Participatory rural appraisal - A critique

Abstract

As participatory methods have come to play an increasing role in rural development, Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) came to be regarded as a rapid survey method for collecting locally-based information for planning and monitoring purposes. This paper seeks to critically review PRA by situating it in relation to its precursor, Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA), and exploring the underlying assumptions of this now widely-used set of methods. The study argues that while PRA has been enthusiastically adopted by NGOs and funding agencies because of its potential to lower costs and speed up assessments, in many ways it promotes a “short cut” to understanding rural communities that makes in-depth analyses of villages processes and patterns difficult if not impossible. In addition, the paper explores the question of who benefits from PRA by suggesting that unless communities are able to define their own agenda and take charge of the process, PRA is likely to become just another form of external intervention. By raising such questions as these, the study seeks to promote further discussion on how PRA might be employed most effectively in rural development.