RRI Tools

The Participatory Methods Toolkit is a hands-on toolkit for starting up and managing participatory projects. The first chapter contains general guidelines for using participatory methods as well as a brief overview of 50 methods and techniques and a comparative chart of 13 methods. The core of the toolkit incorporates in-depth explanations of the 13 methods listed in the chart, each having a description of when to use it, the different steps involved, best practices and budget, accompanied by hints and tips for putting the methods into action.

Table of Contents

• Contents 
• Introduction 
• General guidelines and tips for participatory methods 
• Comparative chart for participatory methods 
• 21st Century Town Meeting® 
• Charrette 
• Citizens Jury 
• Consensus Conference 
• Deliberative Polling® 
• Delphi 
• Expert Panel 
• Focus Group 
• Participatory Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation 
• Planning Cell 
• Scenario Building Exercise 
• Technology Festival 
• The World Café 
• Brief descriptions of methods and techniques 

Seven years ago the King Baudouin Foundation (KBF) decided to create this toolkit because there were no such guides available at that time. Today more information, websites and tools exist, but with its simplicity and the hands-on information it provides, this is still an appealing and practical step-by-step guide. PDFs of the complete document or individual methods can be downloaded.

One new tool, Involve’s People & Participation guide, may better serve the purpose of a guide because it provides more background on public participation. However, the two guides do not discuss the same participatory methods, so which guide to use depends on which tools will work best for a specific user.