VIPP_Unicef

The
Participants
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facilitator must explain from the beginning that the aim of VIPP is to act
democratically, involving everyone in the generation of useful and
applicable knowledge. Some professionals may never want to participate
in a VIPP process since they claim to know what has to be done and how
to do it. They may be afraid of loosing their influence and control. However,
the facilitator may be able to demonstrate the advantages of democratic
procedures to these people and can devise ways of including them as
resource persons in the whole process.
The size of each group also determines the choice of techniques. It also
depends on the type of event and its content and objective, but for
constructive group processes a minimum size is normally eight people,
while an ideal size is between 15 and 20. If events have more than 40
participants, it is difficult to maintain a personal contact between
facilitators and participants and the group should split into two
separate plenaries with different facilitators. With large groups a card
collection may last hours and becomes tedious, and the facilitator
should opt for small, "buzz groups" (see pages 120 and 126) to collect
questions or get feedback quickly.
To optimize the use of VIPP the facilitator will look for a group size
which allows dialogue and interaction in plenary and in smaller group
work. Methodological variations will keep the group motivated and
involved in the process. However, with smaller groups there may be
less interaction. Of course, anyone can use visualization as a working
and planning technique by herself, but the essence of VIPP is the
bringing together of different perceptions and opinions as a means to
discover new ways of looking at problems and solutions. VIPP events
should be prepared by a team of facilitators (two to five persons) in
order to bring about more interaction and creativity in planning.
Another situation arises when people of one group know each other
from their daily work situation. In this case, introductory exercises
will cover only unknown aspects of the participants. These exercises
then have a function of "icebreaking" and inducing of concentration
on the issue at hand. Even if people know each other, they may not be
ready for dialogue and interaction if there is not an initial warm-up or
exercise which helps them focus on the event. However, if the
participants do not know each other, the facilitator will apply methods
of getting to know each other which help to quicken the building of
group spirit. Everybody should feel comfortable and should learn to
trust the facilitator's capacity to guide the process.
The size of a group will also determine the duration of an event. If the
facilitator wants to achieve the same intensity of dialogue and interaction
with a bigger group she must take into account that more time will be
needed. While in a traditional seminar the duration depends on the length
of each speech, in VIPP events the visualization and collection of ideas
from each of the participants requires time. To achieve a productive group
THE USES OF VIPP