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The report, written for an Arid Lands Workshop, very briefly discusses the main issues in SWC in sub-Saharan Africa. A list of "do's" for participatory soil and water conservation are then briefly discussed, which are mostly to do with the organisational side of SWC, rather than the technical. A short analysis is made of the character of Oxfam-funded SWC projects which concludes that the Oxfam projects are innovative and successful at getting the local population involved when compared to other such projects in the area. Four short case studies, from Burkina Faso, Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, end the report.

This extract discusses ways in which outsiders can change the ways they learn about rural conditions. These include improving development tourism and using RRA techniques. The principles and methods underlying reversals in learning are examined, including sitting, asking, listening; learning from the poorest, learning indigenous technical knowledge through compiling glossaries of local terms and employing games, quantification and ranking methods. Learning can be supported by the way organisations are managed, so reversals in management are important. Styles of communication, staff transfer policies and practice, and enabling and empowering poor clients are discussed. The final section emphasises the primacy of personal action in changing practices in rural development.

This paper discusses two related questions: Are research results usable? Are the data actually used in decision-making? Both are determined by the researcher's choice of research methodology. The links between choice of research methodology and the application of results is discussed through a simple conceptual model. A satisfactory link requires a decision to allocate part of research capacity to the evaluation of previous research. To demonstrate the difficulties involved in rigorous analysis, a case study of ten years of research for agricultural development in three East African countries (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania) is reviewed. Deficiencies in agricultural planning and in applied research for agricultural development are discussed in detail. The causes of ineffective applied research are viewed as lying in scientific culture. An example of applied research with implemented solutions is given, emphasising the benefits of participant research and management procedures for planning.

This paper presents an overview of the work of MYRADA, an NGO in South India. Its origins and major programmes are described. Relations with the government are of prime importance in the key areas of its work, and are discussed in detail. The adoption and use of PRA by MYRADA is described, and the key principles (behaviours and attitudes, sharing and methods) are discussed. Successes in applying and spreading PRA are noted, with the main caveat that more work needs to be done to change attitudes and behaviour among government staffs and to sensitise them to the potential of PRA methods.