Participatory Rural Appraisal RWSSP-LIS Training for SPMU Officials March, 2014 UP Academy of Administration, Lucknow

Participatory Rural Appraisal RRA Rapid Rural Appraisal 1970s – 80s PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal 1980s – 90s PLA Participatory Learning & Action 1990s – 00s

From where did these come Farming System research – recognition of diversity & complexity Soc22ial Anthropology – recognized richness of indigenous knowledge

Core aspects of PRA Methods (timeline, wealth ranking, etc) Sharing (knowledge, ideas, insights, etc) Behaviour & Attitudes (mindset, cultural/social compulsions, etc) VISUAL

What is PRA PRA is intended to enable local communities to conduct their own analysis and to plan and take action. PRA involves project staff learning together with villagers about the village. The aim of PRA is to help strengthen the capacity of villagers to plan, make decisions, and to take action towards improving their own situationwell-being.

PRA : Principles, Methods and Benefits Principles and methodsBenefits From ‘they learn from us’ to ‘we learn from them’.. From ‘we let them participate’ to ‘they take command of their own process’. Empowering the poor and weak to assert their priorities, make demands and act. From ‘we’ve done a PRA’ to ‘we admit being corrected by people’. From ‘we use instruments from our toolbox’ to ‘they can map, model, estimate, score, analyse, plan themselves’. Expression and harnessing of local diversity. From ‘we share our knowledge analysis with them’ to ‘we enable them to learn from each other and conduct their own analysis’. Offsetting biases: spatial, project, gender/elite, seasonal calendar. Community participatory appraisal, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Rapid progressive learning, which is flexible, exploratory, interactive and inventive. Triangulation: using different methods, sources and disciplines, and a range of informants in a range of places and cross checking to get closer to the truth through successive approximations. Identification of research priorities; experts more receptive to the ability of rural poor to design, implement and evaluate. Facilitation: to enable people to do more or all of the investigation themselves and own the outcome. Insights gained from PRA leading to policy change. Sharing: a culture of sharing information, methods, field experiences among NGOs, government and villagers. Behaviour and attitudes: critical self-awareness in external facilitators, learning from errors. A culture of open learning among stakeholders.

Rapport formation Understanding Reframing Solution searching Solution p[lanning & commitment development Implementation – Plan development Evaluation & adjustment Ending & Consolidation Eight Stages in Problem Solving with PRA Sustained ownership of process, input, output and outcome (Results)

PRA - Tools INTERVIEWS – semi structured; key informant Maps – Social Maps; Resource Maps Calendars / Schedules Seasonal Calendar Labour Scgedules Daily Routines Wealth Ranking Problem Ranking Wenn Diagram on Institutions Standard Direct Observation

Geographical Transect of a village

Village Social Mapping PRI S H I II III IV

Village Resource Mapping Field Pond Houses

WENN / Chapati Diagram : Institutional Mapping PHED GPWSC/VWSC Gram Panchayat NBA – IHHL / SLWM Primary Health Centre Village Police Station Village Education Committee

Seasonal Calendar ItemWINTERSUMMERMONSOON CROP Tomato Rice Economy Daily earning Drinking Water Availability

WEALTH RANKING Wealth Ranking isd a PRA method that determines economic attributes of households in a village – against indicators determined by the villagers themselves. Rich HouseholdAverage HouseholdPoor Household Pucca HouseSemi Pucca HouseKatcha House Land ownership : 5 acres +Land ownership: 1-5 acresLandless Cattle : 10 cows +Cattle: 5-10 cowsCattle : Nil

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