Community based approaches guidelines 2017

Guidelines for Participatory CBAs
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Introduction to the Guidelines for Participatory CBAs
Guidelines for Participatory Community-Based
Approaches
January 2017
West and Central Africa
Regional Office

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© United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) 2017
Permission to reproduce any part of this publication is not required.
Please contact:
C4D Section UNICEF West and Central Africa Regional Office
P.O. Box 29720, Dakar-Yoff, Senegal
Tel: (+221) 33 869 58 58
Fax: (+221) 33 820 89 64
Website: www.unicef.org/wcaro
Perspective and focus of this document represent the personal views of the authors and do not
necessarily reflect the position of the United Nations Children’s Fund.

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List of Acronyms
CBA Community-Based Approach
CHW Community Health Worker
CLTS Community-led Total Sanitation
CRS Catholic Relief Services
FGM Female Genital Mutilation
GMP The Grandmother Project
ITN Insecticide-Treated Mosquito Net
KAP Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
M&E Monitoring and Evaluation
NGO Non-Governmental Organization
PCBA Participatory Community-Based Approach
PTA Parent-Teacher Association
PLWH Person living with HIV
PRA Participatory Rapid AppraisalSCF
TFP Technical and Financial Partner
TBA Traditional Birth Attendant
UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund
VIPP Visualisation in Participatory Programmes
WCAR West and Central Africa Region
WCARO West and Central Africa Regional Office

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Contents
Introduction to the Guidelines for Participatory CBAs .....................................................................................................1
Expected results of Participatory CBAs...........................................................................................2
Intended Guideline Users and Objectives.......................................................................................2
Challenges to Implement a Participatory CBA................................................................................3
Integration and Participatory CBAs.................................................................................................3
Resilience and Participatory CBAs...................................................................................................4
The Framework for Participatory CBAs...........................................................................................4
What’s in the Guidelines for Participatory CBAs ............................................................................5
Using the Guidelines for Participatory CBAs...................................................................................7
Step 1: Prepare...............................................................................................................................................................9
Introduction to Step 1.....................................................................................................................9
Activities for Step 1 .......................................................................................................................10
Tools for Step 1 .............................................................................................................................13
Step 2: Contact Communities ........................................................................................................................................19
Introduction to Step 2...................................................................................................................19
Tools for Step 2 .............................................................................................................................25
Step 3: Facilitate Community Assessment.....................................................................................................................29
Tools for Step 3 .............................................................................................................................39
Step 4: Planning .............................................................................................................................................................42
Activities and Tools for Step 4.......................................................................................................43
Step 5: Implement..........................................................................................................................................................51
Step 6: Monitor and Evaluate ........................................................................................................................................54
Step 7: Diffuse and Scale-Up..........................................................................................................................................63
Annex 1: Supervisor Check-list...................................................................................................................................66
Annex 2: Menu of Indicators for Community Participation.......................................................................................68

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Annex 3: Menu of Facilitator Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes..................................................................................71
Annex 4: Reference List..............................................................................................................................................74

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Participatory CBAs: Definition, Importance and Goals
Community-based Approaches (CBAs1) involve a process of dialogue, learning, decision-
making and action. Put simply, community members (including vulnerable and
disempowered groups) recognize strengths, self-assess, collectively identify, analyse and
prioritize problems that affect them and work out practical ways to address these problems.
Done well, a CBA strengthens the community’s capacity to continually surface new issues
where action is required (Ford et al 2005 and Figueroa et al 2002).
This process is sparked by a catalyst –
something that provokes change and action.
A catalyst is especially important when
problems are perceived as something normal,
for example, a belief that children under the
age of one frequently die. A catalyst often
involves a change agent or facilitator who
works alongside community members
(Figueroa et al 2002).
Evidence from many countries reveals that CBAs are effective in improving the health,
development and well-being of children and women in a sustainable and cost-effective way.
CBAs empower individuals and communities, change relationships between rights-holders
and duty-bearers, help address structural causes and foster equity.
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Hereafter, “participatory CBAs” will be used in section titles but shortened to “CBAs” in the text for ease of
reading.
In one study, 60,000 poor people in 60
countries were asked what
might make the greatest difference in their
lives. These people responded: (1)
organizations of their own, so they can
negotiate with government, traders, and
NGOs; (2) direct assistance through
community-driven programs so they can
shape their own destinies; and (3) local
ownership of funds, so they can end
corruption. They want NGOs and governments
to be accountable to them (Narayan and
Petesch 2002).

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Expected results of Participatory CBAs
The goals of CBAs are two-fold and simultaneous: to improve child survival and
development and at the same time, empower communities to gain mastery over their lives,
achieve their own vision and goals, and ensure sustainable and locally-owned development
(UNICEF/WCAR 2012). These goals are linked: CBAs increase family and community
capacities to take decisions and actions. In turn, this promotes the adoption of norms and
behaviours that improve the health, education and protection of children and their
mothers.
Certain Technical and Financial Partners; in particular UN agencies have considerable
strengths to support implementation of CBAs. For example, UNICEF conducts
comprehensive analyses of the situation of children and women in countries, based on the
best available data from technical assessments, KAP surveys (Knowledge, Attitude and
Practice), epidemiological studies, and studies of the challenges to achieve goals in
education, health, nutrition and protection. UNICEF also identifies evidence-based
communication for development strategies to change behaviours and social norms affecting
the health and development of children and women.
This knowledge and “basket of options” is of benefit to partners who implement CBAs and
an important input to dialogue with communities as they take decisions to improve the
health and development of children and women. In addition, UNICEF’s established relations
with government and civil society helps to create strong 3-way partnerships among
community members, government officials and outside change agents involved in CBAs.
Intended Guideline Users and Objectives
The Guidelines are for use by (a) NGOs and local institution partners who implement CBAs
and their facilitator staff and (b) TFPs and government officials who develop, support,
monitor and evaluate CBAs. The Guidelines assume that NGOs and local institutions already
have some foundational skills, capacities and experience in CBA implementation.
While NGOs, local institutions, staff in TFPs and government officials have practical
experience doing or supporting community-based work, specific gaps and weaknesses
persist. For example, NGOs and local institutions sometimes fail to involve the most
vulnerable members of the community, over-focus on problems without recognizing
community strengths or have an incomplete understanding of CBA principles and
implementation steps. TFPs and ministry heads may only support sector-specific CBAs. This
can result in parallel community-level organizations and activities, detracting from a
coordinated, linked effort that responds to prioritized community concerns to improve the
development and well-being of children and women.

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By using these Guidelines,
• NGO and local institution facilitators will improve their capacity to implement
programs in communities that effectively and systematically apply all principles of
CBAs
• TFPs and government will improve their capacity to engage, monitor and support
NGOs and local institutions who work in communities, recognizing good practices
and addressing gaps and weaknesses
Challenges to Implement a Participatory CBA
Implementing an effective CBA can be challenging. A community is usually defined as
people living in a particular geographic or administrative area and they are frequently
assumed to be homogenous. In reality, a community includes sub-groups of clans, social
classes and people of different ages, sexes, ethnic groups or religions with potentially
divergent interests. Individuals and groups hold power over others and may not wish to
share it. Minorities or marginalized groups may have great difficulty expressing their
opinions and claiming their rights (Figueroa et al 2002). For these reasons, facilitating a CBA
requires skills in power analysis, peaceful conflict resolution, mediation and negotiation.
Another challenge concerns those in positions of power (community leaders, officials and
outsiders). People holding these positions must recognize and change their own attitudes
of superiority, behaviours of control and actions that foster dependency. Empowering
communities requires self-awareness and humility.
At the meso- and macro-level, CBAs are affected by the level of political, financial and
technical support as well as the accountability and equity of related services (UNICEF/WCAR
2012). Advocacy at meso- and macro-levels is often needed foster an enabling environment
for CBAs.
Integration and Participatory CBAs
A CBA focusing on the development and well-being of children and women and an
integrated program response go hand in hand. Communities do not necessarily express
their needs and interests in terms of agency sectors. While outside agencies cannot impose
their agenda, a partnership of trust and respect requires them to be clear and transparent.
For example, in discussion with communities, UNICEF offers a basket of options based on its
own research, learning and evidence. Communities who analyse their own situation and
come to their own conclusions can decide to work with UNICEF on common interests and
priorities; with a collaborative relationship based on trust and dialogue able to change these

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priorities over time. When supporting CBAs, UNICEF identifies mechanisms for an
integrated response which can be simple and immediately feasible (adding Vitamin A
distribution to an immunization campaign) or more long-term and complex.
Resilience and Participatory CBAs
In many communities, external shocks (for example, conflict, drought or epidemics such as
HIV/AIDS) lead to progressive worsening of conditions. In these communities, CBAs can
strengthen resilience. Resilience is defined as the ability of children, families, communities
or systems to anticipate, withstand, adapt and recover from shocks, in ways that support
economic and social development, preserve integrity and do not deepen vulnerability.
People’s degree of resilience depends on their assets (natural, financial, physical, social and
human) and the influence of structures and systems, such as services, laws, policies, and
beliefs and social norms (Delve et al 2003).
CBAs help strengthen resilience by strengthening community assets and structures. CBAs
help strengthen two assets in particular: human and social. Human assets refer to health,
education, information, knowledge, self-confidence, and the capacity to ask for support and
make decisions. Social assets refer to trust, mutual support, collaboration, positive social
norms, consensus, peaceful conflict resolution, social networks and social cohesion. CBAs
strengthen human assets by drawing on strengths such as local knowledge and building
capacity in analysis, decision-making and problem-solving and social assets by strengthening
social cohesion within communities and linkages with service providers and government.
Strengthening human and social assets builds resilience, as individuals and communities
gain experience and capacities which allow them to face new or on-going shocks (Heinrich
et al 2008). In addition, CBAs directly address vulnerability and strengthen resilience
through implementation of projects that address issues and gaps. Some examples are
building latrines where sanitation is an issue or training families in essential family practices
where health is an issue.
The Framework for Participatory CBAs
In October 2012, UNICEF West and Central Africa Region Office (WCARO) developed A
Framework for Participatory CBAs to promote a common understanding of CBA
programming principles, coordinate inter-sectoral efforts and mainstream CBAs into country
programmes. The Framework’s CBA programming principles are summarized below.
• Principle 1: Foster inclusion and equity - Communities are not homogenous and its
members often have conflicting agendas. Thus, CBAs must consider power relations, be
socially inclusive, and show a preferential option for the most vulnerable.

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• Principle 2: Recognize community strengths and assets - CBAs should value community
competencies and assets, consider cultural and social realities and build on existing
community systems and structures to bring about social change.
• Principle 3: Foster inter-sectoral integration and linkages at multiple levels - CBAs
should respond to community interests in a holistic way through inter-sectoral
programming and linkages with systems, national programmes and policies and
government.
• Principle 4: Clarify FTPs role and mandate – FTPs’ strategic interest should be presented
as a starting point to clarify reciprocal expectations, build a relationship of trust and
respect, and identify areas where mutual interests intersect. For example, in UNICEF’s
case, this strategic interest is children’s health and well-being.
• Principle 5: Invest in developing capacities of community facilitators in dialogue -
Facilitator skills in community dialogue are fundamental to effective CBAs that enable
community ownership. On-going mentoring and supportive supervision is crucial.
• Principle 6: Seek long-term commitments to support CBAs - The FTP lead partner works
with the other donors and partners to encourage resource and time commitments as
high-quality and equitable CBAs require stable financing.
• Principle 7: Build self-esteem, self-confidence and local capacities - Self-esteem and
self-confidence are needed for people to gain mastery of their own lives. Dialogical
approaches, coaching and peer support help build these two assets.
What’s in the Guidelines for Participatory CBAs
The Steps of Participatory CBAs
Experience indicates that when a systematic series of steps are successfully completed,
community action is more likely to be successful (Figueroa 2002). Many organizations have
guidelines and a sequence of steps for CBAs. These Guidelines are specific to the
UNICEF/WCAR context and organize the implementation of a CBA into seven roughly
sequential steps that help ensure the application of WCARO CBA principles.
Step one prepares for work in the community and steps two to seven take place in and with
the community. These seven steps are listed and briefly described in the table below.

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Table 1: Steps of a Participatory CBA
Steps Brief Description
Prepare • FTPs ensure they provide inter-sectoral support and focus on
community empowerment
• FTPs and government develop partnerships with UN agencies and
NGOs to respond holistically to community needs and issues and
foster an enabling environment for CBAs
• Implementing partners are selected and skills and capacities assessed
and strengthened
• Communities are identified
Contact
communities
• The FTPs and government’s interest and agenda is discussed
• Facilitators gather preliminary information, contact community
leaders, service providers, and community groups and immerse
themselves in the community to build relationships of trust
• A representative community “core group” is identified and oriented
Facilitate
Community
Assessment
• The facilitator helps the community develop a vision, supports an
assessment to identify strengths, assets, networks, capacities, and
resources as well as gaps and needs, ensuring that the most
vulnerable peoples’ voices are heard and engaging service providers
• Acting as a catalyst, the facilitator triggers the community to take
action
Plan • Assessment findings are reviewed, issues prioritized and objectives set
• Community members, service providers and FTPs decide on
appropriate actions and make a plan with clear responsibilities for all
parties
• They identify resources, what activities will be done by community
members, what services need to be provided and what is needed
from other organisations
Implement • A representative community group mobilises and coordinates
• Designated community members and groups carry out plans, activities
and services
Monitor and
Evaluate
(M&E)
• Participatory monitoring of implementation progress and evaluation
outcomes is conducted and results are discussed during monthly
community meetings gathering together (1) the core group (2) NGO
representatives, (3) service provider representatives and (4) managers
• Results are used to improve implementation and reorient
interventions if needed to ensure progress towards objectives
• Success is celebrated
• Monitoring and evaluation findings are documented and
communicated to the community and local authorities
Diffuse and
scale-up
• CBAs are promoted to nearby communities, technical services and
government
• Media amplifies the results achieved (horizontal and vertical diffusion)
and other cycles of assessment and action are encouraged

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For each of the seven steps listed above, the Guidelines include:
• An expected timeframe for the step
• A brief introduction to the step, including who is involved and how
• A bulleted list of activities and tools for the step
• Examples of activities from successful CBAs
• Further resources for the step
Questions for consideration are included in each step. These can be used when training
partner organizations and facilitators to use the Guidelines.
Using the Guidelines for Participatory CBAs
The Guidelines for CBAs accompanies the Framework for CBAs. The Community-based
Approach Framework helps programme staff working to select appropriate partners (most
often NGOs or local institutions) for CBA implementation and develop agreements or Terms
of Reference. The document aims to improve the quality of CBA implementation to ensure
equity, authentic participation and application of all seven (7) principles listed above.
WCARO has also produced a training manual on CBAs to promote UNICEF staff interest and
knowledge of both the Framework and Guidelines. The Framework helps develop a
roadmap for integrated CBA programming and support, including the identification of an
entry door (for example through an existing successful CBA such as Community-led Total
Sanitation/CLTS) to promote sectoral integration.
Adapt these Guidelines to your context and programme focus. It may make sense to
implement the seven (7) steps (or sub-steps) in a slightly different order. For example, it
may be best to identify and train a representative community group later on in the process
than what is advised here. The time suggested for each step is an estimate; let community
groups set the pace and observe their energy and enthusiasm. If people begin to lose
interest, step up the pace and move to the next action (Figueroa et al 2002). At the same
time, beware of skipping steps. Short-cuts will diminish the quality, power and impact of a
CBA that is truly participatory.
Supporting a CBA involves transparent communication and negotiation with communities
and donors. From the start of work in communities, the FTPs should be clear about their
mandate, interests and agenda. For example, UNICEF’s work in health, nutrition, education
and child protection. Communities may identify priority activities that are outside of
UNICEF’s programme or funding scope e.g. activities related to livelihoods. In these cases,
UNICEF and its partners can link communities by putting them in contact with the outside
resources needed. It is then possible to group different donors to create a common fund as

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part of a CBA. Thus, a FTP such as UNDP whose mandate concerns the fight against poverty
could contribute to funding community priorities aimed at promoting sustainable
livelihoods while UNICEF would fund the aspects of the community action plan affecting
child survival and well-being.
Communities and FTPs may also have differences in opinion on priorities. Dialogue rests on
a foundation of trust. As relationships are strengthened and communities become more
skilled in the process of identifying problems and taking action, FTPs and the NGOs involved
will be well positioned to tackle less visible and more sensitive issues such as those related
to gender, protection and inequity.

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Step 1: Prepare
Preparing to Implement a Participatory CBA
Step 1: Prepare
Expected
timeframe
• 4-12 weeks (depending on context and partner capacity)
Introduction to Step 1
In this step, financial and technical partners2 and national counterpart build an enabling
environment for CBAs; select the communities where work will take place and identify the
appropriate NGO or local institution who will implement the CBA in these communities.
The selected implementation partner assesses its capacity and ensures that their facilitators
(who work directly with community leaders and groups) are well-trained. Facilitation
quality is vital for the effectiveness of a CBA. The story below illustrates a common
dilemma.
Reflection Questions: Facilitation Dilemma in Northern Ghana
In northern Ghana, a financial and technical partner funded a communication institution to
train NGO facilitators to implement CBAs. Part of the training included a practicum on
participatory rapid appraisal in a nearby village. After doing a mapping exercise and
transect walk, the facilitators waited for a car to pick them up. During this time, they
lectured village men on the importance of sending their girls to school. The men smiled
politely and said nothing.
What happened here? Why did it happen? What are the implications for training
facilitators who implement CBAs?
Often, NGO staff are technically trained (as
agricultural extensionists, teachers or health
professionals) and taught to give advice to
community members. Facilitators have a very
different role: to listen, learn and appreciate. For
this reason, NGOs must intensively train, supervise and coach their facilitators. Training
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Through a CBA Task Force, or other mechanism as identified in Step 1.1
Constellation (a Belgian NGO) takes up to
18 months to train facilitators and monitors
them on a monthly basis thereafter.

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includes building self-awareness so that facilitators transform ingrained behaviours and
attitudes of superiority (Chambers 1999).
Activities for Step 1
1.1 Within the country programme, create support, consensus and inter-sectoral
mechanisms to support CBAs
• As needed, invite expert organizations to promote interest in CBAs
• Constitute a CBA task force
• Using the Participatory CBAs Workshop Support Module as a resource, develop a
roadmap to promote integrated CBA programming
o Self-assess current CBA programs against principles and guidelines
o Define a common vision
o Identify an entry door (for example through an existing successful CBA
such as Community-led Total Sanitation/CLTS) to promote sectoral
integration
o Develop an implementation plan in view of progression towards scale-up,
including objectives, milestones and indicators
o Analyse potential funding and resource gaps and address these
1.2 At meso- and macro-levels, foster an enabling environment for CBAs
• Advocate for political commitment to CBAs
• Support coordination bodies empowered to strengthen CBAs
• Share evaluation results and best practices of existing CBAs
• Establish needed standards for CBAs, for example regarding facilitator training or
reporting and management of data
• Agree on sustainability mechanisms (exit strategy or handover agreements) for
community-based approaches
Example: CLTS Agreements
CLTS programmes sign an agreement with government partners on the arrangements
that outline post-UNICEF support. It defines what will continue when UNICEF leaves,
how it will continue and who will be responsible (e.g. maintenance of infrastructure,
sustainability of services, on-going processes to revise community action plans,
guidelines for community leadership and structures, maintenance committees).
(Jane Bevan, WASH Specialist UNICEF/WCARO personal communication)

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Step 1: Prepare
1.3 Build partnerships to achieve scale
• Create coalitions of like-minded UN agencies, NGOs and government institutions
who wish to promote CBAs
• Clearly communicate FTPs’ interests and objectives e.g. if UNICEF’s work is on the
challenges of child development and well-being, discuss the challenges and
opportunities for communities’ vision and dreams to match UNICEF goals. Invite
other FTPs to commit to community vision aspects which fall outside UNICEF’s
mandate
• Work with existing, decentralized services that support CBAs
• Forge linkages among organizations and service providers who already work in
communities using CBAs in health, WASH, education, nutrition, child protection
or other sectors
1.4 Identify implementing partners and assess capacity
• Select the most appropriate partner for implementation of CBAs. Use criteria
such as:
o Depth of experience
o Results
o Commitment to equity and values
o Human resources
o Relationships with community groups, local government and service
providers
o Interest and motivation
• Work with this partner to self-assess their capacities for implementing a CBA.
Use the capacity assessment tool on pages 11-12.
• Pay attention to how the partner recruits and trains facilitators and how they
provide supervision, on-the-job support and coaching. See 1.5 below for more
details
• For identified areas of weakness, build this partner’s capacity through training,
mentoring and/or coaching

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1.5 Assess and build facilitator capacities
• With the implementing partner, review
their job description for facilitators who
will carry out the CBA. Use the menu of
facilitator knowledge, skills and attitudes
in Annex 3
• Assess learning needs and resources of
facilitators. Conduct training to address
gaps
• Model adult learning principles and
practices during the training. Include field
practice and feedback
• Ensure that training fosters self-
awareness. Use simulations and feedback
so that facilitators critically examine their own attitudes, values and assumptions
towards the community and vulnerable groups. See the modelling game and
power walk (on pages 12-14)
• Build facilitator knowledge and skills to analyse power dynamics, issues of equity
and how to transform “power over” to “power with”. See the hand-out on
power dynamics (on pages 14-15) and the tools to analyse power in Step 3
1.6 Identify communities for CBA implementation
• Define eligible communities and geographic coverage (entire district, catchment
zone, identified communities within a designated area, etc.)
• Prioritize and identify communities using criteria, for example:
o Communities whose leaders have already asked or invited FTPs or
government to intervene in their areas
o Communities who have a demonstrated an interest in programs that they
have heard about through word-of-mouth, local media such as radio,
inter-village meetings organized by local authorities
o Communities where activities are most likely to quickly succeed and
produce early, visible results to motivate others due to social cohesion,
dynamic leadership, openness to innovate and lack of internal conflict
(COMPAS 2012)
o Communities with comparative needs, for example isolated, no NGO
services, poor child health and development indicators, most vulnerable
children
o Communities where there are many CBOs e.g. health committee,
women’s & young people’s groups, local development groups. To have an
Why Self-Awareness is so Important
The Grandmother Project’s (GMP)
work to train facilitators revealed
their biases towards elders, especially
grandmothers, reflecting ageist and
sexist attitudes. Facilitators, some of
whom worked in communities for 20
years, had never before recognized
grandmothers as a powerful force for
positive change to improve the health
and well-being of children. These
facilitators said that training was a
“wake-up call” (Stetson & Aubel
2009)

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Step 1: Prepare
idea of what these CBOs are like, their comparative advantages can be
analysed based on the following criteria:
Objectives of the organization;
Non-profit making basis;
Anchorage in the community (extent of local representivity)
Internal workings (relationship between the ‘office’ and the other
members, importance of collective interest, participatory and
inclusive structure and decision-making mechanisms)
Functionality (neighbourhood development activities, specific
areas of action).
• Formalize this invitation through writing in order to refer back as needed in
subsequent steps
Tools for Step 1
Capacity Self-Assessment by Implementing Partners (See Action 1.5)
Task
• Invite the partner management and facilitator staff to work in small groups
• Tell groups to use a 1-5 point scale to rate their performance in each best practice
for partners who implement CBAs (listed below)
o 1 = the practice is not done and not known
o 2 = the practice is known but not done
o 3 = the practice is done, but not consistently or not always well
o 4 = the practice is consistently done, but could be improved
o 5 = the practice is consistently done to a high standard of quality
• Invite groups to identify practices where there are strengths or weaknesses
• Invite groups to discuss why these practices are strong or weak
• Develop a plan for how gaps and weaknesses will be addressed before community
work begins
Best Practices for Partners who Implement CBAs
1. We listen carefully to community members and communicate clearly
2. We demonstrate respect and sensitivity to culture, gender relations and different age
groups
3. We ensure that vulnerable and excluded groups are given a voice in decision-making
4. We identify a representative community group to assess and analyse their situation
using participatory rapid appraisal tools and methods
5. We ensure that community strengths are identified and appreciated
6. We stimulate communities to identify a desired vision

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7. We work with the representative community group and service providers to make a
realistic, effective and culturally acceptable plan for change
8. We systematically support, supervise, train and mentor community leaders and groups
to implement this plan
9. We support the representative community group to access and share information with
the wider community for validation and input at appropriate points in time
10. We work with the representative community group to monitor implementation progress
and to resolve problems
11. We work with the representative community group to evaluate results and use findings
for the next cycle of activities
12. We connect community members to service providers and other appropriate
stakeholders throughout all steps
13. We link community members to other communities to share experiences and learn
14. We organize horizontal and vertical diffusion of results, successes and lessons learned
Simulation Games (See Action 1.4)
The Modelling Game
Ask people to form two circles of equal numbers; one circle on the inside. People in the
inside circle face people in the outside circle. Give these instructions:
• People in the outside circle will have 5 seconds to mould the person opposite them in the
inside circle. The moulder can bend and twist the body of the inside circle partner as they
wish as long as they do not hurt them. Once the inside person is moulded, he or she
must remain in the position – frozen like a statue, without speaking.
• When I clap my hands, the outside circle moves to the right to the next person, and
again, the outside circle moulder can bend and twist the new partner into new positions.
• (Clap hands and repeat 3-4 times)
Once the game has finished, ask the following questions; invite different people to share
answers.
• How did you feel as a member of the inside circle (those who were moulded) during the
game? What feelings arose?
• How did you feel as a member of the outside circle (those who moulded others) during
the game?
• Did any of the insiders rebel or refuse to play? Why or why not?
• Imagine that the insiders are people in the community and the outsiders are facilitators.
How might the feelings you describe be mirrored in real life?
• What might people in a community feel when they are moulded by outsiders?
• What does this mean for your work in communities as a facilitator?
• What kinds of attitudes and practices are required by outsiders when working with
insiders?
Power Walk

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Step 1: Prepare
This activity puts facilitators into the shoes of vulnerable groups and helps them think about
how to identify the most vulnerable groups in the communities where they will work.
• Label 21 cards with one type of community member as per the table below (adapt
these types to your context, ensuring that members of vulnerable or marginalized
groups are represented)
Unemployed recent
graduate
Transhumant Market porter
Talibé child Locally elected
representative
Youth leader (male)
Pupil, 13 year-old girl Lone mother Village/neighbourhood chief
Youth leader (female) 13 year-old girl who left
school at 10 years of age
Important businessman
Local shop-keeper Orphan aged 13 (boy) Community health worker
(male)
Orphan aged 13 (girl) Migrant Traditional birth attendant
• In a space where all participants can line up side-by-side, give each person a card
with their assigned character. Tell participants:
o Listen to my statements
o If your assigned character can answer yes to the statement, take one step
forward. If your assigned character cannot answer yes, remain where you are
• Read the following statements, one by one, allowing characters to step forward or
remain where they are
1. I can influence decisions made by the community council
2. I can meet visiting government officials
3. I can decide when to take my child to the health centre
4. I get new clothes on religious holidays
5. I can decide how many children to have
6. I have time and access to listen to the radio
7. I can read newspapers regularly
8. I have access to credit
9. I can speak in family meetings
10. I can afford to boil drinking water
11. I can protect myself from a sexual disease
12. I went to secondary school or can expect to go
13. I can pay for treatment at a private health centre if needed
14. I can speak at a village meeting
15. I eat at least two meals a day
16. I sometimes attend workshops or seminars
17. I am not in danger of being sexually harassed or abused
18. I can question expenditure of government funds in the community

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• Invite people to remain where they are for a discussion (some will be at the front,
others somewhere in the middle, yet others in the back)
• Ask participants
o Who are those at the front? (invite people to share their character’s names)
o Why are these people at the front?
• Ask participants
o Who are those at the back? (invite people to share their character’s names)
o Why are these people at the back?
• Discuss these questions, one at a time.
o Those who stayed back: how did you feel during this exercise?
o Those who moved forward: how did you feel during this exercise?
o Who are the characters that outsiders typically meet when they go to a
community?
o What happens as a result?
o How have you experienced this situation in real life?
o What are the implications for your facilitation work in communities?
Power Dynamics Hand-out (Action 1.5)
Unequal power dynamics are at the centre of relations, practices and policies that
perpetuate poverty, oppression and exclusion. Power dynamics must be addressed to
achieve real changes in people’s lives. Power has many dimensions. Power may be:
• visible, for example through formal rules, authorities, decision-making processes,
based on a role or position that an individual holds in society, or through wealth,
status, knowledge or expertise
• hidden, referring to powerful actors or networks who operate behind the scenes or
who influence. Hidden powers may invoke a sense of fear. An example of hidden
power is networks of local corruption
• invisible, referring to social norms, values or ideologies that shape meaning and
assumptions about what is possible. For example, marginalized people may be
socialized to believe they do not have the right to make decisions; that they do not
have enough education to understand problems that affect them; or have no role or
right to change their situation. Invisible power can perpetuate inequities
In many places the development agenda is set largely by those who have “power over”
others: a win/lose relationship associated with control, repression, force, discrimination
and corruption. The art of development is to transform “power over” into “power with”
(finding common ground and building collective strength) and “power to” (actions based on
the belief that each person can make a difference). This can come from leaders who inspire,
motivate, provide accountability and cooperate. Much power is held by people or
organizations outside of the community, so this needs to be transformed through inclusive

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Step 1: Prepare
processes of consultation, dialogue and partnership. “Power to” involves boosting the
capacity of each individual to act and make changes. This transformation requires “spaces”
(meetings, forums, organized groups) where people are free and safe to assess, analyse,
make decisions and act (Pantazidou 2012 and VeneKlasen and Miller 2002).
Handout discussion questions:
• What are examples of visible, hidden and invisible power in the communities where
you work?
• How have these affected community-based efforts and activities?
• What is the implication for your work in CBAs?
Further Resources for Step 1
The Constellation. www.communitylifecompetence.org
Hope, A., and S. Timmel. 1984. Training for Transformation: A Handbook for Community
Workers. Warwickshire, UK: Practical Actio

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Community-level Steps to Implement a Participatory
CBA
Steps 2 - 7 describe the actions for implementing a CBA in communities, after the
implementing partner and its facilitators are prepared and the communities have been
identified. Throughout these steps, facilitators will work with small groups and the wider
community at different times.
• A smaller, representative group is identified and trained who participates in and
eventually coordinates all steps
• During forum-style meetings, the wider community is organized into small,
homogenous groups (by sex, age and other categories) who discuss a specific topic,
validate work of the representative group and then share their ideas with all
• Community-wide meetings
to share information, discuss,
make decisions and to give
feedback for example on
evaluation findings
In these Guidelines, we’ll refer to the small, representative group as the “core group”. The
Guidelines suggest when facilitators should work with the core group and when a decision
or action requires the wider community’s participation. In all situations:
• Ensure that the core group has agreed on ways to communicate with the wider
community what they do and what they have learnt
• Create spaces for marginalized groups to express their opinions and make decisions
“Dividing people into groups of 3 to share their ideas and then
arranging a climate of genuine listening when each has the chance
to share in the whole group affirms the value of ordinary people….It
has been said that breaking into small groups of 3 is a political
statement in itself – a statement of belief in the insights of the
ordinary person.” (Hope and Timmel 1984)

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Step 2: Contact Communities
Expected timeframe • 2-4 weeks (depending on geographic scope of project)
In this step, facilitators focus on learning and building trust: they gather basic information,
make courtesy visits to key people and spend time in the community. Facilitators also
identify and train the core group (see Steps 2.5 and 2.6 below). This may be more
appropriate to do after the community assessment (Step 3), so use your judgment. The core
group will be “learning by doing” the steps of a CBA, but some formal training at the start
may be needed.
In identifying a core group; decide whether to work with an existing group or to create a
new one. Conventional wisdom is that it is better to work through existing community
organizations rather than creating a new group.
Start by making an inventory of existing community organizations in the area of operations.
Fine-tune your mapping by analysing the comparative advantages of these organizations
based on a certain number of criteria such as:
• Objectives of the organization targeting community development; in the widest sense of
the term;
• Non-profit making organization;
• Large degree of ‘anchorage’ in the community (strong representation and extent of local
acceptance);
• Democratic governance of internal organization (interactive relationship between ‘the
office’ and members; importance of collective interest, transparent and inclusive
procedures);
• Functionality and extent of operationalization;
• Demonstration of results obtained for the good of the community; including the most
vulnerable (neighbourhood development activities achieved, in relevant areas of
operations).
When you evaluate an existing group, consider issues of equity as well as the possible
problems raised by the forces present (Howard-Grabman and Snetro 2003). Think about
how to improve inclusion e.g. if you work with a parent-pupil association, look for how to
include some pupils in this group as separate members.
Once the decision is made and the community partners chosen, capacity-strengthening
should be invested in order to carry out CBA steering properly by participating communities.

20
The way in which facilitators introduce themselves to the community will set the tone of the
relationship. Done well it helps ensure that the whole process is on the right path (COMPAS
2012). Relations between FTPS, NGOs and communities are based on respect and trust.
Respect involves valuing strengths, constraints and the knowledge of each party. Trust
involves predictability, reliability, honesty, integrity and consistency. In building trust,
remember that actions speak louder than words. When something happens to destroy trust
and respect (for example, not meeting a commitment), it is very difficult to rebuild them
(Stetson et al 2007).
Building Respect, Trust and Relationships in Communities
• Meet regularly with recognized leaders (for example traditional, religious and
government-appointed leaders) and learn about community decision-making structures
and systems. Hold formal meetings and also spend time with them under the l’arbre à
palabre
• From the beginning, share information about the organization you work for, your
position, and your role and presence in the community
• Identify, meet and spend time with informal, natural and influential leaders, for
example, elders and grandmothers: people who command respect but may not hold an
official title
• Immerse yourself in the community. Live with a host family for 3-4 nights to learn about
family systems (decisions, relationships and interactions), gender roles and to help with
their tasks
• Demonstrate curiosity. Ask about community’s history, culture, religion, celebrations,
traditions and livelihoods
• Listen carefully to learn what motivates people and what their interests and hopes are
for the future
• Observe norms and protocols. Speak their language and use proper greetings. Talk in a
way that people understand
• Hold meetings based on community schedules rather than facilitator convenience. This
may involve working at night or on weekends
• Observe whose voices are missing from initial contacts and interactions and seek them
out
• Help organize an activity that the community enjoys such as a sporting event or a
community fair
• Work side-by-side and admit mistakes
• Be honest about your limitations and be realistic when making promises. Follow up on
what you promise; for example, bring community claims to the attention of service
providers

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• Call people by their name, except for officials and leaders who should be called by their
title e.g. Doctor X, Y etc.
• Eat with community members
• Secure collaboration and support of local government authorities
• In adapting to the environment, avoid any populist stance; be yourself and be honest
Reflection Questions
1. What advice for building trust in the box above is most important and why?
2. What advice do you challenge and why?
2.1 Gather basic information on the community and services
• Using secondary resources, gather basic information on identified communities.
Look at population by age, religion, ethnic groups, income and livelihoods,
infrastructure, existence of government services such as schools or clinics and
the coverage, proximity, and type of cadres
• Locate credible and respected outsiders who live in the community (health
workers, teachers, agriculture extensionists or other community-based service
providers) who can serve as reliable informants
• Ask informants about the community’s past history with outsiders and
development agencies. Assess possible expectations that may arise
• Ask informants about marginalized and disadvantaged groups of people who live
in the community. These groups may be related to sex, age, wealth, geographic
location, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, origin, disability, or other
characteristics
• Ask informants to identify who to contact (influential formal and informal
leaders, representatives of marginalized groups and existing community groups)
and how they should be contacted (local customs, protocol and norms regarding
community entry such as how meetings are held and what to bring) (COMPAS
2012)
2.2 Contact leaders, community groups and service providers
• Make courtesy visits to leaders (including local government and village officials)
and community groups. Pay attention to time, place and seasonal issues. Ensure
meetings are convenient and accessible
• Make courtesy visits to all service providers living in the community
• If you need an interpreter, make sure s/he fully understands the agenda and
what you will say to avoid misunderstandings

22
• During these visits
o Introduce yourself and your organization. Remind leaders of the
invitation to work in their community
o Share consistent, clear information on FTPs’ and government’s objectives
and agenda. Give examples of similar work in other communities. Use
proverbs, stories or spiritual teaching to talk about child well-being and
development
o Share the scope and scale of the CBA, and timeframe for next steps
o Allow time for questions and answers. Elicit expectations and concerns.
Do not create false expectations. Negotiate and clarify what communities
can expect
o Repeat this information as needed. Do not assume that anyone has fully
understood the first time
o Sensitize leaders of the value and benefits of everyone’s involvement,
including marginalized and vulnerable groups as well as those most
affected by the issues to be addressed
o As appropriate, ask leaders for permission to work within their
community
• Ask leaders about active and inactive community groups, their purpose and
activities. These include economic groups (market women, producer
associations, etc.), social groups (elder, women or youth associations), religious
organizations, women’s literacy groups, political groups, etc.
• Consult with community leaders on the pros and cons of working with existing
community groups
• Ask leaders and service providers about local government and health, education
and protection structures (formal, private and informal)
• Ask service providers to describe what services they provide, the kinds of cadres
within their service, and whether they share language and culture with the
community
2.3 Spend time in the community
• Walk around all neighbourhoods to observe and speak with people with limited
access to meeting sites or groups restricted by culture or language
• Seek out areas where poorer community members live or work to learn about
their situation. Be sensitive to power dynamics; do this without estranging
community leaders
• Explore what constitutes hidden and visible power within the community
• Write up your findings in a community profile (see page 22) to summarize what
you have learned so far
2.4 Hold an introductory community-wide meeting

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• With community leaders, hold community-wide meetings (or meetings in each
neighbourhood). Introduce yourself and your organization. Share information
on FTPs’ and the government’s objectives, agenda and the CBA process. Refer to
step 2.2 above “during these visits” bullet
• Ensure community-wide awareness of discussions and decisions taken with
leaders to date
• Elicit questions and suggestions on the CBA process
• Describe the role and responsibilities of the core group to coordinate and
mobilize the wider community in CBA steps. Discuss how the core group must
represent interests of all community members, including women and vulnerable
groups
• Elicit advice on the qualities and profile of good leaders who will be members of
the core group
2.5 Organize a representative core group
• Facilitate setting up a representative core group or groups (6-7 members). Core
group members will coordinate efforts in assessing, planning, implementing,
monitoring and evaluating by the larger community
• Use your knowledge of power dynamics and the criteria developed by
community members to select representative core group members
• Use an appropriate and fair process. For example:
o Work through an existing, dynamic community organization or structure
o Engage natural leaders, change makers or emerging leaders who are
already volunteering or working in activities relevant to child
development and well-being (e.g. an active member of the parent-
teacher association, a grandmother skilled in early childhood
development, or a dynamic midwife)
o Ask leaders to identify representatives with expertise from various
representative community constituencies
o Ensure people from vulnerable and excluded constituencies are
represented
• With core group members:
o Develop a shared vision for their work
o Review the steps of a CBA
o Clarify the main functions of the representative core group: to involve
the wider community in key decisions; to mobilise, communicate and
coordinate
o Agree on internal rules regarding group behaviour. Discuss and clarify
expectations
o Agree on a democratic group structure: roles and responsibilities, who
facilitates meetings, who takes notes, who invites, who sets up, how

24
often to meet and how and when information will be communicated to
the wider community they represent
2.6 Train the representative core group
• Conduct enjoyable team-building exercises to build mutual trust (see pages 22-
23)
• Focus training on relevant and immediate needs of core group members.
Training may be needed at the start of the CBA process on:
o Leadership styles, roles and responsibilities
o Communication and active listening
o Cooperation and team-work
o Decision-making and consensus
o Basic written or memory-based record-keeping skills
• Later, as the core group goes through the rest of the CBA steps, consider further
training on:
o Participatory rapid appraisal (PRA) tools and methods
o Mobilizing community resources
o How to hold effective meetings
o Group dynamics
o Giving and receiving feedback
o Conflict resolution and negotiating agreements
o Planning and developing objectives
o Implementation and problem-solving
o Monitoring and evaluating
• As needed, engage local community-led development training organizations (for
example Tostan in Senegal), institutes or community organization specialists for
core group training. Written resources such as Training for Transformation or
Helping Health Workers Learn can also help
Training does not always happen in the classroom
• To learn about leadership styles, organize an exchange visit of core group leaders to
other communities where core group leaders have made a shift to “power with” to
share experiences and ideas.
• Save the Children (SCF) organizes Quality Improvement Teams made up of
community members and service providers. In these teams, the meeting
chairperson job (to develop a meeting agenda, facilitate discussion and summarize
decisions) is rotated for each meeting. This promotes the idea of shared leadership
(Lovich et al 2005)

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Tools for Step 2
Community Profile (Action 2.1)
Summarize the information you’ve gathered so far from secondary resources and
informants. Make a comparative table that with each community’s profile. The example
below is a profile for a village in southern Mali (Stetson 1987).
Table 2: Community Profile of Zan, Mali
Village of Zan, Mali
Location 35 kilometres south of district capital, no public transport to village
Total
Population
564, divided into 34 households in two satellites, Sorona and Bla. The
under-five population is 90.
Religions Islam and animism
Ethnic Groups Peuhl and Bambara
Organized
Groups
17 men, 30 women and 52 youth belong to tons, traditional organized
work groups divided by age and sex. Tons are perceived to safeguard
amicable relations among households, to earn money and to
compensate for lack of mechanized labour. Most groups use money to
pay taxes, political party memberships as well as food and medicine
for the poor.
Influential
Community
Actors
Village chief, female and male elders, traditional health provider
(herbalist)
Income/
Livelihoods
Farming (millet, corn, peanuts, rice, sweet potato); livestock and small
animal-keeping; beehive-making, mat weaving, fishing, karate butter
processing, fruit trees (mango, tamarind, baobab, nere), palm wine
and millet beer making, weaving, hunting.
Infrastructure
and Status
25 unprotected open wells, no latrines, an important bustling weekly
market, and an unused building which was supposed to be a literacy
centre.
Government
Services
One community health worker and two TBAs trained at the district
health centre; vaccination outreach by district health centre; 6
children attend primary school in village located 7 kilometres away;
sub-district development committees made up of male
representatives chosen by chiefs; extension workers visit occasionally
to give advice on cotton and corn crops.
Non-
government
Services
1 Koranic school with 1 teacher; 1 community general liaison
association produce affordable enriched flour that mothers buy to
make bouillie (porridge).
Partners Aide à l’Enfance, Action contre la faim, Oxfam, Save the Children UK,
World Vision
Analysis of
conflicts
Recurring conflicts between nomads and settled population about
livestock grazing areas. Conflicts between refugees and host
populations on humanitarian aid distribution

26
Type of shocks
and hazards and
social problems
encountered
In the rainy season, the road to the village washes away; periodic
droughts and floods; seasonal hunger; past grasshopper infestation;
meningitis epidemic; rural exodus of male youth to Cote d’Ivoire; some
of whom do not return.

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Teambuilding Games for the Representative Core Group (Action 2.6)
The Importance of Cooperation and Working Together
• Put a large number of objects on a mat. Show each object to the group one at a time
and put them in a bag
• Ask one person to leave the room
• Invite the rest of the group to name the objects and count how many object are
named
• Invite the person who left the room to come back and name the objects. Count
them
• Compare how many objects were named by the group and by the individual. The
group will inevitably remember more than the individual
• Ask why one person cannot remember many items. Ask what this means for
working together in a group
Communication in Our Group
• Invite participants to stand and to line up in two lines (of equal number)
• Tell them the rules of this game
o I am going to whisper a message to the first person in each line. Note to the
facilitator: the message should be something of little interest to the learners
such as “Tell Mamadou to tell all core group members to come to the meeting
tomorrow afternoon at the community centre and that he should bring a box of
tea and sugar.”
o Each person should whisper that message to the next person
o The message cannot be repeated more than once
o Keep going until the message gets to the last person in the line.
o The last person will then share the message
• Let participants whisper the message
• Invite the last person in each line to say the message they heard
• Compare that message to the original message. (It will of course be quite different)
• Discuss the results of the game
• Ask: What happened? Let participants answer – they will probably say the following:
o The last message was different from the original message
o Each line of people came up with a different message
• Ask: Why did this happen? Let participants answer – they will probably say the
following:
o The game did not allow anyone to ask questions to check for understanding
o The game did not allow us to explain the message in words that we can
understand
o Some people did not listen very well
o Because the message was oral – and not written, or acted out, or done –
people could not remember it exactly
o The message was not interesting to me personally so I did not pay attention
• Play the game again with a different message

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• This time, tell people that they can give feedback – they can ask the person to repeat
the message
• Whisper the second message to the first person in each line: Today you will eat
_______ for lunch, at 13:00 in the ________ (where).
• Compare the end message with the start message.
• If it is different, discuss why (Still poor listening? People did not use the opportunity
to ask questions?)
• If it is the same, discuss why
o Everyone listened more carefully
o People asked questions to make sure the message was understood
• Ask participants:
o What does this game tell you about communication within a group?
o What does the game tell you about communication between the core group
and community members?
• Let participants respond – they will probably say the following
o Good communication goes two ways
o Core group members need good listening skills
o People need to feel free to ask questions
COMPAS. 2012. Strengthening Endogenous Development in Africa: A Methodological
Guide (DRAFT). Accra, Ghana: COMPAS
Workers. Warwickshire, UK: Practical Action
Howard-Grabman L. and G. Snetro. 2003. How to Mobilize Communities for Health and
Social Change: A Field Guide. Baltimore: Health Communication Partnership
Mercy Corps. (Undated). Guide to Community Mobilization Programming. Portland: Mercy
Corps

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Step 3: Facilitate Community Assessment
Expected timeframe • 3-6 weeks (depending on geographic scope of project)
In this step, the facilitator works closely with the core group to lead a process involving
community members and service providers who:
• Envision a desired future for children’s development and well-being in the
community
• Explore and discover strengths and resources as well as problems, issues and
vulnerabilities related to child development and well-being through information-
gathering and analysis
• Share findings of the assessment and analysis for validation by the wider community
1. In your experience, what happens when an assessment is skipped or poorly done before
starting community-based activities?
2. How did skipping the assessment affect community plans and activities?
3. How did this affect various groups in the community?
The Benefits of a Community Assessment
People who participate in an assessment learn and discover things about themselves and
their community. The assessment raises people’s awareness enabling them to see new
potential and possibilities. When people work as a team and in dialogue to gather
information, analyse it and share findings, this strengthens relationships among community
members. Community-wide validation of findings involves a large number and variety of
people in decision-making. When done well, a community assessment serves as a catalyst
motivating and stimulating people to take collective action (Constellation, Figueroa et al
2002).

30
Strengthening Relationships during an Assessment
The Grandmother Project designs its community assessments to strengthen relationships
between service providers and community members as well as relationships across
generations. Services providers bring their perspective but also deepen their understanding
of household and community dynamics, learn to demonstrate respect for, listen to and
engage with community groups. They often see community realities in new ways following
an assessment. In Niger, female health providers were especially talented at building
rapport with mothers and grandmothers during the assessment. In Senegal, assessment
findings were validated by small, homogenous groups of female and male elders and youth.
Discussing ideas in plenary allowed each group to listen to each other (Stetson and Aubel
2009).
Why envision a desired future? Inviting people to develop a vision regarding the
development and well-being of their children helps them to act purposefully, feel
empowered and creates energy needed for change. Even if distant and imperfect, a vision
describes what the CBA is aiming towards. Developing a vision is done in a way that
involves all groups in the village, especially those who are vulnerable or excluded.
Why strengths and resources? Community assessments often focus on needs and
problems, undervaluing a community’s strengths and assets – its people’s competencies,
social capital, innovations, vital traditions,
knowledge and skills. When strengths and assets
are recognized, it builds optimism, resilience,
community cohesion and feelings of efficacy.
Problems are approached from a standpoint of
what people have in terms of resources to solve the problem.
How does an assessment raise awareness? A community assessment helps people to hold
a mirror to themselves – and then see themselves and their situation in a different light.
This mirror or trigger may involve an outside perspective, comparison of ideas from diverse
groups, self-assessment against a set of objective standards, or a simulation. The mirror or
trigger people to see what was previously out of sight or what strengths and problems they
may take for granted. For example, gathering information about the quality of service
delivery can lead community members to demand their rights. Some issues, like stunting
are perceived as a norm. Faecal oral transmission and its link to illness may be invisible.
HIV/AIDS is stigmatized and not discussed. Female genital mutilation is experienced by
young girls with little or no voice in community decision-making. In these cases, an
assessment includes a simulation or triggering activity to foster discussion and analysis in
order to plan and take action.
“Vision is the guiding star of a project
and keeps us going in the right
direction even if we can’t attain it.”
Hope and Timmel 1984.

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Note regarding the activities: While presented step-by-step below, use your judgment.
Developing a vision is the first action below, but some organizations do the vision exercise
after the assessment. Information gathering and analysis are described sequentially but
these are often interwoven.

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3.1 Develop a vision for the development and well-being of children
• With the core team, organize a community meeting with representatives of all
formal and informal groups in the community
• After appropriate introductions, the core team reminds people of the purpose of
this meeting within the CBA process. It should then:
• Organize people in homogenous small groups
• Ask each person to close his or her eyes.
• Tell people that it is 10 years from now and ask them to imagine how their
children are living in this future. “What is happening? What do these children
look like? What are they experiencing?” The core team gives people time to
think and asks each person to draw their vision
• The core team then invites each person to share their vision with other small
group members. It invites the group to compare similarities and differences.
Then each group develops one shared vision
• The core team invites each group to share their vision with the entire group
• It summarizes what elements of each group’s vision are common. It tries to
obtain consensus on an agreed-upon vision
• Finish by telling people about the next steps and what they can expect
• Clarify the FTP mandate, agenda and “basket of options” in relation to the
community vision. Congratulate and encourage people on their vision but ensure
that expectations are realistic in light of FTP support
3.2 Plan the community assessment
• With the core team, make a plan for the community assessment. Discuss what,
who, when and how. Adjust this plan as needed as the assessment is carried out
• ‘What’: Agree on the focus of the assessment. (Below, we refer to “child
development and well-being” but in most cases there is a more focused theme
such as school enrolment and the quality of education services.) Develop a short
list of topic questions. Examples of topic questions follow:
o What individual, household and community resources exist within the
community that promote child development and well-being?
o What services and supplies are delivered within the community for child
development and well-being? How inclusive and responsive are these
services?
o What are the needs, problems and issues related to child development
and well-being?
o How do national structures or policies affect and influence child
development and well-being in the community? (ChildFund 2010)

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• Who’: Determine which individuals and groups will be involved and how
o Involve people and groups who represent the community’s diversity as
assessment team members and informants, including service providers
o Determine the number of groups and people for each assessment and
analysis activity. Plan for small group work to create safe spaces so that
the most vulnerable feel safe to express their viewpoints
Involving vulnerable groups in a community assessment
One NGO includes separate child and youth-led reflections for a community assessment on
education. When asked about low school performance, teachers named absenteeism of
children due to lack of support and motivation by parents. In this case, resolving the
problem would involve sensitizing parents. However, children and youth said that low
school performance is due to teacher’s low level of skills, absences and abusive behaviours.
Here a different solution emerges: to improve pedagogy, motivation and respect by
teachers for children’s rights. Note that when consulting with children and youth, ethical
guidelines should be applied as child protection issues may emerge (ChildFund 2010)
• When’: Determine the time frame (dates/times) for the assessment
o Ensure the timeframe is sensitive to the core group and community member
time-constraints, especially for women. Consider market days, times for
religious practice, school hours and agricultural calendars
• How’: Select the most appropriate methods to gather and analyse information:
o Discuss how information will be collected, analysed and findings validated by
the wider community
o Plan to use a combination of methods: interviews (of individuals, small
groups, groups of similar people), observations (transect walks, home visits,
service delivery to observe quality) and creative methods (done with small
groups such as mapping, seasonal calendars, historical profiles)
o Common methods to gather information are listed in the table below. For
details, consult Further Resources on pages 33-34
Common Methods to Gather Information
• Secondary data review
• Semi-structured interviews
• Observations
• Focus group discussions
• Mapping (mobility, social networks, power,
etc.)
• Historical profile
• Scorecards to assess service
provision performance
• Transect walks
• Stories, proverbs, role-playing
• Time trends (including hazard and
climate trends)

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o Common methods to analyse information include problem trees, pie-charts,
histograms and Venn diagrams. For details, consult Further Resources on
pages 33-34
• Prepare to use these methods in your context: develop short questionnaires for the
interview and assign note-takers. Plan where transect walks will take place
• Determine how findings will be validated by the wider community. Ensure spaces to
encourage interactions among different groups and sharing of differences in opinion
and perspectives
Some advice
• Throughout the community assessment, remember your role as a facilitator to help
people unveil their situation. They will remember what they said and discovered for
themselves. Summarize when needed, draw in those who do not speak and prevent
talkative ones from dominating (Hope and Timmel 1984).
• Hold frequent core group meetings to spot-check information from the community.
If information gaps appear or the most vulnerable not involved, adjust your plan.
Capture findings throughout in daily meetings – don’t wait to the end when you have
a mountain of information to analyse.
3.3 Gather information
• First, review and share relevant information, using understandable language
from secondary resources (existing reports and studies) on child development
and well-being. This gives information on national structures and policies
Using secondary data
For an assessment on female genital mutilation (FGM) in Senegal, The Grandmother Project
and World Vision collected secondary data on FGM prevalence, reviewed national policy
guidelines and lessons learned from past community strategies addressing FGM in Senegal
and Africa (Stetson and Aubel 2009).
• Second, gather information on community achievements, strengths and
successes related to the assessment topic. Adapt one or more methods below
with small groups:
o Ask people to tell a story of a time in their community when they felt excited,
empowered or proud of what they did together. Ask them: “What made this
experience so special?”
o Ask a group to draw a picture of all the things they are proud of in their
community that they have done together
• Third, ask people to create a human resource map,
o List individuals in the community with skills and expertise related to child
development and well-being or the specific assessment theme e.g. TBAs,

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mothers and fathers, grandmothers, school teachers, herbalists, health
workers, etc.
o Write the names of each individual on a card and display these on the ground
o Give each participant 5 stones. Ask them to put a stone on the card of the
individuals whom are most consulted for their advice
o Record this information. Clean the stones away
o Give each participant 5 more stones. Ask them to put these stones on people
who are likely to be the most willing to participate in planned community
actions.
o Record this information. Keep and refer to this information in Steps 4.6 and
4.7 when defining community activities
Identifying positive deviants in Vietnam
Positive deviance is another way of exploring “what works in a community”. It is
appropriate when a problem is common, visible and remediable through behaviour
modelled by some individuals within the community. In Vietnam, poor families with
adequately nourished children were identified and observed. The assessment team
discovered that these families fed their children tiny shrimps and crabs, sweet potato greens
and other free or inexpensive foods (Howard-Grabman and Snetro 2003)
• Fourth, analyse power relations in the community, looking at individuals’ power,
influence and relationships
o List powerful and influential individuals in the community (e.g. a local leader,
a government official, an imam, a political women’s group leader, an
influential grandmother)
o Write the names of each individual on a card and display these on the ground
o Give each participant 5 stones. Ask them to put a stone on the card of the
most powerful and influential individuals
o Record this information. Clean the stones away
o Give each participant 5 more stones. Ask them to put these stones on people
who are likely to be the most willing to support planned community activities
o Record this information. Keep and refer to this information in Steps 4.6 and
4.7 when defining community activities
• Fifth, assess service and supplies delivery related to the development and well-
being of children or to the specific assessment theme
o Ensure community members understand their rights and what they are
entitled to: for example children’s right to a primary school education in a
safe environment or the right to accessible health services of good quality
o Through interviews elicit opinions on strengths, weaknesses and access to
services and supplies and relationships with service providers. Observe how
services are provided – for example, do teachers come to class regularly?

36
• Sixth, gather information on child development and well-being practices, needs,
problems and issues (or the specific assessment theme)
o Obtain data from service providers about child health, education and other
relevant topics
o Gather perspectives from a variety of groups, such as TBAs, midwives,
grandmothers, parents, caregivers and the children themselves as
appropriate
• Some issues require awareness-raising or a catalyst in order for community
members to see the problem or issue in order to discuss it. For example, if
community members do not see open defecation as an issue or HIV/AIDS as
something under their control, they will not be motivated to study or analyse
these themes
Examples of catalysts
• In CLTS, the community assessment involves a transect walk through open
defecation sites, observations of latrines, interviews with people about defecation
and then simulations with food, water and faeces to make the problem of faecal-oral
transmission visible in order to discuss the issue.
• The NGO, Constellation raises awareness about HIV/AIDS by inviting community
groups to rank their knowledge and practices about the disease using a self-
assessment framework. This allows people to recognize gaps and weaknesses
related to issues such as acknowledging and recognizing the disease, inclusion of
PLHIV, linking care with prevention, access to treatment, etc.
3.4 Analyse information
• Using the topic questions (see action 3.2), organize the collected information.
Look for patterns, differences, variations and contradictions. Use diagrams to
visually summarize the results
• Review these findings and help the core group draw conclusions about:
o Community strengths and resources
o Different groups access to decision-making and services
o The quality of services and supplies
o The quality of interactions with service providers
o The community’s ability to advocate and claim rights and services
o The community-level impact of national policies and structures
o Child development and well-being practices, problems, needs and issues
• Do an equity analysis to study how needs differ for specific marginalized groups
in the community
o Ask participants to draw one large circle on the ground and a smaller
circle inside. The large circle represents the whole community and the
small circle represents a specific vulnerable or marginalized group

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o Ask participants to list child development and well-being problems and
needs (identified above) that affect the entire community. Using VIPP
cards, make a drawing to symbolize each problem and need. Place these
cards in the larger circle
o Ask participants to list child development and well-being problems and
needs that affect the specific vulnerable or marginalized group. Again,
use VIPP cards with symbols. Place these cards in the inner circle
o Invite participants to compare problems and needs of the large and small
circles. Ask: What problems are the same for both circles? What
problems are different? Why is this? How will these differences affect
the eventual community plan of action? For example access to education
for all children in both circles is hampered by distance. And for a
vulnerable herder group, girls’ access to education is worse, due to
drought and family work expectations.
(Adapted from Veneklasen and Miller 2002)
• Using a problem tree, analyse the problems that emerged. For each problem ask
these questions to better understand causes and effects on child development
and well-being:
o Why does this happen? What causes it? Who influences this?
o Which of these factors are within the community?
o Which of these factors are beyond the community?
• Challenge groups to analyse causes and dig down to “root causes”
3.5 Validate findings in a community-wide forum
• Organize a community-wide meeting to present, discuss and validate assessment
findings
• Begin by sharing information on community assets and strengths
• Consider how people understand information best – present issues, causes and
root causes through role plays, dramatic readings or charts
• Organize people into small, homogenous groups (by age, sex, and other
characteristics). Invite them to discuss what was presented, what they agree
and/or disagree with and why
• Invite a representative from each group to present their ideas to all
• Summarize what has been validated by groups. Highlight and contrast different
points of views. Ensure that the views of less powerful groups are considered
and not overshadowed by more powerful groups
• As appropriate, negotiate and reconcile different perspectives
• Thank participants. Explain the next steps of the CBA and how they will be
involved

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Example: Validation meeting for a community assessment on female genital mutilation
Following the community assessment for FGM in southern Senegal, the Grandmother
Project shared assessment findings in an intergenerational forum-dialogue. This was
organized as a two-day workshop, given the sensitivity of the topic. 120 people
participated; most of who had participated in the assessment study. Small, homogenous
groups were organized by sex and age. During the workshop, the assessment team shared
key findings, including the role of grandmothers in the development of young girls with
regard to FGM practices. Small groups shared their understanding and analysis of these
findings. Participants viewed a film on FGM followed by a discussion. Health agents and
Arabic teachers made short presentations on FGM followed by questions and answers.
Small groups then shared their recommendations for potential community activities
(Stetson and Aubel 2007).
3.6 Document and learn
• Ensure the core group records key assessment findings
• With the core group, do an after-action review of the community assessment
(see Step 6, Monitor and Evaluate). Analyse what went well and how the next
assessment could be improved

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Tools for Step 3
The examples below show how community assessments are creatively adapted to address a
particular focus of child development and well-being.
Service Quality Assessments
SCF engages community members and service providers in a CBA focused on improving
the quality of health and education services. First, service providers are sensitized to the
benefits of a community-provider partnership. Then service providers and
representative community members are organized in a “quality improvement team”.
Facilitators work with each group separately to explore their perceptions of what
constitutes good quality services. After, the groups come together to hear each other’s
ideas. Using a Venn diagram in an exercise called “bridging the gap”, the two
perspectives are presented and similarities, differences and overlaps identified. The
groups compare their lists to a list of minimum technical standards for quality. Then,
groups identify problems, constraints and root causes that hinder delivery of quality
services. Together service providers and community members develop a shared vision
of quality. Facilitators invest in team-building (health workers spend the night at
community members’ home) and use conflict resolution strategies to avoid
confrontation and blame (Lovich et al 2005).
Community Scorecards and District-wide Service Provider Performance
In Ghana, district communities were trained to use community scorecards to assess primary
education service provider performance. Community groups identified criteria for assessing
performance and agreed on indicators (such as PTA meeting frequency, pupil-teacher ratio,
drop-out rate, teaching and learning materials, teacher accommodation and teacher-
community relations). Then, groups scored their own community’s primary education
services. Following this, community members shared the results of the scores and
compared scores among villages at a district-level, multi-stakeholder forum. They analysed
the reasons for these scores (teacher absenteeism, lateness, lack of teachers, parents
withdrawing children for farm labour, poor infrastructure). The assessment and district
forum allowed groups that would never normally meet to interact and understand each
other’s point of view and allowed people to see that a community can hold dialogue with
authorities to seek solutions. One community then organized a radio programme to
demand that education authorities comment on some of the problems that were found
(Akasoba and Robinson 2007).

40
Table 4: Community-led Total Sanitation Assessments and Triggering
This table describes CLTS’ community assessment process.
Mapping of
defecation zones
Mapping involves all community members in a visual analysis of
their sanitation situation. Drawing on the ground, people locate
their houses and indicate whether they have latrines and where
they go for defecation.
Transect walk
through the
defecation area as a
group
Discuss who uses which areas, where women go, what happens at
night or in bad weather. A flashlight is used to look into open pit
latrines.
Analysis Calculation of the amount of faeces: community members
calculate the amount of faeces each family produces per
day/week/month/year; added up to estimate the amount
produced by whole community
Calculation of medical expenses for diarrheal sickness: People
calculate costs for medication, doctors, hospital, traditional
healers, travel, stay where clinic is located
Community-wide
meeting with
simulation involving
food, water and
faeces
During this meeting, the facilitator illustrates contamination of
food and water. The facilitator places food and faeces side by side.
They offer someone a glass of water to drink. Then, facilitator
takes a hair and wipes it through faeces before dipping into water
(to simulate a fly’s leg), and then offers water for drinking again.
People realize that due to open defecation, they are all ingesting
each other’s faeces. This triggers reactions of disgust, shock and
embarrassment. Community members come forward to talk about
what can be done.
The Constellation. http://www.communitylifecompetence.org/en/ (Accessed 08/15/2013)
Delve, R., Guyo, G. Hulufo, H. and Lembara S. 2013. Building Resilience: A Guide to
Facilitating CM-DRR in the Horn of Africa. Baltimore: CRS and IIRR
Workers. Warwickshire, UK: Practical Action
Lovich, R., M. Rubardt, D. Fagan, M. Powers. 2005. Partnership Defined Quality: a tool
book for community and health providers collaborating for quality improvement. Westport:
SCF
Thies, J. and H. Grady. 1991. Participatory Rapid Appraisal for Community Development: A
Training Manual Based on Experiences in the Middle East and North Africa. Westport, CT:
Save the Children

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Veneklasen, L. and V. Miller. 2002. A New Weave of Power, People Politics. Oklahoma:
World Neighbors.

42
Step 4: Planning
Expected timeframe • 2 -4 weeks (depending on geographic scope and complexity)
In this step, the facilitator works with the core group to carefully review the community
vision and assessment findings regarding the theme related to child development and well-
being. The core group then involves the wider community (including service providers) in
decision-making on what problems they will prioritize and address and what do-able
activities they will implement.
The community discusses what activities are most appropriate to (a) address these
problems and (b) link to their vision. In making this decision, they discuss strengths and
resources identified during the assessment. In this step, the facilitator again clarifies which
priorities and activities link to FTPs’ mandate, agenda and “basket of options”. If outside the
FTPs’ mandate or expertise, the facilitator may link the core group to another appropriate
technical resource. The facilitator also provides community members with available
knowledge on what activities are likely to have the biggest impact, so that they can make
better decisions on what activities to promote.
The community then plans how this will be done, defining who, what, where, when and
how. They agree on how their plan should be shared and communicated with local
authorities and service providers.
Focusing on practical, short-term activities builds
confidence and makes next steps possible. Concrete,
effective, culturally-acceptable and do-able activities
within a short time-frame can lead to early successes
that keep motivation high. This helps launch a cycle of
continual community assessment, decision-making,
planning and action.
1. Ask facilitators: “Think of an event you recently planned (wedding, funeral, etc.). Write
each step on a VIPP card.”
2. Mix the cards and ask facilitators to put them in the most logical order.
3. Ask them: What happens when these steps are not done in the right order? What does
this tell us about planning community activities?
In CLTS programmes, latrine building
is done within 2-6 months following
the community assessment. This is a
visible, motivating achievement that
gives a sense of accomplishment and
pride to the community (Kar and
Chambers 2010).

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Step 4: Planning
Activities and Tools for Step 4
4.1 Summarize problems related to the assessment theme
• With the core group, review the assessment findings, analyses and results of the
community validation meeting
• List problems (using symbols or pictures if needed) on separate VIPP cards
4.2 Organize a community-wide forum
• Assist the core group to involve the wider community. Plan a structured forum
meeting for representatives of all categories of community members, including
those who are vulnerable and marginalized
• Involve local government, village officials and service providers. But, ensure they
do not “take over” the process
4.3 In the community-wide forum, agree on criteria to prioritize problems
• Examples of criteria include:
o Problems that are critical to child development and well-being (or the
specific theme of the assessment)
o Problems that are feasible to address with the resources at hand
o Problems that the community spoke about with emotion (excitement,
hope, or anger) as these “hot” issues tap people’s energy
o Problems if addressed, will result in measurable improvement on
children’s and women’s lives
o Problems that if addressed, provide opportunities for marginalized
people or groups to attain rights
• If the group cannot agree, build consensus by focusing people on assessment
findings and facts. Encourage negotiation and identify common interests.
• If needed, use a preference ranking tool
o Place problem cards on the ground in one column
o Give each person 3 stones
o Ask them to place stones by the problem card(s) that they believe
meets most of all of the criteria they identified
o Tabulate the responses to see which problems have the most stones
4.4 Agree on prioritized problems
• Come to consensus on the problems people prioritized in 4.3 above
• Summarize these problems and write each one on a VIPP card
4.5 Develop objectives
• Invite people to turn problems to positive statements

44
• For example:
Most girls do not attend school = More girls attend school
Poor relations with service providers = Good relations with service
providers
• Refine positive statements into objectives. Specify what will be changed and
who exactly is involved
• For example, “good relations with service providers” becomes the SMART
objective: “Improve interaction and communication between
grandmothers, mothers and service providers from now until January
2017 in the Tambacounda region”
• Record this information and make it visible, with community boards for example.
This provides a basis for monitoring and evaluation, serves to motivate and
inspire community members to work towards a clear goal and ensures
accountability to the wider community
4.6 Identify do-able activities
• Explain to people that they will now discuss what kinds of activities will be
envisaged
• Explain that doing this requires hard thinking, many people’s ideas and
negotiation
• Use a force-field analysis or carts and rocks analogy to help the group think
analytically about what activities to undertake. Tell people that this exercise
helps them:
o Link prioritized issues with their objectives and community vision
o Build on community strengths and resources
• See “Tools for Step 4” below for details on the force-field analysis and carts and
rocks analogy
4.7 Prioritize activities
• Draw up a list of possible activities. Help the group to organize these activities by
doing one or more of the following
o Separate activities into those can be done by the community and those
that service providers or other organizations will do or support
o Clarify FTPs’ “basket of options”
o Separate the activities into levels: activities at individual or household
level, at community level, at school or health centre level, at district-level
• If not all activities are feasible, refine the list. Keep the activities that meet these
criteria:
o Activities that have been shown to work in other communities
(probability of success)
o Activities that can be done with available resources

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Step 4: Planning
o Activities that can be done over a short period of time
o Activities that have been proven to work to address the issue (which are
based on evidence-based practices)
o Activities that benefit the most vulnerable and excluded children, women
and other groups
o Activities that involve those most affected
o Activities that build relationships among groups and among community
members and service providers
o Activities that fit with local government development priorities and
policies
o Activities that fit with community values, valorise family and community
resources and build on positive local cultural and social practices
o Activities that meet urgent needs
• Combine local and external knowledge to identify effective actions.
Breakthroughs and synergy occur when diverse groups combine their knowledge.
Bring outside ideas for action judiciously after the core group has identified their
own ideas
Example: Combining Ideas for Action
In Velingara, Senegal, GMP brought together the following groups to discuss and determine
activities to address girls’ education and development: community members
(grandmothers, women, religious leaders, village chiefs, elders, trained midwives, teachers,
adolescent girls, men, adolescent boys) government officials from the District Education and
Health Offices, the core group, cultural actors (musicians, singers, sages, actors, writers,
praise singers) and the implementing agency (facilitators, staff and a technical advisor).
Together they agreed on activities to promote girls’ health and well-being. These included
(1) changes in cultural norms (early marriage, FGM, corporal punishment), (2) parent
education and (3) promotion of positive cultural practices and values related to the
upbringing of girls (organization of community forums to promote local musical and story-
telling traditions, involvement of grandmothers in schools) (Stetson Aubel, 2009)
• Ensure there is an appropriate set of activities. Some categories of activities
involve:
o Understanding rights and advocating for improved service provision and
access
o Improving the quality of services
o Changing behaviours and increasing knowledge and skills
o Strengthening organizations
o Building relationships and partnerships
o Preventing or lessening the potential of hazards or shocks

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