Key Messages about Participatory Impact Assessment PIA allows communities to be directly involved in generating data on the impact of aid and in identifying the full range of local impacts. It counters accusations of data mining and of only looking at expected impacts. It helps counter cherry-picking in evaluations and evaluator bias. The techniques look simple, but they can generate good quantitative as well as qualitative data. But, they have to be applied with the same rigor and discipline as any other research methodology.
