PRA/PLA Tools

1. PRA/PLA Tools Vanda Altarelli June 2016 Master in Rural Development and Food Security

2. Some Tools for PRA/PLA Participatory Maps Social Maps Transect Walk Timeline Seasonality Daily activity clock Analysis of time Analysis of space/ resources Analysis of Relationships Livelihoods Analysis Tools Analysis of Priorities/ Scores Impact Flow diagram Cobweb diagram Free Association Benefit Analysis Flow Chart Income and Exp. Matrix Assets Picture card Matrix ranking Well being Ranking

3. Analysis of space • Village Resources Map: for learning about the environmental, economic and social resources in the community. • Social maps for learning about the community's population, local poverty indicators, and number and location of households by type (ethnicity, caste, female-headed, wealthy, poor, etc.) • Other maps (very recent developments) Transects: for learning about the community’s natural resource base, land forms, land use, location within forests of valuable tree species, other types of environmental services provided by healthy forests, economic activities, etc.

4. Analysis of time/seasonality • Trend lines: for learning about environmental trends (deforestation, water supply); economic trends (food self-sufficiency, jobs, wages, costs of living), empowerment (of women, of special groups) and other changes your intervention seeks to bring. • Seasonal Calendars: for tracking the seasonality of women's and men's labour, food and water availability, income and expenditure patterns, and other seasonal issues of importance.

5. Analysis ofTime … • Daily Activity Clocks: for learning about changes in the division of labour and labour intensity by gender, socio-economic group

6. Analysing relationships Spider Web Diagram - for analysing the relative importance of, or progress on, different aspects of an intervention Cobweb Diagram - for analysing causes and effects or the relative importance of, or progress on, different aspects of an intervention. Free Association - to establish relationships amongst key issues, events, interventions

7. Livelihood Analysis Tools . • Benefits Analysis Flow Chart: for learning about benefits use and distribution by gender of certain resources. • Income & Expenditures Matrices: for learning about sources of income, sources of expenditures and the crisis coping strategies of different socio-economic groups • Assets Picture Cards: for learning about use and control of assets (physical, natural, human, financial and social by gender and socio-economic groups)

8. Analysing Priorities • Ranking Matrices: for learning about changes in priorities of women and men, and of different socio-economic groups. • Well Being or Wealth Ranking : for learning about the social standing of different people in a village/ neighbourhoods in perceived well-being

9. Complementary Tools • Direct observation: to support and cross-check the findings from other methods, it can reveal new details (be sure to write down both observations and your interpretations) • Semi-structured interviews:useful to probe key questions and follow up on topics raised by other tools; with individuals or with groups, using at times a checklist; • Key informant interviews - with selected knowledgeable peopleto fill knowledge gaps or respond to the need of more precise information on specific topics

10. Complementary Tools.. • Informal group discussions: informal learning opportunities; e. g meeting a group of herdsmen during a transect walk or with women at a water point or organise meetings at specific times • Brainstormingto generate ideas in a non-judgmental way. Usedas a problem-solving method anytime during process. Rules: a) all ideas are welcome; b) no criticism is allowed, and c) the more ideas the better.

11. Complementary Tools.. • Short stories - This tool is an excellent means to record local voices by developing the story with the local population, or just by letting them speak. There are two types of stories: the success story and the learning story. A success story describes when, what, where, how and why an intervention has had a positive impact on an individual’s/household’s life. A learning story, however, focuses on response to challenges arising out of an intervention, how these challenges were addressed, and what was learned from the experience.

12. Complementary Tools • Participatory video is a methodology that opens communication channels locally, promotes dialogue and discussion, and sets in motion dynamic exchange of ideas and solutions. Part. video has been used to develop a feedback loop – community members are asked to react to short films made by other villagers, also on video. These reactions are then also screened, eliciting fresh discussions and new perspectives. The portability and accessibility of video as a medium means that they can be shown outside the community, and obtain useful video feedback from people in neighbouring villages, roadside cafes and markets, or policy makers.

13. Complementary Tools • Used in this way, the edited video made by the first community becomes a powerful tool for drawing out more experiences, reactions and evaluations. Ideally, community representatives should present their film to these different groups, in which case they can also help facilitate the video feedback. When played back to the community that made the original film, this feedback can also be useful. For example, in one case this process was vital to ensure that the women were fully involved in the development of an renewable energy programme.

14. Complementary Tools… • Questionnaires and surveys can provide useful detailed information; critical to use a stratified sample by gender, age and socio-economic groupings; • Street Theatre/puppet theatre • Many other tools exist; we will not be able to review them all.

15. Appreciative Enquiry AI is a strategy for intentional change that identifies the best of “what is” to pursue dreams and possibilities of “what could be”; It is a cooperative search for strengths and life-giving forces that are found in every system, a situation or another human being and hold potential for positive changes; Its approach involves collaborative inquiry , based on interviews and affirmative questioning, to collect and celebrate the good news stories of a community