Participatory Technology Development: A Babel of Terms and Concepts

Abstract

Increasingly, participatory methods in agricultural research are developed, implemented and described augmenting the number of terms used as well. This paper  describes different methods and approaches and relates them to the various phases of agricultural research on the one hand, and to their degree of target group  participation, on the other. It is argued that new labels and fancy terms are not helpful for research managers and planners. Thus, it is much more sensible to choose the specific approaches according to the stage of the research process and the level of participation aimed at leading to a greater transparency of research project planning.