BASIC SOCIAL PREPARATION PROCESS AT COMMUNITY LEVEL

 

 

Extracts from a paper presented by Nesor Pestelos  at the ASEAN Training Center on PHC Development, Bangkok, Thailand. October, 1984

 

 

Involving communities in development programs require a deliberate process, which can be divided into four phases:

 

  1. Preparatory Phase
  2. Planning-with-the Community Phase
  3. Implementation Phase
  4. Monitoring and Assessment Phase

 

  1. Preparatory Phase

 

During this phase, the Government/NGO shall assist the community in:

 

·         Identifying priority development problems;

·         Obtaining some understanding of, and receiving some formal commitment by, the community to the objectives of the proposed program/project.

·         Arriving at a decision on how to solve the identified problems

 

The relationship of the project (Government/ NGO) to the community is all-important.  At this initial stage, a constructive working partnership must be clearly established.

 

The sharing and time-consuming process of involving the community and meeting the ‘pace’ of rural deliberations requires patience and willingness on the part of professional and officials to take the necessary time and effort.  This will usually involve the promotion of new attitudes and genuine respect to be shown by officials for rural people and will require a sufficient allocation of resources, and the development and deployment of suitable manpower to stimulate and ensure the active partnership of the community with government.

 

A fundamental question is involved here:  Is the Project willing and capable of adjusting resources to priorities based on the collective decision of the community?  The Project will seek understanding by the community of the constraints and limitations on the Government/NGO side, and will explain to the community the realistic mutual expectations in any joint undertaking.

 

The key activities during this Preparatory Phase are as follows:

 

a)       Initial Project-community contacts and the setting up of a productive dialogue related to project objectives and the necessary preliminary activities.

 

This contact should be established by special manpower or through agencies, which can be trusted by the community, are sensitive to its needs, and are able to explain simply and realistically the possibilities and resources, which might be made available to the community.

 

b.  Identification/formation of village-level development groups or cadres to undertake these activities and to represent the community on matters pertaining to the program.

 

Because of the diversity of rural communities (existing power structures, capacity for communal action, history of collaboration with external agencies, local conflicts, etc.  A ‘diagnostic’ approach to communities will required; an external agent will have to select strategies and techniques to stimulate the cadres according to the degree of social cohesion in any particular community.  In many cases, government/NGO will have to assist communities by reducing obstacles, which prevent full participation in the development programs.

 

    1. Data gathering and analysis on the development status and problems.  This activity is to be undertaken jointly by the representative community group and the government/NGO in the Project.

 

These development “communities” will consider the situation of the community in relation to the proposed program and should do so by collecting their own data and information.  Simple guidance for self-surveys would stimulate their interest and focus their attention.

 

There is, however, a lack of non-academic do-it-yourself survey methodologies.  Such a strategy for involving the community around specific problem require:

 

·         The building of  “how to … Guides”

 

The community must be encouraged to accept the program activity, to modify the program in accordance with the need as they see it, or if they so wish, reject the activity without recrimination.  If the community accepts, this will lead to the formulation of a local plan in the Planning-with-the Community Phase.

 

The training inputs required to carry out this Preparatory Phase may include the following:

 

·         Training of government/NGO development work functionaries who will link up with the community.

·         Motivational training of community leaders:

·         Specialized training on community self-survey and analysis (“How to …… guides”);

·         Staff development / recruitment / training / supervision:

For local leaders and volunteers

For village level government/NGO workers

 

  1. Planning-with-the-Community Phase

Planning tends to be very centralized.  The involvement of the community in planning will necessitate more government/NGO contacts with communities, and the exercise of improved community work skills.  A greater degree of delegation of responsibility may have to be considered in order to make decision-making levels more sensitive and accessible to the community.  This requires:

 

·         A review and adjustment of organizational structure

·         A plan for exposure of planners to the problems as experienced at the grass-root level, and to similar projects which will provide an active exchange of experiences;

·         A flexible training program;

·         Formulation of a local program pertinent to particular needs identified earlier, and use of the technology the community is prepared to accept or support.

 

It is here that the “fit” of social conditions and technology must be “tailored” for each community:  technical people should join the community workers, and make sure that:

 

·         Maintenance plans and organizations systems will be an integral and important part of project formulation.

 

The range of technical options, the related costs, and the necessary commitment required by the community must be carefully explained to the community from the outset.

 

This Planning-with-the –Community Phase involves intensive and detailed community-government information exchange on various aspects of the locally formulated development programs.  It is assumed that the adequately trained village level group exists (following upon the preparatory phase), able to participate with government/NGO in planning project activities.

The government/NGO will assist the community to:

 

·         Develop their grass-root planning and local administration capacity;

·         Relate project objectives to other development activities;

·         Establish the precise linkage of relevant community-based groups to the particular agencies involved in the program;

·         Determine the local personnel requirement for each activity of the program, and the kind of extent of technical supervision which will be needed;

·         Identify the specific training needs of each kind of personnel;

·         Decide allocation of budget responsibilities related to:

 

Benefit/cost relationship

Ability of the poorest to pay

Ability of community to mobilize resources

Realistic promotion of income generating activities

                       

·         Clearly define the mutual and interlocking community/government responsibilities.

 

The key activities during this planning-with-the community phase consist of community-government/NGO negotiations to address the issues, and to decide specifically upon such matters as:

 

·         Arranging for information campaigns around local issues, involving the school/ temple, etc.

·         The involvement of community representatives in planning project activities;

·         Building in on-going monitoring, evaluation of project and reporting arrangements, etc.

 

Specialized training inputs required for this phase:

 

·         Community leaders (traditional, appointed, elected, religious, informal).

 

Community skills (interpersonal skills, group leadership skills: small scale media skills);

 

Organizational skills: “How to” find what problem exists

 

Management skills: Knowledge of local and external resources.

 

·         Technical personnel: “How to” skills in community-level work

 

·         Supporting groups (teachers; religious personnel; indigenous and non-indigenous health workers; women’s groups; farmers association; student; young people’s group)

 

Simple, local level recognition of indication, “symptoms” of problems;

Ways communities can contribute to project activities;

Techniques for mobilizing their peers;

Ways of monitoring local projects

 

  1. Implementation Phase

The implementation phase is reached when the activities which have been agreed upon, listed and timetabled during the planning phase swing into operation.

 

It is during this phase that the organizational and technical capabilities of the community (and government) are put to the test, and when the unexpected will need to be met with a quick and effective response.

 

The experience gained from this implementation phase should be channeled into improving and strengthening the communities on-going capacity for partnership in development.

 

In the implementation phase, the government will assist the community by:

 

·         Installing the facilities through provision of technical inputs as well as logistical and other support;

·         Making sure that the “software” resources are given their proper place in importance and are “delivered” on time;

·         Continuing to stimulate, support and reinforce the growing and latent organizational and technical capability of the community for implementation of the program.

 

The key activities during the implementation phase are:

 

·         Initiating the practicing operation and maintenance of the programs;

·         Formal turning-over of facilities to the community (when thay satisfy specification in quality, function and output and when the maintenance skills are of a sufficiently high standard);

·         Bringing the monitoring system into full operation and modifying this as necessary.

 

Training during the implementation stage requires:

 

Intensification of training to bring standards of performance up to the point where the skills can be practiced satisfactorily on a routine basis, relevant to the requirements of the program and the particular needs of the target groups and end users;

 

Reinforcement of training activities which local media and iads, and utilization of methods that tie in directly with the operations taking place in the community, so ensuring maximum impact.

 

  1. Monitoring and Assessment Phase

This monitoring and assessment phase is founded upon a built-in monitoring system which is put together during the planning phase and becomes firmly established during the implementation phase.  The monitoring, important primarily for checking that vital things are happening (and allowing for quick identification and response if they are not), also can provide important material for the assessment phase.  (Here we see that the four phases are not distinct or strictly sequential, the later phases being dependent upon what have preceded them).

 

Most importantly in designing the Monitoring and Evaluation (M & E) systems:

 

·         Identify specifically what information is crucial for whom;

·         Determine how each piece of crucial information will travel to reach the persons or groups who are responsible to act the respond to it.  (It is essential that there be a one-to-one correspondence of information items to those responsible for action, all the way along the line, i.e. not implementers, communities etc.)

·         Plan for joint assessment after implementation (officials, technicians and community)

 

PHC activities ordinarily involve many sectors, directories, groups, agencies and persons at many different levels of organization.  This tends to make M and E systems cumbersome.  The communities should not merely be made responsible for collecting and conveying local level information but must become essential receivers of information (in a simple format) vital for their role in project activities.  They need to be full partners in a monitoring and evaluation system, input and realization of objectives, despite constraints, such as:

 

·         Poor communication between government and community;

·         Weak community organization;

·         Commonly a lack of  “political will” in administration.

 

The preparatory and planning stages must address and largely eliminate these constraints:

 

·         Produce “How to …. Guides”;

·         Identify all training required for making the monitoring and evaluation system effective;

·         Clarify the responsibilities involved in administering the monitoring system.

           

In the Monitoring and Assessment Phase, the government/NGO will assist the community to:

 

·         Design, establish and operate a built-in monitoring system;

·         Identify problems (which may hamper smooth operation and maintenance of facilities and activity) as they are revealed;

·         Promptly respond to these problems, with action and resources.

 

The key activities during this part of the monitoring and assessment phase will be:

 

·         Operating the regular reporting system;

·         Responding to problems as they emerged;

·         Beginning to make judgments periodically on the effectiveness of the program;

·         Turning attention increasingly to impact considerations (for example, health status, etc.);

·         Being alert to, and exploring the possibilities of spin-off projects as benefits of the program become manifest (income generation, kitchen gardens);

·         Assessing the improvement in the capability of the community and local organization and matching this to possible future commitment;

·         Considering the experience of this program in terms of the direction and content of the next cycle of planning for community-based development.

Training activities during the monitoring and assessment phase will be to:

·         Provide refreshers training;

·         Replace manpower as it turns over or drops out;

·         Meet the training requirements revealed by the problems;

·         Develop skills in assessing program

·         Further strengthen the local capability in implementing projects in collaboration with government and external agencies.