1. RAPID RURAL APPRAISAL (RRA) AND PRA (PARTICIPATORY RURAL/RELAXED APPRAISAL)

2. INTRODUCTION Definitions
Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) can be described as "a semi-structured activity carried out in the field by a multidisciplinary team and designed to acquire quickly new information on, and new hypotheses about, rural life" (McCracken et al in RUAF, 2004.).
An RRA study aims at generating information on rural life and conditions that is relevant, timely, accurate and usable in a cost-effective way.
Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) is a methodology for interacting with villagers or a community, understanding them and learning from them. It involves a process of communicating with them using a set of menu of methods that seek community participation.
Besides enabling outsiders to obtain information about the communities, PRA is intended to enable the community members to conduct and share their own investigations and analysis.
The role of the outsider is that of a catalyst, a facilitator of processes within a community which is prepared to alter their situation. (Adapted from the FAO PRA Tool box)

3. Why do we carry out RRAs or PRAs?
RRA (Rapid Rural Appraisal) and PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal) are closely related participatory and qualitative research methods or methods of gathering information.
They are qualitative in the sense that they are not suited to gathering statistical and precise numerical information.
They are especially valuable in gathering information that will provide insights about people and the communities in which they live.
These insights will, in turn, enable projects to:
1. Customize their interventions according to the needs and circumstances of the particular communities where they work,
2. Better focus questions for quantitative surveys that may be carried out to complement the qualitative research,
3. Refine their approach and activities mid-stream as information is gathered for monitoring purposes,
4. Improve follow-on activities and inform future projects as a result of what is learned in evaluations.

4. RAPID RURAL APPRAISAL
RRA is a social science approach that emerged in the late 1970s.
The basic idea of RRA is to rather quickly collect, analyse and evaluate information on rural conditions and local knowledge.
This information is generated in close co-operation with the local population in rural areas.
Therefore, research methods had to be adjusted to local conditions, i.e. they had to meet the communication needs of illiterate people or people who are not used to communicating in scientific terms.
Tools like mapping, diagramming and ranking were developed or improved in order to gather information for decision-makers in development agencies.

5. RAPID RURAL APPRAISAL Cont.
One of the key principles of RRA is the visualisation of questions and results by using locally comprehensible symbols.
A main reason for developing RRA was to find shortcuts in the search for relevant information on rural development issues in order to avoid costly and time consuming research procedures.
In most of the cases RRA is carried out by a small team of researchers or trained professionals in one to three days in a kind of workshop.
The role of the local population in RRA is to provide relevant local knowledge for research purposes and development planning.
The RRA team manages the process and maintains the power to decide on how to utilise this information.

6. Uses of RRA I. Pre-project
RRAs are particularly useful in gathering information that will help agencies to orient their programs.
By conducting several RRAs in an area that is new to the agency, they will get a sense of the range of issues that need to be addressed, and be better informed on the context (social, economic, political, environmental, etc.) in which the projects will intervene.
II. Project Design
RRAs are essential in the design phase to ensuring that the project is appropriate to the realities in the area where it will be working.
There is ample experience now to suggest that standardized, off the shelf projects are of limited effectiveness.
The more that projects can be customized to the peculiar circumstances where they will intervene, the greater their chance of success.

7. Uses of RRA Cont. III. Early project intervention
RRAs early in the project can help the project further refine its objectives and activities.
If RRAs have not been done in the project design phase, these studies will be essential to correcting any design flaws.
In some cases, these RRAs will logically lead into PRAs that draw the communities more deeply into the planning process.
IV. Mid-project
As the project gets underway, the staff may choose a select number of communities in which to do regular RRA studies to monitor implementation, and to assess the effectiveness of the approach.
This will enable corrections to be made as problems are identified.
RRA is also a very useful method to use in mid-term evaluations of project activities in selected sites.
V. End of project
The end of project evaluation will almost certainly wish to include an RRA assessment of strengths and weaknesses.
This evaluation will look at who was affected by the project and the impact on those who participated as well as those who did not.

8. PARTICIPATORY RURAL APPRAISAL
During the 1980s, PRA was firstly developed in India and Kenya, mainly supported by NGOs operating at grass-roots level.
Until today PRA evolved so fast in terms of the methodology, the creation of new tools and specifically in the different ways it is applied.
Compared to RRA which mainly aims at extracting information, PRA places emphasis on empowering local people to assume an active role in analysing their own living conditions, problems and potentials in order to seek for a change of their situation.
These changes are supposed to be achieved by collective action and the local communities are invited to assume responsibilities for implementing respective activities.
The members of the PRA team act as facilitators. Here it is no longer the external experts but rather the local people themselves who “own” the results of a PRA Workshop.
Consequently an important principle of PRA is to share the results of the analysis between the PRA team and the community members by visualisation, public presentations and discussions during meetings.

9. Uses of PRA
As noted above, PRA is not really about discrete studies in the way that RRA is.
Instead, it offers an approach to project planning and implementation that integrally involves the community throughout the length of the process.
The village will first use PRA to assess their needs and to customize the project interventions to their priority concerns and the peculiar circumstances of their community.
As the project advances, they will monitor their own progress and engage in rolling planning in which new activities and strategies are planned as previous ones take off.
Over the course of this process, it is expected that communities will build their skills in analysis and planning so that there will be sustained benefits that outlive the project’s interventions.

10. Advantages/Cornerstones of PRA
Empowerment. Knowledge is power.
Knowledge arises from the process and results of the research that, through participation, come to be shared with and owned by local people.
Thus the professional monopoly of information, used for planning and management decisions, is broken.
New local confidence is generated, or reinforced, regarding the validity of their knowledge.
"External" knowledge can be locally assimilated.
Respect. The PRA process transforms the researchers into learners and listeners, respecting local intellectual and analytical capabilities.
Localization. The extensive and creative use of local materials and representations encourages visual sharing and avoids imposing external representational conventions.
Enjoyment. PRA, well done, is, and should be, fun. The emphasis is no longer on "rapid" but on the process.
Inclusiveness. Enhanced sensitivity, through attention to process; include marginal and vulnerable groups, women, children, aged, and destitute.

11. Advantages/Cornerstones of PRA
In addition to the above mentioned advantages, PRA has the following unique features, it is ;
1. Iterative: goals and objectives are modified as the team realizes what is or is not relevant. The newly generated information helps to set the agenda for the later stages of the analysis. This involves the “learning-as-you-go” principle.
2. Innovative: techniques are developed for particular situations depending on the skills and knowledge available.
3. Interactive: the team and disciplines combine together in a way that fosters innovation and interdisciplinarity. A system perspective helps make communication easy.
4. Informal: focuses on partly structured and informal interviews and discussions.
5. In the community: learning takes place largely in the field, or immediately after, or in the intensive workshops. Community’s perspectives are used to help define differences in field conditions.

12. Disadvantages/pitfalls/Dangers /Drawbacks of PRA
The term PRA itself can cause difficulties: PRA need not be rural, and sometimes is not even participatory, and is frequently used as a trendy label for standard RRA techniques.
There are also risks of:
"Hijacking". When this occurs, the PRA agenda is externally driven, and used to create legitimacy for projects, agencies and NGOs.
Formalism. The "PRA hit team" arrives in a local community to "do a PRA". This abrupt and exploitative approach is all too common in project-based PRAs where there is a deadline to meet, or in scheduled training courses.
Disappointment. Local expectations can easily be raised. If nothing tangible emerges, local communities may come to see the process as a transient external development phenomenon.
Threats. The empowerment implications of PRA, and the power of its social analysis, can create threats to local vested interests. This may result in lack of rapport within the community.

13. Short Comings of PRA
There are also a number of difficulties and shortcomings associated with PRA:
Difficulty of finding the right team,
Difficulty in finding the right questions to ask
Going too quickly my lead to superficiality
Difficulty in finding the marginalised groups leading to failure to fully involve community members
Seeing only part of the problem and not the full picture
Being misled by myths and gossip.
Many PRA practitioners assume that communities are homogeneous, and overlook the social differences and vested interests which can lead to interventions benefiting only a few.
The skills needed to facilitate PRA and empowerment are not found in all researchers. PRA requires a new type of professionalism.
PRA is intensive, and is focussed at the community level. When trying to cover a region, there can be problems of “scaling up” (i.e. assuming that a community is representative of the wider region”). Because of this, generalising based on too little information or too few participants, may occur.
Particularly with research institutions, there is still resistance to allowing farmers/ local residents to determine the research agenda, and giving professional recognition to research activities and results that do not follow a formal (“scientific”) protocol.

14. Despite its limitations, the concentrated power of formalization of community knowledge through participatory techniques can generate an impressive amount of information in a relatively short space of time, leaving time for more selective structured formal surveys where they are necessary and of value.

15. COMPARISONS AND CONTRASTS BETWEEN RRA AND PRA (Adapted from the CRS Manual)
Inform project design, gather
baseline information,
monitor and evaluate
Purpose
Capacity building for improved decision making at community level, situational analysis, planning, seeking solutions to problems and monitoring and evaluation by community
Multi-disciplinary team of project staff and specialists
Team
Team composed of villagers, sometimes facilitated by project staff person, that works with the larger community
Limited number of representative sites
Sites
Communities where project activities will take place
Discrete studies, usually lasting 5-7 days
Time Period
Ongoing throughout the life of project. Usually begins with training and initial situational analysis (appx 10days) leading to Community Action Plan
The range of tools and techniques presented below (and others as appropriate)
Tools and Techniques
Less “active” participation; More “Top-down”
Level of participation
More “active” participation; More “Bottom-up”
Comprehensive, well written report that captures the depth and complexity of information obtained in the study
Documentation
Village Log Book with notes of principal findings, activities, and Community Action Plan

16. Some Principles Essential in Carrying Out of PRA and RRA
Different practitioners would find different principles but generally they include the following;
1. Offsetting biases: by being relaxed and not rushing, listening not lecturing, probing instead of passing on to the next topic, being unimposing instead of important ,being gender sensitive, and seeking out the poorer people and their concerns.
2. Using optimal ignorance: this refers to the importance of knowing what it is not worth knowing. It avoids unnecessary details and irrelevant data. It does not measure more precisely than is needed. It optimizes trade off between quality, relevance, accuracy and timeliness.
3. Triangulation: using more than one, and often three sources of information to cross-check answers.
4. Learning from and with rural people: directly, on the site, and face-to-face, gaining from indigenous physical, technical and social knowledge.
5. Learning rapidly and progressively: with conscious exploration, flexible use of methods, opportunism, improvisation, iteration, and cross-checking, not following a blueprint program but adapting through a learning process.

17. Steps in Carrying out a PRA (Adapted from the CRS Manual)

18. Analysis and Report Writing (RRA)
i. Analyzing data
The analysis should be kept simple; it should be related to the purpose and scope of the study.
If complex data are to be used, then every effort should be made to present the findings in non-technical language.
Data and information should be arranged according to category, issue, topic, sub-topic or question.
ii. The report should consist of the following.
The problem statement (including the conceptual framework)
Purpose and scope
Methodology
Data and findings
Implications of findings
Summary
Reference and appendices

19. TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES USED IN PRA AND RRA
An Introduction to the Use of RRA/PRA Tools and Techniques
There are many different ways to get information in RRA and PRA.
This variety of techniques is sometimes called the RRA/PRA “Toolkit.”
While there are a certain number of core techniques that are regularly used by most practitioners, the list continues to expand as people devise their own ways to get information in a more participatory and more interesting fashion.
Adapting the Tools
Keep in mind that the tools as they are presented here are generic; that is, they can be applied to any subject.
Realistically, each of these tools will have to be adapted to the circumstances in which you will be using them.
It is important to remember when using any of these techniques that the tools are not the end product.
That is, the purpose is not to end up with a pretty map or a well drawn Venn diagram.
The purpose is to obtain information using these techniques.

20. Using the Tools in an RRA or a PRA Mode
The tools outlined here can all be used in either an RRA or a PRA mode:
1. By outsiders who control the activities and use the tools to elicit information, sharing and analysis (RRA mode) or
2. By villagers themselves to analyze their own situation and generate information that they then use for their own planning purposes, with the facilitation of an outsider (PRA mode).

21. Sequencing of Tools and Techniques
There is no fixed order for using these tools.
The team needs to think through what makes the most sense, given the information that is needed and the situation it finds in the community.
The program will undoubtedly evolve and change as the study gets underway.
In general, toward the beginning of the study, tools will be used that provide general information and that raise fewer sensitive questions for the population.
As the study progresses and the team gathers more information, it will begin to use some of the more complex techniques.
These are ones (like calendars and matrices) that require more information to do them well.

22. The major categories of techniques used in RRA and PRA.
1. Secondary data reviews: books, files, reports, news articles, maps, etc.
2. Observation: direct and participant observation, wandering, DIY (do-it-yourself) activities, transect walks, etc.
3. Interviews and Discussions. These include informal discussions, focused group discussions, semi structured interviews, etc.
4. Analytical game: this is a quick game to find out a group’s list of priorities, performances, ranking, scoring, or stratification.
5. Stories and portraits: colourful description of situation, local history, trend analysis, etc.
6. Diagrams: maps(e.g. social and resource), aerial photos, transects, seasonal calendars, Venn diagram, flow diagram, historical profiles, ethno-history, time lines, Daily Activity Clocks, Matrices, tree diagrams, resource cards, etc.
7. Workshop: Locals and outsiders are brought together to discuss the information and ideas intensively.

23. Brief discussion of some the PRA/RRA Tools
Review of Secondary data
This concerns the collection and review of existing data and information relevant to the area or topic (published and unpublished), like reports, census data, research findings, municipal and hospital statistics, aerial photographs (for example on land use patterns), etc.
Review of secondary data is useful to get an initial picture of the situation of the target group and socio-economic and institutional context as well as to determine gaps and possible contradictions in the available data.
This will help to formulate alternative working hypothesis for the field study and to design the fieldwork.

24. Direct observation

25. Semi-Structured Interviews
These are discussions in an informal and conversational way, structured by using a list of key issues that is prepared in advance. Semi-structured interviews are often used in combination with other PRA exercises. They can be useful to obtain information in general or about a specific topic, to analyse problems and opportunities or to discuss plans as well as to elicit perceptions (e.g. on gender relations). It can be done by a team of 2-4 people of different backgrounds during or directly after PRA- exercises or on other moments.
Interviews can be conducted in any stage of the project cycle .Semi-structured interviews can be conducted at the individual level, the household level or the community level.
Strengths
 Simple to organize and arrange (although it should be prepared).
 Allow the exploration of different viewpoints.
 Flexible, allows rapid reorganization during the process, following up new threads of interest.
Weaknesses
 Subject to bias.
 Danger of accepting information at face value (“anecdotal evidence”), without confirming it by other informants or sources.
 Although the interview should be informal, it is necessary to establish the objectives beforehand and prepare the interview so as not to lose sight of the information required.

26. Ranking

27. Preference Ranking

28. Example of Preference Ranking

29. Pair wise Ranking

30. Steps Involved in Pairwise Ranking

31. Example of pairwise ranking matrix

32. Matrix Ranking
Matrix scoring or ranking, elicits a community’s criteria of value of a class of items (trees, vegetables, fodder grasses, varieties of a crop or animal, sources of credit, market outlets, fuel types) which leads into discussion of preferences and actions by the implementers and the local community.
Purpose : Rank the value of a particular activity or item according to a range of criteria.
For example, a range of different land care group activities could be assessed against a set of criteria such as attendance rate, cost and value to members.

33. Direct Matrix Ranking

34. Steps of Direct Matrix Ranking

35. Example of Direct Matrix Ranking

36. Wealth Ranking Tool It is a tool used to;
1. To investigate perceptions of wealth differences and inequalities in a community 2. To identify and understand local indicators and criteria of wealth and well-being 3. To map the relative position of households in a community
Steps in carrying out wealth ranking:
1. A numbered list is made of all the households in the community (see social map) and the name each household head and the household number is written on a separate card.
2. A number of key informants who know the village and its inhabitants very well are asked to sort the cards in as many piles as there are wealth categories in the community, using their own criteria.
3. After sorting, ask the informants for the wealth criteria for each pile and differences between the piles. Assure the informants of confidentiality and do not discuss the ranks of individual families, so as not to cause bad feelings within the community.
4. List local criteria and indicators derived from the ranking discussion.

37. Steps in carrying out wealth ranking

38. Problem tree – objective tree
The problem tree is used to analyse relationships between problems, including their causes and effects.
The objective tree is derived from the problem tree; it gives visual form to the solutions to the problems.
The problem tree and the objective tree help the research team to make an inventory of problems and their solutions as perceived by the target group or other stakeholders in the project.
It can thus be used in the analysis of the target group and in the organisational analysis and the analysis of the project proposal.
It is mostly known as a technique to design or to analyse project proposals.
Both the problem and the objective tree are 'built' with the help of index cards. They can be constructed in the following way:
- The participants are asked to enumerate the problems faced with reference to urban agriculture or a specific element of it.
Each problem cited or listed is written down on a card (one problem per card).
When the participants are illiterate, symbols should be used instead of descriptions.

39. Problem tree – Objective tree-Cont
- The cards are ranked for priority.
The key question for ranking is: which of these problems is the core problem, the problem that creates many other problems and has the most important effects on the lives of the participants. The core problem is placed central on the board.
- Subsequently, the participants are asked for each pair of cards with problems: 1. Are these two cards causes of the core problem or consequences of the core problem or independent issues? And
2. Is problem A the cause of problem B or is problem B the cause of problem A?
- By doing so, the problem cards are arranged in the form of a tree, with the consequences of the core problem at the top and the factors underlying the core problem below it. Secondary trees may have formed around other key problems unrelated with the selected core problem.
- The participants are asked to focus on the core problem and requested to see whether all important causes of the core problem are included in the tree. Additional causes mentioned are added. The procedure is repeated for the consequences of the core problem.
The result gives an overall image of the problems listed by the participants in relation to one another.

40. Figure 15: Example of a problem tree

41. Transect walk
This is a systematic walk along one line (transect) across the community area together with the people involved to explore the spatial differences by observing, asking, listening, looking and producing a transect diagram.
The transect walk is normally done during the initial phase of the fieldwork preferably following mapping exercises.
It is best to choose a route, which will cover the greatest diversity in resources, land use, geographical conditions, etc.
The transect walk is conducted by the research team and representatives of the female and male community members.
The walk may take two to three hours. If the walk is likely to take longer, the transect may be divided into segments, each assigned to a small team.
More than one transect might be walked in order to get a good representation of all resources used by the community.
During the walk, members of the group discuss everything encountered or noticed.
The team members facilitate these exchanges by asking questions and making observations.
They also record the discussions. Furthermore, the team members informally interview any people met during the walk to get their views on the resources and land use visible at that spot.

42. Transect walk cont.
The transect walk introduces the research team to the community and its inhabitants and is a way to collect (spatial) information about resources, cropping patterns, farming practices, etc.
The walk can also be used to identify problems and opportunities e.g. regarding resource use and access to resources in the various parts of the transect visited. 
The transect walks preferably are undertaken in separate gender homogeneous groups.
This makes it possible to obtain the opinions of women on various resource related issues.
The transect walk may create an atmosphere of privacy in which sensitive issues, e.g. access to and use of resources and related conflicts, can be discussed more freely than would be the case in mixed groups.
The route of the walk may be chosen with an emphasis on areas of interest.
The field notes are used to develop a diagram of the transect walk, which can be used in subsequent group discussions.

43. An example of a transect diagram.

44. Participatory Mapping
It is an exercise that uses spatial analysis to gather information about a range of issues and concerns.
In conventional mapping, the trained outsider draws a map of the village or territory. In participatory mapping, community members themselves are asked to do the drawing.
Outsiders who have not tried the participatory method are often surprised to find that people with no formal education can draw maps that are both quite accurate and very illuminating.
In drawing participatory maps, the primary concern is not with cartographic accuracy, but rather with gathering useful information that sheds lights on whatever situation you are studying in the community.
It is often one of the first activities that is carried out when the team arrives in the village because it is a lively “ice breaker” that helps to put both the team and the community in a participatory mode.
It also provides information that the team (especially if it is not very familiar with the community) needs in order to be functional and to find its way about.

45. Types of issues that might be explored using a participatory map:
Village landmarks
Village infrastructure: water, health, education, food storage, community buildings
Village social structure
Settlement patterns
Information on livelihoods and places that are important to livelihoods
Markets
Relations with other villages
Dwelling places of village authorities or specialists (e.g. chief, midwife, health worker, etc.)

46. An example of a participatory Map; Resource Map
A Resource Map is a tool that helps us to learn about a community and its resource base.
The primary concern is not to develop an accurate map but to get useful information about local perceptions of resources.
The participants should develop the content of the map according to what is important to them.
The objective of using this tool is to learn the villagers' perceptions of what natural resources are found in the community and how they are used.

47. Resource Map Source:

48. Venn Diagram
A Venn Diagram shows institutions, organisations, groups and important individuals found in an area, as well as the locals’ view of their importance in the community.
Additionally the diagram explains who participates in these groups in terms of gender and wealth.
The Institutional Relationship Diagram also indicates how close the contact and cooperation between those organisations and groups is.

49. A Venn Diagram: Source

50. Seasonal Calendar
A seasonal calendar is a participatory tool to explore seasonal changes (e.g. gender-specific workload, diseases, income, expenditure etc.)
Can be used on mixed group for women and men

51. Daily Activity Clocks
Daily Activity Clocks illustrate all of the different kinds of activities carried out in one day.
They are particularly useful for looking at relative work-loads between different groups in the community.
Comparisons between clocks show who works the longest hours, who concentrates on a few activities and who does a number of tasks in a day, and who has the most leisure time and sleep.

52. Daily Activity Clocks: Source...

53. Community Workshop It is carried out to:
To present the main findings and conclusions of the appraisal to the community at large.
To provide an opportunity to the community for discussion of the main findings of the appraisal.
To reach a consensus on the way forward and the roles and responsibilities of the community, the community support staff and the project.

54. References
B.B. BHANDARI, PARTICIPATORY RURAL APPRAISAL (PRA) MODULE 4 (Draft), Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) ,Kanagawa Japan.
Catholic Relief Services (CRS).Undated. Rapid and Participatory Rural Appraisal Manual.
J. Theis and H.M Grady, Participatory Rapid Appraisal for community development: A training manual Based on The Experiences from Middle East and North Africa. International Institute for Environment and Development, Save the Children Federation, Cairo.
Resource Center on Urban Agriculture and Forestry (RUAF), PRA Tools for Studying
Urban Agriculture and Gender.
 There are a plenty of other sources in the library.