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The Good Enough Guide
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The Good Enough Guide
Section 3: Identify the changes people want to see
Why?
People affected by an emergency are the best judges of their own interests. The changes they want to see are important indicators of the difference a project is likely to make and the impact it will have. When beneficiaries are enabled to identify those changes and contribute to decision-making, project impact is likely to be greater. Conversely, when people are not involved, a response can miss its mark, leave out vulnerable groups, waste money, and add to suffering. People who have been involved in designing a project are more likely to feel it is theirs and to take responsibility for it. That is particularly important when NGOs supply equipment, for example water pumps and latrines, that requires long-term maintenance by the community.
When?
Pressure from media, donors, and governments can be overwhelming at the start of a response. It can push agencies into making promises and commitments they may be unable to keep. But ask people affected as soon as possible how they feel and what they want to see happen as a result of the project. It is their home, their family, and their world that have been turned upside down.
Consultation does not mean a one-off meeting after all the big decisions have been made by others. It means communicating timely and relevant informationto help people make decisions, negotiating throughout the project cycle, and being open and realistic about what your agency can and can’t do.
How?
Use more than one method of consulting people if possible: for example, a village meeting (Tool 3) plus focus group (Tool 6), in order to reach different people. Hold separate discussions to find out what particular groups within the community want. Don’t assume that traditional figures of authority speak on behalf of women, children, older people, or other potentially vulnerable or marginalised groups.
Use consultation to start developing quantitative and qualitative indicators that are important for the community (Tool 10). Keep a basic written record of your discussions, the needs identified, and the indicators set (even if donors don’t ask you to). Use these records to help measure change and impact, document important lessons learned, and inform project staff and project activities (Tool 11).
Suggested tools
Tool 3 How to involve people throughout the project
Tool 5 How to conduct an individual interview
Tool 6 How to conduct a focus group
Tool 10 How to start using indicators
Tool 11 How to hold a lessons-learned meeting
Consult people about what they want to see as soon as possibleGovernments, NGOs, and private contractors moved fast to start providing temporary houses for homeless families after the 2004 tsunamis. But they rarely involved affected families in the planning discussions. In the worst cases, some houses were poorly designed, proved impossible to live in, and had to be demolished. In a pilot scheme in Sri Lanka, Oxfam held planning workshops with homeless women and men. Oxfam used global standards and indicators developed by the Sphere Project. Its field staff also agreed local house size, design, materials, and construction in discussions with affected families before building began. Source: Ivan Scott, Oxfam GB |
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