Participatory Action Research and Disaster Risk

McCall, Michael K.; Peters-Guarin, Graciela

doi:10.4324/9780203844236.ch64

Cited by 10 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…Implementation of Frontline is one of many efforts that highlight great significance of experiential knowledge (Mercer, 2012; McCall and Peters-Guarin, 2012). We suggest this is because the conventional model of knowledge creation is not well suited to dealing with diverse, dynamically changing, complex local contexts.…”

Section: Reflections/discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Lets talk about you …”

Gibson¹,

Wisner

2016

DPM

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report on the creation of innovative methods for engaging in conversations about everyday risk. Design/methodology/approach A range of methods from conventional survey research to open-ended, semi-structured conversations and focus groups were used in the series of studies that serve as the subject of this meta-study. The meta-study uses participant observation, key informant interviews and project reports to narrate and evaluate the evolution of Frontline as an action planning, monitoring, advocacy and research tool. Findings The Views from the Frontline (VFL) methods began as the bottom-up mirror of a top-down monitoring approach used by the United Nations (Hyogo Framework for Action Monitor). Limitations of such bottom up monitoring led to creation of guidelines for formalising local knowledge resulting from actions – Action at the Frontline (AFL) and, later, Frontline, a flexible tool for eliciting experiences of everyday risk. The earlier VFL monitoring approach had shared outsiders’ assumptions about the nature of the “problem” and limited the degree to which local residents could express their own experiences and priorities. Originality/value Extensive use of this suite of methods has shown that civil society organisations are fully capable of conducting credible research when properly supported and motivated. Use of these methods has so far provided strong support for policy advocacy at the global scale, has had moderate success in liaison with national policy makers and slow but promising results as a learning/action tool at the local scale. Frontline has as yet untapped potential as a resource for academic research.

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Section: Reflections/discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Lets talk about you …”

Gibson¹,

Wisner

2016

DPM

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“…The kind of direct communication recommended by the relational model, which simulates direct conversation between peers, is thought to increase the vividness and self‐relevance of the information (Lejano et al., 2018). The workshop also draws from the areas of Freirean pedagogy (Freire, 1970; Gibson et al., 2019) and participatory action research (Lewin, 2016; McCall et al., 2012; Van Niekerk, Nemakonde, Kruger, & Forbes‐Genade, 2018), which emphasize the role of critical reflection in having a participant self‐assess their situation and develop responses to it. The workshop design emphasizes the following principles (see also Lejano, Pormon, & Yanger, 2020).…”

Section: Case Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk Communication for Empowerment: Interventions in a Rohingya Refugee Settlement

Lejano

Rahman²,

Kabir³

2020

Risk Analysis

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There are many reasons that people, when warned of an impending extreme event, do not take proactive, self-defensive action. We focus on one possible reason, which is that, sometimes, people lack a sense of agency or even experience disempowerment, which can lead to passivity. This article takes up one situation where the possibility of disempowerment is salient, that of Rohingya refugees who were evicted from their homes in Myanmar and forced to cross the border into neighboring Bangladesh. In their plight, we see the twin elements of marginalization and displacement acting jointly to produce heightened vulnerability to the risks from extreme weather. Building on a relational model of risk communication, a consortium of researchers and practitioners designed a risk communication training workshop that featured elements of empowerment-based practice. The program was implemented in two refugee camps. Evaluation suggests that the workshop may have had an appreciable effect in increasing participants' sense of agency and hope, while decreasing their level of fatalism. The outcomes were considerably more positive for female than male participants, which has important implications. This work underscores the potential for participatory modes of risk communication to empower the more marginalized, and thus more vulnerable, members of society.

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“…Specifically, we employ participatory action research (PAR) strategies, with the aim of bridging the gaps between scientific knowledge and vernacular knowledge; between theoretical and practical CBDRR; and between top-down interventions and bottom-up initiatives [25].…”

Section: Community-based Disaster Risk Reduction (Cbdrr)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…PAR methods have a long history in the social sciences and have been used extensively for DRR planning and implementation around the world. It significantly enhances the disaster resilience of local stakeholders via the co-production of 'hybrid' knowledge that combines local and outside specialist knowledge [25]. On the other hand, instead of theoretical discussions, PAR encourages communities, researchers and local authorities to work together in all stages of disaster risk reduction [25,26] to find solutions to their problems and develop action plans owned by the community [21].…”

Section: Participatory Action Research (Par)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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A pathway to initiate bottom-up community-based disaster risk reduction within a top-down system: The case of China

Sim¹,

Dominelli²,

Lau³

2017

Int. J. SAFE

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In China, as in other countries, inadequate knowledge of local vulnerability and hazard characteristics, and a rapidly industrialising society render enhancing resilience to natural disasters particularly challenging. This is particularly evident in rural areas with limited human and financial resources available for disaster risk reduction initiatives. The Chinese government institutionalized a top-down community-based disaster risk reduction (CBDRR) system to ensure that the capacity of communities would be enhanced effectively. In the long run, a top-down management style often undermines local capacities and vernacular DRR (disaster risk reduction) knowledge. There is a need to recognize the importance of communities as complex and dynamic entities in reducing disaster risks. Adopting participatory action research (PAR), this in-progress exploratory study examines a pathway to initiate bottom-up CBDRR within China's top-down institutional setting. Through PAR, the study of a rural village in Shaanxi Province shows that bottom-up initiatives can complement the existing system. Its current progress demonstrates the potential for using a transdisciplinary perspective to initiate CBDRR in China, where both top-down and bottom-up approaches, come together alongside different disciplines to increase a rural community's disaster resilience. Keywords: community, community-based disaster risk reduction (CBDRR), disaster risk reduction (DRR), Sendai Framework, rural China, top-down and bottom-up approaches to CBDRRR, participatory action research, natural disaster INTRODUCTION The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030acknowledges that 'disaster risk reduction' requires engagement and partnership with all-of-society because everyone is situated in a 'socio-cultural system' where rich people and poor, governments and societies alike, are affected when a disaster strikes. Responding to these events requires empowerment, inclusivity, accessibility, and non-discriminatory participation that pays special attention to the people disproportionately affected by disasters, especially the poorest ones [1]. The literature that explores the 'differentiated experiences of disaster' reveals that the basis for addressing the specific needs of groups whose vulnerabilities and capacities for resilience varies [2]. Moreover, disasters arise when a socio-cultural system fails to protect its population from external and internal vulnerability [3][4][5][6].China is a signatory to the Sendai Framework. As the world's most populated and also a geographically stretched country, China is among the most vulnerable countries prone to natural disasters. Natural disasters in China are diverse, have high frequency, wide geographic distribution, significant damage and high disaster risks [7]. In parallel with advocacy on DRR by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), China has endorsed community-based disaster risk reduction (CBDRR) as a key component in its national strategies, e.g., the 11th, 12th a...

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Participatory Action Research and Disaster Risk

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

“Lets talk about you …”

“Lets talk about you …”

Risk Communication for Empowerment: Interventions in a Rohingya Refugee Settlement

A pathway to initiate bottom-up community-based disaster risk reduction within a top-down system: The case of China

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