(Participatory Action) Research
Her Dignity believes strongly, and has proved in practice, that deep engagement with communities (and the different groups in communities) is the foundation of any successful survey/research leading to broad consensus of communities and clients and a smooth process of implementation.
Threads of Research
- For Her Dignity, communities as co-creators of knowledge through participatory action research and animation. Through their active participation in the process and ownership of the results, a much deeper understanding of the communities and the possibility of much greater consensus between community and client is made possible
- When we talk of community, it is essential to realise that communities are not homogeneous. Different groups (age and gender, and occupation) have different dreams, needs, perceptions and priorities. Thus, Her Dignity ensures that any research or survey ensures that representatives of all different groups, including local leaders, are given the chance to express and share their views before bringing them all together to validate and agree on the findings and the way forward. Without involvement of the different groups. the way forward may be skewed or rejected by other groups in the community
- Her Dignity believes and has shown in practice that such researches are more effective if the 'research assistants' come from the local communities themselves. These are called 'waraghbishi' or 'animators'. They are selected by the communities concerned and are then trained in participatory action research, theory and hands on practice before they interact with the different groups in the community under the guidance of Her Digniy's experienced practitioners.
- Her Dignity uses a pragmatic variety of methods including partipatory rural appraisal (PRA), Appreciative Inquiry, Most Significant Change, Theatre for Development (Community Theatre) among others
- The research/survey is never satisfied with outside manifestations but seeks to understand the underlying issues and their causes
- Data-driven insights inform policy changes and program interventions
Case study 1: Participatory Action Research and Animation for a Gender Assessment in the 11 villages surrounding the Mining areas of Mwadui • Prepared the training manual on Animation and trained animators from the 11 villages surrounding the Mwadui mining areas • Prepared the training manuals for and trained NPA-VAWC village committees in the 11 villages surrounding the mine • Prepared the training manual and trained women survivors of SGBV on SGBV and how to act in 11 villages surrounding the mining area
Measurable Impact
Driving sustainable value and measurable outcomes across our engagements.