120
details are under debate. It is best if an independent third party—with skills managing
group dynamics—provides the facilitating functions. Community members or
others suspected of wanting to hijack the process for personal benefit can be sidelined in creative ways (Coppock 2016).
Participatory Action Research (PAR) Another movement involving participatory
approaches began in the 1970s and 1980s. One thread emanated from Latin America
(Bonfil 1970; Friere 1970; De Silva et al. 1979; Fals Borda 1979), while another
occurred in the US (Whyte 1989). The emergence of PAR was in response to the
need for problem-solving in diverse sectors including public education, public
health, agricultural development, and industrial management. Like FSR&E or PRA,
PAR is a process whereby researchers or other change agents work closely with
project beneficiaries. The PAR approach in general involves a series of iterative
steps shown in Fig. 7.5. The process continues until final interventions are implemented. Some of the voices advocating for increased use of PAR have been American
sociologists seeking new frontiers and intellectual challenges for academic social
science (Greenwood and Levine 2007). Both PRA and PAR can be combined. A
PRA provides a problem diagnosis, while PAR can provide the details (sometimes
via conventional research) that support creation of new technology, management
systems, or policy interventions needed to solve a problem (Derr 2018).
Innovation Systems (IS) A more recent area of participatory inquiry is called “innovation systems” (Röling 2009; Waters-Bayer et al. 2009). An IS can be defined as a
multiple-stakeholder, problem-solving partnership. While this sounds similar to PRA
or PAR, an IS differs because it is larger and more diverse in scope (Table 7.1). Creation
Fig. 7.4 Community focus group held as part of a participatory rural appraisal (PRA) process in
Nepal. The project concerned helping communities adapt to climate change (Divakar Duwal in
Coppock 2016)
D. L. Coppock
details are under debate. It is best if an independent third party—with skills managing
group dynamics—provides the facilitating functions. Community members or
others suspected of wanting to hijack the process for personal benefit can be sidelined in creative ways (Coppock 2016).
Participatory Action Research (PAR) Another movement involving participatory
approaches began in the 1970s and 1980s. One thread emanated from Latin America
(Bonfil 1970; Friere 1970; De Silva et al. 1979; Fals Borda 1979), while another
occurred in the US (Whyte 1989). The emergence of PAR was in response to the
need for problem-solving in diverse sectors including public education, public
health, agricultural development, and industrial management. Like FSR&E or PRA,
PAR is a process whereby researchers or other change agents work closely with
project beneficiaries. The PAR approach in general involves a series of iterative
steps shown in Fig. 7.5. The process continues until final interventions are implemented. Some of the voices advocating for increased use of PAR have been American
sociologists seeking new frontiers and intellectual challenges for academic social
science (Greenwood and Levine 2007). Both PRA and PAR can be combined. A
PRA provides a problem diagnosis, while PAR can provide the details (sometimes
via conventional research) that support creation of new technology, management
systems, or policy interventions needed to solve a problem (Derr 2018).
Innovation Systems (IS) A more recent area of participatory inquiry is called “innovation systems” (Röling 2009; Waters-Bayer et al. 2009). An IS can be defined as a
multiple-stakeholder, problem-solving partnership. While this sounds similar to PRA
or PAR, an IS differs because it is larger and more diverse in scope (Table 7.1). Creation
Fig. 7.4 Community focus group held as part of a participatory rural appraisal (PRA) process in
Nepal. The project concerned helping communities adapt to climate change (Divakar Duwal in
Coppock 2016)
D. L. Coppock