed by the conventional top-down planning and implementation of projects and development activities. The challenge lies in ensuring a proper understanding of the process and its implementation. Part 3 CARE has always upheld excellence in programming so it benefits CARE field staff to practice participatory methodologies with integrity.
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