The Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide - Democrats Against UN ...

The Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide
provide detailed insight into the systemic nature of local problems and service issues. Traditional municipal management and
environmental planning usually focus on the assessment and alleviation of problem symptoms. Programs can be established to
temporarily mitigate symptoms, but since the symptoms usually are the result of systemic problems, the symptoms eventually
reappear. For example, traffic congestion is a symptom of a faulty transportation system. Municipal traffic managers use a variety of
measures to alleviate congestion symptoms, such as the installation of traffic lights or increasing road capacity. However, the
congestion problems of most cities are usually only resolved when the transportation system is reassessed and redesigned to use new
transportation modes (such as mass transit) and practices (such as reformed land use patterns).
As argued in chapter 1, the key distinction between sustainable development planning and traditional environment management is
that sustainable development planning 1) factors in the systemic relationships between economic, community, and environmental
issues and 2) considers the long-term, systemic sustainability of different action strategies. Appendix 1 provides a summary of
different methods that can be used to generate a systemic analysis of issues during the community-based issue analysis process.
Finally, the issue analysis process should accurately measure key baseline conditions. Baseline data is essential not only
to understand current conditions, but also to monitor changes in those conditions as the action strategies are implemented.
Finally, effective action planning requires that the issue analysis process provides an accurate measurement of the key baseline
conditions related to each issue to be addressed in the Action Plan. Baseline data is essential not only to understand current
conditions, but to monitor changes in those conditions as the action strategies are implemented in future years.
The assessment process should look beyond problem symptoms to understand the systemic problems that produce these
symptoms.
A standard protocol needs to be established for measuring the baseline conditions in each issue area, using the same methods from
year to year so that comparable data can be established to monitor changes and progress towards targets. Without such baseline data,
evaluations of the success of an action plan and related municipal programs are usually made on an anecdotal basis. This can easily
cause confusion, since opposing parties can always find positive and negative anecdotes for most situations.
3.1.4 COMPLETE THE ISSUE ANALYSIS
Completing the issue analysis process requires that the target groups and communities, and ultimately the Stakeholder Group and its
Working Groups, are engaged in the evaluation of technical assessments and the discussion of technical findings during the final
stages of their participant assessment exercises. Through such an integrated analysis of both technical information and popular
experience and knowledge, the interrelationships and interdependencies between issues can be revealed, further enabling people to
determine underlying systemic problems that need to be addressed.
Different tools will be required to present technical findings to different groups and communities. Tools used for the presentation of
information can range from workshops to puppet theaters to geographic information systems. Methods for analyzing information
range from structured activities such as force field analysis to expert papers and popular education activities, such as role playing
and theater.
After review and discussion of technical assessment findings, a final report on the community-based issue analysis findings should
be prepared. Ideally, the Stakeholder Group should determine at the beginning of the issue analysis process how all the information
that is collected and reviewed will be processed into a consensus report about the relevant issues. This report should:
• thoroughly describe the findings of the participant and technical assessments;
• present baseline data about relevant conditions that should be monitored in the future;
• identify areas of disagreement or issues that require further assessment; and
• present any proposals or options for action that should be considered in the action planning process.
CHECKLIST 2
COMMUNITY-BASED ISSUE ANALYSIS
http://www.idrc.ca/openebooks/448-2/ (50 of 180)18/10/2010 12:47:23 AM