TOOLKIT- Investing in Local Communities

8/9/2019 TOOLKIT- Investing in Local Communities

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Nabaa & TDH-Italy Organizations

Toolkit for Investing in Local Communities 2


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Table of Content

Introduction

1. An Overview2. Principles of Research Ethics3. Research Methodology

Planning the Implementation

4. Guiding Principles for Focus Groups -Roles and Responsibilities of an Effective Focus Group

Facilitator

5. How to motivate the participating specialists?6. Steps in Planning Awareness Sessions

Case Study

7. Background Information8. Summary of Action9. Evaluation

Appendix

I. Pair-Wise RankingII. Training Report on Participatory Rapid Assessment

(PRA)

III. Basics of Conducting Focus GroupsIV.

Report of Focus Groups

V. ILCSTEP 2: Matching list of priorities of each villagewith available specialists including all contact details


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VI. Awareness Session Report Form includingQuestionnaire

VII. ILCSTEP 3: Establishing a network within eachvillage, by identifying a contact person in charge of all

data (lists of specialists, information leaflets) and of

organizing the next steps as independent as possible

(however, assistance will be provided by Facilitator suchas TDH, Nabaa, Volunteers and Field Workers.)


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1.An OverviewObjectives

The main objective of this manual is to offer information on a

new methodology which is in the process of being tested and

evaluated in 7 villages in the North of Lebanon and 15 villages

in Tyr District, South Lebanon. Its aim is to encourage the

people within those communities to gain knowledge of local

resources available to solve their community needs. The

methodology further intends to encourage investment in

existing local community resources as well as in the

empowerment process of the communities to become more

independent from external aid. By stimulating a process of

knowledge sharing among the focus groups and the available

resources, this methodology promotes initiatives to build

networks among the villages in order to meet their needs.

The implementation will take place using a participatory

approach that is a characteristic of this new mode: the

community will be involved as much as possible in order to

strengthen their feelings of responsibility, independence, and

commitment to improving the situations of their villages. The

focus group meetings will be held so as to stimulate the

community participation in the identification of the

priorities/needs related to all participants. Group dialogue as its

the case in focus groups, tend to generate rich information and

offer participants insights into personal experiences,

perspectives and complex topics. It further provides information

directly from individuals who are invested in these issues and

hold expert knowledge about a problem or challenge they are

facing about which little is known among researchers and

facilitators. In addition, this methodology provides a relatively


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low cost and efficient way to generate a great deal of

information and work cost-efficiently.

At the same time the communities of the participating villages

will be involved in an awareness campaign about their final

chosen main topics such child raising, environmental problems,

agricultural questions and other matters of public concern that

will be identified in cooperation with the community and in

observance of the local culture. So parents, youths, elderly and

key persons of the communities will have to identify the

awareness campaign topics, to take part in them and, by

establishing a person in charge of correspondence, to manage

the meetings by themselves.

Outcomes

Generally speaking, the aim is to make the people of the village

aware of the resources/specialists available not only in their

village but in the surrounding area and thus enhancing their

ability to start networking among the villages. Networking in

this case means to be able to

identify the main problems

and needs of the village and

to use the given data of

specialists in the area in

order to contact them

independently, hold

sessions/trainings and start

solve their problems

independently without

foreign assistance.

By establishing a human resource mapping for the North and

South of Lebanon, which will be available to all participating


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villages, this methodology of Investing in Local Communities

aims to strengthen the local networks and improving the overall

situation in the villages by meeting exactly the needs mentionedduring the focus group research. The most important aspect of

this new method is to link the community with the specialists in

the village and the surrounding area by raising awareness about

certain issues and about ways to resolve future

challenges/problems in the villages.

Advantages

1) Cost Effectiveness: The awareness sessions will be

conducted by specialists who are coming from the villages and

work voluntarily in this project in order to improve the overall

situation within the community. Therefore, no external people

will have to come in to conduct the sessions which means thatno extra funding is needed to pay for external specialists and

their accommodation/transportation costs.

2) Sustainability: Once the available specialists are included in

the human resource mapping, their advice and counseling can

be searched any time, as they are all living in close proximity to

each other in the same region (in the example of Lebanon:

Akkar or Tyr District). Furthermore, those specialists will not

leave the country or area once the project is concluded and the

village will be able to benefit from the established network in

the future, thus guaranteeing the sustainability of this

methodology.

3) Culture-sensitivity: Local specialists holding awareness

sessions are aware of the critical issues affecting the communityrepresented by the participants and because they have been

living in this community for years, they have a basic awareness

of sensitive issues so that they do not offend or insult


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participants unknowingly or unintentionally. Additionally, the

participants do not feel as shy or timid in talking about personal

and intimate problems with a person who understands theirconcerns, is aware of the cultural as well as religious taboos,

and can build a relationship of trust among the participants.

4) Local Community Resource Investment: A list of specialists

available will be firmly embedded in the newly established

network among the villages in the country. This will enhance

the status of the specialists and contribute to future employment

opportunities. For the participants in the local villages this

investment will improve the living situation, educational

standards and other challenges they are facing in daily life.

Moreover, it encourages communication among the inhabitants

and the neighbouring villages, making all of them aware of the

fact that they can rely on themselves to solve their problems.

2. Principles of Research EthicVoluntary participation

Individuals must

agree to

participate in the

research of theirown free will. It

is essential that

participants

understand that

their

participation is

voluntary andthat there are no conseq

uences for refusing to take part in the

study or to answer specific questions. Researchers must explain

the nature of the study openly and honestly and in a way that is


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understandable to the participant. It is the responsibility of the

researcher to ensure that the participant understands the nature

of the research, the purposes of the research, the potential risksand benefits to the participant of participation, and the fact that

they may withdraw from participation at any time.

Respect for Human Rights and Freedom of Expression

Facilitators must be respectful of the rights of others and

sensitive that others hold values, attitudes and opinions that can

differ from their own. Researchers and their work must respect

the rights, dignity and worth of all people.

Confidentiality

One of the most critical principals of research ethics is

maintaining confidentiality of research participants. Participants

of research projects share valuable and sometimes sensitive

information with the researcher, and they trust that the

researcher will ensure that their identity is protected.

It is imperative that no one but the researchers coordinating and

conducting the focus groups knows the names of participants.

Furthermore, people other than the researchers should not have

access to the responses from individual participants.

Appreciating Time and Contributions of the

Participants

Facilitators should always remember to thank participants for

their time and participation and most importantly let them know


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that the information they have shared is valuable not only for

this methodology but for their own community development.

3. Research Methodology1- Desk Research using secondary sources:

Media reports about situation in villages

Former Project reports Feedback from volunteers working or local

organizations working in the villages

2- Direct Observation:

Direct observation means observing object, events,processes, relationships or people's behavior

systematically and recording these observations.

3- Focus group discussions:

Small group of people (6-12) with specialist knowledgeor interest in a particular topic with a Facilitator chosento keep the discussion on or around the original Topic.

It can bring together people who have a particularproblem and those who cannot speak up at large

meetings (such as women or minority groups).

Successful focus discussion need to be held in acomfortable place with no interruption, an informal

atmosphere, equality and trust between group

participants and facilitator, understanding and agreement

within the group about the purpose of the discussion,


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respect for the right of all participants to speak and to be

listened to.

4- Ranking and Scoring:

Ranking and scoring

exercises can be used in

interviews or on their

own and they can lead

to more direct and

revealing questions.

This method helps to

identify the main

problems or preferences

of people, to set the

criteria they use when

deciding in what order to place things and enables the priorities

of different people to be compared.

Pair wise ranking:1A matrix is drawn to compare which is the

preferred of two options.

4. Guide lines for Facilitators inConductingFocus Groups2

The role of the facilitator is to achieve a balance between

collecting necessary information and gathering important data

that have not been anticipated. The facilitator has to make sure

that the interview respondents are interrupted as little as

possible and are not rushed to answer in a situation where they

might need more time to think about their needs or feelings.

1For an example of Pair-Wise Matrix, please see appendix number I.

2 Some of the information about how to conduct focus groups have been

taken from other sources and are listed in the appendix number II. and III. -

Training Report on PRA; Basics of Conducting Focus Groups


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- Begin with the traditional greeting and state that theinterview team is here to learn.

- Conduct the interview informally and mix the questionswith discussion

- Be open-minded and objective- Let each team member finish their line of questioning

(do not interrupt)

- Carefully lead up to sensitive questions- Assign one note-taker- Be aware of non-verbal signals- Avoid leading questions and value judgments.- Avoid questions that can be answered with "Yes" or

"No"

- Group interviews should last no longer than two hours- Each interviewer should have a list of topics and key

questions written down in his or her notebook

The Importance of Neutrality

While it is important for the facilitator to show participants that

they are actively listening and interested in what participants are

sharing, the interviewer should remain as neutral or impartial as

possible, even if they have a strong opinion about something.

Avoid Making Assumptions

The opinions of the respondent should not be assumed by the

interviewer or their thoughts be summarized by the facilitator. It

is important to let the discussion flow in any direction the

participants like it to go. There should be no comments from the

facilitators side and no leading to any conclusion or summary.

Avoid Asking Leading Questions

An example of a leading question is Dont you think This

type of question may lead the facilitator to influence the

outcomes of the discussion and to make the participants answer


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questions according to what the facilitator expects to hear,

rather than how they really feel about some issues.

Common Mistakes during Focus Groups Discussion:

- Failing to listen closely to what the interviewed personis saying

- Repeating questions- Helping the interviewee to give an answer- Asking vague or insensitive questions without being

aware of the context and the environment in which the

focus group is conducted.

- Over-Generalizing findings by not paying enoughattention to all the details and having incomplete note-taking

- Ignoring anything that does not fit the ideas and thepreconceptions of the interviewer

Effective Facilitators should:

Have good listening skills Have good observation skills Have good speaking skills Be able to foster open and honest dialogue among

diverse groups and individuals

Have the ability to remain impartial and do not givetheir opinion in order to influence the participants

Encourage participation when someone is reluctant tospeak up

Be able to manage participants who dominate theconversation and keep on talking the whole time.

Be gender and culturally-sensitive


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5.How to motivate the specialists who offeredto participate?

At the beginning of this session for all the specialists and

persons who offered their skills to this new component

Investing in Local Communities, the fact should be

emphasized that without their support and their voluntarily

commitment and dedication, the awareness sessions would not

be possible. The following reasons could be used in order to

further motivate the specialists and ensure that they understand

their role in this concept correctly.

I. Make a difference and improve situation in the villages:Community service and volunteerism are an investment in your

community and the people who live in it. Contribute to a cause

that you care about, using your skills in a productive way,

making meaningful contributions and improving the situation in

the villages by using your specific knowledge and skills.

II. Be actively involved in this development without countingon external aid:

Take responsibility for your future and the future of yourcommunities; take the chance of performing an advisory

function within the focus groups and in cooperation with local

as well as external NGOs. To be involved in developing and

testing a new project tailored to the "real" needs of the people.

III. Personal growth and self-esteem:Become part of a project that aims at uniting people fromdiverse backgrounds to work towards a common goal. By

making a difference for those people you will feel needed and


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appreciated in the communities where you are going to offer

your skills.

IV. Professional growth:You will be able to advance your personal communication skills

by giving talks and interacting with the focus groups. Develop

personal networks that will be useful when goals of project are

achieved and have the chance to build personal, professionalcontacts and to expand your horizons.

V. Role model for community and young people:Improvement is possible if everyone takes his/her share and

engages in community development.

VI. Small time commitment:It doesn't require a huge time commitment: you canstart small

by volunteering for a one-time event or scheduling just a couple

hours per week, it will be all arranged according to your free

time and availability.

6. Steps in Planning Awareness SessionsStep 1: Identification of Needs within Focus Groups3

and of Available Local Human Resources

(Qualifications/Skills of Specialists)

The various focus groups will identify and establish a list of

relevant and important topics in which they would like to have

3Please see attached appendix number IV. - Report of Focus Group

Sessions


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further training/education or awareness sessions. Topics could

include: Breast Cancer, Pollution, HIV awareness, Women's

rights, democracy, drugs etc. The agenda will be soleresponsibility of the people in the different focus groups.

Role of the facilitator:

1. Conduct a needs assessment by using participatoryresearch approach using focus groups. The facilitator

should start collect information on needs and challenges

within the village and establish a list of priorities among

community members as to know what has to be

addressed first.

2. During the conducting of focus group sessions, the roleof the facilitator will be the following:

Select the Team: Choose a facilitator to guide thediscussion and a note-taker who will take notes and

make observations during the discussion.

Identify themost suitable

individuals to

participate in

each group ensure that

participants fit

the criteria

established for

inclusion in a

particular

focus group. Plan a time of day that is convenient for the

participants and responsive to their life

circumstances. Groups should also be conducted in


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locations that are also convenient and comfortable

for all participants, especially if the topic is very

sensitive and requires some degree of privacy. Invite appropriate participants and contact confirmed

participants the day before the group to remind them

of the time and location of the focus group and to

confirm their participation.

Make an attendance list, take pictures4 and documentthe whole process of the focus groups. Collect

feedbacks from participants on how to improve thesessions in the future.

3. Identifying and collecting data about the availableresources; the facilitator will gather information about

specialists within the villages concerned and develop a

list/database including all information on area of

specialization/knowledge offered, contact details (phonenumber, address, email, times available) and the areas in

which the specialist could operate (related to means of

transportation).

Step 2: Matching list of priorities with list of

available resources.5

In this second step, the needs and main priorities of the villages

will be matched with the specialists/available resources.

Specialists will be chosen and identified for giving awareness

sessions in their areas of specialization.

4 Note: People should be asked for the permission to take photos as this is

prohibited in some rural villages and may cause the participants to feel

uncomfortable.5

For an example of the list of matching priorities with available human

resources, please see appendix number V.ILCSTEP 2


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Role of Facilitator:

1. The facilitating partner will match the list of priorities ofthe various villages with the newly-establisheddatabase/list of specialists and available resources in

order to be able to develop a timetable for future

awareness sessions.

2. Moreover, it is the role of the facilitator to provideaccess for focus groups to the specialists database sothat in the future they can solve their problems by

matching their needs with the available skills within the

village or area.

Step 3: Implementation

In this stage of the project, the specialist sessions/ talks will be

implemented. The focus groups in the villages should choose

the best time and location to hold the talks and organize them

for themselves. For more sensitive topics, the talks could be

located within domestic houses as to create a more familiar

atmosphere for women, children or elderly. However, this is

just a suggestion as the responsibility and choice of the location

as well as date and hour of the talks will be sole responsibility

of members of the focus groups.


1. The facilitator should ensure that a person in charge ofcorrespondence and organization of the sessions is

chosen and that constant contact is kept with this person.

This will make it easier for the facilitator to invite all the


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interested people and target groups to the awareness

session and to alleviate the communication among the

people and the facilitator.

2. Help preparing the location and outline of the awarenesssession; prepare the participants as well as the specialists

for the talk and give an introduction about the expected

outcomes and next steps.

3.

Facilitators will provide the villages with the lists ofexperts in the certain areas of demand and attend the

awareness trainings as silent witnesses" in order to

collect data about the outcome as well as feedback for

future evaluation. The main role of the facilitator is to

assist and facilitate the procedures and act as the main

point of correspondence between the specialist and the

person organizing the awareness session within the

village.

Step 4: Evaluation

An awareness session report including a survey-questionnaire6

will identify, report and interpret behaviors, beliefs andobservations of specific groups during the awareness sessions to

find out if the people's expectation have been met and what

could be done to improve future sessions. In addition, a final

evaluation including lessons learned, challenges faced during

the implementation, and the specialists/participants feedback,

has to be produced after the project has been finished.

6For an example of this questionnaire please see the enclosed appendix

number VI.


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1. Prepare pre and post-questionnaires on samples ofparticipants during awareness meetings2. Establish an

attendance list,

take pictures

and take notes

of the directobservation by

the team

members.

3. Collect information on specialists feedback, interviewparticipants about their opinion of the sessions, the main

questions that have been raised and on improvement

possibilities.

4. Provide assistance to the participants and the contactperson in particular for the next steps and future

intervention in the villages.

5. Use evaluation methodology, sources of verification(such as reports of community workers and facilitator

attending meetings) and measurement of success in

order to identify problems and obstacles to improve the

new methodology and learn from difficulties/failures.


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Step 5: What next? - How to ensure the

sustainability7

1. These steps could include forming some kind ofcommittee or group who is willing to take the initiative

of passing on the acquired knowledge and organizing

meetings, new sessions (on their own) as well as

informing all the inhabitants who did not take part in the

session. Furthermore, leaflets could be produced with

the most important points and information of theawareness session. This leaflet should be produced by

the participating members and the information for the

leaflet should also be chosen by the participants in order

to make this leaflet as needs-related as possible.

2. As a way of improving the sustainability of the heldawareness sessions and the project in general, theknowledge and information has to be passed on to

children and youth (especially for issues regarding

personal hygiene, and health care etc.) Inside schools,

classes can be hold on those topics with the children in a

more artistic way by making children reflecting on what

they heard through drawings, handcraft or exhibitions,

theater/sketches etc. By these means, the children areable to remember in more detailed the message and can

pass their knowledge on to other students in the school

in a playfully way.

3. Another opportunity is to have monthly meetings ortwo-monthly on new arising problems and issues among

the community members of the villages. These meetings

could be organized and initiated either by the contact

7Please find attached the draft of how to establish a network among villages

and to plan future intervention in appendix number VII- ILC STEP 3


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person or the committee/reference system established in

the village after the awareness sessions. In these

meetings the new main priorities can be addressed andfuture sessions/meetings with the specialists arranged, as

each village will be able to access the specialist database

on their own or with little assistance of the initiating

organizations.

Note: However, one has to bear in mind that the above stepsfor future intervention are only some ideas and the people in

the villages are very creative and sometimes very eager to

find their own way of passing on the information and

establishing a working network among the region.

7. Case StudyBackground Information

The implemented

program of Investing in

Local Communities has

been established in thecontext of the Project

ROSS in partnership

with Terre des

Hommes Italia and the

Italian Cooperation,

which aims at

improving educational

and recreational

opportunities for

children and adolescents resident in 22 villages in Lebanon. An


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initial rapid education assessment in January 2009 followed by

a comprehensive needs assessment in February 2009 of all

villages concerned, took place in which Naba'a, together withTerres des Hommes (TDH) conducted field visits to villages in

North Lebanon's Akkar region to assess local needs of

communities in the villages.

Case study of the Village of Borkaiel

Borkaiel has a population of 1,500 with a majority of the people

working in the areas of agriculture, military or governmental

work. The village faces various problems: to begin with, there is

no municipality in Borkaiel which further enforces the other

problems as there is no one to coordinate a response to the

challenges. Furthermore, no potable water is available in the

village and the inhabitants have to go to the neighbouring

villages in order to fill up their water tanks. Regarding the

health situation, there are 2 medical centres which provide basic

services but all serious medical cases have to be transferred to

the hospital of the next bigger city of Halbah. Three local

organisations are working in Borkaiel at the moment: Borkail

Development ( social & charity): its directed at all the village,

Al Taalof (Alliance) is giving language (English) and computer

courses; and Al Hadata which is offering language & Computer

Courses as well. No international organization is operative in

Borkaiel and all three organizations mentioned above do merely

focus on educational matters and offering courses and trainings

for all members of the village.

Social and Economical problems:


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Lack of clinics and health care, which forces avillage's residents to travel to other villages for

medical services. Regular health checks cannot becarried out inside the village and this has led to an

increase in the development and spread of illnesses,

particularly among the elderly who refuse to travel

so far.

Sources of water in the village are oftencontaminated, or simply do not exist.

Lack of involvement of parents in schools, despitethe fact that parents' committees often exist. The fact

that parents do not play an active role in the school,

has led to an increased dropout rate among pupils

who have to work in agriculture with their parents or

do not pass their final exams due to lack of

assistance from all sides.

Lack of youth groups, centres as well as playgroundand thus lack of activities for children.

The above-listed problems increased in incidencewith economic deprivation and the high inflation

rates apparent especially in the remote areas and

rural villages such as Borkaiel.

8. Summary of ActionVarious focus groups were held within the community in order

to gain information on the existing problems within the village.

Focus groups were held among men, women as well as female

and male youth. The facilitators collected all the information

mentioned in the discussion and tried to establish a list of

priorities in order to resume the villages main problems and

challenges. This method of pair wise ranking will be shown on


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the example of the woman focus group which was held on

20th

of July 2009.

This focus group targeted 14 women from Borkaiel, including

13 mothers and 1 single woman, and took place in the house of

one of the participants. The major points of the meeting

included: First the project was introduced and presented by the

facilitator staff, emphasizing the different phases, the targets of

the awareness sessions, the campaign and its importance for thevillage, as well as future steps and possibilities after the

awareness session.

In a second step, the facilitator started to ask about the problems

and challenges the community and the participants are facing

and the following points were raised: most women mentioned

problems with their sons in adolescence age or the first years of

their children when they start to ask a lot of embarrassing

questions. Furthermore, most women talked about the intra-

familiar problems and how their husband treats them which

have a negative impact on their children. At the end of the

discussion the following 5 main priorities were chosen, as

follows:

1) Womens Infections2) Raising children3) Violence against children4) Diabetes5) Healthy nutrition


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Pair-wise ranking methodology:

Violence

aga

ins

t

kids

Diabe

tes

Womans

infec

tions

Breas

t

Cancer

Ra

ising

Kids

Hea

lthy

Nu

trition

Hea

lthy

N

utrition

1

Violence

aga

ins

t

kids

Diabe

tes

W

omans

in

fec

tions

Breas

t

Cancer

Ra

ising

Kids

Hea

lthy

N

utrition

Ra

ising

Kids

4

Ra

ising

Kids

Ra

ising

Kids

Womans

infec

tions

Ra

ising

Kids

Breas

t

C

ancer

1

V

iolence

aga

inst

kids

Breas

t

Cancer

W

omans

in

fec

tions

Womans

infec

tions

5

Womans

infec

tions

Womans

infec

tions

D

iabe

tes

2

D

iabe

tes

Violence

aga

ins

t

kids

2

As soon as the priorities were put in order and the focus group

members had agreed on which points should be further

discussed with specialists, the facilitator started to meet with

specialists in the village and the surrounding area in order to

gain knowledge about their area of specialization and their


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availability to help in the awareness sessions. A final list was

established with name, phone number, address, email, political

party, and availability. After founding a specialist who waswilling and available for the first awareness session in Borkaiel

on the topic of womens infections, the date for the session was

set in order to prepare the residents and the location. The person

of contact, who has been nominated during the focus group

session, started to tell people about the session and invite the

target group to the talk. On the 14th

of August 2009 Dr. Hiba El-

Sayyed presented an awareness session on "Women'sinfections" for 27 women in the Borkaiel.

On the day of the awareness session, the following steps were

prepared by the facilitator in cooperation with the contact

person/person in charge of future correspondence:

The procedure of the Session. Questions for the specialists so he/she can

prepare her/himself before the session

Summary for assimilation of information and toproduce some kind of leaflet or information

handout afterwards.

Discussion about what next!Summary of Session:

Specialist asking simple questions in order to discover

the knowledge of the group regarding the awareness

sessions topic.

Symptoms of the disease.

Causes.

How to get infected, how infections are transmitted

between individuals, how do viruses move into the

Human body?


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Risks and consequences of inflammation on the child,

adolescents and adults.

TreatmentPrevention

9. EvaluationLesson learned:

It is a necessity to be aware of the traditions and customsof the villages before starting the implementation of the

project, as this prevents the working group from making

a lot of mistakes in the future. Choosing suitable words when introducing the project in

the meetings as to leave no chance for interpreting

words in a different way which could lead to

participants disappointment and dissatisfaction.

Communication should focus on key persons in the fieldand not to be open to many persons as this complicatesthings and creates more chaos and misunderstanding

among the facilitator and the participants of the village.

Difficulties and Challenges:

In the beginning of the awareness session it becameclear that some of the participants did not understand the

concept of the sessions very well and suggested to talk

about womens literacy. Therefore, the team had to

explain the concept of the sessions again and stress the

importance as well as necessity of it for the village.

While we prepared the session with some women, otherstold us that they will invite more women to the session

but in the end only the woman who hold the session in

her house, invited others and organised everything.


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Therefore, it is vital to have person in charge of

correspondence and organisation as the other women did

not follow up their promises. Regarding the local organisations available in Borkaiel,

we faced a lot of problems with them as they told us

they want to cooperate and help organise and invite

people for the sessions; however, in the end, only one of

the associations came and offered us some help.

Some of the women participating in the sessions broughttheir babies and little children which obliged them tokeep an eye on them all the time and led to distraction

and constant talking of the mothers which interrupted

the talk of the specialist. Therefore, in the future it is

advisable to tell the women to come on their own or

bring their grown-up daughters to take care of their little

children.

Some of the women stated in the beginning of thesession their problem of talking freely in the presence of

other women and girls and did not want to answer the

questions of the specialist. However, as time passed on,

they started to feel more integrated and relaxed in the

environment of the awareness session group and started

to share their questions, thoughts and problems.

Specialist Feedback:

At the beginning of the session, all women appeared to be very

shy about issues related to their health. But after a while, they

begun to relax and they started to feel much integrated within

the discussion. I could conclude through their way of askingquestions that they understood the subject very well. Some

women were surprised from the kind of questions I am asking,

so I decided to pay attention with them. But later on, they


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showed interaction with me, so I felt relieved and I could

explain more and with much of explicitly.

Quotes of Participants:

Roula: I used to think that I have a lot of information about the

womens infections, but I found out that it is not true. Today I

have seen new issues thanks to you and thanks to the doctor

whom have been capable to explain the subject without shyness

and attracted women without any opposition from them. Wehave a lot of topics which must be raised and which need a lot

of courage to talk about.


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Appendix

I.

Pair-Wise RankingII. Training Report on Participatory Rapid Assessment

(PRA)

III. An Introduction to Participatory Rapid AssessmentMethodology

IV. Basics of Conducting Focus GroupsV. Report of Focus Groups

VI. ILCSTEP 2: Matching list of priorities of each villagewith available specialists including all contact details

VII. Awareness Session Report Form includingQuestionnaire

VIII. ILCSTEP 3: Establishing a network within eachvillage, by identifying a contact person in charge of all

data (lists of specialists, information leaflets) and of

organizing the next steps as independent as possible

(however, assistance will be provided by Facilitator such

as TDH, Nabaa, Volunteers and Field Workers.)


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PAIR WISE RANKING

This is a way of identifying criteria for choosing certain objects.

It can be used as a means of understanding the reasons for local

preferences for such things as tree species or crop varieties.

The criteria are likely to change from group to group. Women

and men may use differentcriteria.Example of Pair wise Matrix;

Favorite Pastimes ,eg. Given the choice of reading or watchingTV, this person prefers TV, given the choice of music and TV

he/she prefers music, etc.

TV Reading Sleep Music Sport

TV TV TV Music TV

Reading Reading Music Reading

Sleep Music Sport

Music Music

Sport


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Training Title

Participatory Rapid Assessments (PRA)

Prepared by Yasser Dawoud

Training objectives

By the end of the training, Youth participants will be able to;

- Describe and differentiate PRA from other methods ofsurveys.

- List three basic elements of the PRA methodology.

- Understand and use at least 4 different tools and techniqueswhich are used in PRA. Usage and techniques of PRA

- Plan for how to do the field assessments (conducting thePRA in their local communities).

Development (content);

Day 1;

Opening;

- personal introduction- agenda review- setting ground-rules

Developmental Action without Borders- NABAA


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- INTRO ; Training objective time, Interest, range and Needs

1ststage

PRA objectives. PRA Definition.

2nd

stage

Cross-checking of qualitative information. What are the roles of PRA facilitators? PRA skills.

3rd

stage

Strengths and weaknesses of the PRA approach.

Day 2

1st

stage;

Tools and techniques. Direct observation Ranking.

2ndstage

S.S. Interview. SWOC analysis.

3rd

stage

Planning;

PRA should be planned in the following stages:


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- Clarify goals and objectives of the research.- Choose main topics- Prepare a list of subtopics and key questions- Identify sources of information for each subtopics- Select tools to gather and analyze information- Design research tools

- PRA results (Youth field work) will be used in designing theirown proposal, which intend to implement either in school or

in their local community.

Methodologies of training;

- Training will be based on participatory processes as its 10%theoretically and 90% practical, were participants will learn

and develop their skills in active way (group work, exercises,

practical field research using new techniques...).

- E.g.; for the direct observation, participants will be offeredthe chance to make a round in the school, or the

municipality and document their direct observation, in

addition to the developed key questions that jump to mind

because of the direct observation.

Handouts:

- Handouts will be distributed by the end of the second day(just briefing, focusing on collecting the data, tools and

techniques and designing the plan).

- All the exercises (In Arabic) are pre-prepared, as around 10pages will be distributed and used during the two days.

(Power point, exercises, and format).

Means of verification related to project;


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- 1 Youth led research is conducted in each village.- The main themes of Youth projects are response directly to

the youth research main findings.

The resources

- PRA Booklet training manual.- Tools and techniques (tools together now training manual).

Tools and Techniques (related to the training development).

1- Secondary Sources:

- Records- Any other documents about the place, people or problems

should first be gathered and examined.

Secondary Sources will help:

- formulate questions- Identify subtopics- Avoid duplicating previous studies

2- Direct Observation

- Direct observation means observing object, events,processes, relationships or people's behavior systematically

and recording these observations

-- If observation of the same thing is to be carried out by

different people, it is important to standardize techniques,

since different people perceive things differently.

3- Semi-Structured Interviewing:


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- Interviewers do not use formal questionnaire- Interviewers used checklist of question related to each topic

of interest

- Question can be added or omitted as appropriate- Flexible tool must be used systematically in order to produce

valid results

Guide lines for using Semi-Structured Interview:

- Interviewing team should consist of between two and fourpeople of different disciplines.

- Begin with the traditional greeting and state that theinterview team is here to learn.

- Begin the questioning by referring to someone or somethingvisible

- Conduct the interview informally and mix the questions withdiscussion

- Be open-minded and objective- Let each team member finish their line of questioning ( do

not interrupt)

- Carefully lead up to sensitive questions- Assign one note-taker ( rotate)- Be aware of non-verbal signals- Avoid leading questions and value judgments.- Avoid questions that can be answered with "Yes" or "No"- Individual interviews should last no longer than 45 minutes- Group interviews should last no longer than two hours- Each interviewer should have a list of topics and key


Analyzing findings from semi-structured interviews:

- More difficult than analyzing responses to a fixedquestionnaire

- Wide variety of answers- Different people will raise different points- Some answers might be long- Summarize each interview into the main points that were

raised


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- Create limit number of categories of responses to see howmany people agree or disagree with different views

- Report any particularly interesting views word for word

Common mistakes during the Semi-Structured Interview

- Failing to listen closely- Repeating questions- Helping the interviewee give an answer- Asking vague or insensitive questions- Failing to cross-check a topic- Failing to judge answer- Asking leading questions- Allowing the interview to go on too long- Over-Generalizing findings- Relying too much on the information from the well-off- Ignoring any thing that does not fit the ideas and the

preconceptions of the interviewer

- Giving too much weight to answers that contain quantitativedata

- Incomplete note-taking

Different types of interview:

- Individual interviews- Key information interviews-

Group interview and discussion- Focus group discussions


- Ranking and scoring exercises can be used in interviews oron their own and they can lead to more direct and revealing

questions. (Why is..a more serious than.?)

- Ranking or Scoring means placing something in order- Reveals differences within a population- Helps to identify the main problems or preferences of people


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- Helps to set the criteria they use when deciding in whatorder to place things

- Enables the priorities of different people to be compared

Preference Ranking:

- Pair wise ranking- A matrix is drawn to compare which is the preferred of two

options.

- Direct matrix ranking or scoring- This is a way of identifying criteria for choosing certainobjects.

5- Construction of diagrams and maps:

- A diagram is a model that presents information in an easilyunderstandable form. It is a simplified model of reality.

Diagrams are useful because:

- They simplify complex information- The act of constructing a diagram encourages people to

analyze the data they are using

- They facilitate communication- They stimulate discussion- They increase consensus among team members- They are an excellent way of involving community members

and discovering their views.

Brief Introduction to Methodology of

Participatory Research Methods

PRA should be planned in the following stages:

1- Clarify goals and objectives of the study2- Choose main topics3- Prepare a list of subtopics, indicators and key questions


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4- Identify sources of information for each subtopics5- Select tools to gather and analyze information6- Design research tools

Tools and Techniques:

1- Secondary Sources:

Project reports Records Base line data Any other documents about the place, people

or problems should first be gathered and

examined.

Secondary Sources will help:

1- formulate questions2- Identify subtopics3- Avoid duplicating previous studies

2- Direct Observation

Direct observation means observing object,events, processes, relationships or people's

behavior systematically and recording theseobservations

If observation of the same thing is to be carriedout by different people, it is important to

standardize techniques, since different people

perceive things differently.

3- Semi-Structured Interviewing:

Interviewers do not use formal questionnaire


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Interviewers used checklist of question related toeach topic of interest

Question can be added or omitted as appropriate Flexible tool must be used systematically in

order to produce valid results

Guide lines for using Semi-Structured Interview:

- Interviewing team should consist of between two andfour people of different disciplines.

- Begin with thetraditional greeting

and state that the

interview team is here

to learn.

- Begin the questioningby referring to

someone or something

visible- Conduct the interview

informally and mix the

questions with

discussion

- Be open-minded and objective- Let each team member finish their line of questioning

(do not interrupt)

-

Carefully lead up to sensitive questions- Assign one note-taker ( rotate)- Be aware of non-verbal signals- Avoid leading questions and value judgments.- Avoid questions that can be answered with "Yes" or

"No"

- Individual interviews should last no longer than 45minutes

- Group interviews should last no longer than two hours- Each interviewer should have a list of topics and key



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Analyzing findings from semi-structured interviews:

More difficult than analyzing responses to afixed questionnaire

Wide variety of answers Different people will raise different points Some answers might be long Summarize each interview into the main pointsthat were raised Create limit number of categories of responses to

see how many people agree or disagree with

different views

Report any particularly interesting views wordfor word

Common mistakes during the Semi-Structured Interview

- Failing to listen closely- Repeating questions- Helping the interviewee give an answer- Asking vague or insensitive questions- Failing to cross-check a topic- Failing to judge answer- Asking leading questions- Allowing the interview to go on too long- Over-Generalizing findings- Relying too much on the information from the well-off- Ignoring any thing that does not fit the ideas and the

preconceptions of the interviewer

- Giving too much weight to answers that containquantitative data

- Incomplete note-takingDifferent types of interview:


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A- Individual interviews

B- Key information interviews

C- Group interview and discussion

D- Focus group discussions


Ranking and scoring exercises can be used in interviews

or on their own and they can lead to more direct and

revealing questions. (Why is..a more serious than.?)

Ranking or Scoring means placing something inorder

Reveals differences within a population

Helps to identify the main problems or preferencesof people

Helps to set the criteria they use when deciding inwhat order to place things

Enables the priorities of different people to becompared

Preference Ranking:

-Pair wise ranking

A matrix is drawn to compare which is the preferred of

two options.

-Direct matrix ranking or scoring

This is a way of identifying criteria for choosing certainobjects.

5- Construction of diagrams and maps:


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A diagram is a model that presents information in an

easily understandable form. It is a simplified model of

reality. Diagrams are useful because:

They simplify complex information The act of constructing a diagram encourages

people to analyze the data they are using

They facilitate communication They stimulate discussion They increase consensus among team members They are an excellent way of involving community

members and discovering their views

AWARENESSSESSION REPORT

Name of Facilitator: _______________ ____________

Date of Focus Group: __________________________

Location of Focus Group: ______________________

Number of Participants: ________________________

Gender (% if they are mixed): ___________________

Age (fromto): ____________________________

Summary of Session: __________________________

Facilitators Observations:

Most important questions that were raised:

Quotes of Participants:


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SPECIALISTS FEEDBACK

Observation made during his/her talk:

His/ her Recommendations:

What next:

_____________________________________________

Signature Facilitator

Location, Date

Post- Awareness Session Questionnaire for

Participants of Focus Groups

1)Are you satisfied with the performance of thespecialist holding the awareness session?


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Yes No

2) Ifno, please explain below:

3) Are you satisfied with the services provided byNabaa?

Yes No

4) Ifno, please tell us how the service can beimproved:

5) If you have any further suggestions forimprovement, please specify below:

6) Would you attend any further awarenesssessions?

Yes No

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