Participatory research and gender in PRIAs projects: An exploration

Abstract

PRIA has pioneered the concept of Participatory Research (PR) in bringing about social change among the marginalised in India. For three decades, PRIA has not only built capacities of/trained grassroots development workers to incorporate the PR approach in their work, it has used the PR methodology in implementing its own projects.

The objective of this paper is to illustrate the application of a gendered approach to using PR in some recent interventions of PRIA. How have the principles and methodology of PR been incorporated into project activities, and were there any PR outcomes in the project? How was people’s knowledge and voice, especially those of women, valued? Did the project entail production of new knowledge, new learnings? Did local actors have a role in production of that knowledge? What use has been made of that knowledge and by whom?

The paper begins with a very brief overview of the PR approach and the potential outcomes of adopting this approach. The next section describes the PR methodology and suggestive gendered outcomes in four recent initiatives undertaken by PRIA. The last section summarises the PR outcomes from the four initiatives.