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

3.2 EMBRACING PARTICIPATION IN DEVELOPMENT: Wisdom from the Field
These led to the search for less costly and more rapid methods of data collection
by development professionals. While many methods and techniques used in
PRA are the same as used in RRA, there is a fundamental difference between
them. While in RRA it was the outsider professional who applied and
controlled the use of these methods for data collection, PRA enables the local
community to use these methods themselves for analyzing their situation and
preparing their own plans. The shift has been from ‘extracting’ information to
enabling the community to take over the process of analyzing their conditions,
and planning and implementation of development activities.
The label PRA continues to be more commonly used in the growing literature
on the subject. However, in recent years it is increasingly felt that the term is
too restrictive with its accent on ‘rural’ and ‘appraisal’. This methodology does
have its roots in the field of rural development, but during the past three to four
years it has been adapted for use in urban areas as well, where it continues to
spread in new fields. It is also felt that the word ‘appraisal’ indicates a false limit
to the use of the methodology in the subsequent stages of the project cycle.
Participatory Learning and Action (PLA), in comparison, is a more appropriate
label for the methodology in its present form. ‘PLA’ is applicable to rural and
urban contexts, and indicates its continued use during the ‘action’, or implementation
phases of the project cycle.
1.2 Key principles of PLA
Chambers (1997: 156-157)) describes the following key principles of PLA (10) .
Part 3
The facilitator takes a back seat and allows the participants
to carryout their analysis without interruption. Zambia
A reversal of learning: Learn directly from the local community,
gaining from their local physical, technical and social knowledge.
Learning rapidly and progressively: Learn with conscious exploration,
flexible use of methods, maximizing opportunities, improvisation, iteration,
and cross-checking, not following a blueprint program but being
adaptable in a learning process.
Offsetting biases: Offset biases, especially those of rural development
tourism, by being relaxed and not rushing, listening not lecturing,
probing instead of passing on to the next topic, being unimposing, and
seeking out marginalized groups within the community (the poorer
people, minorities, children and women) and learning their
concerns and priorities.
Optimizing trade-offs: Relate the costs of learning to the useful
truth of information, with trade-offs between quantity, relevance,
accuracy and timeliness. This includes the principles of optimal
ignorance – not learning more than necessary, and of appropriate
imprecision – not measuring what need not be measured, or
measuring more accurately than needed.
Triangulating: Learn from several (often three) methods, disciplines,
individuals or groups, locations and/or types of information,
to cross-check, compare and verify. Verification also involves