Participatory Approaches: A Facilitator’s Guide
Participatory Approaches:A facilitator’s guide
2Participatory Approaches: A facilitator’s guideCONTENTSIntroduction5I-1 Principles of participation7I-1.1 Participatory approaches todevelopment7I-1.2 A scale of participatoryapproaches8I-1.3 VSO’s approach toparticipation10Answers on cards66Bomb Shelter68Bridge Model70Car Park72Chrice Matrix74Community Case Studies76Community Financial Accounts78Drawing and Discussion80Echo/Cascade Workshops82I-2 The participatory developmentprocess13Equality Tree84I-2.1 An analytical framework13Expertise Market86I-2.2 The framework in practice17Fishbone Diagram8824Five Questions9024Flow Diagrams and Webbing92Focus Group Discussions94Forcefield Analysis96Forum Theatre98I-3 The art of facilitationI-3.1 Principles of facilitationI-3.2 Summary of key facilitationskills30I-3.3 Questions – how to ask andanswer them30I-3.4 Use of visual aids33II-1 Methods for each phase ofthe process35Gender/Diversity Analysis Matrix102Group-Directed Tape Recordings104Group-Directed Videos106Group-Directed Visual Images108Guided Visualisation110II-1.1 Methods for analysis andplanning35Image Theatre112II-1.2 Methods for reviewing41Impact Assessment114II-1.3 Sharing results45Local solutions118II-2 Methods for specific purposes46Maps and mapping120III-1 Using participatory tools61Matrices124Open-Ended Stories126Participatory Presentations128People’s Own Records130Picture Stories132III-1.1 Watch and listen: Guidelinesfor choosing the mostappropriate tool61III-1.2 Organising participatoryexercises62Problem Tree134III-1.3 Small group activity62Puppet Theatre136III-1.4 How was it for you?63Ranking, Rating and Sorting138CONTENTS
Participatory Approaches: A facilitator’s guideRelationship Strings142Seasonal Calendar144Semi-Structured Interviews148Social Norms150Stakeholder Analysis152Stakeholder Mapping/Venn Diagram154SWOT Analysis156Ten Seed Technique158Thought Shower160Timelines162Transects16424-Hour Analysis166Yes, But 168Appendix I: Participatoryapproaches – common acronyms170Appendix II: Types of picturesfor communication171Appendix III: Tool template173References174Participation resources online175CONTENTS3
Participatory Approaches: A facilitator’s guideINTRODUCTIONQ: Who sets the development agenda?Participatory approaches demand that weredefine the relationship between donors,development workers, partners andbeneficiaries. VSO is pressing the case forparticipation and partnership in development.This publication has therefore been developedto provide a guide to understanding anddeveloping that relationship. The guide isprimarily designed for VSO volunteers,partner organisations and staff, based as it ison our existing experience in promotingparticipation in our partnerships. However, itis hoped that it will also prove useful to thewider development community, whereverpeople are committed to facilitating moreparticipation, inclusion and empowerment inthe development process.Participation means many things to manypeople. It carries potential benefits, but onlyif all those involved have a commonunderstanding and set of expectations. VSOvolunteers and staff generally agree thatparticipation is essential for sustainable andsuccessful development, but often don’t knowwhere to begin. Many are convinced thatparticipation is necessary, but there is littleinformation available to them on how tofacilitate it. The sort of questions they arefaced with include:Q: What level of participation is appropriate?Q: What are the pitfalls?Q: What is the best way of facilitatingparticipation?Q: What tools can we use to encourageparticipation?This book provides a set of guidelines forpeople who will be involved in participatoryprocesses to seek their own answers to theabove questions. It provides a framework forcommon understanding, some advice on goodfacilitation, and a set of tools and activitiesthat may help to facilitate dialogue, identifyblocks and reveal appropriate developmentinitiatives.How to use this guideThe guide is organised into three parts:Principles, Methods and Tools.Part I: PrinciplesIn this context, principles are basic elementsand assumptions for good practice.Section 1 compares participatory approacheswith top-down approaches, and examineshow participation fits into VSO’s approachto development. The range of differentparticipatory approaches is discussed.The role of participation in VSO’s approachto development is presented, togetherwith feedback from over 20 countryprogramme offices on the benefits andchallenges of taking a participatoryapproach.Section 2 discusses how to facilitateparticipatory processes with multiplestakeholders. A framework is presented tohelp plan and organise work at differentlevels of participation throughoutsuccessive phases of a developmentprocess or project. Some signposts touseful tools are included for each level.Section 3 examines the key facilitation skillsneeded to support participatory activities.Part II: MethodsIn this context, methods are combinations oftools and strategies, designed to achieve acertain purpose or goal. Here, the guidecollates a range of participatory methods thatINTRODUCTION5
6Participatory Approaches: A facilitator’s guideWARNINGTools do notguarantee successMethods, tools andtechniques do notguarantee participation.Our attitude and behaviouras facilitators of tools, ofempowerment and ofdevelopment, is of primeimportance. Our role is not tocreate solutions, but to learn toask questions, be open, and‘unlearn’ our own assumptions.At the same time, local peopleand VSO partners must come toappreciate and value their ownknowledge and skills.!To facilitate participationsuccessfully, all involved mustrecognise its usefulness andpotential. One of the commonarguments against participationis that it is costly and timeconsuming. However, feedbackfrom VSO’s country programmesand the wider developmentcommunity shows that it is costeffective. The returns justifythe investment in terms ofsustainability and effectiveness.No-one has yet attempted tocalculate the cost of ineffectiveand unsustainable developmentcaused by lack of participation.We recognise the limitations ofparticipatory approaches and thevalue of more extractive methodssuch as sample surveys and indepth interviews. Nevertheless, iflocal people take ownership ofall stages and levels of decisionmaking, development activitiesare more likely to build on localstrengths, meet local needs andpriorities, and foster selfdetermination and sustainability.This is the potential ofparticipation in development.INTRODUCTIONhave been used successfully in thefield by VSO and others. Methodsare categorised according to theirsuitability for use at different stagesof the development process, ie:1. initial stages of appraisal,analysis and planning2. reviewing and evaluatingprogress as plans areimplemented.Examples are also given of methodsthat can be used for specificpurposes, such as ParticipatoryOrganisational Appraisal andGender/Diversity Analysis.Part III: ToolkitIn this context, tools areparticipatory exercises. Thissection gives some tips on how tochoose the most appropriate tooland on how to organiseparticipatory workshops and smallgroup activity. It also systematicallyrecords a range of tools used bydevelopment workers all over theworld, including VSO. A matrix of allthe tools provides an at-a-glancereference of which tools areappropriate for which stage of thedevelopment process, the level ofparticipation for which they aremost suitable and the dominantcommunication type used (visual,oral or written).A profile of each tool includesguidelines on its purpose, potentialapplications and variations, as wellas possible pitfalls. Illustrative casestudies taken from real experiencesof development workers in the fieldare also included.The variations and applications ofeach tool are limited only by yourown creativity – the guide offerssuggestions rather thanprescriptions. Not every tool willwork in every situation or culture,certainly not without adaptation.The only way to improve yourfacilitation of participatoryapproaches is to have the courageto try things, and to learn from yourmistakes.A blank worksheet is also includedin Appendix III This template can becopied and used to add your owntools and adaptations to create apersonalised guide from your ownexperience in the field.
Participatory Approaches: A facilitator’s guideI-1 PRINCIPLES OF PARTICIPATIONIntroductionThis section looks at the principles thatunderlie participatory approaches andattempts to answer the following questions:Q. What are the origins of participatoryapproaches to development?Q. What are the key principles of facilitatingparticipation for empowerment?Q. What is VSO’s experience with promotingparticipation?I-1.1 Participatory approaches todevelopmentParticipatory approaches are based onshared ownership of decision-making. Thisapproach is a response to ‘top-down’approaches to development, in which powerand decision-making is largely in the handsof external development professionals.The top-down approach used to be theconventional style of development. However,this had many flaws and was not effective.It also raised questions about whether‘outsiders’ had the right or the knowledge toset the development agenda of local people.In the 1980s, development workers began toseek more participatory alternatives thatavoided some of these problems. They drewon alternative methods of learning andaction that, at the time, represented a radicalchange. In general, this change has beenembraced as a positive shift in developmentpractice. Table 1 compares some of thedifferences between the two approaches.VSO/Sue O’FarrellPART I: PRINCIPLES7
8Participatory Approaches: A facilitator’s guideTable 1: A comparison of top-down and participatory approaches to E OF SURE OFEFFECTIVENESSTOP-DOWN APPROACHESExternal development agents work for local beneficiariesDevelopment agents develop their own solutionsto local problemsIn the hands of external development agents Questionnaire surveys Questions planned in advance Rapid visits Key informant interviewsExtractive Subject expert Teacher Leader Controller Development workers are experts who can solvethe problems of local people, even if they areunfamiliar with local issues, culture and ecology The beneficiaries of development are, at best,helpless victims; or at worst, the architects oftheir own poverty Interviewers do not influence the process Interviewees give accurate data Rapid Lends itself to statistical analysis Interviewees prompted with answers Surveys designed without understandinglocal context Focus is on the task not the process Projects fail to reach the most needy due to: Roadside bias (focus on accessible people) Time bias (focus on ‘easy’ times of year and day) People bias (focus on leaders and the articulate) Project bias (development impacts are falselyexaggerated). Projects do not target the mostdisadvantaged people and may reinforce existingsystems that keep poor people poorDevelopment worker meets their objectives andmeasures an improvement in local conditionsaccording to their own criteriaI-1.2 A scale of participatory approachesA gradual accumulation of good practice inparticipation has been documented in various‘systems’ with different, names, aims andcharacteristics. Some of these are exploredin more depth in Part II: Methods. A list ofcommon acronyms is included in Appendix I.For the sake of clarity, we will use RobertChambers’ (1997) suggested term ‘ParticipatoryPART I: PRINCIPLESPARTICIPATORY pment agents facilitate a process ofempowerment, learning and actionControl shared between stakeholders Visual diagramming tools Semi-structured interviews Long-term action research Group discussionMutual learning Process expert Learner Facilitator Catalyst Sustainable development will be most effectivewhen the skills, experience and objectivity ofdevelopment workers are combined with the skills,experience and greater contextual understanding oflocal people People will be able to participate Visual and interactive methods will provide betterquality data Represents the views of local people Richness and quality of data Participation interpreted in different ways bydifferent people Projects presented as ‘participatory’ are stilldominated by top-down methods – no real sharingof power or decisions Participatory tools used in an extractive rather thanan empowering way Time constraints rush the process Local elites sabotage participationPartners and participants monitor and evaluateparticipation, empowerment, and progress towardsjoint goalsApproaches’ and the abbreviation ‘PA’ inthis guide as an umbrella term for anyparticipatory system or method.Systems using PA have been successfullyused to investigate livelihoods andnatural resource management; healthand disability issues; education andlearning; gender and development;building organisational capacity; communitymobilisation; involvement in governance
Participatory Approaches: A facilitator’s guideand advocacy; and to tackle HIV and AIDSawareness-raising and behaviour change.PA has proved effective and it is here to stay.However, there is not just a black or white choicebetween top-down or participatory approachesto development. PA is (a) extremely diverse; and(b) a work in progress, changing all the time.The simple term ‘participatory approaches’disguises a range of approaches, created by anincreasingly innovative development community.These systems and methods are all designed toachieve different aims. So, when considering anysystem, it is vital to consider its basic principles,its potential uses, and most importantly, how‘participatory’ it really is.In reality, a range of approaches exist that liealong a scale from the more ‘extractive’ tothe more ‘empowering’ (Figure 1). Extractivetools, or tools used in an extractive way,retain power in the hands of the developmentworker. Empowering tools, or tools facilitatedin an empowering way, hand power over tothe participants. It is not that one end of thescale is better than the other, simply thatthey achieve different things. We must beclear about our purpose, select the rightapproach for the job, and not encourageparticipants to have expectations ofempowerment if our methods and attitudedo not permit any meaningful transfer ofdecision-making control.PA for empowerment: key principlesAt the core of good practice in PA is selfcritical awareness, personal behaviour andattitudes, and commitment to positiveaction. The essence of this philosophy hasbeen called ‘handing over the stick’ – asymbolic transfer of power from thedevelopment worker to local partners. If weare serious about PA and serious abouthelping local people to pursue their owndevelopment agenda, we must decidewhether we are prepared to hand overpower in this way.Some practitioners believe that all systemsand methods using PA have certain keyprinciples in common. However, if we acceptthe scale shown in Figure 1 below, it wouldbe more accurate to say that the following(adapted from Pretty, 1994) is a set ofaspirational aims for good practice: defined methodology and system oflearning and interaction emphasis on the validity of participants’different opinions and perspectives group learning processes, involvinginteraction of development workers withlocal people, andinteraction of differentdisciplines and sectors flexible approachesadapted to each setof conditions andparticipants development workersfacilitate the agendaand priorities of localstakeholdersFigure 1: A scale of participatory approaches, from extractive to empoweringEXTRACTIVE Rapid, expertanalysis Questionnaires Key informantsEMPOWERING Opinions areshared but power is not Empowering methodsused for extractive purposes9 In-depth, jointanalysis, learningand action Visual diagrams Group discussionWARNINGTools are only as effectiveas the skill (and in thiscase, the attitude) of thecraftsman. Similarly, theuse of PA does not guaranteeparticipation or empowerment.There are many pitfalls and nohonest short cuts. PA done badlycan be damaging if the opinion ofparticipants is influenced orpresented inaccurately. Badpractice is commonly due to timepressures or poor facilitation.However, PA has also beenhijacked for political reasons,to ‘tick the participation box’ infunding proposals. If the tools aremisused to support the agenda ofoutsiders rather than the opinionsand experience of local people,projects will almost inevitablyfail as a result.!PART I: PRINCIPLES
Participatory Approaches: A facilitator’s guide debate and analysis of change leads toagreed, sustainable action building the capacity of local stakeholdersto initiate self-mobilised action.I-1.3 VSO’s approach to participationVSO’s vision is for our everyday practice to beparticipatory at all levels of the organisation.In our context, participation is a process ofcollective analysis, learning and action. VSO’srole in the process is to facilitate and/or beinvolved alongside other stakeholders.This process aims to: change the balance of power so thateveryone’s rights and aspirations arerespected, acknowledged and used asa basis for dialogue generate shared understanding ofproblems, priorities and possibilities agree achievable and sustainable changeand action build the capacity of local stakeholders toinitiate self-mobilised action celebrate achievements develop strengthsand generate shared learning.By facilitating and participating in this process,VSO and its partners aim to build theirorganisational capacity and effectiveness.Good participatory practice will result in moresustainable relationships built on trust andrespect. Activities and achievements will bejointly owned and better evaluated, leading togreater development impact and bettersatisfied partners and volunteers.To set out a serious, strategic commitmentto this vision, participation has been includedas a key element of VSO’s threeorganisational approaches (VSO, 2002).These are: commitment to learning;partnership; and empowerment (Figure 2).A commitment to learning requires us toinvolve local people, who have a greaterunderstanding of local conditions in theidentification of development priorities,analysis of skills and resources, andimplementation of sustainable change.Partnership moves beyond a donor –beneficiary relationship to a more equalsharing of skills, power and ideas.By mobilising institutions and disadvantagedpeople in a process of empowerment, localpeople can gain greater control over their ownfutures and their own development agenda.analysingproblemstogether,finding solutionsand shapingcommonplansdevelopinga professionalteam ofvolunteers,partnersand VSOstaffinvolving stakeholders atall levels in shapingprogrammes andplacementsEMPOWERMENTPART I: PRINCIPLESHIPRSNEFigure 2: Aspects of participation in VSO’s three strategic approachesPARTNGNILEAR10
Participatory Approaches: A facilitator’s guideIn practice, the approach described abovemeans encouraging both volunteers and VSOstaff to experiment with methods that increaselocal involvement at all stages of projects.Their experience has been used to illustratethe methods and tools outlined in this guide.On the ground, effective analysis, learningand action can only take place when theskills, experience and objectivity ofvolunteers are combined with the skills,experience and greater contextualunderstanding of the stakeholders they workwith. Volunteers are also encouraged to shareskills and experiences with each other toincrease their individual impact. Theirplacements are often clustered together bytheme or location to help this processAs a minimum requirement, VSO’s countryprogramme offices have committed to aparticipatory process of assessing newpartners and preparing, monitoring andevaluating volunteer
II-1.1 Methods for analysis and planning 35 II-1.2 Methods for reviewing 41 II-1.3 Sharing results 45 II-2 Methods for specific purposes 46 III-1 Using participatory tools 61 III-1.1 Watch and listen: Guidelines forchoosing the most appropriate tool 61 III-1.2 Organising participatory exercises 62 III-1.3 Small group activity 62
Participatory Action Research (PAR) Participatory Action Research Steps Similar to popular education, participatory action research is a pro-cess of collective inquiry to reach a deeper understanding of the context and causes of a problem impacting a community. As with popular education, the ultimate goal of participatory action research .
PLA: Participatory Learning and Action; PAR: Participatory Action research; PAD: Participatory Action Development; PALM: Participatory Learning Methods; PRA: Participatory Rural Appraisal. . that it is action based upon understanding achieved through the analysis of research information. Strategic action (Grundy and Kemmis, 1982)
facing these programs is to be participatory not only in planning and implementation of activities, but also in their evaluation. However, participatory evaluation of participatory research raises conceptual, methodological and other related issues. Among these are: shared understanding of participatory evaluation by program stakeholders, cost-
Early Approaches to Participatory Research Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) - approaches and methods to enable local people to share, enhance and analyze their knowledge of life and conditions, to plan and to act (Chambers, 1994: 953) Key different between participatory and other research methodologies lies in the location of power in
1. Describe participatory approaches and how they differ from other approaches to evaluation. 2. Determine how to identify and engage stakeholders in the evaluation process. 3. Articulate at least three challenges and three benefits of participatory evaluation approaches.
Participatory Approaches: A facilitator’s guide 61 Introduction Participatory tools are specific activities designed to encourage joint analysis, learning and action. Special ‘packaged’ techniques can be very powerful ways of getting people involved. However, no one tool or technique is applicable to all situations. Beware of falling into the
Participatory Development, Participatory Planning, Role of Local Government Representatives and various skills and traits required for effective participatory planning. The training methodology was interactive as the trainers ensured that knowledge was not only disseminated but accurately perceived and understood by the participants.
Andreas Wagner1, Wolfgang Wiedemann1, Thomas Wunderlich1 1 Chair of Geodesy, Faculty of Civil, Geo and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany, a.wagner@tum.de .
