Participatory Learning and Action

Keep up to date with the latest participation news from Participatory Learning and Action – the world's leading informal journal on participatory methods and approaches.

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Themes: 
Participation

About PLA

Latest issues now online!

pla coverPLA 64: Young citizens: youth and participatory governance in Africa
Guest editors: Rosemary McGee and Jessica Greenhalf

All over the world we are seeing exciting experiments in participatory governance. But are they working for the young? What spaces are most promising for the participation of children and young people in governance?

Across Africa youth (particularly boys and young men) are often seen as a ‘lost generation’: frustrated, excluded and marginalised from decision-making processes.

But contributors to this special issue demonstrate how this is changing.

This issue of PLA highlights how young Africans are driving change in creative and unexpected ways, challenging the norms and structures that exclude them by engaging with the state and demanding accountability. This issue will enable other participatory practitioners – young and old – to learn from their experiences.

Come to the launch:

Tuesday 13th December 2011, 3.00pm – 6.00pm (lunch from 2.00pm)

International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED),
80-86 Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1X 8NH, UK

RSVP: holly.ashley@iied.org

See also:

For more information or to receive the press release contact:
holly.ashley@iied.org

Recent issues:

PLA 63: How wide are the ripples? From local participation to international organisational learning
When a pebble is thrown in the water it creates ripples. But just as ripples fade, the strong local impact of good quality participatory processes also weakens as it gets further away from the original context. But what about the insights and analysis, evidence and stories that were generated and documented? How can they inform good development policy and planning?

This issue shares reflections and experiences of bringing grassroots knowledge from participatory processes to bear at international level.

PLA 62: Wagging the dragon's tail: emerging practices in participatory poverty reduction in China
China is experiencing significant shifts in its traditional government-led development. It is the citizens who are ‘wagging the dragon’s tail’ – and in positive and empowering ways. Participatory approaches and changing relationships between the state and citizens are at the heart of these transformations.

This issue looks at the interface between government and communities – and how participation is becoming key to reducing poverty, improving livelihoods, sustaining the environment, maintaining China’s rich cultural and ethnic diversity and ensuring good governance.

See also: All downloadable back issues
 

About Participatory Learning and Action

‘Participatory Learning and Action is a wonderful source of practical ideas and experience about participatory learning, action, approaches and methods. It manages brilliantly to be at once serious, critical, readable, practical and accessible. For participation, I know of no other periodical in the world to touch it.'
Robert Chambers, Institute of Development Studies, Sussex, UK

Aimed at newcomers and experienced practitioners alike, Participatory Learning and Action is the world's leading series on participatory learning and action approaches and methods.

PLA is a vital resource for those working to enhance the participation of ordinary people in local, regional, national and international decision-making. It provides a forum for all those engaged in participatory work – community workers, activists and researchers – to share their experiences, conceptual reflections and methodological innovations with others.

Many issues of PLA are based around a particular theme. The PLA co-editors work with guest editors who are particularly knowledgeable about the theme. Guest editors provide up-to-the minute accounts of the development and use of participatory methods in specific fields. This means that our readers benefits from their expertise.

PLA is published twice a year and available by subscription.The series is an informal peer-reviewed journal and has over 50 international editorial advisory board members. Each member is an experienced participatory development practitioner.

We seek to publish frank accounts, address issues of practical and immediate value, encourage innovation and act as a ‘voice from the field’. We particularly welcome contributions from practitioners in the South.

Team and contacts

For more information about the Participatory Learning and Action series or to discuss possible contributions and marketing opportunities, please contact:

The Editors
Participatory Learning and Action
International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
80-86 Gray’s Inn Road, London, WC1X 8NH, UK.
Tel: +44 (0)20 3463 7399
Fax: +44 (0)20 3514 9055
Email: pla.notes@iied.org
 

Editorial board

Co-editors: Holly Ashley, Nicole Kenton and Angela Milligan.

Strategic Editorial Board: Nazneen Kanji, Jethro Pettit, Michel Pimbert, Krystyna Swiderska and David Satterthwaite.

International Editorial Advisory Board: Oga Steve Abah, Jo Abbot, Jordi Surkin Beneria, L. David Brown, Andy  Catley, Robert Chambers, Louise Chawla, Andrea Cornwall, Bhola Dahal, Qasim Deiri, John Devavaram, Charlotte Flower, FORCE Nepal, Ian Goldman, Bara Guèye, Irene Guijt, Marcia Hills, Enamul Huda, Vicky Johnson, Caren Levy, Sarah Levy, Zhang Linyang, PJ Lolichen, Ilya M. Moeliono, Humera Malik, Marjorie Jane Mbilinyi, Ali Mokhtar, Seyed Babak Moosavi, Trilok Neupane, Esse Nilsson, Zakariya Odeh, Peter Park, Bardolf Paul, Bimal Kumar Phnuyal, Giacomo Rambaldi, Peter Reason, Joel Rocamora, Jayatissa Samaranayake, Madhu Sarin, Daniel Selener, Meera Kaul Shah, Jasber Singh, Marja Liisa Swantz, Cecilia Tacoli, Peter Taylor, Tom Wakeford, Eliud Wakwabubi and Alice Welbourn.

Spread the word

PLA is published using a Creative Commons license – please share our material widely (for not-for-profit purposes only). Please credit the authors and the PLA series.

About IIED

The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) is committed to promoting social justice and the empowerment of the poor and marginalised. It also supports democracy and full participation in decision-making and governance. We strive to reflect these values in Participatory Learning and Action. For further information contact: IIED, 80-86 Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1X 8NH, UK. Website: www.iied.org

The PLA team are grateful to the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the UK Department for International Development (DfID), Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) and Irish Aid for their continued financial support of PLA.

 

How to contribute

How to contribute to PLA

Are you a participatory practitioner and want to share your learning and experience with others? Are you looking for practical tips on how to write an article?

The principal aim of the Participatory Learning and Action series is to share current experiences, critical reflections and methodological innovations among participatory development practitioners. We aim to keep the series informal to enable the rapid sharing of practical experience with a wide network of practitioners.

We particularly welcome contributions from practitioners in the South and can offer editorial support and advice to potential authors. If you have an idea for an article, and would like to know if it is suitable, please contact the Editors.
 

Types of material accepted

  • Journal articles: max. 2500 words plus illustrations – see below for guidelines.
  • Tips for trainers: training exercises, tips on running workshops, reflections on behaviour and attitudes in training, etc. Max. 1000 words.
  • In Touch: short pieces on forthcoming workshops and events, publications, CD-ROMS, DVDs and online resources.


Practical advice for writers

The PLA team have recently developed a handbook for authors. It provides advice on writing an article for the PLA series and includes many practical examples from PLA back issues, including:

  • How to make your article interesting, engaging, relevant and readable.
  • How to decide on your objectives and key messages so that your article stays focused.
  • How to structure your article and make it flow well.
  • What to expect from our editorial and peer-review process.

The first draft of the handbook is now free to download on the PLA website – we hope that you will find it useful and welcome your feedback!
 

What sort of material do we publish?

Participatory Learning and Action was first published in 1988 – and since then, the series has reflected the growth and development in thinking and experience around the use of participatory approaches to development.

First and foremost, PLA provides a forum for sharing learning and debate about good participatory practice. PLA aims to share experiences that will help practitioners facilitate high-quality participatory processes and ultimately strengthen the voices of often-excluded and unheard groups – helping them to shape their own development, increase their voice and influence in decisions that affect them, and hold government and others to account.

  • Think about the quality of the methods and process of participation used.
  • Analyse the limitations as well as the successes of the approaches you describe.
  • Give more importance to issues of power in the process and the impact of participation. Who sets the agenda for participatory practice?
  • Critical analysis helps to further develop our collective thinking around participatory learning and action.

In addition, we are interested in hearing about the use of participatory approaches at regional and national levels, as well as at local levels, and in different arenas, for example in policy making.

We particularly look for articles with one or more of the following elements:

  • an innovative angle on participatory approaches and their use
  • critical reflections on lessons learnt from the author's experiences
  • an attempt to develop new methods, or innovative adaptations of existing ones
  • reflections on processes involved in participatory approaches
  • assessing the impacts of participatory processes
  • potentials and limitations of scaling up and institutionalising participatory approaches
  • potentials and limitations of participatory policy-making processes

Articles should, if possible, be co-authored by all those involved in the research or development project. This ensures that everyone's contribution to the development process is fully valued and acknowledged. See the handbook for more advice on co-authoring.
 

Language and style

Our readership covers many different disciplines, countries and educational backgrounds, and English is not the first language of many readers. For this reason, please try to use a clear and accessible style:

  • Keep sentences short and simple
  • Avoid jargon, theoretical terminology and overly academic language
  • Explain any specialist terms that you do use and spell out acronyms in full
  • Use the active voice: 'we did' rather than 'it was done'.
  • PLA is an informal journal. Keep references to a minimum – use enough to support your arguments and to acknowledge other people’s work.

For more details, download our handbook for more tips and advice on audience, language and style.
 

Photos and visuals

  • Visuals include photos, diagrams, maps, tables, figures and cartoons.
  • Please send us photos as separate JPGs. Please do not embed in Word documents!
  • Note in the article where visuals should be placed, e.g. Photo 1 here.
  • All photos need to credit the photographer and have a short caption (max. 20 words)
  • Make sure that photos are large enough to ensure print quality. As a rough guide, photos should be a minimum of 150kb.

Submitting your article

Please email us your article – or simply send us an outline for an article you are thinking of writing. Articles can also be sent by disk. Handwritten articles can be sent by post – see below for details.

Once received, your article will be reviewed by at least two members of our Editorial Advisory Board. If we feel that the article has potential but needs some revision, we will write back to you explaining the kinds of revisions we think are needed.

We then wait for your response, after which the second draft is circulated to the Editorial Board. Further revisions are sometimes needed, but are always undertaken in consultation with authors.

We aim to respond to your initial contribution within 3 months, but due to the travelling commitments of the Editorial Team this is not always possible. Please note that only once the final draft has been seen and approved will we confirm whether the article has been accepted.
For more information about the Participatory Learning and Action series or to discuss possible contributions and marketing opportunities, please get in touch.
 

Contacting the editors

The Editors

Participatory Learning and Action
International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
80-86 Gray’s Inn Road, London, WC1X 8NH, UK.
Tel: +44 (0)20 3463 7399
Fax: +44 (0)20 3514 9055
Email: pla.notes@iied.org
 

Downloads

Download PLA

Aimed at newcomers and experienced practitioners alike, Participatory Learning and Action is the world's leading series on participatory learning and action approaches and methods. Our themed issues bring you the latest news on specific fields. Subscribe and keep up to date!
 

Search our full back issue list

Click on the links below to download whole issues – or to download individual articles

  • Looking for a specific article title or author? Search our online database

Full back issue list

Now in its 24th year, PLA is published using a Creative Commons license – please download, use and share widely our material widely (for not-for-profit purposes only). Please credit the authors and the PLA series.

63: How wide are the ripples? From local participation to international organisational learning
IIED, September 2011. 192 pp.
Guest-editors: Hannah Beardon and Kate Newman

62: Wagging the dragon's tail: emerging practices in participatory poverty reduction in China
IIED, August 2011. 216 pp.
Guest editors: Johanna Pennarz, Song Haokun, Deng Weijie and Wang Jianping

61: Tales of shit: Community-Led Total Sanitation in Africa
IIED, October 2010. 244 pp.
Guest editors: Petra Bongartz, Samuel Musembi Musyoki, Angela Milligan and Holly Ashley
Also available in French (online only) and in French/English on DVD

60: Community-based adaptation to climate change
IIED, December 2009, 244 pp.
Guest editors: Hannah Reid, Mozaharul Alam , Rachel Berger, Terry Cannon, Saleemul Huq , and Angela Milligan
Also available in Arabic (online only)

59: Change at hand: Web 2.0 for development
IIED and CTA, June 2009, 144 pp.
Guest editors: Holly Ashley, Jon Corbett, Ben Garside and Giacomo Rambaldi
Also available in French/English on DVD

58: Towards empowered participation: stories and reflections
IIED, June 2008, 152 pp.
Guest-edited by Tom Wakeford and Jasber Singh

57: Immersions: learning about poverty face-to-face
IIED, December 2007. 164 pp.
Guest editors: Izzy Birch and Raffaella Catani

56: General issue
IIED, June 2007, 72 pp.
Editors: Holly Ashley, Nicole Kenton and Angela Milligan

55: Practical tools for community conservation in southern Africa
IIED, December 2006, 144 pp.
Guest editors: Brian Child, Brian Jones

54: Mapping for change: practice, technologies and communication
IIED and CTA, April 2006, 152 pp.
Guest editors: Giacomo Rambaldi; Jon Corbett; Michael K. McCall; Rachel Olson; Julius Muchemi; Peter Kwaku Kyem; Daniel Weiner; with Robert Chambers
Also available on CD-ROM and online (multilingual)

53: Tools for influencing power and policy
IIED, December 2005, 96 pp.
Guest editor: Sonja Vermeulen

52: General issue
IIED, August 2005, 96 pp.
Editors: Nicole Kenton , Angela Milligan and Holly Ashley

51: Civil society and poverty reduction
IIED, April 2005, 144 pp.
Guest editors: Alexandra Hughes and Nicholas Atampugre

50: Critical reflections, future directions
IIED, October 2004, 224 pp
Guest editors: Robert Chambers, Nicole Kenton and Holly Ashley

49: Decentralisation and community-based planning
IIED, April 2004, 112 pp.
Guest editors: Ian Goldman and Joanne Abbott.

48: Learning and teaching participation
IIED, December 2003, 88 pp.
Guest editors: Peter Taylor and Jude Fransmann

47: Participatory numbers
IIED, August 2003, 88 pp.
Editor: Angela Milligan

46: Participatory processes for policy change
IIED, February 2003,100 pp.
Guest Editors: Ian Scoones, John Thompson

45: Community-based animal healthcare
IIED, October 2002. 88 pp.
Guest Editors: Andy Catley and Tim Leyland

44: Local Government and Participation
IIED, June 2002. 88 pp.
Guest Editors: Andy Inglis and Ced Hesse

43: Advocacy and Citizen Participation
IIED, February 2002. 80 pp.
Guest Editors: Cindy Clark, Beth Harrison, Valerie Miller, Jethro Pettit, Lisa VeneKlasen

42: Children's Participation - Evaluating Effectiveness
IIED, October 2001. 80 pp.
Guest Editors: Nadia Auriat, Per Miljeteig, Louise Chawla

41: General Issue
IIED, June 2001. 68 pp.
Editor: Holly Ashley

40: Deliberative Democracy and Citizen Empowerment
IIED, February 2001. 96 pp.
Guest Editors: Michel Pimbert and Tom Wakeford

39: Participatory Communications
IIED, October 2000. 80 pp.
Guest Editors: Joanna Howard and Patta Scott-Villiers

38: Participatory Processes in the North
IIED, June 2000. 104 pp.
Guest Editors: Charlotte Flower, Paul Mincher and Susan Rimkus

37: Sexual and Reproductive Health
IIED, February 2000. 128 pp.
Guest Editors: Andrea Cornwall and Alice Welbourn

36: General Issue
IIED, October 1999. 54 pp.
Editor: Laura Greenwood

35: Community Water Management
IIED, June 1999. 96 pp.
Guest Editors: Marc P. Lammerink and Dick de Jong

34: Learning from Analysis
IIED, February 1999. 94 pp.
Guest Editors: Irene Guijt and Su Braden

33: Understanding Market Opportunities
IIED, October 1998. 96 pp.
Guest Editor: Andy Jeans

32: Participation, Literacy and Empowerment
IIED, June 1998. 144 pp.
Guest Editors: Bimal Phnuyal, David Archer and Sara Cottingham

31: Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation
IIED, February 1998. 91 pp.
Guest Editors: Mae Arevallo, Irene Guijt and Kiko Saladores

30: Participation and Fishing Communities
IIED, October 1997, 92 pp.
Guest Editor: Marie-Thérèse Sarch

29: Performance and Participation
IIED, June 1997.107 pp.
Guest Editor: Andrea Cornwall

28: Methodological Complementarity
IIED, February 1997. 97 pp.

27: Participation, Policy and Institutionalisation
IIED, October 1996. 87 pp.

26: General Issue
IIED, June 1996. 73 pp.

25: Special Issue on Children's Participation
IIED, February 1996. 94 pp.
Guest Editor: Victoria Johnson

24: Critical Reflections from Practice
IIED, October 1995. 94 pp.
Guest Editor: Andrea Cornwall

23: Section on Participatory Approaches to HIV/AIDS Programmes
IIED, June 1995. 92 pp.
Guest Editor: Alice Welbourn

22: General Issue
IIED, February 1995. 88 pp.

21: Participatory Tools and Methods in Urban Areas
IIED, November 1994. 110 pp.

20: Livestock
IIED, April 1994. 165 pp.

19: Training
IIED, February 1994. 114 pp.

18: General Issue
IIED, June 1993. 75 pp.

17: General Issue
IIED, March 1993. 74 pp.

16: Applications for Health
IIED, July 1992. 115 pp.
Guest Editors: Marc P. Lammerink and Dick de Jong

15: Applications of Wealth Ranking
IIED, May 1992. 77 pp.

14: General Issue
IIED, December 199.1 67 pp.

13: Proceedings of the February 1991 Bangalore PRA Trainers Workshop
IIED, August 1991. 94 pp.

12: General Issue
IIED, July 1991. 57 pp.

11: Proceedings of a Local Level Adaptive Planning Workshop, London
IIED, May 1991. 86 pp.

10: General Issue
IIED, February 1991. 34 pp.

9: General Issue
IIED, August 1990. 35 pp.

8: General Issue
IIED, January 1990. 35 pp.

7: Proceedings of Second Joint IDS/IIED RRA Review Workshop
IIED, September 1989. 62 pp.

6: General Issue
IIED, June 1989. 37 pp.

5: General Issue
IIED, May 1989. 33 pp.

4: General Issue
IIED, February 1989. 22 pp.

3: General Issue
IIED, December 1988. 24 pp.

2: General Issue
IIED, October 1988. 19 pp.

1: General Issue
IIED, June 1988. 19 pp.

Team and contacts

For more information about the Participatory Learning and Action series or to discuss possible contributions and marketing opportunities, please contact:

The Editors
Participatory Learning and Action
International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
80-86 Gray’s Inn Road, London, WC1X 8NH, UK.
Tel: +44 (0)20 3463 7399
Fax: +44 (0)20 3514 9055

Email: pla.notes@iied.org

 

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  • Are you new to participatory approaches and seeking practical tips and guidance?
  • Or an experienced practitioner or trainer looking for new ideas and ways of sharing your experience with others?

Keep up to date with the latest participation news from Participatory Learning and Action – the world's leading informal journal on participatory methods and approaches.Make sure you subscribe to get the latest issues!
 

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ISSN: 1357 938X