PRA Tools

Praxis-Institute for Participatory Practices

Srijan
! ! ! ! ! ! PRA Tools
Social Map
Resource Map
Mobility Map
Time Lines
Seasonal diagrams
Daily Activity Schedule
Cause - and effect Diagram
WEll being analysis
 Social /Resource map
Steps in Social/Resource Mapping
Consult with community members, and determine a
convenient time and location to conduct the
exercise.

Explain the purpose of the social map to the

participants.

Request participants to draw the prominent physical

features of a locality.

Listen to the discussions carefully and take detailed

notes of the proceedings.

Create an environment where participants take

 Social/Resource map
Steps…..
If you require clarification, wait for the appropriate
moment, and be careful not to interrupt the process.

Once the mapping is complete, make sure you number

the households, and ask people to identify their home.

If you require specific information, according to the

purpose of the study, ask participants to depict the
information that you are interested in. For instance,
you may be interested in household-specific details,
such as caste composition, number of school-age
children, etc.
 Social /Resource map
Meticulously copy the map onto a large sheet of
paper, making sure to include all details that
the community has noted down. Be sure to
include

- Title of the exercise

- Names of the participants
- Characteristics of participants (socio-economic
background, gender, occupation, etc.)
- Location (i.e. locality name)
- Names of the facilitators
- Legends and symbols necessary to interpret the
output
Social /Resource map
 Social Map of a village in
Orissa
Mapping
tools

PRAXIS - Institute for Participatory Practices

Mapping-
Resource
map (Forests)

(Forests)

PRAXIS - Institute for Participatory Practices

Time Lines
The Time Line exercise provides an ideal opportunity to
capture the chronology of events in an individual or
community’s history. This tool can serve as an
effective rapport builder.
Objectives
Learn about important events in the community's past from the
community members
Understand the community’s historical perspective on current
realities
Generate a discussion about how different aspects of their lives
have transformed over time; i.e. education, health, food security,
gender relations, etc
Time Line
Process.......
Identify a few elderly members of the village, who are willing to speak
candidly about the history of the village. Determine a convenient
meeting time and place, and explain to them the purpose of the
exercise.
Begin a discussion on the history of the village. Some initial
questions may include:
Q) When was the village established?
Q) What are the important events in the history of the village?
Q) What are some of the major changes that have taken place?
Go over the events in the order that the community has placed them in,
from top to bottom. Ensure that they are satisfied with the
chronology, and that the participants have made all the
modifications that they see fit.
Time line
Process.....

Add dates to the left side of the events listed. If it becomes

difficult to reach a consensus about the date of a particular
event, or if community members have forgotten when
something took place, ask about the event’s time period in the
context of other important moments.
Encourage the participants to reflect upon these events. You could
ask questions to solicit their further insights, such as “What
changes have taken place”” and ‘What are the reasons for those
changes?”
Document the names of participants, facilitators, location details,
dates, legends, etc.  Triangulate the collected information with
other elderly members of the community.
 Samara village, Raipur, CGR

Time Line Feb. 1, 2004

1905 The first inhabitants of Samara (5 families) arrived and settled

in the village after a severe drought hit all over the state
1932 A primary school was set up in the district
1942 An epidemic (Cholera) killed 12 people in the village
1947 Celebrations of independence
1955 The zamindaar (feudal landlord) of Samara left the village
1964 The first time a local villager passed the matriculation exam.;
a primary health centre was set up in the village
1972 Land-survey was carried out by the government
1978 The village was electrified
1981 A tube-well was installed in the village
1988 The village was selected for an agricultural support project
1994 The first police case registered in the village, following a land-
dispute between two villagers
2001 The first time a woman (Ganga Devi) was elected as the head of
panchayat

Acknowledgements: Budhan Sah, Ismail, Rameshwar, Hiralal, Nanak Sah

Seasonal Diagram

A seasonal diagram is used to understand

changes in livelihood conditions, income
availability, diseases, expenditure, and
other entitlements of the poor, across
different periods of the year.
Seasonal Diagram
Process

Explain the objective of the exercise to the participant

Inquire about the work that the participants are involved with at
the moment. Ask them to identify other relevant months or
time periods in the year.
For each identified month or period of time, ask the participants to
identify a unique characteristic of that period.
Draw a grid with chalk on the floor. In the grid, draw at least 13
columns and as many rows as the number of items to be
studied. Place the month cards along with their symbol in the
top horizontal boxes in chronological order. On the vertical
axis, add the activities whose seasonal variations will be
explored.
Seasonal Diagram
Process.......
Ask the participants to show the period(s) of time during which the activity
is taking place. Ask them to represent the magnitude of the activity
using different numbers of seeds or sticks of different sizes. For
example, if you are interested in identifying the availability of wage
labour during various months, seeds can be used to indicate the number
of days during which they can earn wages. Similarly, sticks of
different sizes can be used to indicate the quantity of rainfall during
the month.
Go through the analysis with each indicator during each time period.
Asking probing questions may be helpful in developing new insights and
in-depth understanding. It brings new facts and relationships to light,
which the community may not be aware of at a conscious level.
Copy the diagram on a piece of paper with details of the participants,
facilitators, locality, and date.
Seasonal Diagram
Output
Seasonal Analysis of Poor Farmers
Village: Bhangaon, Noamundi 21 June’06

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Drinking 10 10 8 2 2 9 10 10 10 10 10 10
water
crisis

Availabilit 10 10 9 8 7 6 0 0 0 0 0 5
y
of food
Grains
Necessity 5 5 5 5 10 8 8 7 6 5 4 5
Of loan

Occurrenc 5 5 5 10 9 8 5 10 10 9 8 7
e
Of
Diseases
Migration 0 10 9 9 0 0 0 0 5 8 0 0
Income 10 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
From Ag.

Participants: Facilitators: RK Pandey & Srijan

Daily Activity Schedule
The Daily Activity Schedule is a popular PRA method
used to explore the activities of an individual, group or
community, on a daily basis.

" It depicts various activities that individuals or groups

are involved in, along with the duration of those
activities.

" The basis of temporal analysis is hours or periods of the

day.
Daily Activity Schedule
Explain the objectives of the exercise to the participants.
Try to keep the group homogenous and relatively
small.
Initiate a discussion about the activities that they
perform in a normal day. Ask them to list the tasks or
activities they perform from the time they wake up
until the time they go to bed.
Ask them to either write or preferably depict the activities
by using visuals or symbols, and ask them to
organize the activities in such a way that it indicates
the duration of the activities.
Daily Activity Schedule
Steps…….
Discuss the emerging details with the participants. The key
points for discussion may include: which activities they
enjoy, how they feel they utilize time, etc.
Keep a record of the proceedings and make a note of the
points that emerge during the discussions.
Copy the diagram on a piece of paper with details of the
participants, facilitators, locality, and date.

" Thank the participants for their time and cooperation.

Daily Activity Schedule
Daily Activity Schedule
Applications......
Enhance people's understanding of who does what, when
and for how long.
Finalize timing of interventions and activities
organized in the village, e.g., training classes, literacy
classes, non-formal education, etc. for the target group
based on their convenience and availability of leisure.
Compare differences between men, women, children's
daily schedule (e.g. gender differences in workload).
Evaluate time allocations given to productive activities,
household management, rest, etc.
Evaluate seasonal variations in workload.
Cause & Effect Diagram

A Cause-Effect diagram falls under the

broad category of flow and linkage
diagram methods. Also known as a
Fishbone or Ishikawa diagram, it focuses
on the causal factors of a phenomenon,
activity, or problem, and the resulting
effects. 
Cause & Effect Diagram
Process.......
Introduce the topic to the participants and explain
the purpose of the exercise.
Ask the participants to describe the causes behind
the phenomenon that is being investigated.
Once the causes have been sufficiently explored,
move on to discussing the related effects.
Request the participants to visually portray the
indicated causes and effects on cards.
Place the causes on one side of the paper and the
effects on the other side.
Cause & Effect Diagram
Process.......
Ask the participants to link the cards with chalk to
illustrate their linkages and connectivity.
Once the diagram is ready, ask the participants to make
any required alterations. Note down the diagram on a
sheet of paper with details.
Ask the participants to explain the diagram to others in
the community. Later, ask them to discuss the
diagram and come up with their own findings and
reflections.
Triangulate the diagram with others in the village.
Cause & Effect Diagram
Application

Cause-effect diagrams have been used to study and

analyze a wide range of issues including illiteracy,
alcoholism, the status of women, migration, drought,
food insecurity, ill-health, etc.
" This method is often utilized to plan interventions
that directly address the root causes of issues.
Force field analysis

Force-field analysis is a technique

used to identify and analyze the
positive and negative forces
affecting a problem.
Force field analysis
Process.....
Indicate the topic of discussion on a sheet of paper.
Ask them to visualise the two sets of opposing forces - one
favouring change (driving forces) and the other
opposing them (restraining forces).
Different colour cards can be used for driving and
restraining forces.
Draw a line through the centre of the paper. Spread the
cards with restraining forces below the line and those
with driving forces above the line
Force field analysis
Process.....
Request the participants to assign weights to each of the forces. They
should position each force card at varying distances from the
problem-line/present status line in such a way that the distance
denotes the 'strength' of the force. The greater the distance, the
greater effect that particular force has on the problem.
Check if they are satisfied with the diagram, then ask them to
discuss how they can change the situation. Which of the driving
forces can be reinforced and which restraining forces can be
diminished?
Smaller cards, preferably of different colours, can be used to write
down possible interventions for each of the driving/restricting
forces so as to increase/reduce its magnitude. Each of the possible
interventions can be further weighed in light of various factors
e.g. resources available, time, ideology of the organisation etc.
Copy the diagram onto a piece of paper with all the details.
Force field analysis
Application.....

" It has been used in diverse

contexts, including
organizational change and self-
development.
 Well-Being Ranking method
Well-being maps are maps that show relative well-being in
different households in the community.
Well-being maps are useful to understand different people's
views of well-being and problems. For example, what is well-
being? What are the problems that most affect people's well-
being?
Explore the reasons that people or households experience well-
being or ill-being
Identify areas or households where there are many problems –
for example, this can help target community action
Explore strategies that people use to improve their well-being.
 Well-Being Ranking method
Process......
Explain the purpose of the tool to participants and ask them to
draw a map of their community showing all of the individual
households.
Ask participants to number each of the households on the map
– for example, if there are 50 households, ask them to number
them from 1 to 50.
Make a card for each numbered household and ask
participants to sort these cards into five categories, category
one being those households experiencing relative well-being
and category five being those households who are experiencing
most relative ill-being. Categories two, three and four will
show households which fall in-between those worst and least
well-being.
 Well-Being Ranking method
Process......
For each category, ask participants to think about what makes
some households experiencing more well- being than others. What
makes some households experience more ill-being or well-being
than others? These may be social, economic or environmental
factors.
List these reasons under each category.
Return to the map and indicate on it whether each household is in
category one, two, three, four or five, and discuss what is shown on
the map.
Ask participants to identify which are the worst-off households
and what kind of assistance they need to experience more well-
being?
Well-Being Ranking method
Well-Being
Ranking
method
Pair- Wise Ranking method
This tool uses a matrix to compare and
prioritize different options. This
method is used to find out the people’s
preference.
Compare and rank similar options in
order to make choices
Sort information gained during an
assessment
Pair- Wise Ranking method
Steps....
Discuss the subject to be explored – for example, ‘What
different activities can support orphans and vulnerable
children in the community?’
Agree on the options or choices to be compared.
A list of six to eight options works well for this tool. If there
are more than eight options on the list, encourage the
participants to remove some options.
Draw or write each option on two separate cards. Divide the
cards into two separate (identical) sets.
Place one set of cards in a line, from bottom to top. Place a
blank card at the top of the list.
Place the second set of cards in a line from left to right next
to the blank card. See example at end.
Pair- Wise Ranking method
Steps....
Cross out all the matrix squares that have the same pair of options
in both of the rows. Half of the other boxes on the bottom will also
be crossed out because they repeat what’s on the top. See example
below.
Compare the first option at the top of the left-hand column with the
first option of the top row. Encourage participants to discuss
which option they would choose. Draw or write the chosen option in
the box on the matrix.
Continue this process by working along the first row from left to
right. Then work along the other rows until all of the options have
been compared.
At this point, all the boxes in the matrix that were not crossed out
should now be filled in (excluding the top row and left-hand
column).
Pair- Wise Ranking method
Steps....
Count the number of times each option
appears in the matrix and add these up.
Rank the options in order according to
how many times they appear. The
option chosen the most number of times
will be ranked first.
Discuss the results of the activity.
Discuss how to use the information.
Pair- Wise Ranking method
Facilitator’s Note.........

Pair-wise ranking is often used after

techniques such as mapping.
The discussion people have about why
they choose one option over another is
just as important as the result.
Reasons why people choose one option
over another should be recorded.
Evaluation wheel
An evaluation wheel shows proportions by
using a picture of a wheel – for example, it
can show the extent to which different
services meet the needs of people
discuss what has been done
discuss ideas about what should be done
identify which needs are met and which needs are not met
show progress made towards objectives
compare an actual situation with a potential situation – for
example, how much people actually know about how to
prevent diseases compared to how much they would like to
know.
Evaluation wheel
Steps........
Discuss the items or issues to be evaluated – for example, the extent
to which available services meet the needs.
Draw a large circle. Divide this circle into sections according to the
number of items or issues to be evaluated
Label each section of the wheel.
For each issue or item, shade in the section of the wheel to show how
much has been done. Start shading at the centre of the wheel and
move outwards. If something is fully done or a need is fully met,
shade in the whole section. The unshaded area shows how much has
not been done, or how much the need is not being met.
Discuss the results of the activity and what they mean. Discuss how
to use the information.
Evaluation wheel
Facilitator’s Note...

The sections of the wheel can be of equal size.

Alternatively, the sections can be used to show
how important each piece of information is by
being different sizes .
Different people in the community may have very
different views about the size of the unshaded
sections. That is OK; draw several evaluation
wheels and find out why people’s views are
different.
All
The
Best
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