Participatory rural appraisal (PRA) involves field workers learning with
local people with the aim of facilitating local capacity to analyse, plan, resolve
conflicts, take action and monitor and evaluate according to a local agenda
(Jackson and Ingles, 1995; Maine et al., 1996) (Box 7.5).
RRA is regarded as a set of guidelines and tools which can be used in
many different ways and many different circumstances and without necessarily
attempting to change political and social structures. PRA is used to specifically refer to a use of RRA approaches and tools to encourage participation in
decision-making and planning by people who are usually excluded.
Both approaches are carried out by multidisciplinary teams and differ from
conventional information-gathering approaches in that field workers work with
and learn directly from local people. The methods involve a minimum of
outsider interference or involvement.
Because of the apparent simplicity of the methods, many feel that they can
be learned from a book or in the classroom. However, the subtleties of
understanding and using the methods can be learned only by experience. RRA
is a useful technique for data gathering and problem identification, whereas
PRA is more appropriate to programme design and planning. The distinction is
not merely one of proper sequencing. If not used correctly, PRA can generate
false expectations of what the programme will provide or what local people
can achieve. This can cause problems in the relationship between the
community members and the programme staff which can threaten success.