This paper draws on the papers and discussions of a workshop and of a conference on Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA). Methods involving trade-offs between relevance, accuracy, and timeliness tend not to be academically respectable, but have the rigour of greater cost-effectiveness. A repertoire of 10 methods illustrates experience and scope. Through its sparing demands RRA has potential for releasing time and resources to enable rural appraisers to devote more attention to the rural poor.-from Author155