Second national inter professional dialogue on participaroty development and participatory research, April 18-24, 1997

Abstract

The Second National Inter-Professional Dialogue on Participatory Development and Participatory Research took place at PRIA, New Delhi, from April 18-24, 1997, organised in part the Association of Schools of Social Work in India. Eighteen social work teachers from across the country attended as a residential cohort alongside senior practitioners and researchers serving as resource persons. The programme built upon a dialogue held in 1995 and aimed to develop conceptual clarity on participatory research and development while working out their implications for social work education. The sessions traced the history of development approaches and social work education in India, examined participatory research's evolution since the 1970s, and compared it with conventional social work research. Speakers including Rajesh Tandon, T K Oommen, Binoy Acharya, Sheela Patel, and Joe Madiath addressed governance, urban and rural participation, and global donor policy. A field visit to Panchayati Raj sites in Haryana grounded these discussions in practice. Three PRIA-funded research projects were presented and analysed. Closing group work produced consolidated reports on curriculum reform and issue-specific action plans drawn from the week's case studies.