PLA Notes CD-ROM 1988-2001 Editorial

Document begins: PLA Notes CD-ROM 1988­2001 Editorial Theme issue development programmes. The communities rate their villages with regard to certain Welcome to this issue of PLA Notes, where the indicators and, through plenary evaluation, the results are used for community action theme is `analysis': how to make sense of the planning, consciousness raising and resource mountain of information derived from mobilisation. participatory approaches. The theme explores who is involved in analysing information at different stages and discusses how critical In the final article of the general section, Gary reflection can and should become part of any Jordan provides a brief report back of the participatory process. Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (GIS) specialist meeting, held in Santa Barbara, USA in October 1998. He The guest editors for the theme section of this discusses that whilst truly participatory GIS is issue are Irene Guijt and Su Braden. After a relative ly new issue, it has become an eight years at IIED, Irene recently left to start a PhD at Wageningen Agricultural University on increasingly common subject in the the organisational challenges of participatory participatory development community (see monitoring and evaluation. She has extensive PLA Notes 33, p27-34). The aim of the ...