PLA Notes CD-ROM 1988-2001 1 Summary of workshop presentations and discussions

There is some misunderstanding over what the term Rapid Rural Appraisal means. It appears to imply lightning visits by outsiders with no follow up. It appears to satisfy the need for the quick answers required in the aid context. It can look like a recipe, with simple and easy fixes. For these reasons consultants are increasingly required to ‘use RRA’ even when they are not appraised of the essential set of attitudes associated with the use of the methods. Yet without the appropriate attitudes, skills and behaviour, the methods work badly or not at all. And this means that the priorities and knowledge of the poorest, disadvantaged and vulnerable remain unheard, even though RRA was initially developed to offset rural development biases against these groups.