Authors
Robert Chambers
Topics
Human Rights and DevelopmentInternational Development and AidAgriculture and Rural Development Researchagriculture: agricultural research priorities (Botswana, India, Malawi, Zambia) crop-specific programmes (India, Nigeria, Pakistan) irrigation (India, Sri Lanka) health and nutrition: health mapping (Bangladesh, India, Tanzania) monitoring and evaluation (Bangladesh, India, Nepal) water and sanitation planning and action (India, Kenya) poverty programmes, food security, livelihoods: selection and deselection of poor people for programmes (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka) identification of people's own criteria of wellbeing (India) livelihood analysis (India) policy assessments: network of field researchers, for agricultural policy (Nepal) impact of structural adjustment (Zimbabwe) land tenure (Tanzania) participatory poverty assessments (Ghana, Kenya, Zambia..) 4. What are PRA's dangers and shortcomings? The main dangers are bad PRA through: faddism and the bandwagon effect: Organisations that say that PRA will be used at once in every project. Consultants who claim to be PRA trainers when they lack the experience, and have inappropriate behaviour and attitudes. PRA discredited through being done badly. rushing: rapid and wrong again routine ruts: standardisation, rigidity, set sequences, didactic teaching instead of experiential learning... one-offs: "I've done a PRA", "They used PRA" and putting a tick against a box, without internalising and sustaining PRA as culture and process conflict with organisational culture and procedures. PRA at community level implies changes in the facilitating organisations. Top-down pre-planning fits badly with participation. However, recognising the long-term implications for organisational change should not deter starting. It does seem that any introduction of PRA should start slowly and proceed incrementally, recognising and exploring the needs for participatory management. The main shortcomings are: takes time and patience to establish: PRA may be rapid in a village, but it takes time and patience for many outsiders to learn to facilitate it threats to power and self-esteem. Normal professionals, especially university statisticians, are threatened. Also, villagers usually make better facilitators than outsiders, including NGO staff, who may then feel threatened. Villagers are known to have written to an NGO "We are going to carry out a PRA. You do not need to come." changing our behaviour and attitudes may be difficult It is commonly supposed that PRA methods cannot generate commensurable quantitative data. This has being challenged by experience, and PRA methods used well can replace questionnaires for many purposes.
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PublishedApr 8, 2011
TypeArticle
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