PRA techniques In a Very simple and lucid style, any one can learn with out much difficulty

1. PARTICIPATIVE RURAL APPRAISAL
BR.SARATH THOMAS BAPH, BPH, MSW
sarathcthomas@gmail.com,9539890560

2. INTRODUCTION
“What a man hears, he may doubt. What he sees he may
possible doubt. But what he does himself he cannot doubt.”
Through participation, we lost ‚control‘ of the project and in so
doing gained ownership and sustainability.
“Participation is a process through which stakeholders influence
and share control over development initiatives and the
decisions and resources which affect them.”

3. Objectives
• Learn about useful tools for working with low literacy
populations in rural areas (developing countries) -
Participatory Rural Appraisal tools
• Stimulate your thinking and creativity for engaging
community members in doing participatory needs
assessment
“The best item to pack for any trip to the developing
world or not – is an open mind”

4. Challenges for “outside experts” & students
• Expect the unexpected (rodents, mosquitoes, street hawking,
open markets)
• Expect poor road conditions
• No electricity or power failures (your computer loses power…)
• Lots of people may follow you around (no confidentiality!)
• Time feels different
• So how are you going to get your work done?

5. • Why participation?
• People know what works for them and
professionals need to learn from people.
• People make contributions of resources (money,
materials, labour) for these programmes.
• People become committed to activities that they
have helped develop.
• People can develop skills, knowledge and
experience that will aid them in their future work.
Outlining the Terms – Participation
5
PARTICIPATION

6. Outlining the Terms – Monitoring
•What is monitoring?
Monitoring is a continuous process of
collecting and analysing information to
compare how well a project, programme or
policy is being implemented against expected
results.
6
MONITORING

7. Outlining the Terms – Monitoring
7
Actual state of a project /
programme / policy Expected Results
What is monitoring?
Compare

8. Outlining the Terms – Monitoring
8
MONITORING

9. Outlining the Terms – Evaluation
•What is evaluation?
•Evaluation is the systematic and objective
assessment of an ongoing or completed
project, programme or policy, its design,
implementation and results. Evaluation
determines the relevance and fulfilment of
objectives, efficiency, effectiveness, impact
and sustainability.
9
EVALUATION

10. Outlining the Terms – Evaluation
Why evaluation?
•An evaluation should provide information
that is
credible and useful, so that lessons learnt
can be included
into the decision-making process.
10
EVALUATION

11. 11
PARTICIPATORY
MONITORING
AND EVALUATION
Putting the Pieces Together

12. Participation, Monitoring and
Evaluation in the Project Cycle
12
EVALUATION
Decision Making
Planning
Implementation
and Monitoring
Evaluation
STAKEHOLDER
PARTICIPATION

14. PRA: ORIGIN
• PRA has been evolved from RRA (Rapid Rural Appraisal)
• In mid 80’s the necessity of participation in rural development became evident
and the term PRA was born
 Originally evolved from Rapid Rural Appraisal and spread fast in the 1990s.
 Shift in rhetoric: “from top-down to bottom up, from centralized to local
diversity, from blue prints to learning process”. (Chambers 1994)
 Learning is two way system and respondents know better his/her daily
encounter.
 Emphasis on the power relation between the researcher and ‘researched’.

15. • The understanding of PRA came mostly from field rather than
academia
Practicing participatory research started since 1983 in
Bangladesh.
• PRA mostly focuses on the empowerment of people through
participation
• The sustainability rate of PRA is high due to the participation
of the local people
• The sense of ownership and belongingness helps to the
success of PRA

16. Participatory rural appraisal (PRA)
• An approach (and family of methodologies) for shared
learning between local people and outsiders to enable
development practitioners, government officials, and
local people to plan together appropriate interventions
• Also known as Participatory Learning and Action (PLA)
• Five streams which stand out as sources and parallels
to PRA are, in alphabetical order:
– Activist participatory research;
– Agro-ecosystem analysis;
– Applied anthropology;
– Field research on farming systems;
– Rapid rural appraisal. (Chambers 1994)

18. Activist Participatory Research
• The contributions of APR to PRA are more
through concepts than methods:
– Common ideas:
• Poor people are creative and capable;
• Can and should do their own investigation, analysis and
planning;
• Outsiders have roles as a convenors, catalysts and
facilitators.
• The weak and marginalized can and should be
improved.

19. Agro-ecosystem Analysis
 Gordon Conway developed this approach in
Thailand at the University of Chiang Mai around
the year 1978.
 It contributed much in current RRA and PRA
through:
 Transects (Systematic walks and observation);
 Informal mapping (Sketch maps drawn on site);
 Diagramming (Seasonal Calendars, flow and causal
diagrams, bar charts, van or chapati diagrams )
 Innovation assessment (scoring and ranking different
actions)

20. Agro-ecosystem Analysis
 Gordon Conway developed this approach in
Thailand at the University of Chiang Mai around
the year 1978.
 It contributed much in current RRA and PRA
through:
 Transects (Systematic walks and observation);
 Informal mapping (Sketch maps drawn on site);
 Diagramming (Seasonal Calendars, flow and causal
diagrams, bar charts, van or chapati diagrams )
 Innovation assessment (scoring and ranking different
actions)

21. From RRA to PRA

22. DEFINITIONS OF PRA
• “organized common sense”
• “ An approach and methods for learning about
rural life and conditions from, with and by rural
people”. (Chambers 1994
• PRA (Participatory rural appraisal)It is a
methodology to involve rural community by
interacting with them and understanding them
along with their locality.
• PLA (Participatory learning and action) PLA is a
one of the recent terminology in the field of
participatory technique . It is a learning from
community , collection of data and carrying
actions.
• a family of approaches and methods to enable
rural people to share, enhance and analyze their
knowledge of life and conditions to plan and to
act
• defined as “semi-structured process of learning
from, with an by rural people about rural
conditions”

23. Where it is applied?
 PRA applications include:
 Natural Resource Management;
 Agriculture
 Poverty and Social Programs
 Health and
 Food Security Analysis.
 Project Cycle
 From inception to end.
 Participatory projects pull methods, attitudes and values from
PRA.
 ‘Micro projects’

24. Principle Components of PRA

27. Principles of good practice in PR
Farmers are involved in
decision-making at every
stage
 Site selection
 Diagnosis
 Planning
 Experimentation
 Evaluation
 Analysis
 Feedback
 Monitoring and
evaluation
 Socialise lessons learned

28. Principles of good practice in PR
The research is based on
a clear common agenda
or set of priorities defined
jointly by farmers and
researchers and based on
principles of social equity

29. Principles of good practice in PR
The research draws on
multiple sources of
information and methods
and links together various
knowledge worlds

30. Principles of good practice in PR
The research process is
based on cyclical learning
and feedback loops and
there is two-way sharing
of information among
farmers and researchers
FLSP
Selecting villages
Agreeing on issues
Select a focus-group
Searching for options to test
Focus group MeetingVillage Planning
Integrating solutions on farms
Reaching other farmers
in the village
Sharing with other villages
Testing and evaluating options

31. Principles of good practice in PR
The research process is
based on cyclical learning
and feedback loops and
there is two-way sharing
of information among
farmers and researchers
CIAL
Train
facilitators
Select region
Motivation
Election
Planning
Diagnosis
Experimenting Evaluation
Analysis
Feedback

32. Principles of good practice in PR
The research process is
based on cyclical learning
and feedback loops and
there is two-way sharing
of information among
farmers and researchers
Integral elements of
PR Processes

38. Exclusive Principles of PRA
• Empowerment
– The authority to local people through decentralization and confidence
building
• Self critical awareness
– Mistakes are lessons to learn and to do better next time
• Personal responsibility
– The belongingness and ownership to the participants
• Sharing
– To discuss and argue about ideas in open forum with all stakeholders

39. WHY PRA????
1. PRA is a means to people’s participation
2. To understand the social aspects of the village
3. To develop common understanding on the village conditions and
natural resource situation
4. To learn the criteria of farmers which influence their decision making
process
5. To select appropriate technology available to encounter a problem (i.e.
exotic or indigenous technologies)
6. To observe the facts directly on the field, to discuss problems and
solutions with farmers
7. To encourage resource poor and women to share their grievances
8. To identify and prioritize the needs

40. What’s in it?
 Secondary sources
 Semi-structured
interviews
 Key informants
 Groups of various
kinds
 Do-it-yourself
 They do it
 Participatory
analysis of
secondary sources-
aerial photographs
 Participatory
mapping and
modeling
 Transect walks
 Time line and trend
and change analysis
 Oral histories and
ethno-biographies
 Seasonal Calendars
 Daily time use
analysis
 Livelihood analysis
 Participatory linkage
diagramming
 Institutional or Venn
Diagramming
 Well being and
wealth grouping and
ranking
 Analysis of
difference
 Matrix scoring and
ranking
 Estimates and
quantification
 Stories, portraits and
case studies
 Team contracts and
Interactions
 Presentation and
analysis
 Participatory
planning, budgeting,
monitoring
 Group discussions

41. PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
• VGDUP- Vulnerable Group Development for
Ultra-poor
– What are the indicators?
• Owning less than 10 decimals of land(0.04 ha)
• No ownership of production assets
• There are no active adult male house hold members
• Employment, if any is limited to day-laboring or domestic help
• The household is de facto headed by a women (divorced, abandoned,
widow, unmarried)
– PRA in this project
• Wealth ranking among the candidates

43. PRA/PLA CAN BE USED FOR:
• General analysis of a specific topic ,question, or
problem;
• Needs assessment
• Identification and establishment of priorities for
development or research activities
• Monitoring and evaluation of development or
research activities
• Identification of conflicting interests between
groups.

44. BENEFITS OF PRA METHODS
• Empowerment of the local people
• Securing active involvement of the community
• Creating a culture of open learning with each
other and with community members
• Setting research priorities
• Setting participatory extension programPolicy
review

45. Key Features of PRA
• Participatory process, Provides vast scope and
space for the community/participants
• No preset questionnaires; rather semi
structured/open-ended interview technique
followed
• Interactive process: exchange of ideas
• Enables people and outsiders to learn through
sharing of information
• Flexibility in using methods , Innovate adaptable
methods to suit local conditions

46. Key Principles of PRA
• Reversal of learning
• Learning rapidly and progressively
• Offsetting biases
• Triangulating• Seeking complexity and
diversity
• Facilitating- they do it
• Self critical awareness and analysis

48. Important tools of PRA
•PRA uses a large variety of techniques,
including:
• Group dynamics (e.g. learning contracts,
role reversals, feedback sessions)
• Sampling (e.g. transect walks, wealth
ranking, social mapping)
• Interviewing (e.g. focus group discussions,
semi-structured interviews, triangulation)
• Visualisation (e.g. Venn diagrams, matrix
scoring, timelines)

49. IMPORTANT TOOLS OF PRA

50. 1. SOCIAL MAPPING
• A space-related PRA
• Used to depict the habitation pattern of a particular region
• Drawn by local people
• Not drawn to scale but reveals what is believed to be relevant and
important to them
Number of families living in the village and their population data
• No.of farm families
• Economic status
• Educational status
• Infrastructure facilities like roads, electricity, transport, storage and
other public amenities
• Interdependence of families on each other Informal/local leaders

53. 2. Impact diagrams
• A flow diagram , commonly used to identify
and depict the image of an activity,
intervention or event
• Takes into account types of changes as
perceived by the local people
• Helps to identify impacts of certain events -
planned, unplanned, negative or positive

54. Impact
diagram

55. 3. Natural Resources Map
• Land types (class 1 to 8 )
• Land use patterns, area and percentage
• Cropping pattern and main crops
• Ridges and valleys, erosion / extent of land
degradation
• Irrigation sources
• Water bodies
• Forest area
• Type of trees in the forest
• Existing farming systems

58. 4.TRANSECT WALK
• Transect walk taken along with farmers
• helps to observe the facts directly on the field.
• The Land utilization pattern, the soil gradient,
percentage of slope, the amount of soil erosion,
water erosion and other problems associated with
soil and water and opportunities to mend them and
the potentialities to further develop the resources
can be understood by farmers and the PRA
practitioners.
• Problems associated with input management pests,
practices, low productivity can be observed and
analyzed.

61. 5. SEASONALITY DIAGRAM:
Seasonal Variations in amount of rainfall, availability
of residual moisture, fodder, employment
opportunities, migration pattern.
expenditure pattern, income flows and availability of
minor forest products can be understood by making
seasonal diagrams.

64. Venn chappati diagramming

65. 6. TIMELINE EXERCISE
• Over a period of time what changes are taking place in the status of
land, water, vegetation and their effect on Socio-Economic pattern of
the villagers can be known by using this technique.
• Trends in the amount of top soil and their losses
• Trends in land utilization pattern
• Amount of rainfall
• Water retention
• Vegetation
• Usage of timber
• Transport facilities
• Migration pattern
• Influence of outside forces
• Cattle production
• Changes in predominant occupations
• Captures the chronology of events as recalled by local people
• Flexible in terms of the time scale

66. Time
line

68. 7.MATRIX RANKING
Preferences for various items and factors influencing
and contributing for decision making process can be
understood through this technique
Selection of crop in a particular piece of land
Variety preference of a crop
Watershed treatment works
Trees ranking for social forestry in common lands
Trees ranking for horticultural crops either in
private or common lands
Seeds, fertilizers, pesticides brands Markets
Agricultural credit Agro-processing facilities

70. 8. PROBLEM TREE

72. Fig. 2. `Free flow' diagram of women's risk of
HIV infection: Birchenough Bridge
(busy service center on tarmac road) group.
Kesby 2000

73. 9.SOLUTION TREE

74. 10.Focused Group Discussions (FGD)
FGDs help in understanding an issue thoroughly
those who are either positively or negatively
affected by an action / work in the village.

75. 11. VENN DIAGRAM
Helps us to understand the network of
relationships of various institutions
working for the village.

76. 12.WEALTH RANKING

77. 13. BODY MAPPING
To explore people’s perceptions of a range of bodily
processes and the effects of medical interventions
in the body

78. 14.Beneficiary Assessment
•Beneficiary assessment is a qualitative research tool
used to improve the impact of development operations
by gaining the views of intended beneficiaries regarding a
planned or ongoing intervention. (
•The tools usually used are conversational interviewing
and focus group discussions on changes and impacts.
78

79. PRECAUTIONS IN THE USE OF PRA TOOLS
• A tool (any tool) is only as good as its user. Much on
the validity of PRA outputs depends on its users
creativity, integrity and the situational
appropriateness of the method selected
• The user must clearly distinguish between
perceptions, opinions and hearsay in analysis and
planning
• The selection of informants has to be done with
care. Every body does not know everything neither
does every body hold a view on all subjects

80. The views expressed by a few members cannot be
taken as a general view held by all
• Cross-verification of data is a necessary part of a
complete PRA exercise
• Documentation poses several difficulties due to the
wealth of information generated and the need to
keep track of both process and output in ways
understandable to all parties involved.
• PRA exercises may raise the expectations of
participants, therefore, have to be carefully initiated
with proper explanations.

81. Risks involved and key success factors
Any failure in the implementation of a project results in
disinterest among the community which in turn shuts
down any possibility of further participatory planning
process with the community.
The participatory planning process should try to focus on
those issues which can be solved with the available
resources and gain the confidence of the community.
The key factor for successful participatory planning is to
build a relationship of mutual trust and then start the
planning process

82. Discoveries of PRA
• villagers knowledge & capabilities
– villagers have greater capacity to map, model, quantify and
estimate, rank, score and diagram than outsiders have
generally supposed them capable of
• relaxed rapport established early in the process
• participatory diagramming and visual sharing is popular
and powerful

83. Discoveries of PRA
• sequences are powerful and popular
• several maps can be drawn, each more detailed
• social maps can generate household listings,
indicating many characteristics
• transects can lead to identifying problems &
opportunities…
• Accuracy of information obtained is very high
– high correlation with 'scientific' information

84. DANGERS AND LIMITATIONS OF PRA/PLA
Overlooking opinions and demands of women, particularly by male
team members
Lack of institutional support and an open learning environment
within organizations (centers, departments)
PRA becoming a fashionable label to satisfy public, institutional, or
donor expectations for ‘participatory’ approaches.
Villagers are occupied with farm work.
Villagers give unrealistic answers to receive more support
(sometimes be the village headman)
Actors involved in PRA research for action activities are not neutral

85. CONCLUSION
social workers are really the shock absorbers
of the society
They are absorbing the people’s sufferings,
pains, wounds as part of themselves.

86. Remember ….
we are not come to be served but to
serve and to give life to redeem many
people.