Section 5. Participatory tools and processes

"I am worried that women won't be able to talk at this workshop
And we came a long way."

Villager from Fisherman's Island, Papua New Guinea, 1995

Section 5 describes a range of tools and processes which can be used for involving communities in conservation initiatives. Many of them can be employed for more than one end, but for ease of presentation they have been grouped according to the purpose for which they are most commonly used.

Most of the participation tools and processes described in this section have a strong element of oral and visual communication; in other words they do not depend on all participants being literate. In addition, they can be adapted to the requirements of particular cultures and combined as needed. The potential number of variations and combinations is as endless as the diversity found in communities and natural environments. This diversity requires those who work with communities to continuously use their imagination, stimulate the imagination of others, and adopt a flexible approach so that they can respond appropriately to different situations as they arise. The tools presented here indicate a range of possibilities. You may think of others or you may wish to try variations of the options described. Some of the strengths and weaknesses of each tool or process are included in the descriptions in order to help you choose.

5.1 Social Communication

5.1.1 community and public meetings
5.1.2 audio-visual presentations
5.1.3 picture stories (flip charts and flannel boards)
5.1.4 street or village theatre
5.1.5 radio programmes

5.1.1 Community and public meetings

Community and public meetings involve relatively large groups of people coming together to focus on a specific problem or purpose. A skilled facilitator can enhance the value of the meeting by managing the process and encouraging communication among all the participants. If required, more in-depth discussions can be provided for by breaking the meeting into small groups at various stages.

Purpose

Meetings may be held for a wide variety of purposes: e.g. to give and gather information; to discuss issues of relevance to the community; to achieve community agreement on an issue; to help identify problems and solutions; or to plan specific actions in response to evaluation results and recommendations. The results of focus-group interviews and individual interviews can be presented at public meetings; in this way the views of those who are unable or reluctant to speak in a larger public meeting can be given a wider voice (source anonymity being respected as necessary).

Steps in using the tool

• Agree with the relevant people on the topic of the meeting and ask several of them what needs to be accomplished. Make sure that you consult several stakeholders in the process.
  
• Obtain the approval of the relevant leaders. Be aware of the customs and protocol of the area.
  
• Arrange a time and place for the meeting, taking into account the activity patterns of those whom you wish to attend, the size of the expected group and potential dislikes for venues (e.g. a church) or required behaviour (e.g. being out of home at night, having to wear shoes, etc.). Let people know the time and place well in advance. As appropriate, make sure that all the expected participants know about the meeting and feel comfortable in participating.
  
• Check the need for food and accommodation to be provided for all or some of those attending and make appropriate arrangements.
  
• Plan and prepare hand-outs and other materials (e.g. flip charts, overheads). If electrical equipment is to be used check that power is available, and see if you need extension cords.
  
• Find a skilled person who is respected in the community to facilitate the meeting.
  
• With the facilitator or chairperson, plan the meeting process and strategies to encourage discussions.
  
• At the meeting itself:
  
  • make the purpose of the meeting clear in the introduction and explain the process or order in which topics will be covered and when refreshments will be served;
  • begin and end more or less at the stated time;
  • start with issues on which it is easy to get agreement or acceptance of differences;
  • allow conflicting opinions to emerge and try either to have these resolved or accepted by the group;<
  • at the end of the meeting, have someone (preferably a local leader) summarise the decisions made and identify the next steps;
  • if applicable, confirm the time and place of the next meeting.

• allows for a large group of people to be informed at one time;
  
• can provide a forum for a variety of perspectives to be presented and discussed and differences accepted and resolved;
  
• provides a way for the staff of the conservation initiative to present themselves to the local people and establish their credibility;
  
• because of the open invitation, all who have an interest in the issue can attend, which provides an opportunity to identify stakeholders;

• skilled facilitation is crucial. Without this the meeting may not achieve its purpose, it can be taken off-track by people with their own vested interests, some individuals may take over the meeting, others may not manage to contribute, etc.;
  
• large public meetings are not suitable for resolving conflicting opinions, nor for obtaining the views of all stakeholders. Differences in status and confidence will affect the degree of participation of different individuals and groups;
  
• one meeting may not be sufficient to obtain the desired results. The conservation initiative may have to support/organize several meetings before results become apparent.

Audio-visual presentations can be made with slides or film strips accompanied by live comment or an audio tape, or with video cassettes. Film strips are made by printing slides onto a film (each film can contain over 200 slide images). A film strip projector is used and the accompanying dialogue can be recorded onto a tape or read from a prepared script by the presenter.

Slides are more costeffective than film strips if the programme needs to be changed to suit different audiences, or if the slides will only be used occasionally. Where the same set of slides need to be shown many times, or several copies will be distributed, or the presentation needs to be carried around to several areas, film strips are more efficient.

The film-strip projector can be powered by a lightweight solar rechargeable battery which enables the images to be shown even in areas where electricity is not available. If making a film strip is not possible, slides can be recorded on a video cassette together with the sound track, which at least makes them easier to transport.

Purpose

Audio-visual presentations can be used to promote ideas, teach techniques or create discussions among the people in an area affected by a conservation initiative. They can also be used to inform decision-makers and regulators about how the local people view the environmental issues confronting them. Audio-visuals can be suited to both small and large audiences by simply adapting the size of the projected image.

Steps in using the tool

• Prepare a script (for example a "story" about a local environmental problem, how and why it is happening and how it could be fixed).
  
• Plan each photo picture to match the text. Show images that are familiar to the audience and, if appropriate, show images of possible solutions.
  
• Feature people with whom the audience can identify. If using sound recording, let these people talk about problems and solutions in their own way.
  
• Before showing the presentation, introduce the topic to the audience; possibly bring up a question that the audio-visual might help the audience to answer. Encourage the audience to make comments throughout the presentation.
  
• If the audio-visual is not specifically about the local area, make comments and ask questions throughout the presentation to make sure that the local people understand how the situation shown in the presentation relates to their situation.
  
• After the projection, summarise what has been seen or ask the audience to do this. Encourage the audience to discuss what they saw. Invite them to approach the screen to identify objects, ask questions, give advice, etc.
  
• Check if people need more time to understand the material included in the presentation. Some groups may need to see the presentation more than once before they feel confident about discussing it openly.
  
• Audio-visuals can be used for interviews with local people (farmers, community leaders, etc.) where they talk about environmental problems, needs and concerns. Photos or slides can be used to show what they are describing.

• allows people to absorb a relatively large amount of information (through the combination of image and dialogue);
  
• the novelty of audio-visuals encourages people to attend meetings;
  
• people can immediately relate to the issues described by local images;
  
• the slides can cover an extended period so that people can, in one short session, see what happens over time;
  
• problems can be contrasted with visible solutions from other areas;
  
• film strips can be easily copied, distributed and stored;
  
• the sound tapes can be recorded in different languages;

  Weaknesses

• slide and film strip production require laboratory processing that may not be available in some countries;
  
• preparation of the presentation takes time and needs some prior experience;
  
• a comparatively large capital investment may be required;
  
• equipment requires maintenance and safe storage.

Picture stories can be presented in the form of flannel boards or flip chart drawings or some variation of these. They are illustrations of problems and solutions which can be put in sequence to tell a story and can be altered and added to in response to community feedback.

Flip charts are basically large sheets of cloth or paper with drawings and simple diagrams illustrating particular points. They enable ideas to be presented in a simple, colourful format that creates interest and is easily understood. Flannel boards are picture 'paste ups' which can be attached to the surface in various combinations.

Purpose

Picture stories are used as a support for presentations and discussions. They can also be used to stimulate discussion and community input; people can be asked to add to the drawings on the flip charts or to change the layout and content of the flannel boards to illustrate their own points of view or concerns. The simple, colourful pictures can be very effective in helping participants remember the key messages of a presentation.

Steps in using the tool

• Work out the key messages the conservation initiative wants to communicate.
  
• Work out how to show each of those messages in picture or simple diagram form.
  
• If using flip charts, place the sheets in the order you want for the presentation and fix them to something, such as a large piece of wood, that will enable the sheets to be hung up and turned over during the discussion.
  
• If using flannel boards, make sure extra materials (e.g. figures of people and animals) are available to allow for the preparation of paste-ups of issues and solutions raised by the group.
  
• Field staff should be trained in how to use the flip charts or flannel boards to stimulate discussion and to help the participants reach decisions.
  
• Field-test the illustrations with a few of the local people to make sure the intended messages are understandable. Use questions like "What do you see in this picture? What does the scene say to you?" "How might we change this picture to show the message better?"
  
• During presentations, encourage the audience to join in with questions, answers and points of view. If using flannel boards, participants should be involved in putting the paste-ups on the board and moving them around in response to feedback. With flip charts it is probably better to use sheets of paper rather than cloth if the audience is going to be encouraged to add to the sheets.

• messages can be shown completely in picture form so literacy is not required;
  
• equipment is easily transportable;
  
• sophisticated technology is not required, and the charts cannot break down, they are ideal for rural situations;
  
• equipment is cheap to produce;
  
• if smaller versions are made of the charts, these can be photocopied and distributed to participants to take home as a reminder of the discussion and to spread the message;
  
• cloth sheets are durable for field conditions, resistant to tearing, heat, dust and rain;

  Weaknesses

• particular skills are needed to be able to illustrate issues in this way;
  
• the issues may be too complex to be fully explained in this form;
  
• format can limit spontaneity and two-way communication unless done in a way which allows the group to interact freely;
  
• explaining the images with some local people is essential to avoid the risk of mis-communication. (After a malaria education programme, some people felt they did not have to worry about the local mosquitoes "we never had around here mosquitoes as large as those on the chart we saw today!"). On this point, see Fuglesang, 1982.

Street or village theatre uses local storytellers, theatre groups, clowns, dancers and puppets to inform people about an issue by telling a story. The presentations use imagery, music, and humour to raise people's awareness of an issue that is affecting them. Local people can be encouraged to join in and play a part in the presentations. The presentations can be filmed or recorded for radio and thus made available to a wider audience.

Purpose

To raise awareness of issues by presenting information and possible solutions in an entertaining way, closely associated with the local culture.

Steps in using the tool

• Write an outline of the message which you would like to convey. Check this with some community members. Review the message on the basis of their comments.
  
• Meet with local entertainers to discuss how the message could be made into a story and told through a play, dance or some other local form of entertainment.
  
• Support the production of a show, and have it tested with a small local audience for interest and effectiveness.
  
• Plan to present the show at some gathering which is going to take place in the area, such as a festival or market day. Some presentations can also be taken to schools.

Strengths

• an entertaining and nonthreatening way of putting across a message;
  
• based on local customs, traditions and culture and therefore readily understood and accepted;
  
• does not usually require large capital investment;
  
• does not usually depend on technology that can break down;
  
• can be highly credible and persuasive where folk media has a strong tradition;

  Weaknesses

• requires skilled crafting of conservation/development messages into the fabric of the folk media;
  
• may be difficult to organize and requires a close working relationship between conservation workers and folk media artists.

Radio programmes can be a useful tool to inform people in a large area. They can be produced at the local, regional or national level. They are most effective when they are made with audience participation in the local language and take cultural traditions into account. Radio production teams should be multi-disciplinary and mobile so that they can converse with a range of people and record a variety of material in various locations.

Specific programmes can vary from formal documentaries to discussion forums with a range of local actors, from plays and storytelling (see 5.1.4) to talk shows where people can phone in and express their views on the air.

Purpose

Radio programmes can be used to spread information, to stimulate discussion and debate among the people concerned about the conservation initiative, or to provide a forum where rural communities can communicate their views to others in the region. They can also help to educate and inform decision-makers and regulators, both within and outside of the area, about how the local people view the environmental issues confronting them. Issues raised can be addressed immediately, or subsequent broadcasts can have technical staff and decision-makers answer questions raised by local people.

Steps in using the tool

• Identify a radio station willing to host a programme on the conservation initiative. Establish an agreement with the station, possibly on a regular basis and at a popular listening time.
  
• Have some staff trained in the techniques of preparing a radio programme, including interviewing.
  
• If a documentary approach is to be used, prepare a story line but, as much as possible, involve local people in designing the programme.
  
• For interviewing, select local people who are able to express their ideas and experiences clearly and who can present a range of experiences and perspectives.
  
• Edit the tapes so that they present a coherent picture of the issues confronting the community and the conservation initiative.

• can inform many people over a wide area within a short time;
  
• can strengthen the sense of community and of shared experience;
  
• if aired on a regular basis, radio programmes can be invaluable as a forum for discussion around the conservation initiative;
  
• tapes can be copied and distributed to organizations and schools to use as a focus for group discussion;

• relies on people having access to radios or to telephones (for talk shows);
  
• cost and time involved in preparing documentary programmes are substantial;
  
• use of recording and editing equipment requires technical knowledge;
  
• can only be used for raising awareness, not as a substitute for face-to-face discussions with the affected community and other stakeholders.

5.2.1 natural group interviews
5.2.2 focus group interviews
5.2.3 semi-structured interviews with key informants
5.2.4 photo appraisal and slide language
5.2.5 observational walks and transect diagrams
5.2.6 trend analysis
5.2.7 land-use mapping
5.2.8 historical mapping
5.2.9 seasonal calendar
5.2.10 gender analysis

5.2.1 Natural group interviews

Natural group interviews are casual conversations with groups of people met in their natural settings, for example farmers working in their fields, mothers fetching children from school, people queuing for the bus, vendors and customers at the market, patients waiting in a health clinic, and so on. Conducting the interviews is a basic participatory research technique and is especially useful as part of a "participant observation" approach, where the researcher spends time in the community, making direct observations and discussing and checking them with community members.

Purpose

Natural group interviews are a means to get some broad sense of the local views on some issues. For instance, they may help to discover problems and expectations related to the conservation initiative. They can also identify the common interests leading individuals to cluster in small groups.

Steps in using the tool

• Make a list of natural groups which can be observed in the community concerned.
  
• Decide which groups are likely to be concerned with the topics under investigation.
  
• Prepare a list of key open-ended questions you would like to explore with the groups.
  
• Find an opportunity to engage in conversation with each of the natural groups selected.
  
• Introduce the open-ended questions into the conversation, and follow them up with new questions as appropriate.
  
• Do not make notes during the interview but be ready to make a summary of the information as soon as possible afterward. It may be appropriate to have someone else with you to mentally record the conversation as well.

• helps to focus participant observation activities;
  
• convenient for the person being interviewed (enables them to have input to the process without having to take time away from their normal tasks);
  
• helps to establish preliminary contacts and personal relationships with local people.
  
• group interaction enriches the quality of the information obtained;

• training of the interviewer is required. Quality of the data collected depends on the quality of the key and follow-up questions, which in turn depends on the researcher's knowledge and understanding of the local situation;
  
• good communication skills are needed to get the most out of this technique;
  
• to avoid causing offence, a good understanding of local customs and etiquette is necessary;
  
• people may not be willing to share their ideas and opinions with an outsider and answers may therefore not be entirely accurate. Information gathered in this way, as in any interview method, should be verified with information collected using other tools (a process called triangulation).

Focus group interviews are semi-structured discussions with a group of people who share a common feature (e.g. women of reproductive age, shareholders in an irrigation system, users of a particular service, etc.) Participants are chosen by means of sampling procedures (e.g. from a cross-section of ages, a variety of land-area ownership, different resource-users, etc.). Depending on local conditions, a focus group can include as few as five and as many as 15 or more individuals. A list of open-ended questions is used to focus the discussion on the issues of concern but, as for natural group interviews, follow-up questions can be developed during the conversation.

Purpose

Focus group interviews were developed in market-research to determine customer's preferences and expectations. Since the 1980s they have been used increasingly for sociological studies and in participatory research, particularly research to identify and describe group perceptions, attitudes and needs.

Steps in using the tool

• Identify a list of key questions to guide the interview. Develop a system for analyzing the information collected; for example a matrix of topics and variables, or just a list of key topics and possible responses (e.g. negative/positive, concerned/not concerned) plus a space for comments.
  
• Identify the groups in the community concerned about the topic under investigation.
  
• Decide on the number of focus groups and the number of participants in each group. In a small community two or three groups (e.g. men/women; elders/adults/youth; agriculturalists/herders; wealthy/poor) of five to ten participants each, may be sufficient.
  
• Conduct a practice (pilot) session with other community members (another community altogether if similar circumstances exist) to check that the questions are relevant and easily understood and that the type of responses can be summarised in the analysis system designed for the purpose.
  
• Before starting each focus group interview, explain the purpose of the exercise. Pose your questions to the group and be sure that each participant feels comfortable in speaking. Over-talkative participants should be controlled and silent ones stimulated. Limit the duration of the session; a focus group interview should last about one hour.
  
• Since the interviewer also acts as a group facilitator, another person should record the discussion and jot down the meaning of the interventions as well as the most characteristic quotes. If this is not possible, a tape recorder could be used, provided the group members give their prior permission. Tape recording is particularly helpful for reviewing the information in detail.
  
• Carefully review and analyze the interview notes or tapes to extract key statements, issues raised and patterns of responses in accordance with the analysis framework designed at the beginning of the process. The framework may need to be amended to accommodate unexpected responses.
  
• If possible, review the interview summary with the participants for them to check that their comments have been recorded and analyzed correctly.

• participants (especially vulnerable groups) may feel more free to talk when they are in a group of similar people;
  
• group interaction enriches the quality and quantity of information provided.
  
• different points of view between different groups in the community can be identified;

• experience in qualitative research procedures is needed to use this tool effectively;
  
• the facilitator needs to be able to stimulate group interaction during the interview;
  
• the tool entails some interpretation of participants responses by the person completing the analysis;
  
• people may be reluctant to share their opinions with an outsider and some responses may not be entirely accurate. Establishing trust in the facilitator and within the group at the beginning of the process is usually needed to collect valid and complete
  
• information.