31. the Use of Rapid Rural Appraisal Methodologies in Development Research: the Experience of the Centre Regional Pour Le Développement Et La Santé Republic of Benin

This paper again demonstrates the frequent overlap in methodological descriptions of RRA and RAP. Specific findings relate to a study on obstacles to household food security in West Africa. After presentation of several papers at the RAP Conference by African researchers who had previously attended an IDRC sponsored workshop on Rapid Rural Appraisal, the distinctions between RAP and RRA as defined in that earlier workshop became obscure. The RRA principle of "optimal ignorance" in this paper is gauged in terms of curtailing information based on a desire to "cut costs while delivering timely information." However, there appears to be little difference in this concept as described from that of any reasonable researcher in gathering a sufficient amount of information to make the judgements which are the focus of a study. Eds.