What is required to attempt PAPD with communities at
village level?
Very few materials are required to conduct PAPD. It may be necessary to take large
flip charts and pens together with notebooks for the facilitators and a community
volunteer to record the discussions. A digital camera would be very useful to record
any maps and tables generated by the discussion. However, the intention is to focus
on discussion rather than the written word, especially if literacy is low.
The most important requirements are: 1) a well prepared team of 2-3 facilitators; 2) a
suitable venue where discussion can take place comfortably (a school or community
building etc.) and; 3) an enthusiastic and representative group of local stakeholders
willing to donate their time.
The following section discusses the six stages of PAPD in detail. The guidelines are
based on the experiences of Practical Action and other organisations in using PAPD
within projects at community level. It is important to understand the principle and
purpose of each stage in working towards consensus and viable plans, However, the
size of the groups, the length of each stage and the type of meetings can be modified
according to the purpose of PAPD (see Adapting the PAPD approach).
5