Part One:
Participatory Evaluation: An Overview

Evolution of the Participatory Approach
The emergence of what has become known as the participatory evaluation approach reflects much wider experimentation in development that has been taking place in various parts of the world since the 1970s. It has primarily involved development practitioners and social researchers in a wide variety of fields, e.g., adult education, sociology, rural development, agriculture and applied research. Only now has it entered the policy-making spheres of large development agencies.

What is increasingly being called participatory development began for some with the critical analysis of society and the inequities it generates, leaving the poor voiceless and dominated. For others, participatory development is less ideological or philosophical: it started with the exploration of more responsive techniques and approaches at the grass-roots level, involving the poor, project stakeholders and beneficiaries. For those involved specifically with evaluation, there has been a growing dissatisfaction with conventional modes of assessment that claim to be scientifically neutral and unbiased yet have had very little impact on how development activities are carried out.

The following pioneers or schools of thought have contributed to the emerging field of participatory development and, more specifically, to participatory evaluation.

Participatory Action Research
Participatory action research (PAR) has its origins in the work of social scientists from developing countries who have been experimenting with PAR over the past 20 years. Influenced by such authors as Paulo Freire, Orlando Fals-Borda and Mohammad Anisur Rahman, the "basic ideology of PAR is that self-conscious people, those who are currently poor and oppressed, will progressively transform their environment by their own praxis. In this process others may play a catalytic and supportive role but will not dominate" (Fals-Borda, 1991:13). Along similar lines, Paulo Freire, in his book Pedagogy of the Oppressed, outlines an educational philosophy that actively involves the poor in critically analysing their social situation, thus creating the potential for them to transform their environment. Once considered radical, the work of these authors is gaining increasing prominence and is credited with critically challenging mainstream thinking and influencing the development of participatory development.

Rapid Rural Appraisal and Participatory Learning and Action
Rapid rural appraisal (RRA) first emerged in the late 1970s, spearheaded by Robert Chambers at the University of Sussex, England, in response to lengthy assessment methods used in development. RRA enables donors to seek information and insight quickly from local people about local conditions. Over time, RRA sought to be less extractive and more participatory in the collection of information by involving local people in data-gathering and analysis through the use of popular education methods, such as mapping; transect walks; scoring and ranking with seeds, stones or sticks; and institutional diagramming. As the emphasis shifted from collecting data quickly to the involvement of end-users and learning from the experience, RRA became known as participatory learning and action (PLA). PLA activities have been undertaken in over 130 countries by development practitioners, NGOs and donors.

Farming Systems Research
Research in this field emerged in the 1970s, mainly in response to concerns about the skewed benefits of the Green Revolution. In contrast to research station experiments, which were difficult to replicate in the field, systems research supported farmer-managed trials in which rural people selected alternatives for experimentation and implementation. It recognized the breadth of knowledge farmers had of their own interrelated systems of
production and livelihood and supported experiments conducted by
the farmers.

Self-Evaluation and Beneficiary Assessments
The term "self-evaluation" is most often used to describe a process of permanent, internal evaluation involving staff at all levels or beneficiaries with a view to generating information that can inform decision-making. NGOs, such as World Neighbors, academics and donors have been experimenting with the concepts of self-evaluation and beneficiary assessment. As a result of its experiences with beneficiary assessments, the World Bank views them as essential to building programmes that are responsive and relevant to recipients of Bank loans, providing Bank managers with the tools to improve the quality of development operations.

As mentioned previously, all of these approaches and schools of thought have influenced the emerging field of participatory development.