PLA Notes CD-ROM 1988-2001 2 Rapid Rural Appraisal: lessons learnt from experiences in Palawan, The Philippines

Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) has become highly acceptable in government bureaucracies amid their humble recognition of the gross failure of traditional or top-down planning. The appreciation of such methods springs from the realisation of the importance of a quick method to gather information, for planning and formulating community projects (Lamug, 1985) and a method to elicit local community participation at the onset of any development programme. As a methodology it is claimed to generate accurate and useful information on rural conditions in a more timely and cost effective manner (Chambers, 1980 as cited by Sajise, 1989).