Category Archives: Engagement techniques

Learning Workshop

Posted on by
Reply

Last week I co-facilitated a ‘learning workshop’ with Adam the new Deputy Country Director, for the four livelihoods projects in CU.

We structured the program through looking at four of the OECD measures of program success: Efficiency, Effectiveness, Sustainability and Relevence.

The definition of sustainability caused problems, for the OECD definition relates quite specifically to environmental sustainability during the project lifetime, but the common usage in the organisation defines it more as ‘legacy after the project is completed’. We went for the latter.

I introduced World Cafe as a technique for the session on effectiveness, causing shocked silence when I demonstrated how participants should write on the table cloths (they presumed that the white clothes were the venues, but relaxed when assured that we had bought them for the purpose).

Tenthema (of the sugar out growers capacity building project) giving the discussion summary of the Effectiveness Successes World Cafe table.

Tenthema (of the sugar out growers capacity building project) giving the discussion summary of the Effectiveness Successes World Cafe table.

At the end of the first day, Adam did an outside exercise of brainstorming and ranking peoples big learnings for the day. He was so impressed with World Cafe that he wanted to use it again on the second day for participants to explore how the top four learnings should be incorporated into new project proposals. I was really impressed with what participants came up with for one of these; and I particularly liked the last sentence of point 10, which I think sums it all up for any development organisation.

Adam directing participants on the brainstorm & ranking exercise used at the end of the first day

Adam directing participants on the brainstorm & ranking exercise used at the end of the first day

EMPOWERING LOAL STRUCTURES TO CARRY OUT MOST OF THE ACTIVITIES – LESS PARTICIPATION BY CU STAFF

  •  CU to play an advisory/mentorship role in assisting beneficiaries or local organisations through awareness, sensitization, training instead of doing things for them

  • Identify local organisations/beneficiaries, social groups to work with

  • The identified local organisations need to participate in the need assessment e.g PRA (participatory research & analysis)

  • Need to assess their capacities e.g. financial, technical, social, literacy etc

  • Build local organisations capacity to address their  identified gaps

  • Promote self assessment of local organisations

  • Provide strategic sub-grants to local organisations

  • Develop coherent M&E to track the management of sub-grants

  • Community Advocacy should be emphasized e.g CAI

  • Focus entry point should be through CBOs (community based organisations) as they are more focused on what they are doing. Will require change of CU system

Impact Report 2

Posted on by
Reply

I have just run the second workshop to gain staff input to the Impact report, this time with half of the WASH members. There are seven WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) projects implemented by CU, which account for 23% of the total project expenditure, so I was pleased to have a few hours of their time as part of a Whole of WASH (WoW) get together.

WASH staff look at posters describing activities and outcomes across the whole of CU

WASH staff look at posters describing activities and outcomes across the whole of CU

I again used the poster process, but this time remembered how successful it was in ’19 points of connection’ to have sticky dot likert scales associated with each poster. These sticker dot surveys have given some Interesting insights into the development world.

It looks as if there is more support for water provision than sewage.. funny that.

It looks as if there is more support for water provision than sewage.. funny that.

Junaid Ahmad is senior director for the water global practice of the World Bank Group. He maintains that interventions that focus on collective behavior change and shifting social norms are vital in this war on open defecation. ‘In rural India, there are places with signs that say: “We will not give our daughters in marriage to someone from a village that doesn’t practice total sanitation.” This is the type of social movement that is required. In addition, political will at the highest level is absolutely fundamental…..’ Unfortunately Malawi is unlikely to make it’s Millennium Development Goals in this area, mainly because according to UNDP, there is not sufficient high level political will in the country.

OK, so it was WASH staff commenting on agriculture, but almost everyone in the country grows maize.

OK, so it was WASH staff commenting on agriculture, but almost everyone in the country grows maize.

I am pleased to see that there are some attempts at innovation, which when I consider the lack of political will to enact any change to carbon producing behaviour in other parts of the world it all makes Malawi look positively dynamic.

 

Retreat

Posted on by
Reply

Last week I had the opportunity to work with Esther Mweso (program leader) and Moses Mpezeni (M&E officer) at the Local Development Support Program (LDSP) retreat. 26 staff attended for a day and a half at Majete Game Reserve. The tyrannies of distance (Esther & Moses work 4hrs from Blantyre), telcos (phone and internet are always tricky) and culture (what exactly is the purpose, a reflection or holiday reward?) made it quite a challenge to put a program together. On the night before  we agreed on a variation of Open Space. We would have two slots where Moses would run ‘team building’ type activities for all, and classic Open Space (without the computers) for the rest. Flexibility though is all.

As is always the case, a wide variety of topics. Interestingly (but perhaps not surprising) a strong emphasis on relationships.

As is always the case, a wide variety of topics. Interestingly (but perhaps not surprising) a strong emphasis on relationships.

I am so pleased to have had the chance to practice ‘opening the space’ on numerous occasions. I made the critical posters the night before and we arrived at the venue exactly at the time it was due to start. I didn’t even know where the minor spaces would be as I started – I just figured there would be trees if nothing else to sit under. Travelling in a different vehicle to Esther meant I did not have time to consult with her on the ‘Theme’ or ‘Givens’ of discussion, so had to take a risk on the Theme being ‘LDSP’ and ‘Givens: What works, what doesn’t, Ideas for the future’. Fortunately this was OK!

Small group discussion on the veranda of one of the accommodation tents.

Small group discussion on the veranda of one of the accommodation tents.

In discussions at the end of Day 1, Esther made the presidential decision to not run the second day of Open Space, but to run a session that picked up on the animals seen in the afternoon of Day 1. I have used photographs of animals for people to use as reflections on their own work or organisations, but this was something else! In groups of three, participants had to relate LDSP to the animals they’d seen the day before. There was of course lots of references to crocodiles and hippos, but the one that grabbed everyone was the driver who made reference to the honey eater bird that had made an incredible amount of noise early in the morning. As he said, ’it doesn’t matter how small you are, it’s possible to have a big impact.’

Making a point at the small group at the main veranda

Making a point at the small group at the lapa

For me, a highlight of the event was the participatory analysis of ‘types of participation’ that Moses ran. It was a bit clunky but participants got the point. Most of the participation done by the organisation was not the kind that staff felt was successful. Another highlight was just seeing these middle class, educated Malawians experience for what was for many of them was the first time, one of their own game reserves. There was considerable amazement that the most expensive accommodation tent had an open bathroom.

In a society where having a real bathroom is a privilege, to pay more for an open air one was of some amazement.

In a society where having a real bathroom is a privilege, not only was an open air one something of a novelty but to pay more was of some amazement.

I haven’t seen the feedback sheets yet. I’m hoping we’ll do a debrief session soon.

Theatre Act 2

Posted on by
1

Warning: This Blog might offend. Do not read further if unable to accept different cultural practices and realities.

Most rural Malawians live a life that is sometimes described as being ‘One with Nature’. For many in the villages a good household income might be $500/year. Thus for almost all, life is dictated by the seasons, food you can grow, any animals you have and most importantly your relationships with those around you. It is not an environment that stimulates or promotes individual creativity or personal initiative. Unfortunately it also means an average life expectancy of 54, with diarrhoeal diseases being  in the top three causes of death. Whilst resources might be minimal, with the exception of the very poor village people are not completely deficient. However effecting cultural change is not easy, and for the most part only something that occurs by individual personal choice. As with most rural communities Malawian villagers are conservative and reluctant to change long held cultural practices. The Community Lead Total Sanitation (CLTS) program is designed to ‘trigger’ cultural change occurring within a group of people who effectively live ‘One with Nature’. The cultural change in this instance is for the village to become an ‘Open Defication Free’ (ODF) village with one latrine per household.

Thus following the hygiene promotion activities (see previous post) and a lunch of soft drink and bread, this second demonstration of the triggering process for the Group Village Headmen moved outside. Whilst the guys had been talking about hygiene inside, Fiona had asked some of the children where those in the village defecate.

Bread, fish & faeces.

Bread, fish & faeces.

The triggering process itself starts with lighting a small fire to cook a local delicacy, common in the markets; in this case some small fish. These are then laid out close to some faeces recently collected from the surrounding bush. With a facilitated discussion about hygiene and flies the fish are then offered to the participants.

Fist offered to the most senior person in the group, the TA (Traditional Authority), she was not keen to eat the proffered snack.

First offered to the most senior person in the group, in this case the TA (Traditional Authority), she was not keen to eat the proffered snack.

After the ‘triggering’ event, the field facilitators look for the ‘natural leaders’. Natural leaders are those who suggest that the village change cultural habits, and that they should start building latrines. No finance or other incentives are provided, however one of the field facilitators suggested that a catalogue of different solutions available would be useful. It makes me think that a variation on the poster process might be appropriate.  I’m also left thinking how this concept might be used for changing other long held but ultimately dangerous cultural practices. What about the dangers of hierarchical bureaucracies?

 

Theatre 1

Posted on by
Reply

There is considerable evidence 1 that improved WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygene) services correlate to improved health. Clean water is one component, the others are sanitation systems and hygiene practice. Whilst donors are attracted to providing assistance because of the direct linkages between outputs and desirable outcomes (+ve change in the broader system), a significant issue is sustainability. For unfortunately, providing nice new latrines and clean water is no guarantee that they are used or maintained. As is increasingly becoming understood, sustainability is a function of ‘ownership’ in decisions made. On a recent visit to a village about 2.5hrs from the nearest sealed road I witnessed the ‘triggering’ component of the Community Lead Total Sanitation (CLTS) program.

The one I witnessed was not a normal village event, but second of two organised specifically for the Group Village Head men of about 30 target villages. This was to  generate support for the process to be carried out in their communities. I had read about the CLTS process a few years back, and was excited to have the opportunity to experience it in real life. What really struck me was both the highly professional manner in which the team (Tigwirizane, Fiona and Michael) conducted the session, and also just how theatrical an event it was. I particularly noticed how the team had changed the order of the sessions (hygiene first, followed by latrine building) to respond to the timing of the event, and also how Tigwirizane first warned up the crowd by asking how they had become Village Headmen and what they thought their duties were with regard to village development. After the warm up, Michael from the Ministry of Health took over.

Michael started with a short, interactive talk (all in Chichewa, so I’m not sure of the content, maybe hygiene or nutrition), and then produced the egg:

Michael produces a hard boiled egg. I'm not exactly sure what he says about it, but possibly something about it's nutritional value.

Michael produces a hard boiled egg. I’m not exactly sure what he says about it, but possibly something about it’s nutritional value.

He asks the Group Village Headman at the end of the semi circle to peel the egg. The lady watching is the Traditional Authority (TA).

He asks the Group Village Headman at the end of the semi circle to peel the egg. The lady watching is the Traditional Authority (TA).

 

The egg is passed around the group.

Experiencing the peeled egg as it is passed around the group.

The invitation. 'Now who would like to eat this highly nutritious boiled egg? What, none of you, why not? What's your problem?'

The invitation. ‘Now who would like to eat this highly nutritious boiled egg? What, none of you, why not? What’s your problem?’

Perhaps not in the same league, but as a theatrical/experiential event I was reminded of our bush fire simulation back in Australia where the aim was to engage the community to think about complex issues with a view to promoting individual action. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB2DF10pxwM

1) Esrey 1985,1991; Fewtrell 2005; Clasen et al. 2009,2010, Waddington 2009; Norman et al. 2010