Participatory Action Research

1. Participatory Action Research Amy, Camille, Doug, and Haichen

2. Introduction • Problem: International Development can become part of the problem of underdevelopment rather than being part of the solution • Participatory Action Research (PAR) evolved in the latter half of the 20th century in response to increasing awareness of development failures

3. Definitions • PAR is a means of putting research capabilities in the hands of the deprived and disenfranchised people so that they can transform their lives for themselves • Takes into account knowledge of developing communities about their own environment

4. Characteristics • The "problem" originates within the community • The research goal is to fundamentally improve the lives of those involved through structural transformation. • The people in the community or workplace are involved in controlling the entire research process.

5. Characteristics Cont. • Participatory research plays a role in enabling by strengthening people’s awareness of their own capabilities • The researchers with specialized training may be outsiders to the community, but are committed learners in a process that leads to militancy (fighting for change) rather than detachment

6. Considerations • Required is an awareness of one's own limitations • One needs consciousness of oneself as working with certain values, which may differ considerably from those of the local people • Sufficient knowledge and understanding of local problems must be acquired • Solutions must be achieved through dialogue with the community

7. Sustainability

8. Case Study IWater Management

9. The Situation • Joint effort of NGO’s in six countries: Cameroon Kenya Nepal Pakistan Columbia Guatemala • To develop approaches, methods and tools to enhance the capacity of rural communities to manage their own water supply systems with appropriate back up support and guidance

10. Why PAR? • Experience shows that success is impossible without the full involvement and commitment of the community. • Advantages of community participation: - greater efficiency in system performance - improve cost-effectiveness - long-term sustainability of water supply systems.

11. What has been done • Active participation of local population from the initial design, through data gathering and analysis to the final presentation of results and discussions. • Research is seen as a learning process for all involved, learning from experiences of social action.

12. What has been done (cont’d) • emphasis on gender-sensitive appraisal and needs assessment approaches • Implementation: - Preparation, Training of facilitators - Area selection and problem identification - Diagnosis of problems and potential solutions - Experimentation and evaluation of possible solutions

13. Results • Allowed rapid adjustment to the different local conditions in the six countries in both Africa, Asia and Latin America. • enabled rural communities and supporting agencies to share, analyze and enhance their understanding of conditions and allowed them to plan and implement problem-solving action. • strengthened local capacity in areas such as skills development, group building, confidence building for women and men, and in forging links with other communities or organizations.

14. Results (cont’ d) • They also contribute to the improvement of maintenance, payment systems, and water source protection; a small budget from the programme allows to fund some technical improvements to the community water supply system itself. • “the knowledge we gain from this research is much more valuable than gifts. It is something that we keep for life"

15. Case Study IINature Tourism

16. The Situation • Development of nature tourism in the Windward Islands • Explore how nature tourism could be instituted on 4 Windward Islands in the Carribbean- St. Lucia, Grenada, Dominica, St. Vincent

17. Why PAR? • Many stakeholders were involved • Including government ministries, environmental and heritage groups, private business, farmers’ cooperatives etc.

18. What has been done • Multi-stakeholder national advisory councils were formed • Search conferences took place outcome: set of recommendations and action plans for carrying out sub-projects at the local community level.

19. What has been done (cont’d) • Extended advisory groups formed on the islands • National awareness activities and community sub-projects were implemented in some cases • Regional project meetings: project coordinators and key advisory members shared experiences, conducted self-evaluation, developed plans for maintaining the process.

20. Results • Varied on the different islands • St. Vincent: successful, several viable local developments instituted. • Grenada and St. Lucia: mixed outcomes • Dominica: least successful, process curtailed by the government soon after search conference tool place.

21. Why do the outcome differ? • Willingness of the key government personnel to “let go” and allow the process to be jointly controlled by all participants • Empower stakeholders, change existing power relations. • Threats for some decision-makers • Effort of collaborative group of citizens is required for accomplishment of many things.

22. Critiques of PAR

23. Main points • Depoliticization of participation • Roles and motives of outside facilitators • Over-emphasis on formulas and techniques • Problems with public participation • Dichotimization of participation From Participation ‘with Justice and Dignity’: Beyond ‘the New Tyranny’ by Ute Buhler

24. Depoliticization of participation • Failure to take sufficient account of the wider power dynamics which constrain possible impact • Participation needs to be re-politicized and re-scaled beyond the local • Participation should not be a gift from the powerful, but a genuine shift in the social and power structure

25. Roles and motives of outside facilitators • The restriction that the outsider’s role to ‘facilitation’ may be as problematic as one who takes over • Both stand in the way of genuine dialog and exchange • The assumption that whatever ‘local people’ say is valid is as patronizing as its opposite • Need to challenge arguments • If we acknowledge that outsiders have something to contribute, how can they do so without once again marginalizing the voices of those who have been most excluded? • Financial, political, and/or furthering one’s career

26. Over-emphasis on formulas and techniques • Structure vs. Structurelessness • Structure: Fails to take sufficient account of the complexities of real people’s real lives • Structurelessness: participation built on personal relationships and informal networks generate its own conclusions • The structure of participation has consequences for who participates, how they do it, and how effective participation is likely to be • Are results of ‘participation’ even legitimate • Risky decisions where no one really agrees?

27. Problems with public participation • Reinforcement of existing privileges • Group dynamics that are likely to lead to ‘dysfunctional group consensus’ • Creation of group identities that may themselves be exclusive • Decisions may ‘rationalize harm to others’ • Demands a conscious effort to avoid ‘groupthink’

28. Dichotimization of participation • Participation associated with ‘salvation’ and non-participation with guilt • In some cases, the refusal to participate might defend the ideal of genuine participation better than ‘participation’ itself • Actual opportunities for dialogue between those in power and those marginalized are unlikely

29. Dichotimization of participation (cont’d) • Where is the cutoff point beyond which the rejection of ‘participation’ is the only way of affirming the idea of meaningful participation? • Participation is social responsibility and non-participation is irresponsibility • Is ‘participation’ even the most appropriate response to inequality and marginalization? • Cannot rely on the dichotomy, need a new basis

30. Further Reading on Critiques • Participation: the new tyranny? by Bill Cooke and Uma Kothari • On hold at Olin, not enough time to get it from Borrow Direct for today • Participation ‘with Justice and Dignity’: Beyond ‘the New Tyranny’ by Ute Buhler • What these critiques were based on

31. International Organizations • Water For People www.water4people.org • Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council www.wsscc.org • Global Water www.globalwater.org • WaterCan www.watercan.com • WaterAid www.wateraid.org