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SFB 564: A1.3 - Potential and constraints of participatory research approaches: Potential and constraints of participatory research approaches for sustainable development in mountainous regions of Southeast Asia: Addressing issues of scale
Project
Project code: DFG SFB 564
Contract period: 01.07.2006
- 30.06.2009
Purpose of research: Basic research
In this overarching subproject the potential and limits of participatory research approaches are investigated. Institutional arrangements that are conducive to integrating local stakeholders (female and male farmers, extension services, state agencies and NGOs) into the research process are developed and tested. Research focuses on the question which form and intensity of participation in which phases of the research process in different disciplines are feasible and beneficial. An analytical framework developed during the first phase has been applied for comparative assessment of subprojects in the SFB 564 with regard to participatory elements in the research process. It has also successfully been tested in other research programs and is now available for wider application in the analysis of participation in agricultural and environmental research programs.
The analysis of the wider social, cultural and institutional context for participatory approaches in research and extension organizations was another focus of the second phase. The case of Vietnam, in particular, has shown how strongly the institutionalization of these approaches is determined by international donors and projects, but also how these are transformed in the specific national, regional and local context.
Research in the second phase has placed strong emphasis on a more systematic collection, validation and integration of local knowledge in the research process. It has been proven that blending local and scientific knowledge cannot only improve the quality of research, but also open up new research trajectories in an innovative and cost-effective manner.
Based on the experience with participatory approaches at the local level and the analysis of participation as an institutional innovation process in research and extension organizations during phases 1 and 2 of subproject A1, research in A1.3 will determine the prerequisites for successfully scaling up and out participatory approaches in the field of recording and validation of local knowledge, participatory technology development and the adaptation, dissemination and use of technical and institutional innovations in the study areas of northern Thailand and northern Vietnam. The question is how to combine the intensity and quality of micro-scale participatory approaches with the need for (1) scaling up to reach higher levels of decision-making (political dimension) and address wider regional problems (geographical dimension) and (2) scaling out to reach a higher number of farmers and other potential beneficiaries and to link research with extension services and private sector initiatives.
Section overview
Subjects
- Agricultural Sociology
