The Drum Beat 568 - Participatory Research
- Illustrations of STRATEGIC uses of participatory research.
- Create your own, branded, SOCIAL NETWORKING SPACE.
- Sample RESOURCES for those engaged in this kind of enquiry.
- For more on participatory research, see these RELATED DRUM BEATS.
- Examples of INITIATIVES drawing on participatory research.
- VOTE - top early childhood development goal?
PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH STRATEGIES
by Suzanne Gaulocher, Samuel Dennis, Jr., and David Brown
This March 2010 paper describes PPM, a participatory tool for exploring the experience of place and for communicating this experience to community stakeholders and decision-makers at the policy level. The project described in this presentation illustrates the use of PPM for community-based research on environmental health; it is a community-driven, information-gathering-driven project that combines photography, narrative interviews, and mapping.
2. Stories of Significance: Understanding Change through Community Voices and Articulations
by Navanita Bhattacharya, Tanu Chhabra Behl, ed., and Vaishakhi Mallik Chaturvedi, ed.
As detailed in this March 2010 document, India HIV/AIDS Alliance listened to stories of more than 500 children, caregivers, and field project staff from the Global Fund programme on care and support for children. The Most Significant Change (MSC) technique was selected as a form of participatory monitoring and evaluation in which children and their parents talked freely about changes in their lives and some children drew pictures illustrating the change. The process involved the collection of "Significant Change" stories at the field level and systematic selection of the most significant of these stories.
by Elizabeth Rattine-Flaherty and Arvind Singhal
"This [August 2009] article analyzes the social change practices of Minga Perú, a non-governmental organization in the Peruvian Amazon that promotes gender equality and reproductive health through radio broadcasts and community-based interventions. This analysis, grounded in participatory research methods, reveals a feminist and gender-equitable approach, allowing our participants to take the role of leader rather than of passive research subject. Further, such participatory research methods helped empower both individuals and their communities in the Peruvian Amazon, encouraging the development of more productive group dynamics and leadership."
by Arthur E. Neiland, Elizabeth Bennett, and Philip Townsley
This review of a sampling of the design and application of participatory research (PR) approaches of the Department for International Development (DFID), United Kingdom, Renewable Natural Resources Research Strategy (RNRRS) Programme explores both opportunities and constraints of the PR approach, such as: involve local people in development research to increase their participation and acceptance (buy-in) - though their context may limit meaningful outcomes of their participation, for example, in circumstances where there are constraints on the degree of voice and variety of voices in decision making about natural resource use.
See also:
- Communication Strategy Design, within the context of Participatory Rural Communication Appraisal (PRCA)
- Research for Action: A Region-wide Participatory Process to Build Participation, Awareness and Advocacy on Trade Policies
Build Your Own Social Networking Space
Looking to network within your organisation? Needing to link together colleagues from different organisations under one project? Contract The CI to build you a branded social networking space using core CI functionality. To view a customised example click here (you will have to join and log in to see all functionality.) For more information, contact wfeek@comminit.com
PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH RESOURCES
by Shivananda Khan, Sharful Islam Khan, and Paula E. Hollerbach
This October 2005 instruction manual on conducting research on the gender- and sexuality-related perceptions of teenage boys and young men describes how to conduct research on reproductive health behaviours using “social and sexual scripting": organising and linking together what people think, what they do, and how they are affected by the sociocultural context in which they live, through accumulated responses to a multiplicity of socio-cultural cues. It includes sections on training of interviewers and facilitators, guides for focus group discussions and interviews, data analysis through key themes and thematic analysis, and resources.
6. Participatory Poverty Grading Tool Manual
by Julie Pörksen
From Marie Stopes International (MSI), this field manual draws on the organisation's participatory poverty mapping activities in Bangladesh and Yemen. The tool emphasises full participation of community members within the research, detailing strategies for guiding them in identifying and developing their own poverty indicators. The Participatory Poverty Grading Tool Manual comprises 3 distinct, but related, guides, each of which is available for download in PDF format from the MSI website.
SEE ALSO these Drum Beat issues related to participatory research:
The Drum Beat 563 - Public Engagement in Science Research
The Drum Beat 322 - Participatory Mapping and PGIS
PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH INITIATIVES
7. Yayasan Tambuhak Sinta (YTS) - Indonesia
YTS draws on participatory research and interpersonal communication, facilitating community-based needs analysis and using the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) approach and methodology. Each village develops an annual Community Development Plan that feeds into the government planning cycle. Government planners and service departments use this information to design and fine-tune their support programmes and community services. Villages are then able to access support that is directly relevant to their needs.
This research programme in 12 African countries aimed to bring together African researchers to study information and communication technologies (ICTs) and women's empowerment. A key element informing GRACE's knowledge construction process is participation and capacity building: creating the space and skills for the 14 research teams to develop their own methodology for understanding what "empowerment" and "gender" may mean in multiple African contexts. The research is grounded in the principles of critical emancipatory research, or "action research." Emphasis is placed on the use of qualitative research techniques.
9. Reducing AIDS-related Stigma and Discrimination in Indian Hospitals - India
Drawing on a participatory research approach that encompassed all levels of hospital staff, people living with HIV/AIDS, and the various collaborating organisations, this initiative involved the development and dissemination of printed guidelines for HIV care and management, sensitivity training of health workers about the needs and rights of people with HIV, expansion and strengthening of HIV testing and counselling services, and development and dissemination of educational material (posters).
10. Learning from Each Other - Canada
In the context of providing services to people who use illegal drugs, this initiative drew centrally on in-person, participatory research and dialogue. A National Advisory Committee planned a tour of Canadian medium-sized cities to conduct focus groups with people who use harm reduction services and/or illegal drugs, as well as site visits of select organisations. Then, a national symposium on harm reduction was held. The information from the focus group discussions and the symposium was incorporated into a 220-page report, available from this summary.
11. Through Children's Eyes - Uganda
This project, initiated by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), involved participatory field research with children on urban environmental issues. It aimed to illustrate the value of including children in participatory research, to learn more about children's experiences, to show what children have to contribute when given a chance, and to demonstrate how much they understand the issues facing their communities.
12. Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission in Ukraine
Designed to address mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV/AIDS in the Ukraine, this initiative was shaped by a participatory research process. PATH began by administering a knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) survey to 517 obstetrician-gynaecologists and midwives in southern Ukraine. The team also conducted focus group discussions with 27 HIV-positive mothers who had delivered babies in the previous 2 years. Based on this research, organisers designed training sessions emphasising voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) as a key entry point to prevention information and personal risk assessment. Partner organisations participate in the trainings, presenting their own initiatives for VCT and supportive counselling.
This participatory research project aims to generate awareness on volunteerism/social responsibility and the role of the creative sector in effecting social change. By inviting broad global participation in an online survey, the international online voluntary initiative Arts For Global Development, Inc. (Art4Development.Net) also hopes to learn about and give voice to active creative individuals and organisations worldwide, and to acknowledge as well as encourage their role in the development field, particularly in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
14. Child-Centred Approaches to HIV/AIDS (CCATH) – Kenya and Uganda
This project began with an assessment of the needs of children, their families, and community-based organisations (CBOs) in communities affected by HIV/AIDS. This research was conducted in Kenya and Uganda, introducing child-centred participatory research methods, to help adult researchers to listen to and learn from children. The research revealed a range of risks to children's development in these communities. It showed how deeply children are affected – psychologically, economically and socially – by the impact of HIV/AIDS on their lives.
See also:
- Muslim Women and Development Action Research Project - Africa and Middle East
- Information and Communication Technologies for Sharing of Agriculture Information in Rural India
Which of these early childhood development goals is most important in your context:
- Reducing children's exposure to violence
- Quality early learning, at scale - Improved physical environment
- Other (please add comments)
This issue of The Drum Beat was written by Kier Olsen DeVries.
The Editor of The Drum Beat is Kier Olsen DeVries.
Please send material for The Drum Beat to The CI's Editorial Director - Deborah Heimann dheimann@comminit.com
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African Policy on Disability and Development (A-PODD)
This is a three-year research project that aims to investigate research evidence that informed the inclusion of disability in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) in four African countries; i.e. Malawi, Uganda, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone. Key stakeholders, such as disabled people's organizations, government departments, the donor community,and civil society organizations, participated in various forms of the data collection process. The project comes to an end in November 2011, after which, some of the findings will be published.
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