THIS BOOK IS the result of the work of the many authors and researchers who have worked on the development and institutionalization of rapid assessment methodologies and rapid rural appraisal.
A substantial grant from the United Nations Children's Fund made possible the conference that served as the basis for this volume. The United Nations University organized the conference with facilities provided by the Pan American Health Organization. Plan International gave additional financial support for the conference. The International Development Research Centre of Canada, UNICEF, and several other organizations funded participants from developing countries.
Editorial work on this volume and its production were funded by the United Nations University, the United Nations Children's Fund, Plan International, and the International Nutrition Foundation for Developing Countries.
Independent reviews of all chapters and overall content and format were provided by senior staff members from UNICEF, the World Bank, and the United States Agency for International Development. Their advice was extremely helpful.
The editors wish especially to acknowledge the chapter authors, for both their contributions and their tolerance of the editing process. Thanks also should go to Carl Belfatti, Jane Dittrich, Ann Gleason, Mauricette Hursh-César, and Amy Jenkins, who assisted the editors.