Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) is considered as one of the popular and effective approaches to gather information in rural areas, analyze the local problems and formulate solutions with local people. This approach resulted in considerable shift in paradigm from top-down to bottom-up approach and from blueprint to the learning process. In fact, it is a shift from extractive survey questionnaires to experience sharing by local people from simple methods such as observation, talking to the people, walking through the community and many others.
PRA is an important tool which enables planners to learn about rural conditions along with the rural people and in a way transfers the role of planning and decision making traditionally taken by government institutions and agencies to the community itself.
It is found to be most promising method in participatory data gathering. It enables multidisciplinary teams to join with village leaders to gather data, assess village needs and priorities.
PRA is based on village experiences where communities effectively manage their natural resources. It is intended to enable local communities to conduct their own analysis and to plan and take action
PRA involves project staff learning, together with the villagers about the village. The aim is to help strengthen the capacity of villagers to plan, make decisions, and to take action towards improving their own situation.
PRA is a methodology of learning rural life and their environment from the rural people themselves. It requires researchers/ field workers to act as facilitators to help local people conduct their own analysis, plan and take actions accordingly.
PRA is based on the principle that local people are creative, capable and can do their own analysis and planning. It enables them to take a leading role in appraising and identifying solutions.
There are a wide range of participatory tools and techniques available for PRA. People can use these tools and techniques according to their situation or needs. Generally, the application of different tools may vary from one situation to another
The main feature of PRA is participation. RRA and PRA are almost same, but PRA is an improved developed version of RRA. The major contrast between RRA and PRA is that in RRA information is more elicited and extracted by outsiders while in PRA it is more owned and shared by local people. Some differences in RRA and PRA can be understood as follows:
RRA
PRA
Information is extracted by outsiders, outsiders process and analyze the information accordingly to themselves.
Information is owned by outsiders and often not shared with rural people.
Learning rapidly and directly from villagers.
Project staff learns and obtain information, take it away, and analyze it.
Information is owned and shared by local people. Outsiders facilitate rural people in collection, presentation and analysis of information by themselves.
Information is owned by rural people and usually shared with outsiders.
Learning with villagers.
Facilitate local capacity to analyze, plan, make decisions, take action, resolve conflicts, monitor, and evaluate according to the needs of the villagers.
Participants