Resources

This guide summarises some of the most rigorous available evidence on the key debates and challenges of disability inclusion in development and humanitarian response. GSDRC Topic Guides aim to provide a clear, concise and objective report on findings from rigorous research on critical areas of development policy. Their purpose is to inform policymakers and practitioners of the key debates and evidence on the topic of focus, to support informed decision-making.  

With roots in approaches to popular education and participatory action research that place the learner and the ‘beneficiary’ of development at the centre of enquiry and action, the participatory visualisation methods associated with Participatory Rural Appraisal have been widely used as tools for learning and accountability. In this article, the author reflects on lessons learnt from using these methods in a participatory process evaluation of an educational programme aimed at addressing chronic malnutrition in an East African country. Building on this experience, she explores the educative and empowering dimensions of participatory visualisation methods, and considers the contribution that these methods can make to effective evaluation.

This article explores the characteristics of systemic action research.  It looks at the conceptual underpinnings of systemic action research and explores some of the ways in which it differs from (builds on) other forms of action research.  It then explores some of the issues and dilemmas faced by systemic action researchers.

Women the world over are being prevented from engaging in politics. Women’s political leadership of any sort is a rarity and a career in politics rarer still. We have, however, begun to understand what it takes to create an enabling environment for women’s political participation.

In this pioneering collection, writers from Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East are brought together for the first time to talk explicitly about women’s participation in the political scene across the global South. Answering such questions as how women can get political apprenticeship opportunities, how these opportunities translate into the pursuit of a political career, and how these pursuits then influence the kind of political platform women advocate once in power, Women in Politics is essential reading for anyone interested in what it means to engage politically.

The Participate initiative involves 18 organisations, who work with diverse marginalised people in over 30 countries, coming together to make their voices count on development policy.  This anthology is an account of the activities carried out by the Participatory Research Group (PRG) within the Participate initiative between 2012 and 2014, and also a reflection on the methods and processes created and utilised during that time.  It aims to share the insights and lessons learnt to help promote thought and discussion about how to use participatory approaches to influence policy at a variety of levels.  These experiences include: applying, adapting and innovating participatory methods to promote the voices of participants in all stages of the research process; creating opportunities and spaces for including the perspectives articulated through the research where possible in the policymaking processes; and embedding participatory approaches in local-to global policymaking processes.

This website about transformative creative and visual storytelling methods comprises an online handbook along with a forum for conceptual reflections, practical experiences, and methodological guidance. It offers supporting resources and case studies as well as a regular blog.

This reader aims to inform, motivate and strengthen the practice of participatory action research. In the 21st century there is a growing demand to channel collective energy towards justice and equity in health, and to better understand the social processes that influence health and health systems. Communities, frontline health workers and other grass-roots actors play a key role in responding to this demand, in raising critical questions, building new knowledge and provoking and carrying out action to transform health systems and improve health.  This reader promotes understanding of the term ‘participatory action research’ (PAR) and provides information on its paradigms, methods, application and use, particularly in health policy and systems.  It seeks to explain:

• key features of participatory action research and the history and knowledge paradigms that inform it;

• processes and methods used in participatory action research, including innovations and developments in the field and the ethical and methods issues in implementing it; and

• communication, reporting, institutionalization and use of participatory action research in health systems.

As a tool to support understanding and learning, the reader uses explanatory text backed by references and resources. It includes examples of participatory action research across high, medium and low income settings and across all regions globally. It provides a selection of readings on the subject (in Part five).