PLA Notes 27: Participation, policy and institutionalisation

This issue opens with general articles focused on agriculture and health.

The special theme section of this issue of PLA Notes draws on three workshops organised in 1996. The first two workshops, held at the Institute of Development Studies, Sussex, explored how PRA can be used to influence policy and how participatory approaches can become part of an organisation’s culture. The third workshop, held in Bangalore, India, discussed the attitude and behaviour changes which underpin effective participatory processes.

The theme section explores the opportunities and the constraints to scaling up participatory processes and discuss how PRA can be linked to a wider and enabling policy environment.

The general articles include:

Reflections from four-years of farmer-led trials in Orissa.


A report on experiences of the NGO 'Farm Africa' with Farmer Participatory Research in Ethiopia.

Practical tips on how to empower women to contribute to the planning process, based on an agricultural development project in Nicaragua.

A paper reporting on the use of child health calendars with women in Honduras.

A paper on a modified Venn diagram technique for assessing Basic Minimum Needs.

This issue also includes a number of extracts and a brief guide to preparing for training and facilitating.