technology model which had predominated between the 1960s and early 1980s.
Forerunners to these approaches were the ‘forebears’ of Rapid Rural Appraisal
(RRA), a method which later evolved into the more ‘democratic’ Participatory
Rural Appraisal (PRA) approach, described by Chambers (1994: 953) as “a growing body of approaches and methods [used] to enable local people to share,
enhance, and analyze their knowledge of life and conditions, to plan and to act.”
RRA and PRA were developed through the merging of several research approaches
and techniques, such as participatory action research, agro-ecosystem analysis,
applied anthropology and farming systems research (Campbell 2001). Since their
appearance in the late 1980s, participatory approaches have become popular
in planning and managing conservation-based interventions, with participatory
methods and tools incorporated into development manuals and workshops
throughout the developing world. In fact, rural development projects today are
rarely funded unless they contain a strong component of community involvement
in their design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation stages (El-Swaify and
Evans 1999). An overview of the development of participatory approaches to
research and development is provided in Fig. 9.1.
The objectives of participation in research and development vary significantly
among the individuals and organizations that promote it. One faction emphasizes
the efficiency argument and sees participation as a means or tool to be used for
researchers or development practitioners to achieve better project outcomes; the
other faction is primarily concerned with equity and empowerment issues and
regards participation as a process of changing power relations between local people
and outsiders. These two different schools of thought are also reflected in the
Fig. 9.1 A selective evolutionary history of participatory approaches to research and development. Note:
*
Rapid Rural Appraisal (Source: Own draft, based on Chambers 1992; Scho ¨nhuth and
Kievelitz 1994; Selener 1997; Hickey and Mohan 2004)
9 Participatory Approaches to Research and Development in the Southeast. . .
323
Forerunners to these approaches were the ‘forebears’ of Rapid Rural Appraisal
(RRA), a method which later evolved into the more ‘democratic’ Participatory
Rural Appraisal (PRA) approach, described by Chambers (1994: 953) as “a growing body of approaches and methods [used] to enable local people to share,
enhance, and analyze their knowledge of life and conditions, to plan and to act.”
RRA and PRA were developed through the merging of several research approaches
and techniques, such as participatory action research, agro-ecosystem analysis,
applied anthropology and farming systems research (Campbell 2001). Since their
appearance in the late 1980s, participatory approaches have become popular
in planning and managing conservation-based interventions, with participatory
methods and tools incorporated into development manuals and workshops
throughout the developing world. In fact, rural development projects today are
rarely funded unless they contain a strong component of community involvement
in their design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation stages (El-Swaify and
Evans 1999). An overview of the development of participatory approaches to
research and development is provided in Fig. 9.1.
The objectives of participation in research and development vary significantly
among the individuals and organizations that promote it. One faction emphasizes
the efficiency argument and sees participation as a means or tool to be used for
researchers or development practitioners to achieve better project outcomes; the
other faction is primarily concerned with equity and empowerment issues and
regards participation as a process of changing power relations between local people
and outsiders. These two different schools of thought are also reflected in the
Fig. 9.1 A selective evolutionary history of participatory approaches to research and development. Note:
*
Rapid Rural Appraisal (Source: Own draft, based on Chambers 1992; Scho ¨nhuth and
Kievelitz 1994; Selener 1997; Hickey and Mohan 2004)
9 Participatory Approaches to Research and Development in the Southeast. . .
323