PRA-Manual Embracing Participitation tools-only.pdf - PACA

EMBRACING PARTICIPATION IN DEVELOPMENT: Wisdom from the Field 3.9
1.7 Composition of the facilitating team
Participatory appraisals are best facilitated by teams of three to four members.
In case the team size is more than five, it is best to sub-divide the team in
smaller groups. In any case, care must be taken that the facilitators do not
outnumber the participating community members.
It is important that the team of facilitators includes some members from the
community (i.e. local residents), partner organizations (e.g., clinics, MOH, etc.)
and other local NGOs. Having local residents on the team increases the acceptance
of the process by the community, and provides a practical approach to
generating durable and meaningful partnerships with communities and partner
agencies. This way the ownership of the process, and subsequently the Project,
is well shared with the community. During participatory appraisals with adolescents
in Zambia the facilitating teams included clinicians, members of the
Neighborhood Health Committees (NHCs) comprising of local residents, and
representatives from other NGOs.
A good gender balance within the facilitating team is recommended. In
general, mixed teams of facilitators function well in the field. However, for
facilitating analysis on sensitive subjects, it may be necessary to have a separate
group of female facilitators interacting with female, and male facilitators with
the male community members. During the PALS appraisals we used both,
gender – segregated as well as mixed teams of facilitators. While the female
facilitators did not have any problems in interacting with girls or boys, some of
the male facilitators found it difficult to facilitate discussions on sensitive and
personal subjects with the girls.
The facilitators were having separate semi-structured interviews with
some adolescents in Kanyama Compound when a girl approached
the older looking female facilitator. The girl mentioned that she
had already had a discussion with another (much younger) female
facilitator but had not told her everything. Making her feel
comfortable, the facilitator started a discussion with the girl. The girl
informed that she had not been able to tell the other facilitator
that she had been gang raped some time ago.
Part 3
After a long one-to-one discussion, the girl told the facilitator that
she had felt much more comfortable because she had shared her
story with her.
From the field notes of Betty Muleya, Old Kanyama Compound, Lusaka, Zambia
There are other characteristics that should be considered when composing a
facilitation team. Age can be a sensitive factor, especially when facilitating
discussions on reproductive health with older men and women. In other
settings, ethnicity and language groups might be important characteristics.