community success stories...assets...deficits...steps in project planning...participatory analysis 

iority settings... visions & strategies...goals & objectives...monitoring & evaluation...roles & re

onsibilities...time line...community success stories...assets...deficits...steps in project planning...

rticipatory analysis & priority settings... visions & strategies...goals & objectives...monitoring

the new

project design

and

management

workshop

training

manual

Peace Corps
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i

Appendices

The New

Project Design and

Management Workshop

Training Manual

Peace Corps

November 2000

Information Collection and Exchange

Publication No. T0107
ii Peace Corps

The New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual
iii

Appendices

 Contents

Acknowledgments ...................................................................................... v

Acronyms and Abbreviations ..................................................................vi

Guidelines for Planning a Project Design

and Management Workshop ................................................................... 1

Peace Corps’ Goals for the PDM Workshop ....................................... 1

Goals and Objectives for Participants .................................................. 2

Who Should Attend a PDM Workshop? .............................................. 3

When to Conduct a PDM Workshop .................................................... 3

Translation Issues and Options ............................................................. 4

Participant Assessment Prior to Organizing the Workshop ............. 5

Workshop Monitoring Options ............................................................. 6

Evaluating the Workshop ....................................................................... 7

Who Should Facilitate the Workshop? ................................................. 8

Content and Materials Prepration......................................................... 9

Tips for PDM Workshop Trainers ................................................. 10

PDM Session Grid................................................................................... 12

Calendar Options for the PDM Workshop ........................................ 13

Definition of Terms (As Used in this Manual) ............... 16

Resources and Reference Materials .......................................... 20

Session Plans ......................................................................................... 23

Session 1. Success Stories in the Community:

Characteristics of Effective Projects............................... 25

Session 2. Assets and Deficits:

Identifying our Resources and Expectations .............. 31
iv Peace Corps

The New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual

Session 3. Steps in Project Planning ............................................... 37

Session 4. Participatory Analysis and Priority Setting

with the Community ...................................................... 44

Session 5. Desires, Needs, or Problems?

Understanding the Difference ....................................... 57

Session 6. The Project Design:

Part 1 – Vision, Assets, and Strategies.......................... 64

Session 7. The Project Design:

Part 2 – Goals, Objectives, Signs of Success,

and Feasibility Test ......................................................... 81

Session 8. Action Plan:

Identifying and Sequencing Tasks ................................ 88

Session 9. Action Plan:

Assigning Roles and Responsibilities .......................... 93

Session 10. Action Plan:

Making the Timeline....................................................... 98

Session 11. Monitoring and Evaluation Planning ......................... 101

Session 12. Resource Identification and Budgeting ...................... 115

Session 13. Proposal Writing and

Optional Project Presentations ..................................... 126

Session 14. Funding Sources:

Looking Inside and Outside the Community ............ 135

Session 15. Next Steps:

Taking It Home to the Community ............................. 139

Appendices ................................................................................................. 145

Appendix A: Sample Community Project Designs ............... 147

Section 1. Panaderia “La Flor” ................................................ 147

Section 2. Environmental Awareness of

Phu Wua Forest Sanctuary ................................... 159

Appendix B: Working with an Interpreter ............................. 173
v

Appendices

Acknowledgments

Project Design and Management workshops have been offered for many

years as In-Service Trainings for Volunteers and their Counterparts. This

manual builds on an earlier title, Small Project Design and Management, experience with the materials, and more recent work done by Peace

Corps in Gender and Development, strength-based approaches, and

participatory processes. In many ways this manual is the community

action planning supplement to Participatory Analysis for Community

Action (ICE No. M0054).

Materials were piloted at workshops in Guatemala, Senegal, Jordan, and

Romania through an Inter-Agency Agreement between the Peace Corps

and the United States Agency for International Development.

The Peace Corps acknowledges the contributions of all staff, consultants,

Volunteers, and Counterparts who participated in this effort.
vi Peace Corps

The New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual

Acronyms and

Abbreviations

AF Africa, a regional designation of the Peace Corps

APCD Associate Peace Corps Country Director

CCBI Community Content-Based Instruction

EMA Europe, Middle East, and Asia, a regional designation of

the Peace Corps

GAD Gender and Development

GAM Gender Analysis Matrix

HCA Host Country Agency

HCN Host Country National

IAP InterAmerica and Pacific, a regional designation of the

Peace Corps

ICE Information Collection and Exchange

IRC Peace Corps In-Country Resource Center

IST In-Service Training

NGO Nongovernmental Organization

PACA Participatory Analysis for Community Action

PATS Program and Training System

PCV Peace Corps Volunteer

PDM Project Design and Management (Workshop)

PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal

PST Pre-Service Training

RRA Rapid Rural Appraisal

PVO Private Volunteer Organization

TOT Training of Trainers

SPA Small Projects Assistance Program

WID Women in Development
1

Guidelines for Planning a Project Design and Management Workshop

Guidelines for Planning

a Project Design and

Management Workshop

Peace Corps’ Goals for

the PDM Workshop

The PDM Workshop builds on the philosophy and methodologies of

community participation that most Volunteers begin to learn in preservice training (PST) and continue to expand through in-service

training (IST). Prior to the PDM workshop, most Volunteers will have

been introduced to the importance of the men’s and women’s and

girls’ and boys’ involvement in defining their own community’s

realities. Some Volunteers and their Counterparts will already have

experience in using participatory analysis tools, such as asset mapping

and seasonal calendars, to assist their communities in identifying

resources and setting priorities for future development and change.

In the PDM workshop, Volunteers and their Counterparts learn how

to involve the community members in moving from their analysis to

planning and implementing projects that meet their desires and needs.

Some general goals of the PDM workshop for the Peace Corps include:

1. To reinforce the philosophy of community participation, and

provide additional methodologies for involving community

members in designing and implementing their own projects.
The New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual

2 Peace Corps

2. To enhance the Peace Corps Volunteers’ outreach capabilities.

3. To build host country national community development skills

and strengthen the relationship between Volunteer and Counterpart.

Goals and Objectives

for Participants

The concepts presented in the PDM workshop often are not new to

Volunteers or their Counterparts. Writing goals and objectives,

developing an action plan, and other aspects of project design may

have been learned in other settings. However, in the PDM workshop,

Volunteers and their Counterparts have an opportunity to clarify

concepts, talk with each other in a focused way, and work through

the design process by practice planning a project that is real for their

community. It is this interaction of Volunteer and Counterpart that is

constantly identified by participants as the most important part of

the workshop.

The following sample goal and objectives reflect the content of the

PDM workshop as described in this manual. Posts may choose to

modify the list in accordance with their own particular situation.

Goal

Volunteers and Counterparts will have opportunities to develop a

shared understanding of concepts, strategies, and skills for project

design and management and use them with their communities.

Objectives

By the end of the workshop participants will be able to:

1. Explain their expectations for successful projects and develop

means of implementing them through improved planning,

communication, and project monitoring.

2. Describe tools and methods that can be used to better understand

the community they serve.

3. Work through the steps of project planning, develop a potential

project for their community, and learn a process they can replicate

with their communities.

4. Develop a plan for how they will apply the skills and knowledge

learned in the workshop to their jobs and share them with others.

...In the PDM workshop,

Volunteers and their

Counterparts have an

opportunity to clarify

concepts, talk with each

other in a focused way,

and work through the

design process by practice

planning a project that is

real for their community.
3

Guidelines for Planning a Project Design and Management Workshop

Who Should Attend

a PDM Workshop?

The PDM workshop is useful to any Volunteers and Counterparts

who have opportunities to help their communities develop and carry

out projects whether the community is a class of students, the faculty,

a women’s club, an agricultural or small business cooperative, a

geographically located group, or however defined.

Counterparts are defined in different ways in various projects and

countries. A Counterpart who attends the PDM workshop should be

that individual with whom the Volunteer works on a daily basis, if

possible, rather than a distant supervisor. This recommendation is

based on the hope the Volunteer and Counterpart will leave the

workshop with common knowledge and skills they will carry back

to their communities. And, that they will work together with the

community members to transfer the skills in designing and managing

projects.

In cases where the Counterpart is unable to attend the workshop, the

Volunteer may want to invite a community member to participate in

the sessions and serve as a planning partner. In cases where a Volunteer may have two or more Counterparts (for example, an education

sector Volunteer may work closely with several cooperating teachers),

Peace Corps staff may want to provide some criteria that would help

the Volunteer decide who would be the most appropriate person to

attend.

In addition to Volunteers and their Counterparts, nongovernmental

organization (NGO) workers and other local leaders in the process of

building partnerships with the Peace Corps would benefit from and

contribute to a PDM workshop.

When to Conduct

a PDM Workshop

If the Volunteers’ primary job is to assist their communities in defining

and carrying out community activities, they will find the PDM

workshop useful early in their service. Once these Volunteers have

had two or three months to settle in, further develop their language

skills, and learn about their communities, they are ready for project

design skills provided through the workshop. And, if they have not

been introduced to participatory analysis approaches, such as

Participatory Analysis for Community Action (PACA) or Participatory

Rural Appraisal (PRA), they would benefit from learning these

methodologies and skills as well. The obstacle they may face this early

in their service is language ability.

Once...Volunteers have

had two or three months

to settle in, further

develop their language

skills, and learn about

their communities, they

are ready for project

design skills provided

through the workshop.
The New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual

4 Peace Corps

Volunteers who are struggling to learn the language while trying to

carve out a defined job in their community often become frustrated

within a few months. Organizing a PDM workshop earlier in their

service may outweigh the advantages of waiting until their language

is better. Using participatory processes to assist the community in

analyzing and designing its own projects may require that the

Volunteer work with a translator, hopefully a Counterpart, well into

their service. Interpretation may be necessary because the language

skills needed for facilitating are quite sophisticated. In fact, there is a

great strength in working with a Counterpart on all the processes of

project design and management. Collaboration with a Counterpart

will help ensure that the Volunteer is being responsive to the

community and has someone to help him or her interpret the culturally

based behaviors or beliefs that may not be apparent.

Volunteers who are assigned to existing projects may have other

technical training needs that take precedence over project design skills.

In fact, a PDM workshop may not be necessary for these Volunteers

unless they have responsibilities for monitoring existing community

development projects or will have opportunities to assist in the design

and management of future projects. In those cases, the PDM workshop

probably could take place six months into their service.

Translation Issues and Options

Translation issues and options will depend on the language situation

in the particular country. If the workshop is offered early in the

Volunteers’ service (see previous section) and Counterparts do not

speak English comfortably enough to attend an all-English training,

then the PDM workshop should be conducted using translations in

both languages as much as possible.

When translation is appropriate, there are some options beyond

simultaneous translation. Bilingual trainers can do translation as

necessary. Having written materials translated in advance may make

this option more viable. Simultaneous charting in English and the

local language during brainstorming or other large group activities

also enhances the learning experience. Volunteers or Counterparts

who have advanced language proficiency can help as well. Or, if

practical, Volunteers and Counterparts can pair up with people in

each group who have strong language skills. Volunteers and

Counterparts work together at their sites, so working together on

community project design and management in the workshop will

mirror their daily experience. It is the large group presentations of

new information or summary sessions that tend to be more

problematic for Counterparts or Volunteers less confident about

language.

Appendix B contains a resource for using interpreters. If appropriate,

Appendix B can be used as a handout for participants.
5

Guidelines for Planning a Project Design and Management Workshop

Participant Assessment Prior to

Organizing the Workshop

The assessment may focus on different aspects of the participants’

work, including their relationships with their community and each

other; the skills and knowledge they want to acquire or expand to be

of better service to their community; the setting, including opportunities and obstacles the community faces; and others. It is useful to

gather this information from Counterparts as well as from Volunteers.

One way to get the information is to ask prospective participants a

series of open-ended questions or statements such as the following:

1. What are the best assets you bring to your role as a “community

facilitator”? What are your hopes and fears regarding this role?

2. So far, what have been some of your most successful experiences

with your community? What have been some challenges?

3. How would you describe your work relationship with your Counterpart or Volunteer? What have been the highlights? Challenges?

4. Have you used any participatory analysis tools such as community mapping, seasonal calendars, and so forth with community

groups? Briefly describe these experiences.

5. Have you led or assisted a project planning process with people

in your community? Briefly describe these experiences.

6. How would you characterize your community project planning

skills at this point in time? (e.g., community analysis, writing goals

and objectives, developing an action plan, creating a budget,

designing a monitoring and evaluation plan). What planning skills

would you like to develop more?

7. What has been your experience with resource development

(raising funds and in-kind contributions, writing proposals, etc.)

in your community? What more would you like to learn about in

this area?

8. What else would you like to tell us about your work or your

community that would help us understand your training needs

relating to PDM?

Another idea is to tie the assessment to one of the participatory

methodologies of PACA. The Volunteer and Counterpart could be

asked to do a variation of a seasonal calendar prior to the workshop

and submit it. The calendar might include the tasks of both the

Volunteer and Counterpart, as well as other information about the

community such as weather seasons, planting seasons, school

schedule, holidays and other special events, and generally high

expenditure periods for the members of their communities. The

One way to get the

[assessment] information

is to ask prospective

participants a series of

open-ended questions

or statements....
The New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual

6 Peace Corps

information on the calendar would provide trainers with an idea of

how the Volunteer and Counterpart spend their time, and in the

workshop, itself, the information should help the participants look at

how a particular activity or project would fit in with other realities

for the community.

Workshop Monitoring Options

As the PDM workshop intends to introduce and reinforce participatory methodologies, some trainers have included monitoring

throughout the course of the workshop itself. For example, it is

possible to create monitoring groups to carry out some type of

monitoring or reflection activity at the end of each day. Group

members conduct their activity and report on the results the following

morning. While this technique involves the participants and provides

monitoring data throughout the workshop, some have found it adds

another complicating dimension to an already full workshop.

Another option is to post three wall pocket-charts in the training room.

The pocket chart are decorated with a simple face and exclamation as

shown below.

Participants are invited to place any comments or questions in the

appropriate pockets. Once or twice each day, the trainers check the

pockets, share the messages with the group, and address any issues

or questions.

A third monitoring idea is to create a set of questions on which

workshop participants may reflect at the end of each day. Although

participants would answer questions individually, they might share

some of their observations with the total group, a small group, or

with their Volunteer or Counterpart. Sharing might be through

discussion, listing entries on flipcharts (such as comments on “Insights

of the Day” or pictures of what was learned, what was confusing,

and so on), or anonymous question cards to be read and discussed

the next day.

Once or twice each day,

the trainers check the

pockets, share the

messages with the group,

and address any issues or

questions. WOW! Questions? BOO!

?

?

?
7

Guidelines for Planning a Project Design and Management Workshop

Evaluating the Workshop

At the end of the workshop, Volunteers and Counterparts, as pairs or

in small groups, will have completed a project design. These practice

project designs are major outputs of the workshop and serve as

significant indicators of workshop success.

Additionally, there may be a desire to have a written evaluation of

the overall workshop. It is recommended that this evaluation focus

on the objectives, rather than on opinions of individual sessions.

Because the nature of the workshop is to build upon the past sessions,

evaluating each individual session is not particularly useful.

It is also recommended that a follow-up evaluation be sent to both

Volunteers and Counterparts six weeks to two months after the

workshop. This evaluation might include a few open-ended questions

that will help both the participants and Peace Corps staff evaluate

the impact of the workshop. Some examples:

1. What specific ideas from the PDM workshop have you used?

Describe the setting.

2. What have you done or created that was sparked by an idea or

event of the workshop?

3. In what ways did the workshop affect your relationship with your

Volunteer or Counterpart? Give one or two specific examples.

4. In what ways have you shared any of the content of the workshop

with others in your community? Be specific—What? With whom?

The insights gathered from this type of follow-up evaluation serve

several purposes. For example, the participants themselves will be

able to learn from and build on one another’s experiences;

programmers may use the data to improve or enhance their program

designs; and trainers may draw from the examples and lessons learned

to create case studies for pre-service training.

These practice project

designs are major outputs

of the workshop and serve

as significant indicators of

workshop success.
The New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual

8 Peace Corps

Who Should Facilitate

the PDM Workshop?

Since the PDM workshop so directly relates to the Volunteers’

community projects and outreach activities, the programming staff

should be involved in the PDM. Best results occur when programming

staff serve as trainers. If they are not comfortable in the lead trainer

role, they might co-facilitate and/or be available to help Volunteers

and their Counterparts work on their sample project plans. The

dynamics between Volunteers and Counterparts, the level of their

effort in learning and working together, and the types of projects they

are designing are all important information for the programming staff.

Other choices for trainers include local Peace Corps training staff,

nongovernmental organization (NGO) or private volunteer

organization (PVO) staff with training experience, Volunteer Leaders,

and outside consultants. Ideally, the person selected to serve in the

lead trainer role should have previously experienced the PDM

workshop as a co-facilitator or a participant.

Given the intensive focus on practice planning, the PDM workshop

should be staffed with a team of two trainers (e.g., a lead trainer and

a programming staff member) for every 20 participants. If the

participant group is approximately 30, then it is advisable to add a

third person to the training team. For a group of 40 participants, it

may be better to divide the group into two subgroups, assign a trainer

team to each, and run two concurrent workshops with occasional large

group debriefs. Whatever the make up of the team, it is important

that co-trainers model the kind of collaborative behavior they hope

to encourage in the Volunteer-Counterparts teams.

When new trainers are used to facilitate the workshop, a training of

trainers (TOT) needs to be conducted. Though project design and

management content may be known to most trainers, it is easy to

forget the degree to which the Peace Corps has its own philosophy,

definitions and jargon.

Best results occur when

programming staff serve

as trainers.
9

Guidelines for Planning a Project Design and Management Workshop

Trainers brought in as consultants, or who are new to Peace Corps

training, should be provided with the following information:

1. What was the pre-service training (PST) structure, content? What

specific content related to PDM topics was covered? How? For

example, if Volunteers were introduced to participatory analysis

methodologies, e.g., PACA or PRA, which ones did they practice?

Where? What use was made of the information gained?

2. What is the level of language—host country language of

Volunteers, English of Counterparts? Is translation necessary

during the workshop? If so, will there be a translator or are the

trainers expected to do it? Do materials exist in both languages?

If not, can they be translated prior to the workshop?

3. What other types of training have Volunteers had? Have they

had other in-service training, or attended workshops sponsored

by other organizations or agencies? If so, what was the content?

4. What type of needs assessment has been conducted? What were

the results?

5. What specific Volunteer issues are there? Job-related concerns?

Cultural adjustments? Attitudes toward their Counterparts? How

have these issues been addressed? What needs to be done about

them prior to or during the PDM workshop?

6. What specific issues are Counterparts having with Volunteers?

How have these issues been addressed? How might these issues

impact the PDM workshop?

Content and Materials

Preparation

This manual contains session plans, worksheets, handouts with key

points, background readings, and sample project designs. Workshop

planners will need to study the manual and decide which materials

are appropriate for the expected participant group and which

materials may need to be adapted. If, for example, the sample project

designs are not appropriate to the context in which Volunteers and

Counterparts work, develop a more suitable one using the sample as

a template.

Some trainers like to provide participants with extra sets of worksheets

so they will have “clean” copies to take back to their communities.

A decision about the need to translate written materials should be

made several weeks before the workshop to allow sufficient time for

translation. The key materials must be selected, translated, and

reproduced.

This manual contains

session plans, worksheets,

handouts with key points,

background readings, and

sample project designs.
The New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual

10 Peace Corps

Tips for PDM

Workshop Trainers

The following tips should prove helpful for PDM Workshop Trainers:

1. This manual provides a practical training process that Volunteers

and Counterparts can replicate with their communities. As you

select and make modifications to the sessions to fit your

participants’ needs, try to keep this community context in mind

and encourage participants to share ways to make the content,

methods, and materials as accessible and appropriate as possible

for the people with whom they live and work.

2. Trainers may want to designate a 15-minute time slot each day to

offer the group “tips for conducting an effective PDM workshop

with your community.” The first few minutes after lunch is a

particularly good time for this activity—people tend to return

from lunch on time so they don’t miss any of the trainers’ secrets!

3. The PDM training session plans and handouts are necessarily

generic and need to be adapted to suit local post and participant

needs. The manual offers several optional and alternative

activities, but it is up to you to creatively tailor activities to the

needs of the group and within your time allotment.
11

Tips for PDM Workshop Trainers

4. In the design of the PDM workshop, Volunteers and Counterparts

join together in pairs or small groups (called, project teams) to

practice the planning process by selecting a real community

priority and designing a project around it. This practicum is core

to the learning process in the sense that it gives participants the

opportunity to immediately apply each of the steps in project

design and understand the power and pitfalls of the process. The

more time you can preserve for the hands-on practice, the richer

the experience will be for the project teams and the more confident

they will feel in leading a similar process with community groups.

5. Since the project teams will be working together for considerable

portions of the workshop, trainers should observe the dynamics

in each pair and ensure that Volunteer and Counterpart are sharing

the work and supporting each other. Break up the pair work from

time to time with large group discussions and mixed group

activities. Also, bear in mind that the teams will work at different

paces—some will finish their worksheets in record time while

others will struggle with the task and need one-on-one attention.

It is critical to group morale to have all teams producing a planning

product about which they feel good.

6. The room arrangement is particularly important in the PDM

workshop. If possible, select a large room that allows project teams

to spread out and create a comfortable planning space, and also

permits the trainer to call the group together quickly to discuss

an important question or insight that has emerged from the

teamwork. Furnish each project team with supplies such as

flipchart paper, markers, post-it notes, and so forth.

7. Some Volunteer-Counterpart teams may have difficulty selecting

a project for their practice planning. Ideally, participants should

be asked to discuss possible project ideas with their communities

prior to the workshop. If they are still trying to select an

appropriate project when they arrive at the workshop site, the

APCD should help them make a decision.

8. As with any multiple day workshop, it’s a good idea to begin the

morning with a warm-up exercise and close the afternoon with a

summary and reflection on the day’s work.

9. The PDM workshop should close with some sort of celebration

(for example, a special lunch, the award of Certificates of

Completion, and so forth). This final activity reinforces celebration

and appreciation as essential components of the Community

Development/Project Planning Cycle.

The PDM workshop should

close with some sort of

celebration (for example,

a special lunch, the award

of Certificates of

Completion, and so forth).
The New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual

12 Peace Corps

PDM Session Grid

Core or essential sessions (note: some of these sessions may be shortened to accommodate tight

timeframes.)

Optional sessions depending on participants’ field experiences and country-specific training needs.

Sessions on Workshop Introduction and Overview

• Success Stories in the Community: Introduction to the PDM Workshop

• Assets and Deficits: Identifying Our Resources and Expectations

• Steps in Project Planning

Sessions on Analyzing the Community

• Participatory Analysis and Priority-Setting with the Community

• Desires, Needs, or Problems? Understanding the Difference

Sessions on Designing a Community Project

(the “heart” of the workshop)

• Project Design: Part 1—Vision, Assets, and Strategies

• Project Design: Part 2—Goals and Objectives, Signs of Success, Feasibility Test

• Action Plan: Identifying and Sequencing Tasks

• Action Plan: Assigning Roles and Responsibilities

• Action Plan: Making the Timeline

• Monitoring and Evaluation Planning

• Resource Identification and Budgeting

Sessions on Funding the Project

• Proposal Writing and Optional Project Presentations

• Funding Sources: Looking Inside and Outside the Community

Sessions on Closing the Workshop

• Workshop Application: Taking It Home to the Community
13

Tips for PDM Workshop Trainers

Calendar Options for the PDM Workshop

The selection and sequencing of the sessions in the manual should be based on participants’ expressed needs

and overall time allotments. The following four calendars show options for workshops of different lengths and

focus.

Lunch

• Project Design: Part 2—

Goals and Objectives, Signs

of Success, Feasibility Test

• Action Plan: Identifying

and Sequencing Tasks

• Summary of Day

• Success Stories in the

Community: Introduction

to the PDM Workshop

• Assets and Deficits:

Identifying Our

Resources and

Expectations

• Warm-Up Activity

• Desires, Needs, or

Problems? Understanding

the Difference

• Project Design: Part 1—

Vision, Assets, and

Strategies

• Warm-Up Activity

• Action Plan: Assigning

Roles and Responsibilities

• Action Plan: Making the

Timeline

• Monitoring and Evaluation

Planning

• Warm-Up Activity

• Project Presentations (in

Volunteer-Counterpart

Teams)

• Funding Sources: Looking

Inside and Outside the

Community

Lunch

• Resource Identification and

Budgeting

• Proposal Writing and

Preparation for Project

Presentations

• Summary of Day

Lunch

• Workshop Application:

Taking It Home to the

Community

• Workshop Evaluation and

Celebration

Lunch

• Steps in Project Planning

• Participatory Analysis

and Priority-Setting with

the Community

• Summary of Day

4-Day Calendar (full workshop)

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4

3-Day Calendar (community analysis focus)

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3

• Success Stories in the Community:

Introduction to the PDM Workshop

• Assets and Deficits: Identifying Our

Resources and Expectations

• Warm-Up Activity

• Desires, Needs, or Problems?

Understanding the Difference

• Project Design: Part 1—Vision, Assets,

and Strategies

• Warm-Up Activity

• Action Plan: Assigning Roles and

Responsibilities

• Action Plan: Making the Timeline

• Monitoring and Evaluation Planning

Lunch

• Resource Identification and Budgeting

• Workshop Application: Taking It

Home to the Community

• Workshop Evaluation and Celebration

Lunch

• Project Design: Part 2—Goals and

Objectives, Signs of Success, Feasibility

Test

• Action Plan: Identifying and

Sequencing Tasks

• Summary of Day

Lunch

• Steps in Project Planning

• Participatory Analysis and PrioritySetting with the Community

• Summary of Day
The New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual

14 Peace Corps

• Action Plan: Assigning Roles and

Responsibilities

• Action Plan: Making the Timeline

• Monitoring and Evaluation Planning

• Summary of Day

• Steps in Project Planning

• Project Design: Part 1—Vision, Assets

and Strategies

• Summary of Day

• Funding Sources: Looking Inside and

Outside the Community

• Workshop Application: Taking It

Home to the Community

• Workshop Evaluation and Celebration

3-Day Calendar (resource development focus)

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3

• Success Stories in the Community:

Introduction to the PDM Workshop

• Assets and Deficits: Identifying Our

Resources and Expectations

• Warm-Up Activity

• Project Design: Part 2—Goals and

Objectives, Signs of Success, Feasibility

Test

• Action Plan: Identifying and

Sequencing Tasks

• Warm-Up Activity

• Resource Identification and Budgeting

• Proposal Writing and Project

Presentations (in VolunteerCounterpart Teams)

Lunch Lunch Lunch

2 1/2-Day Calendar (core planning sessions)

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3

• Success Stories in the Community:

Introduction to PDM Workshop

• Assets and Deficits: Identifying Our

Resources and Expectations

• Warm-Up Activity

• Project Design: Part 2—Goals and

Objectives, Signs of Success, Feasibility

Test

• Action Plan: Identifying and

Sequencing Tasks

• Warm-Up Activity

• Resource Identification and Budgeting

• Project Posters Presentations (Gallery

Walk or Small Group Presentations)

• Workshop Application: Taking It Home

to the Community

• Workshop Evaluation

Lunch Lunch Lunch and Celebration

• Steps in Project Planning

• Project Design: Part 1—Vision, Assets

and Strategies

• Summary of Day

• Action Plan: Assigning Roles and

Responsibilities

• Action Plan: Making the Timeline

• Monitoring and Evaluation Planning

• Summary of Day
15

Tips for PDM Workshop Trainers

1 1/2 Day Calendar

(add-on to another workshop or conference: planning basics)

Day 1 Day 2 (1/2 day)

• Steps in Project Planning

• Project Design: Part 1—Vision, Assets, and Strategies

• Action Plan: Making the Timeline

• Monitoring and Evaluation Planning

• Resource Identification and Budgeting

Lunch

• Project Design: Part 2—Goals and Objectives, Signs of

Success, Feasibility Test

• Action Plan: Identifying and Sequencing Tasks

• Action Plan: Assigning Roles and Responsibilities
The New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual

16 Peace Corps

Definition of Terms

(as Used in This Manual)

There is more than one definition for many of the terms listed below. It is

important to understand how the terms are used in this manual in order

to present the material and to help participants clarify terms as needed.

Assets Approach (also strength-based approach)

The asset-based approach to development is a “positive thinking”

philosophy recognized and embraced by many communities and

groups around the world. Instead of beginning by focusing on

problems and deficiencies, the assets approach encourages the analysis

of strengths and resources within existing places in the community

where people are already active. These places are called activity

settings.

The six principles of the assets approach are:

1. Participate in and cooperatively enhance community activity

settings.

2. Examine existing community assets—at the individual level and

then expand out to associations and institutions; encourage

linkages within and across categories.

3. Design or enhance existing activity settings consistent with values,

beliefs, and rules of host culture.

4. Engage in reciprocal relationships of assisting and being assisted;

turn spectators into participants; learn from leaders; turn over

leadership roles.

5. Encourage joint activity; practice inclusion; practice collaboration.

6. Engage in Quality Process; how it is done is as important as what

is done.

[Taken from: Wilson, O’Donnell, and Tharp, Building On Assets In

Community Development: A Guide To Working With Community

Groups. For more information about assets-based development,

please consult Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path

Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community’s Assets, by John

Kretzman and John McKnight (ICE no. CD051)]
17

Definition of Terms

Community

Community is used to depict more than geographical location. For

the sake of community project planning, Volunteers’ communities may

be any of the following:

• the village or neighborhood of the town or city where they live;

• institutions, such as schools, or subdivisions of those institutions,

such as a class of students or the faculty;

• professional groups, such as secondary and university English

teachers, small business advisors, extension agents, or farmers,

among others;

• affinity groups from one or more locations, such as a woman’s

group, youth club, or an income-generating group.

During the workshop, Volunteers and their Counterparts focus on

one particular community with whom they work. With this group in

mind, they work through the process of designing a community

project that the group might want to do. After the workshop, the

Volunteer and Counterpart are expected to return to that community

and engage the community members in the same process of

identifying and planning a project that they wish to accomplish, and

then assist them to carry it out.

Community Development

Community development is a process that enables individuals,

families, organizations, businesses and government agencies to come

together and draw upon the community’s collective skills and abilities.

This group will learn, develop a vision and strategy for the

community’s future, make well-reasoned and collaborative decisions

about that future, and work together to carry out those decisions.

Community Facilitator

In their communities, Volunteers and Counterparts serve as

facilitators. A facilitator assists the community in deciding what it

wants to do and then partners with the community to get the work

done. A facilitator often participates in community activity settings;

sets up learning situations, discussions, and meetings; and draws on

the expertise in the group to create action plans that address the

community’s interests or concerns. He or she models good leadership

and stewardship but makes sure the decision-making rights and

responsibilities remain with the community.

It is important to

understand how the terms

are used in this manual in

order to present the

material and to help

participants clarify terms

as needed.
The New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual

18 Peace Corps

Community Project

In this manual, community project is used interchangeably with

community activity, and refers to actions planned and undertaken by a

group of people in response to a collaborative decision to make a

change or an improvement. Community projects are characterized

by a high degree of participation and commitment on the part of the

community.

Counterpart

A Counterpart is the host country national with whom a Volunteer

works. The term Counterpart is used differently in different settings.

Sometimes the counterpart is a close colleague—another teacher,

extension agent, small business advisor—who is doing the same type

of work as the Volunteer. In other situations, the Counterpart is a

direct supervisor, such as the director of an agency, institution, or

center where the Volunteer works. In some cases, a Volunteer may

have more than one Counterpart. For example, some education

Volunteers work with groups of cooperating teachers. The definition

and selection of Counterparts is usually a joint decision between the

Peace Corps and the agency with which the Volunteer will work.

For the purposes of the PDM workshop, the Counterpart that comes

with the Volunteer should be someone with whom the volunteer

works closely. The Counterpart is considered an equal partner of the

Volunteer. As a result of the workshop, it is hoped that the Volunteer

and Counterpart go back to the community to share the information

and skills they have acquired in project design and management.

Participatory Analysis Tools and Methodologies

Development agents, such as Peace Corps Volunteers and staff and

local Counterparts, use participatory analysis tools and methods with

community members to help them explore their resources, roles and

responsibilities, and priorities for change. As the community becomes

clear about its priorities, the development worker becomes a partner

with the community as it develops its own projects, carries out the

tasks, and monitors and evaluates its work.

In 1996, the Peace Corps developed Participatory Analysis for Community Action (PACA), a set of age and gender-sensitive tools that

could facilitate a participatory process in which women, men, girls,

and boys engage in their own analysis and decision-making about

what they want to change in their community. PACA grew out of the

many requests for materials that could address, simultaneously, the

needs for tools to use in community development, urban and rural

appraisal, gender and socioeconomic analysis, and other participatory

methodologies. Based in part on Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)

and Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA), PACA was developed by the Peace

Development agents, such

as Peace Corps Volunteers

and staff and local

Counterparts, use

participatory analysis

tools and methods with

community members to

help them explore their

resources, roles and

responsibilities, and

priorities for change.
19

Definition of Terms

Corps Women in Development Office under a Gender and Development Training Initiative. Peace Corps staff and Volunteers were first

introduced to PACA through in-service training (IST) workshops. It

has now been incorporated in many pre-service training (PST)

programs and is sometimes integrated with PDM workshops. For

more information, please review the PACA Manual (ICE no. M0053)

or Gender and Development Training (ICE no. M0054). For

information on conducting capacity inventories with communities,

consult Building Communities from the Inside Out, (ICE no.

CD051).

Peace Corps Country Program Strategy and

Projects

The Peace Corps uses the term Program Strategy to describe its overall

presence in a country. The Peace Corps Program Strategy in country

X may comprise one or more Projects, usually defined by sectors such

as environment, health, or economic development. In this manual, a

community project is distinct from a Peace Corps project in terms of

scale, concept, and management. A community project is small-scale,

focused on a specific local priority, and managed by community

members. A Peace Corps project is larger in scale, referenced by all

Volunteer activities relating to a particular common purpose, focused

locally but based on a national agenda, and managed by the Peace

Corps and collaborating host governmental agencies or nongovernmental organizations.

Resource Development

Education sector programmers often use this term to refer to the

development of written materials, library collections and resource

centers that support various types of learning programs. In this

manual, resource development is used quite differently. It refers to

the process of identifying, valuing, and mobilizing the human,

physical, material, and monetary resources that exist within a community. In assets-based development approaches, people start with

what they have and can do, not with what is missing. This aim not

only helps to frame community projects, but also guides the

community’s funding efforts. In this sense, resource development

envelops a wide range of ideas about how needed resources might be

solicited or earned within the community, and secondarily, sought from

external sources.

In this manual, resource

development refers to the

process of identifying,

valuing, and mobilizing

the human, physical,

material, and monetary

resources that exist within

a community.
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20 Peace Corps

Resources and

Reference Materials

The following publications complement the materials in this manual and

are referred to in the session plans. Those proceeded by a number are

available through the Peace Corps’ Information and Exchange (ICE) office

in Washington.

WD108 Another Point of View: A Manual on Gender Analysis

Training for Grassroots Workers. (UNIFEM) 1993. 106 pp.

Permission to reprint.

Workshop and training manual focusing on gender issues in

development. Specifically relevant to the experience of

community-based development workers. Helpful in the design

and implementation of gender-sensitive development programs

at the grass-roots level.

CD051 Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward

Finding and Mobilizing a Community’s Assets. John P.

Kretzman and John L. McKnight. (ACTA Publications) 1993.

376 pp.

Guide to asset-based community development, summarizing

lessons learned by studying successful community-building

initiatives in hundreds of U.S. neighborhoods. Outlines what

local communities can do to start their own asset-based development, including how to rediscover their local assets; how to

combine and mobilize these strengths; and how “outsiders” in

government can effectively contribute to the process of assetbased development.

M0054 Gender and Development Training: Girl’s Education. (Peace

Corps ICE) 1998. Various pages.

Product of the Gender and Development Training Initiative,

which seeks to institutionalize the consideration of gender

issues throughout the Peace Corps. Contains eight booklets,

which provide background and development of projects;

training designs for various participants; session plans and

handouts; and insights from the field. Organized so that

booklets can be taken out as needed and returned for future

use. Booklets are short enough to make copying of pages

manageable.
21

Resources and Reference Materials

SB198 Guide to Designing Effective Proposals, A. WWF

Organizational Development Program. World Wildlife Fund

1991. 114 pp. [ICE Class. No. T0860]

Self-paced instructional manual for creating effective proposals

and designing effective projects. Links the proposal writing

process to planning, managing, and evaluating the basic

activities of an organization. Includes figures and worksheets

for hands-on experience and a set of practical tools that can be

used repeatedly. Flexible in design, easy to use, and appropriate

for a wide range of individuals sharing a common interest: the

development of effective proposals in the context of a clearly

framed proposal.

Building on Assets in Community Development: A Guide

to Working with Community Groups. Manuscript by

Kathleen Wilson, Clifford R. O’Donnell and Roland G. Tharp.

University of Hawaii at Manoa. Revised in May, 1994. (Original

title: “Six Principles of Practice in Community and Neighborhood Development Viewed from an Asset Perspective”. Center

For Youth Research. University of Hawaii. Report No. 364, 1992)

M0053 PACA: Participatory Analysis for Community Action. (Peace

Corps ICE) 1996. 350 pp.

Provides different methods of how to interact with a group.

The framework is based primarily on the work of RPCVs. This

manual is useful for all age groups. Topics include which

subjects are easier to talk about and understanding family life.
23

Session Plans

Session Plans

25

Session Plans

Session 1

Success Stories in

the Community:

Characteristics of

Effective Projects

Session Plan

Rationale

Community projects are most successful when they result from locally

perceived desires or needs and where community members take part

in the planning, implementation, and evaluation. This development

process builds the community’s capacity to better its own situation,

strengthen its resources, and work toward solving problems more

independently in the future. Development workers from outside the

community, including Peace Corps Volunteers, play the role of

facilitator rather than leader. As a facilitator, the Volunteer assists and

offers structure and guidance, but refrains from doing projects “for

my community.”

As the essence of the PDM workshop, the participatory planning

process should be introduced in the first session and then modeled

and reinforced throughout the training. This opening session, along

with the following session, Assets and Deficits, establishes an

appropriate climate and tone. Participants begin forming their own

workshop community by sharing and appreciating their successful

collaborations with their respective communities at site and by

learning about the resources represented in the training group.

Objectives

By the end of the session participants will be able to:

1. Learn about and celebrate the accomplishments of participants

and their respective communities.
26 Peace Corps

The New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual

2. Identify essential characteristics of successful projects and

examine the roles of various players, including community

leaders, members, and facilitators, in the project design and

implementation process.

3. Relate the PDM workshop goals and design to the role and the

skill development of community facilitators.

Time

1 hour, 45 minutes

Materials

• Half-size sheets of newsprint paper and marker for each VolunteerCounterpart pair

• Blank flipchart and markers for recording lists in the whole group

session

• Workshop goals and agenda printed on flipchart or on overhead

transparency

• Overhead projector if using transparencies

Preparation

1. Using flipchart paper, overheads, or a wall pocket-chart, prepare

an outline of the PDM workshop to serve as a visual guide during

the agenda review toward the end of the session.

2. For Step II, select a side wall in the main training room to designate

as the Wall of Success. Place a header in the middle of the space.

3. During Step II, you will need to sit toward the back of the room

and take notes on characteristics of successful projects as examples

emerge from the participants’ telling of their field experiences.

Read Steps II and III carefully so that you are fully prepared when

they begin the sharing.

4. You have a choice of two different activities in Step III: a small

group discussion or a prepared skit. If you have a very short

preparation period and/or little access to participants before the

start of the workshop, it is easier to do the small group discussion

because it takes virtually no set-up. On the other hand, if you

have the time and access to a few extroverted participants with

solid experience at site, then the skit is a good choice and might

be more fun. If you select the skit, allow the players enough

advance time to create a rough script of a meeting about a

community project. The action and dialogue should imply the
27

Session Plans

roles of the Volunteer, Counterpart, and two to three community

members in the planning and implementation of a project. Ask

the players to focus on ideal roles with some role reversals and

obvious pitfalls thrown in for realism and humor.

Procedure

Step I. Sharing Stories—Building a Wall of

Success

(45 minutes)

A. For this first activity, have participants work in VolunteerCounterpart teams. Give each pair a half-size sheet of newsprint

and a marker and ask them to use the materials to describe a

successful project or activity they have implemented with

community members, including information about their role in

the process and any significant lessons learned. Allow the pairs

approximately 10 minutes to do the assignment and suggest that

they use words, symbols or drawings to capture the essence of

their experience.

B. Ask each pair to introduce themselves (names, site, how long they

have been working in the target community) and tell their success

story. Allow approximately 2 to 3 minutes per pair for the sharing.

After they finish, have them tape their newsprint sheet on the

designated wall.

C. At the end of the sharing, ask participants for their immediate

impressions about the work being accomplished by communities.

Take a few observations and then ask participants to applaud

themselves for their contributions to these activities.

Trainer Note: Depending on the shared examples, participants may note

the diversity of activities, the role of community members versus outsiders,

and so forth. The purpose of this first processing is to allow people to reflect

and celebrate, not to analyze and interpret.

While participants are sharing their success stories, note down all characteristics or qualities of successful projects they mention during the

course of their sharing. Write each characteristic on a strip of paper or a

large-sized sticky note (only one item per note or strip). Keep the notes to

yourself until all pairs have finished telling their stories.

Step II. Identifying and Listing Characteristics of

Successful Projects

(15 minutes)

A. Move to the front of the room and post the header Characteristics

of Successful Projects on the wall. Explain to the group why you
28 Peace Corps

The New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual

were taking notes and then present all of the characteristics you

noted (on the paper strips or Post-It) from their stories. Introduce

the items one by one, placing them in logical order or groupings.

B. Once you have finished showing participants this initial list, ask

them if they can think of any additional characteristics they want

to add. When they are finished, add any other essential items

you think are still missing, such that you have a good master list.

Allow a few minutes for clarifications and place a check mark

beside any controversial items to revisit at strategic points during

the workshop.

Trainer Note: The list will probably include many of the following items:

• Involvement of the community and all beneficiaries in all phases of the

project planning, implementation, and evaluation.

• Analysis of the situation and determining what the community wants

to do.

• If a problem is identified, problem analysis and selection of a cause that

they can reasonably work on.

• Realistic and achievable project goals.

• Realistic and concrete project objectives.

• Clearly defined project tasks and responsibilities of all people involved.

• Well designed time frame and budget, so that the objectives are met

within the time and resource limits.

• Partial, concrete and tangible results achieved during implementation

of the project.

• Effective monitoring system that measures the project’s progress,

identifies problems and provides a mechanism for necessary changes in

the project.

• Methods for keeping the larger community informed and involved.

• Evaluation, based on indicators set beforehand, of each project phase

and the entire project after it is finished.

• Logical and effective structure of project design and management.

• Qualified persons assigned to specific roles.

• A mechanism for training community members in effective maintenance

of the project, if required.
29

Session Plans

Step III. Small Group Discussion or Skit on Roles

of Community Facilitator

(30 minutes)

Option A—Small Group Discussion on Roles

A. Ask participants to form small groups with people they do not

know well. Each group should have four to five members and

include a good mix of Volunteers and Counterparts. Ask the

groups to use their community experiences to date, along with

the successful characteristics list to help them address the

following questions:

• What role should a Volunteer play in a community-based

project?

• A Counterpart from outside the community?

• The community members themselves?

Allow approximately 15 minutes for the discussion.

B. Poll the groups for their answers to the question. (“Group 1, what

is the Volunteer’s role? Group 2, do you agree with that? What

would you add? Group 3, what about the Counterpart’s role?”

and so on.). Write their key ideas about roles on flipchart, using

the following probing questions as appropriate:

1. What is the difference between a community facilitator and a

community leader?

2. What can Volunteers, Counterparts and other outsiders do if

the community pushes them to assume a strong leadership

role on some or most of the activities?

3. What kinds of skills and information do community facilitators

need to be effective in their role?

Option B—Skit on Roles

Trainer Note: This option requires some preparation work prior to the

session. Read the Preparation section at the beginning of this session plan

for more details.

A. Set the stage for the skit: “You are about to watch several minutes

of a meeting involving community members, a Volunteer, and a

Counterpart. Please observe and listen closely as they discuss

some items about a project they are currently planning. As you

see or hear things that indicate roles and responsibilities, jot these

down on a sheet of paper.”
30 Peace Corps

The New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual

B. Introduce the cast of players and ask them to perform the skit.

Allow the action to run approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Afterwards, ask the participants to share and comment on what they

saw in terms of role perceptions. Write key ideas on flipchart for

reference later on. As needed, use the same probing questions

mentioned under the small group discussion instructions to spark

discussion among participants.

Step IV. Review of PDM Goals and Agenda

(15 minutes)

A. Review the goals and agenda of the PDM workshop. Show the

relationships between specific workshop sessions and the

information the group just generated about successful community

projects and the roles of project participants. As much as possible,

clarify key terms that will be used frequently during the workshop

and answer any general questions participants may have about

the session sequence, the practice project planning, the daily

schedule, and so on.

Trainer Note: Please refer to the Introduction and Glossary sections

for clarification of terms and how they are used in this manual.

B. To close the session, draw participants’ attention back to the Wall

of Success and their work on the characteristics and roles of

successful projects. Commend them for their inputs and encourage them to continue drawing on their positive experiences

and lessons learned to make the workshop as meaningful as

possible.

Trainer Note: This session assumes that individual participant

expectations of the workshop will be discussed in the Assets and

Deficits session. If you are not intending to conduct that session, you

should include an expectations activity here before closing.
31

Session Plans

Session Plan

Session 2

Assets and Deficits:

Identifying Our Resources

and Expectations

Rationale

Both problem-based (deficit) and strength-based (asset) approaches

to community development have contributed much to our thinking

in the Peace Corps and reflect much of what we already do. The fact

that Peace Corps programming is based on projects defined by problem

statements often leads us to focus on what’s missing and how we can

fix it. On the other hand, the majority of the analysis carried out with

the Participatory Analysis for Community Action (PACA) tools

revolves around identifying and using assets in the community to bring

about positive change. Perhaps the most powerful lesson of the

strength-based approaches is the mindset that is created from the

beginning. This is best illustrated by the phrase, “The first question is

fateful.” If you begin working with people by dwelling on their

deficits, what type of self-image are you fostering? So many of the

Peace Corps’ projects aim to improve self-esteem that identifying

assets becomes a critical task.

Rather than viewing assets-based and problem-based approaches as

a dichotomy, it may be more helpful to think of them in terms of a

continuum. Our role along the continuum is clear: we need to start

with what people have and can do, not with what is missing. What

they see as missing may not be (or at least not all be) problems. They

may in fact be things they want, or perhaps need in order to change.

There are such things as problems, however, and the word has its

place. So do the critical thinking skills that lead to problem-solving

In this session the distinction between asset and deficit thinking is

introduced. The participants, in small groups, consider themselves a

community, and describe themselves by their assets. They also

experience what describing or being described by their deficits would

feel like and, afterwards, reflect on the effects of the two approaches.

At the end of the session, the group uses the information generated

from the assets and deficits mapping to identify their expectations

for the actual workshop.
32 Peace Corps

The New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual

Objectives

By the end of the session participants will be able to:

1. Develop an asset map and explore the implication of beginning

development work with asset identification.

2. Contrast deficit identification by the community with that done

by outsiders.

3. Identify participants’ expectations of the PDM workshop.

Time

1 hour, 30 minutes

Materials

• 5 blank flipcharts, 10 markers

• 1 deficit map produced by trainers (see Preparation section and

Step II in the session outline)

Preparation

1. If you are not familiar with the assets approach to community

development, review the book, Building Communities from the

Inside Out. This book explains the philosophy of the assets

approach, provides excellent tools, and offers many examples of

how the approach has been used successfully in several U.S.

communities.

2. For Step II, “Creating Deficits Maps,” you have several options:

you may have the participants create their own deficit maps or

present a deficit map based on the trainers’ perceptions of the

group, or do both. Read the session in its entirety and decide which

option is best in relation to your available time.

Procedure

STEP I. Creating Asset Maps

(40 minutes)

A. Introduce the activity as a way for people to continue getting

acquainted. Have them form small groups of five with people

they do not know well yet. Each group should have a good mix

of Volunteers and Counterparts.
33

Session Plans

B. Give participants the following small group task (written on

flipchart):

Please select a recorder for your group. Remembering the

objectives of this workshop (refer to flipchart), make a list of all

the personal skills and knowledge you bring to this workshop.

Each individual in your group contributes certain things, such as

skills in different languages, knowledge of how to motivate

people, marketing expertise, etc. Create a list that represents all

of the capacities you have represented in your group.

C. Give them about 10 to 15 minutes to work. Then stop them and

ask them to listen for further instructions. On a blank flipchart,

draw the following scheme, building it from the inside out, as

you describe what to put in each space:

1. In the inside square, write all the individual skills your group

has. Use the list you have just created.

2. In the outside square, add all of the local associations or groups

that you collectively represent—for example, women’s groups,

religious groups, schools, NGOs, etc.

3. In the last space around the edges, list all of the national

institutions you all represent or with whom you have links—

ministries, foundations, the Peace Corps, etc.

Individual

Local

National
34 Peace Corps

The New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual

D. Distribute blank flipcharts and markers to each group. Give them

20 minutes or so to work. Ask them to list the names of the people

in the group on the chart somewhere and to post their flipcharts

along one wall, next to each other.

E. Have the groups report out their assets maps:

1. Ask each group to report a few items from the center—their

individual skills and capacities.

2. Then ask for some examples from the second layer—local

associations.

3. Finally ask for some examples from the outer layer—institutions.

F. Raise the following questions or comments to encourage discussion:

1. As you look at all the individual and group skills, connections

to organizations and associations, how does that make you

feel about this group? (Proud, capable, empowered, etc.)

2. We can call these flipcharts assets maps or strength maps. Who

created them? You did; you are the ones that know your own

strengths. As an outsider, I am impressed and excited to work

with you!

3. When community members do an inventory of their capacities

or skills and identify their linkages to one another or to groups

and institutions, a creative process begins to happen in which

people start thinking and sharing ideas for projects. As community facilitators, we can help people develop their ideas

into visions and goals, and mobilize their assets by connecting

individuals to groups, groups to institutions, institutions to

institution, and so on. Sometimes, the best thing we can do is

help “people who know” link up with “those who want to

learn.” Have these assets maps already sparked ideas in you

for collaborative work? What are they?

STEP II. Creating Deficits Maps

(30 minutes)

Trainer Note: Depending upon the time available, this part of the session

can happen differently. Read through the steps and use the ones that you can

accommodate in your schedule.

A. Ask participants, in their groups, to do a second map. This time,

they should focus on deficits, issues, or problems that might affect

a potential project:
35

Session Plans

1. In the center block, list skills or knowledge needed for

designing and carrying out project that individuals in your

groups lack. Add other potential issues for your small groups,

such as different levels of language skill in the language of the

workshop; ethnic, religious, gender differences; roles

distinction (supervisors, employees, Volunteers), and so on.

2. In the next block, list issues or problems in the local community

that might hinder completion of a project, such as different

educational and interest levels; ethnic, age, and other differences; lack of local associations or organizations; limited

finances for the community as a whole; uncooperative leaders,

and so on.

3. In the outer block, list national level issues or problems that

might hinder completion of a project, such as bureaucracy

involved in getting approval or funding; cost of getting expert

help; lack of compatible goals of ministries or NGOs; and so

on.

B. When they have finished, have them post these new maps next

to their others. Ask them the following questions:

1. Did it feel different to do the two maps? If so, how was it

different?

2. How do you feel about the two different visions of your group?

C. Ask the participants to look at the map you have created. Explain

that this might be what an outsider would draw based on needs

assessments, conversations, requests for help, and rumors! Read

the items on the map and ask participants:

1. Do you think these items might apply to your group in some

way?

2. Does it feel different to have discussed and written down your

own needs rather than have someone from outside of your

group do it? If so, how does it make you feel about yourselves?

(Discouraged, disappointed, patronized, maybe misunderstood, or angry.)

Make this point to the group: “As an outsider, if this is all I

knew about you, it could feel overwhelming...that you had so

many (and only) needs and problems!”
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STEP III. Summary Discussion and Workshop

Expectations

(30 minutes)

A. Summarize the discussion by asking the group: “What was the

point of making these maps? (At first to get acquainted, to learn

about each other, realize how much we each have to offer. Then

to show how it feels to have others define you, and look just at

what you lack or need. In essence, to feel the impact of assets

versus deficits). Explain that in this workshop we want to reinforce

that it is more positive to:

1. Build first on strengths and what people have, because it

empowers them.

2. Have people define themselves and identify what they want

before we try to assist them.

B. Building on this theme, ask participants: “What do you expect or

want from this workshop?” Give participants a moment to think

first, then give each person a chance to speak. List their responses

on flipchart paper. Clarify any expectations that will not be met

by the workshop.

C. Wrap up the session by stating: “We, the trainers, will do our best

to meet your needs. But let’s not forget that everyone one here is

a resource. The workshop will accomplish what we want if we

all put in our best efforts. Are we ready?”

Resources

Building Communities from the Inside Out (ICE no. CD051).

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Session Plans

Session Plan

Session 3

Steps in

Project Planning

Rationale

The steps in project planning are frequently presented in a linear, or

perhaps a circular, diagram, with one step neatly following another.

In fact, rarely does a project develop—let alone get implemented—in

such a neat pattern. Several steps may be happening at once, as well

as a need to back track to reconsider or redo something. All participants have had some experience in planning and carrying out a

project, if only within their family setting or a club or association.

During the session on Success Stories, the group identified characteristics of successful projects. This session builds on that one, allowing

participants time to share experiences and expertise in small groups

as they develop their own flow chart of the steps in project planning.

An intervention at the end of the session introduces some of the side

and back steps that often happen, and a summary helps put all of the

steps into larger phases of project design and management.

Objectives

By the end of the session participants will be able to:

1. Identify the key steps in developing and managing a project.

2. Visualize the steps as a process that is sequential, yet somewhat

fluid and repetitive.

 Time

1 hour (add 15 minutes for optional activity in Step IV)
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Materials

• Blank flipcharts, marking pens, tape

• Colored construction paper footprints (approximately 15 per small

group)

• Glue sticks (one per small group)

• Music for the “Cha Cha” (optional)

• Handout: Community Development Cycle (prepare flipchart with

same information.)

Preparation

Read the session plan and customize it for your workshop by doing

the following tasks:

1. Decide what shape will be used for the visualization of planning

steps (see Step II of this session outline). If it is not culturally

offensive, you may make footprints. If that is not acceptable,

geometric shapes or arrows are good alternatives.

2. Consider how you want to form the small groups for the footprint

activity. If participants represent certain types of projects, they

may be grouped by project type. Or, they may be grouped by

ministry or agency they work for, or any other configuration that

is logical.

3. Decide if you want to use the optional activity in Step IV. This

option suggests the Cha Cha dance as a fun way to practice the

planning steps and to illustrate the nonlinear, non-exact nature

of the planning sequence. There are other ways to make the same

points as well. For example, you might substitute a local dance

for the Cha Cha, or use proverbs (If at first you don’t succeed, try,

try again; Measure twice, cut once, etc.), or you may simply

illustrate the points by moving the footprints around the

Community Development Cycle. If you elect to use the Cha Cha,

brief a participant in advance who will assist you. That person’s

role is to demonstrate with you, watching what you do and

mimicking the steps.

Procedure

STEP I. Introduction

(5 minutes)

Very briefly introduce the session with a transitional statement from

the previous sessions, such as:
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Session Plans

In the opening sessions on Success Stories and Community Assets

and Deficits, we identified characteristics of successful projects and

affirmed the use of community assets to bring desired changes. Based

on your experiences with your communities, you have learned

firsthand that effective community projects require several key steps

to make them happen, and that when some of those steps are left out,

the project suffers and sometimes even fails. In this session, you will

have an opportunity to put your knowledge to work by looking more

closely at the discrete steps needed for planning and carrying out

projects.

STEP II. Footprint Activity—Steps in Project

Design

(25 minutes)

A. Ask participants to form small groups, according to your previous

decision. Give each group a set of footprints, sheets of blank

flipchart paper, and markers, and explain their task as follows:

1. Talk among yourselves and determine what the steps are for

designing and carrying out a project. Someone in the group

should take notes.

2. Once you have determined what the steps are, write the name

of each one on a different footprint and lay the footprints out

in a time sequence on the flipchart. Use the glue stick to fasten

them down.

B. Give the groups about 20 minutes to complete the task. Circulate

around the room, observing their work and offering suggestions

if some groups get stuck on a particular step.

Trainer Note: Time saver option—

Give each group a set of footprints with the steps already preprinted.

See Optional Step IV for suggested steps (for example, identify

community strengths, identify community priorities, make vision,

develop goals and objectives, and so on.) Include two to three blank

footprints so the group can add in a step they think may be missing from

your model. Ask the groups to put the steps in the appropriate sequence.

This option would save 5 to 10 minutes.

STEP III. Report Out and Group Agreement on

Major Phases

(30 minutes)

A. Ask each group to report out, using their diagrams to illustrate

their thinking. After all have finished, discuss the project design

and management process with questions, such as:
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1. What are some of the similarities and differences you see

among the diagrams? What might account for those?

2. What did you learn from each others’ charts?

B. Distribute the handout, Community Development Cycle, and/or

show the flipchart with the diagram drawn. Briefly present the

five major phases of the cycle and then have participants relate

their PDM steps to the five phases. Ask them: “Which of your

steps fall into each phase?” Allow participants to offer some

examples so they are clear on the cycle. Use the key words—

Analysis, Setting Priorities, Planning, Action, and Evaluation—

to emphasize the cycle phases.

Trainer Note: The idea here is to get general agreement on the major

phases of community development. Don’t try to push for large group

consensus on all the smaller steps and their sequence. You may want to

acknowledge other community development models, and then explain

to the group that, for the purposes of this workshop, we have selected

one model to follow.

C. Using the Cha Cha dance or another option (see suggestions under

Step IV), illustrate the point that the project planning steps are

usually not orderly and linear, but rather fluid and repetitive.

D. Close the session by noting that in the remainder of the workshop

we will work through the steps of designing a project and discuss

methods to keep the community/group involved in the process.

STEP IV. Optional Activity—

The Project Planning Cha Cha

(15 minutes)

Trainer Note: The following is a model of how to introduce the concept

that steps often do not flow one after the other in a neat order. As mentioned

earlier in the section on Trainer Preparation, this can be modified to suit you

and your participant group. You can skip the dance and simply state the

concept, or you can present it in another creative way. The main idea is to

impress upon the group that the project planning and management process

is not orderly or linear.

A. Ask participants to focus on the center of the room. Ask your

previously briefed person to join and assist you in the dance.

Standing side by side with your participant assistant, say and do

the following:

Step forward with right foot, saying: “Mobilize community.”

Step forward with left foot, saying: “Assess situation.”
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Session Plans

Shift weight back and forth from right to left foot 3 times

saying: “Lots of little intermediary steps.”

Step forward with right, saying: “Identify community

strengths and needs.”

Step forward with left, saying: “Identify community

priorities.”

Shift weight back and forth from right to left foot 3 times

saying: “Lots of little intermediary steps.”

Step to right with right, saying: “Select priority and make a

vision.”

Step to right with left, saying: “Identify community resources”

Shift weight back and forth from right to left foot 3 times

saying: “Lots of little intermediary steps.”

Step to left with left, saying: “Develop project goals and

objectives.”

Step to left with right, saying: “Test feasibility.”

Shift weight back and forth from right to left foot 3 times

saying: “Lots of little intermediary steps.”

Step to left again with left, saying: “Develop project tasks,

budget, and timelines.”

Step to left with right, saying: “Test feasibility.”

Shift weight back and forth from right to left foot 3 times

saying: “Lots of little intermediary steps.”

Step to right with right, saying: “Mobilize and deploy

resources.”

Step to right with left, saying: “Implement project.”

Shift weight back and forth from right to left foot 3 times

saying: “Lots of little intermediary steps.”

Step and turn toward back with right, saying: “Monitor

situation.”

Bring left to back next to right, saying: “ Restructure project.”

Shift weight back and forth from right to left foot 3 times

saying: “Lots of little intermediary steps.”

Step and turn toward forward with right, saying: “Conclude

project.”

Bring left up next to right, saying: “Evaluate the situation.”

Shift weight back and forth from right to left foot 3 times

saying: “Lots of little intermediary steps.”
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B. Pause and let participants think about what they saw for a

moment. Then repeat the steps and words again, this time having

your partner say, “Lots of little intermediary steps with you when

appropriate.”

C. Finally, invite others from the group to join you. They may stand

facing you and your partner (as you step forward, they step back),

or they may stand behind you and your partner (as you step

forward, they follow your step from behind). If you have music

to accompany the dance, turn it on now. Go through the steps

again, speeding up as you go and using more of the Cha Cha

beat. By the time you turn, replace the words “Lots of little

intermediary steps” with the words “Cha Cha Cha.” This

demonstration will probably dissolve into laughter. Thank your

fellow demonstrators and invite them to be seated.

D. Draw the group into a more serious mode, by asking them to

reflect what they learned from the dance: “What did this

demonstration have to do with the steps of project design and

implementation? Reinforce the following key points:

1. Planning steps are rarely smoothly sequential. Several things

may be going on at the same time, such as seeking resources

for something that will happen later, while carrying out one

or more current tasks.

2. Monitoring is also something that may be going on

concurrently with other activities.

3. Sometimes during a project, you turn all the way around and

go back to complete a step that was only partially finished, or

maybe you go back to try something different because the

desired results did not occur the first time.
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Session Plans

Community Development Cycle

Session Plans Community Development Cycle Handout - Page 1 of 1

Go ahead with plan

Implementation/Action

Monitor

Report

How do we get there?

Project Design (Goals and

Objectives)

Action Plan (Tasks, Roles,

Timeline)

Budget, Monitoring, and

Evaluation Plan

How did we do and

what did we learn?

Evaluation

Celebration

Where do we want to go?

Priorities/Vision of

Preferred Future

An Idea for a Project

Where are we now?

Situational Analysis

Inventory of Resources
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Session Plan

Session 4

Participatory Analysis

and Priority-Setting

with the Community

Rationale

Rather than using the term needs assessment for the first phase of a

community development project cycle, we talk about “analyzing the

situation” to reinforce that the analysis includes much more than

finding out what the needs or problems are. It includes all of the

activities the community might use to analyze their current reality,

past projects, as well as what they want in the future. The analysis

would also involve the identification of both assets and deficits in

order to determine how a potential project might fit into the community’s current state-of-being. Once community members have

thoroughly analyzed their situation, then they are ready to move into

the second phase of community development—setting priorities and

creating a vision of where they want to go.

Many Volunteers will have been introduced to Participatory Analysis

for Community Action (PACA) or Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)

during pre-service or in-service training. Hopefully, they will have

already tried some of the PACA and PRA tools such as community

mapping, seasonal calendars, and ranking matrices with their communities. In this session, participants look at several of these participatory tools in terms of the types of information the tools provide

to the community, as well as to the Volunteer and Counterpart. The

session discussions also help participants understand how the

information collected about the community is then used to set

priorities and formulate actual projects.

Time

1 hour, 15 minutes to 2 hours, depending on optional activities
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Session Plans

Objectives

By the end of the session participants will be able to:

1. Describe the process of using daily activity schedules, community

maps, seasonal calendars, gender analysis matrices and ranking

tools to gather information and prioritize key issues in the

community.

2. Analyze information or insights potentially gained through each

tool, and link it to potential projects.

Materials

• Blank flipcharts, markers, and tape

• Sample maps, calendars, daily activities, ranking matrices—either

handouts or actual products from communities

• Handout instructions for developing maps, calendars, and daily

activities (from PACA or PRA manuals)

• Handouts:

– Gender Analysis Matrix

– Helping the Community Analyze and Prioritize Issues

Preparation

1. Ascertain how much training participants have had in PACA,

PRA, or related methods to determine if you need to do the

optional seasonal calendar activity in Step II. If most of the group

has little or no experience with these participatory analysis tools,

then have them practice with the seasonal calendar or another of

the tools if you prefer. If several people in the group have

experience with the tools, then try to use those participants as

assistant trainers to help you demonstrate the seasonal calendar

and lead the small group discussions of the various tools (Step

III). In other words, select an option, or create one, that fits your

participants’ skill level and needs. The most important outcome

in this session is to give everyone a chance to feel the “power” of

the tools, and see their applicability to specific community

situations. If participants are not convinced the tools work, they

will not use them.

2. Become thoroughly familiar with the content of the PACA:

Participatory Analysis for Community Action Manual, the

Gender and Development Training Manual, and the Gender

Analysis Matrix (GAM) handout (attached to this session). Select

examples that would be pertinent to the participants. You may
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also want to consider practicing with some of the tools

recommended in Building Communities from the Inside Out.

3. For Step III, gather actual examples of maps, calendars, daily

activities, GAM, and ranking matrices that have been done by

communities. Set up four stations around the room, each station

focusing on one of the tools. Stock each station with the samples,

handouts from the PACA manual or other reference books, and

discussion questions written on flipchart. If possible, assign a

participant who has prior experience with the tool to serve as a

small group facilitator.

4. Make use of the seasonal calendars prepared by Volunteers and

Counterparts, if they are done as a pre-workshop assignment.

Procedure

STEP I. Introduction to Session Themes

(10 minutes)

Introduce the session by tying it to earlier sessions Steps in Project

Planning and Assets and Deficits. Explain to the group that, in this

session, we will look at several participatory tools that can be used to

help the community analyze its situation and identify and rank its

priority issues.

STEP II. Optional Practice with the Seasonal

Calendar Tool

(45 minutes)

Trainer Note: If participants have experience using this and other

participatory analysis tools, proceed to the review in Step III. If they have

not used the tools yet with their communities, then give them the hands-on

practice with the seasonal calendar tool described here. We suggest the

seasonal calendar because it is one of the easiest tools to simulate outside the

“real” community. See the PACA manual for complete details and examples

of the calendar tool.

A. Ask Volunteers and their Counterparts to work in pairs or join

with another pair (forming a group of four) if their community

situations are similar. Introduce the calendar as a way to look at a

variety of information in a temporal framework. Ask participants

what kinds of things in their communities are influenced by the

time of year. List their responses on the flipchart, adding any

important items that may have been missed (household work,

wage work, school, weather, health, expenses, social events,

religious holidays, and so on). Show the group how to begin

creating a calendar, by drawing the overall time frame (months
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Session Plans

or seasons) and filling it in with sample relevant activities from

the list.

B. Have the Volunteer-Counterpart pairs or small groups do a

calendar for their community, putting the items on the calendar

that are specific to their community.

C. Post the calendars in front of the room. Ask a few groups to explain

theirs, picking out ones that show different types of information.

Ask why that particular information was included.

D. Have participants interpret their work by viewing their calendars

vertically for emerging patterns. (The vertical interpretation of

the calendar reveals periods of major expense, labor bottlenecks,

etc., which permit a systematic appreciation of the opportunities

and constraints that households face.) Ask participants if their

calendars help identify such things as:

1. When are people the busiest? Is it the same for men and

women?

2. When does there seem to be time to work on something new?

For men? For women? For boys? For girls? (They may not have

enough information to answer this question. Explain that other

tools and/or the making of the calendar and discussion with

the community will bring these factors out.)

3. Are there any indications when transportation would be an

issue, if a project relied on it? (weather, harvest, and other

factors)

4. Might weather affect a project? What types of projects?

5. What influences might social events or national holidays have

on projects?

E. Debrief the group on the use of the technique in their communities.

If some participants have experience using the calendar tool, ask

them to share some of the insights they gained about their

community and any lessons learned about facilitating the process.

STEP III. Small Group Review and Reports of

Analysis and Ranking Tools

(45 minutes)

Trainer Note: This activity will refresh and expand participants’

understanding of the various participatory analysis tools, and show them

how the resulting information relates to project design. Read the Preparation

section of this outline for instructions on how to set up the review stations.
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A. Introduce the assignment to the group as follows:

1. Select one of the tools (community mapping, daily activity

schedules, seasonal calendars, and ranking matrix) to review

and discuss. Move to your selected station and form a small

group with others who have selected the same tool.

2. Analyze the samples, read over the handouts provided at your

station, and then address the questions on the flipchart. (See

Trainer Note below.)

3. Be prepared to briefly describe your tool and share your

answers to the questions with the large group.

B. Have the groups work at their stations for approximately 20

minutes, then ask them to report their findings to the large group.

The small group reports should include a brief description of the

tools and key insights from their discussions.

Trainer Note: To help participants understand the uses of each tool,

have them address the questions listed below. Feel free to add or alter the

questions to suit the needs of your training group.

Seasonal Calendars:

(See questions in Step II D.)

Community Maps:

1. What do the maps reveal about community and personal assets?

2. What institutions appear? If they don’t, why not? (If none,

community members could be asked specifically to draw them in.)

3. What do maps show about men’s and women’s roles? Where they

spend their time?

4. Are there local resources that do not seem to be used? By men? By

women? By boys? By girls? Why not?

5. How might the information about roles and resources be critical to

the design of a particular project?

Daily activity schedule:

1. What information is revealed about task roles of men? Of

women?

2. What information is revealed about where men and women

spend their time?

3. What indications are there that schedules might change over the days

of the week? Of the month? Of the year?
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Session Plans

4. If meetings or training will be a part of a project, what would be

important about men’s and women’s time availability?

5. What else is revealed that might be critical information for a particular

project idea?

Gender Analysis Matrix (GAM)

1. Based on the Sample GAM, what are some of the potential positive

and negative effects of the project?

2. How would you handle differences of opinion regarding whether a

particular change was positive or negative?

3. Can you think of a time when you wish you had used a gender analysis

matrix? Describe the situation and explain what the GAM might

have revealed.

4. How can the analysis matrix be used to improve a proposed project

idea?

5. What are other ways you might use the GAM with your community?

Ranking Matrices/Tools:

1. What kinds of questions might we ask the community to find out

what their important issues are?

2. What are some different ways of viewing or ranking priority issues?

(i.e., What are different criteria we might use in a ranking exercise

and why?)

3. How might men and women (or girls and boys) view priorities

differently?

4. What are some ways to increase people’s level of comfort and

confidence to express their real options and feelings about priority

issues? (e.g., gender segregated discussions before plenary

discussions; using other discussion techniques that encourage

participation by all members of the group; using weighted voting

techniques or secret ballots, and so on.)

5. How would you help the community select a priority and get started

on a particular project?

C. At the end of the small group report on ranking tools, refer the

large group to the handout, Helping the Community Analyze and

Prioritize Issues. Have the group look over the information, then

answer any questions or concerns they may have. Make the point

that communities do not always need decision matrices and other

similar tools to help them determine priorities (i.e., sometimes

they are quite clear on what they want to do and can reach

agreement through simple discussion).
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STEP IV. Summary Discussion in Large Group

(15 minutes)

A. Use the following questions to help the group summarize the

application of participatory analysis tools to project design and

management:

1. Why is it critical that the community themselves create these

visuals and discuss them?

2. What are some general guidelines about when to use each of

these tools?

3. What are some of the important outcomes of community

members working together with you on these analysis

techniques? (Do they begin to work together? Own the

information? Build on their perceived strengths? Are project

ideas seen in a larger context?)

4. How can you (Volunteers and Counterparts) encourage the

community to learn and use these tools? What are your

primary roles in the analysis and priority-setting phases of

the community development cycle?

B. Ask if any of the participants have used other tools that they think

would help in analyzing and setting priorities. Have them briefly

describe the tool and explain the value of it.

C. Indicate that the next session will lead us into a discussion of

actual desires, needs, and problems that communities might

identify as priority issues and how we can better understand the

distinctions between these.

Resources

Building Communities from the Inside Out (ICE no. CD051)

Gender and Development Training Manual (ICE no. M0054)

PACA: Participatory Analysis for Community Action (ICE no.

M0053)

Another Point of View: A Manual on Gender Analysis Training

for Grassroots Workers (ICE no. WD108)

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Session Plans

Gender Analysis Matrix

One way to analyze the impacts of a potential activity or project is the Gender Analysis Matrix (GAM). The steps

below outline how you might work with your community to analyze ideas for projects that they suggest.

1. Show a large diagram of the chart on a blackboard or the flipchart. Together go through the definitions

of the categories. (For a specific project, you may wish to change the categories. For example, you may

wish to add age groups, ethnic groups, or others within the community who might be affected differently.)

2. For the activity or project your community or group is considering doing, list entries in each section,

both positive and negative. For example, a particular project may require the labor of women for certain

tasks and the labor of men (or boys or girls) for others. List the individual tasks in the boxes. Time daily,

during the entire year, or certain seasons may be required of different groups of people as well. Continue

working across and down the chart until all the effects of the project that can be anticipated are identified.

3. Then return to each item and determine if it will have a negative or positive effect, or potentially both,

or unknown. If positive (or opportunity), place a “+” before it; if negative (or constraint), place a “–”

before it. Leave blank if unknown. This discussion could be very lively as some effects may be viewed

as positive by some people and negative by others. The important point is the process of discussing the

effects, and different people’s perceptions of them. Add the symbols (“+” or “–”) as the participants

come to agreement about them.

4. Once the chart has been completed, look back over the entirety. Consider the following types of questions

to analyze the potential activity:

a. What labor and time requirements did we discover that had not been anticipated? Are they realistic?

Are they season-dependent? Are there any tasks that the community cannot provide?

b. Are the resources we need available in the community? Will we be able to use them? Is this project a

good use of our resources? If we need to go outside of the community, how will we be able to acquire

resources?

c. Do we anticipate any cultural changes? How will these changes be viewed by women? men? elders?

d. Have we identified any aspects of this project that indicate that we need to educate others in our

community about the benefits so they will support it? How can we do this?

e. Has this analysis indicated that perhaps this project is not appropriate or one we are not able to

undertake at present? If so, can we modify it to make it more acceptable? Or is there a better time

during the year to undertake this than the present?

When and how would you use something like the GAM? It could be useful at various times.

1. As in the previous example, with the community, work through all the considerations on the GAM before

starting a project. The visual idea of a matrix may be unfamiliar and confusing to some community

members. The form is not the important part: it is discussing the content of the matrix that is critical.

Drawings could replace the words. Items could be placed on the ground instead of using paper and pen

or blackboard and chalk.

Session Plans Gender Analysis Matrix Handout - Page 1 of 5
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2. Once a project is in process, it can be used with the community to monitor how the project is progressing,

giving some insights into unexpected impacts while there is still time to adjust the project.

3. It would be useful with the community to review some past projects, especially unsuccessful ones, in order

to find out what went wrong. This would be a way to learn and share the history within the community,

and hopefully not fall into the same traps.

4. It could be used to analyze with the community an inherited project that is faltering.

5. Other:

Session Plans Gender Analysis Matrix Handout - Page 2 of 5
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Session Plans

Gender Analysis Matrix

Labor Time Resources Culture

Women

Men

Household

Community

Other

Session Plans Gender Analysis Matrix Handout - Page 3 of 5
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Definitions for the Gender Analysis Matrix

The Gender Analysis Matrix is a simple and systematic way to study the different gender effects of projects on

men and women. The Matrix has four levels of analysis and four categories of analysis.

Levels of Analysis

The four levels of analysis are women, men, household (including children and other family members living

together), and the larger unit - the community.

Women – This refers to women of all ages who are in the target group (if the target group includes

women), or to all women in the community.

Men – This refers to men of all ages who are in the target group (if the target group includes men), or to

all men in the community.

Household – This refers to all women, men and children residing together, even if they are not part of

one nuclear family. Although the types of household may vary even within the same community, people

always know what constitutes their “household” or “family.” That is the definition or unit of analysis

that should be used for this level in the GAM.

Community – This refers to everyone within the project area as a whole. The purpose of this level is to

extend the analysis beyond the family to society at large. However, communities are complex and usually

comprise a number of different groups of people with different interests. So, if a clearly defined

“community” is not meaningful in the context of the project, this level of analysis may be eliminated.

Categories of Analysis

The four categories of analysis are the potential changes in labor, time, resources and sociocultural factors

for each level of analysis.

Labor – This refers to changes in tasks (fetching water from the river), level of skill required (skilled

versus unskilled, formal education, training), and labor capacity (how many people and how much

they can do; do people need to be hired or can members of the household do it?).

Time – This refers to changes in the amount of time (3 hours, 4 days, and so on) it takes to carry out the

task associated with the project or activity.

Resources – This refers to the changes in access to capital (income, land, credit) as a consequence of the

project, and the extent of control over changes in resources (more or less) for each level of analysis.

Cultural Factors – This refers to changes in social aspects of the participants’ lives (changes in gender

roles or status) as a result of the project.

The Gender Analysis Matrix is from Another Point of View: A Manual On Gender Analysis Training for

Grassroots Workers by A. Rani Parker (UNIFEM) (ICE no. WD108.)

Session Plans Gender Analysis Matrix Handout - Page 4 of 5
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 Sample Gender Analysis Matrix

Water Project to Bring Piped water to All Village Homes

Labor Time Resources Culture

Women + No longer need + Save time

to transport water Option for leisure

Men Training, building – Uneasy about

and maintenance women having

take more time free time

Household + Better health

+ More water

Community + Trained

community

water committee

for system

maintenance

Other + Children no

longer have to

transport water

Session Plans Gender Analysis Matrix Handout - Page 5 of 5

+ = positive result – = negative result
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Helping the Community Analyze and Prioritize Issues

Different ways to discuss community issues before setting priorities

Some of the following suggestions may provide appropriate ways to discuss the issues your community has

identified as important. Depending on your list, select one or two ways to look at the choices—you need not use

all of them.

1. Urgency

2. Level of interest or need: men/women/girls/boys, other differences

3. Resources – achievable with locally available resources

4. Cause-effect analysis

5. Scope/complexity – time involved, outside resources, etc.

6. Risk

7. Links to other projects, other organizations working on the issue, sources of support/information

Possible Ranking Criteria

Often ranking is done by using the criterion, “Which is most important?” Though useful to know, it may be that

the most important items are not ones within the power of the group or community to address. A second ranking

using one of the suggestions below might bring to the top of the list more achievable project ideas.

• Which can we do within a year?

– complex vs. simple

– short-term vs. long-term

• Which can we do with our own resources?

• Which will benefit the most people?

• Which might bring the biggest impact?

How (physically) can items be ranked?

• Traditional methods of decision-making (whatever means are culturally known and appropriate).

• Voting

– Physically placing votes (stones, corn kernels, etc.)

– Voting by raising hands

– Secret ballot

• Sampling various subgroups

• Discussion to reach consensus

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Session Plan

Session 5

Desires, Needs,

or Problems?

Understanding

the Difference

Rationale

As described in the rationale for the Assets and Deficits session

plan, development workers need to start with the positive, what

people have and can do, not what is missing. However, when working

with a community or a group within the community, at some point

we want to help them identify what they want to change. We may

ask about that in various ways: What would make their life better?

What would they like to change? What do they see as problems they

would like to solve?

Determining the difference between desires, needs, or problems is an

important distinction to make when prioritizing activities and projects.

It is difficult and confusing to try and prioritize a list of wants without

discussing what each of them is and then determining some way to

prioritize. Developing some clarity around the distinctions between

desires, needs, and problems should help us to communicate our

analyses more precisely and accurately. Sharpening our analysis and

clarifying communication of such distinctions is the goal of this

session. It is a precursor to the session on priority ranking.

Objectives

By the end of the session participants will be able to:

1. Sharpen analysis skills for determining the difference between

desires, needs, and problems to help community members

determine what they have in relation to what they want and begin

an intentional process of setting priorities for action.

2. Identify several different questions that community facilitators

can use to elicit a community’s desires, needs, and problems.
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Time

1 hour, 15 minutes

Materials

• Blank flipcharts, markers, and tape

• Flipcharts with phrases from the handout (as many copies as small

groups in Step III).

• Handout: Are these Desires, Needs, or Problems?

Procedure

STEP I. Introduction

(5 minutes)

Select a few key ideas from the rationale to quickly introduce the

session and link it back to the earlier sessions on assets-deficits

approaches and community assessment tools (mapping, calendars,

meetings, etc.). Do not overdo this introduction; the exercises and

discussion, which follow, are the main learning vehicles in this session.

STEP II. Individual Exercise on Sorting Desires,

Needs, or Problems

 (15 minutes)

A. Display the flipchart list, Desires, Needs, or Problems (opposite

page), and distribute the handout containing the same information. Tell the group it is a list of issues compiled from several

different participatory needs assessment activities conducted in

Community X.
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Session Plans

Desires, Needs, or Problems

1. The soil is poor.

2. Eighty percent of the girls in our town can’t read.

3. There is no market.

4. The second schoolroom is not finished.

5. Jobs available to youth require higher levels of skills.

6. Men drink too much.

7. Women’s emotions and interests are stifled.

8. Ninety percent of the people suffer from parasites.

9. The road is always in bad condition.

10. We want a playground for the children.

11. Our cooperative would be more successful with more

members.

B. Write the individual task on flipchart and explain it as follows:

1. On your individual handout, read each issue item and decide

whether you would consider it a desire, a need, or a problem.

Based on what you think, mark it:

D for desire

N for need

P for problem

2. As you work through the list, make a mental note of some of

the factors that influence how you are making the distinctions.

C. Allow participants 8 to 10 minutes to work.

III. Small Group Discussion and Reports on

Defining Terms

(30 minutes)

A. Hang copies of the flipcharted phrases in several places in the

room. Ask the participants to assemble around the flipcharts in

groups of five or six.
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B. Tell participants they will have a chance to compare their lists

and discuss their answers with others. Explain that their task is

to try to reach consensus on what is a desire, need, or problem.

Have them begin the discussion.

Trainer note: Language patterns may be useful in making distinctions.

For example: Men drink is a statement. Men drink too much implies

that a judgment has been made that it is a problem. Look also at verbs

(want, not finished) and modifiers (too, always, more).

C. Allow approximately 20 minutes for the small group task. Give

the groups a five-minute warning, and ask them to select a

spokesperson.

D. Bring the groups back together. Have each group report out how

they designated each sentence. Through discussion, help the

group arrive at rough definitions for desire, need and problem. List

the definitions on flipcharts.

Trainer Note: Problems often are considered to be things that have a

negative impact on humans or the environment. Needs usually are steps

to improving an existing situation—e.g., using a bridge is better than

crossing by boat. Desire may be considered something nice, but not

essential. In trying to make these distinctions, the importance of

understanding the context should constantly come up, thereby

reinforcing the need of having the community members themselves

discuss and decide the relative degree of importance of desires, needs, or

problems.

STEP IV. Whole Group Discussion—Application

to Our Community Work

(20 minutes)

A. Direct participants’ attention back to the list of Desires, Needs, or

Problems and ask them:

“What question(s) might have been asked to elicit this list?”

Their answers may include:

– Are there things you’d like to improve? Change? Have?

– What are people talking about? Thinking about?

– What would you like to do? Work on?

– What would make your life better?

– What is your vision?

– What are your problems?
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Session Plans

Discuss the different types of responses the questions might elicit and

then make the following point:

Be careful how you phrase questions to your community—the first

question is fateful. Instead of starting with “What are your problems?”

you might begin with “What are your assets and resources?” followed

by, “What would make your community (school, organization, club)

better?” Finally, you might ask, “What are the opportunities and

constraints you face in trying to improve the situation?” If the

constraints far outweigh the opportunities, you may have a problem!

B. Ask the group: “What are some other implications of this

discussion for us?”

Possible responses might include:

1. Do some analysis of whether the community can do something

about the issue. Sometime desires, needs, or problems are out

of their range of possibility to effect. On the other hand, looking

at related causes or activities might give them a place to start.

For example, by analyzing the causes of a problem, they may

find they can do something about one or more causes, even

though they cannot solve the whole problem. If you are

conducting a prioritization of their issues, you might do it once

by importance, and once by the possibility of action.

2. Consider the concept of “winnable victories” by Saul Alinsky.

His idea is that, in order for people to gain self-confidence, it

is necessary to start small and “win” with small achievements.

If, on the contrary, the group tries to tackle something too big,

they may not be able to see the progress they are making and

become discouraged, thereby damaging their self-esteem.

3. Consider how important the distinct issues are to the women

and the men of the community. Discussion around in whose

interest is a project—including your own as a Volunteer—is

important. For example, if using a visual such as a community

map, one could look at each asset or desire, and ask, “What

happens if men or women don’t have this? Or won’t receive

it?”

4. Be conscious of the use of language and clarify the use of the

word “problem.” Talk about working toward solutions instead

of solving problems.

5. For teachers: Consider to what degree a teacher, with his or

her class, can do to address some of the issues. For example,

can a science or English lesson or project focus on some of the

girls’ or boys’ assets, causes of problems, or actions to meet

needs?
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STEP V. Final Summary and Illustration

(5 minutes)

Conclude the session by telling the group that assets, desires, needs,

and problems are points on a continuum. Draw a simple continuum

to illustrate graphically. Explain that communities are not stagnant

and neither are their assets and desires, needs, or problems—they are

related and dynamic. Use the following examples to illustrate this

point.

Example 1: For the children of a community living a farming

existence in the mountains, being illiterate may not be

a problem. If farming does not provide sufficient food

or families get too large for the amount of land, children

may migrate to towns and cities. They then may desire

to become literate because it allows them to participate

more in society, and, in fact and over time, they may

need to become literate to obtain jobs that pay sufficient

salaries for them to live on.

Example 2: A few community members may form a cooperative

that enables them to do what they could not do as

individuals. Over time, the co-op group may want more

members in order to be more successful in what they

are currently doing or to expand in some way. The lack

of more members may not be a problem; it may simply

be a limitation to a new desire they have.
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Session Plans

Desires, Needs, or Problems?

The following is a list of community issues. Read each item and decide whether you would consider it a desire,

a need, or a problem. Based on what you think, mark it—

D for desire

N for need

P for problem

________ 1. The soil is poor.

________ 2. Eighty percent of the girls in our town can’t read.

________ 3. There is no market.

________ 4. The second schoolroom is not finished.

________ 5. Jobs available to youth require higher levels of skills.

________ 6. Men drink too much.

________ 7. Women’s emotions and interests are stifled.

________ 8. Ninety percent of the people suffer from parasites.

________ 9. The road is always in bad condition.

________ 10. We want a playground for the children.

________ 11. Our cooperative would be more successful with more members.

Section IV: Try Something Desires, Needs, or Problems? Handout - Page 1 of 1
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Session Plan

Session 6

The Project Design:

Part 1—Vision, Assets,

and Strategies

Rationale

Once the community has identified and selected a priority issue area,

they are ready to begin defining the project that will address this issue.

The Project Design introduced in this session is a six-step process that

helps the community create the “backbone” of their project, starting

with a vision or dream of what community members want their future

to look like with regard to the particular issue. The process then

continues through identifying the existing resources the community

has to apply toward the vision; developing best strategies; identifying

goals, objectives, and indicators of success; and testing the plan for

feasibility.

In this session (Part 1), Volunteers and Counterparts pair together as

project teams to practice the project design steps on the basis of

priorities in their respective communities. The project teams will

continue working on these practice projects through the remainder

of the PDM workshop.

Objectives

1. To practice the first three steps in developing a Community Project

Design—creating a vision, identifying existing resources, and

selecting best strategies.

2. To identify and practice participatory activities that may be used

to facilitate the planning process with community members.

Time

2 hours, 30 minutes
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Session Plans

Materials

• Five scarves or bandanas to use as blindfolds for climate setter

• Five oranges (or any locally available and inexpensive fruit) for

climate setter

• Prepared flipchart of Project Design Questions/Steps

• Community Development Cycle visual (from session 3)

• Blank paper and markers for the visioning exercise

• Handouts:

– Project Design Worksheet (English version)

– Project Design Worksheet (translated version, as appropriate)

– Sample Project Designs (see Appendix A)

Preparation

1. Thoroughly review the whole project design sequence (i.e., Parts

1 and 2) so you become familiar with the steps and how the

participants will be working in project teams. Decide how you

want to use the Sample Project Designs (Appendix A). You may

want to have the participants read the samples during Step II so

they have an overall idea of how the design looks, or you may

want to refer to them later in the session. However you decide to

use the cases, make sure the group understands they are meant

to serve as samples, not as the model. The danger is that sometimes

people try to mold their projects too closely after what they see in

a sample rather than being more loose and creative with the

process.

2. Prepare a flipchart with the Project Design Questions/Steps and

post it on the wall, next to the Community Development Cycle

visual.

3. If you want to demonstrate the ranking matrix in Step V C, adapt

the criteria to make it suitable for your group.

Procedure

STEP I. Climate Setter—Finding the Orange

(20 minutes)

A. Lead the group in a brief climate-setting activity which

emphasizes the need for community members’ involvement in

the planning process. One suggestion is “Finding the Orange.”

For this exercise, you will need to clear an open space in the

training room, or better yet, take the group outside to a green
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space where there are few hazards or obstacles. Set up the activity

as follows:

1. Ask for five volunteers from the group. Take these people far

enough away where they cannot see or hear what the rest of

the group is doing. Give them each a blindfold and ask them

to put it on in preparation for the activity. Explain only that in

a moment they will return to the training room where they

will receive instructions from several colleagues. Leave these

folks where they are while you prepare the rest of the group.

2. Ask the rest of the participants to form five equal groups using

the count-off method. Explain that each group will be assigned

an Orange Finder from the group that just left the room. The

task of each small group is to instruct the assigned blindfolded

Orange Finder to locate a designated orange placed across the

room from the group. The trick to the activity is that each team

member has only one chance to communicate with the Orange

Finder. In other words, each team may give only five

instructions to help their Orange Finder find the fruit.

3. Position the oranges across from the teams and make certain

each team is clear on which orange is theirs.

4. Invite the Orange Finders back to the group and introduce

each one to his or her team. Have each team select one member

who will serve as a “spotter” for the Orange Finder. (A spotter

is someone who walks along side the blindfolded person and

gives cautions about obstacles in the person’s path. The spotter

does not, however, give any clues or actual instructions; the

spotter only cautions, e.g., “There’s a chair two steps ahead of

you.”)

B. Have the activity and award a small prize to the winning team.

Process the activity by underscoring the message that projects

are more successful when everyone is involved in the planning

and has an opportunity to give input. Volunteers and Counterparts need to involve community members in the same sort of

participatory design process we are practicing in this workshop.

Ask participants to briefly share examples of community groups,

committees or design teams they have worked with in the past

and to discuss how those groups got engaged in the planning

process. (Probing questions: Who encouraged or invited them?

How sustained was their involvement? Who was missing from

the planning process?)
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Session Plans

STEP II. Design Overview and Forming Project

Teams

(20 minutes)

A. Refer the group back to the Community Development Cycle and

Steps in the Planning Process in session 3. Briefly, walk the group

through the process and explain how the practice planning will

be organized: “Each Counterpart and Volunteer pair will work

together as a project team to plan a project for an issue of priority

in your community. You will develop a project design and then

continue on in later sessions to make an action plan, a budget,

and a monitoring and evaluation plan. Throughout the process,

we will all serve one another as resources and consultants as

needed.”

B. Have the participants form their teams and select a priority they

think is important for their community. After about 10 minutes,

check to see if everyone has finished and ask each team to

announce their priority area. Write these on the flipchart and post

on the wall.

Trainer Note: The priority issue should be fairly broad at this point.

Some examples might include: better maternal-child health services,

access to secondary education, greater preservation of forests and wildlife,

more income generating opportunities for women, and so forth. Help

participants think “big picture” at this point in the process so that they

do not inadvertently skip over some of the planning steps. If some teams

are struggling, suggest they think about the resources and individual

capacities present in their community and focus on one area to build or

strengthen. Ideally, they have already discussed priorities with community members and have clear ideas about what they want to focus on.

STEP III. Visioning Exercise—Creating the

Community Vision

(40 minutes)

A. Lead the group in a visioning exercise that will help them create

a statement about what they hope for in the future with regard to

their selected priority. Ask participants to sit back in a comfortable

position, relax, and imagine the following:

“It is now one or two years into the future. You and your

community are having an enormous celebration to commemorate

the project you have finished. The community has really moved

forward and you are all beaming with pride about what you have

accomplished. You feel excited about some of the obstacles and

conflicts you were able to overcome, and you’re all pleasantly
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surprised to have seen such strong commitment from so many

people. You’ve even managed to get good support from outside

the community. It’s mid-afternoon and one of the community

leaders steps to a microphone to recount the major accomplishments and point out the results of your hard work. Listen

closely...What do you hear the leader saying? Look around

you...What do you see has happened as a result of this project?”

Ask participants to work with their project teammates, sharing

what they see and hear has happened in the community, and

together, creating a joint vision or “preferred future.” (“In our

community, mothers are regularly taking their children under 5

years old to the clinic...We now have a full-time nurse, etc.”) Have

the teams write a brief statement or draw a picture with key words

to represent their vision. Give the teams approximately 20 minutes

to complete the task.

Trainer Note: Depending on the local language, people may or may

not understand the term “vision.” If that term is difficult for participants

to relate to, try “dream” or “picture of the future” to describe the

meaning.

B. Ask each team to give a one-minute presentation or interpretation

of their vision to the other teams. If there is plenty of wall space

in the training room, post the vision statements/pictures. At the

end of the report out, solicit general observations about the content

and/or tone of the visions.

Trainer Note: In the case of a large group, here are two time-saver

options you may want to consider in place of the presentations:

1. Have each team join with another team (preferably one with a similar

priority) to share their visions.

2. Have teams post their vision statements/pictures on the wall and

informally share them during break.

C. Have the teams copy their vision statements onto the framework

worksheet in their notebooks.

STEP IV. Identifying Existing Resources

(25 minutes)

A. Introduce the next question/step of the design—identifying

existing resources the community could use to reach the vision.

Refer participants to the categories of resources suggested in their

design worksheet (physical resources; groups such as civic

organizations, NGOs, government services, and businesses;

individuals) and remind them about the capacity inventories they

practiced in the earlier session. Ask the project teams to identify
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and list on the worksheet all of the existing resources the

community could tap to help them reach the vision: “What are

the strengths and best resources your community could draw on?”

Give the teams 15 minutes to complete the task.

Trainer Note: If participants have already done assets maps and/or

individual capacity inventories in their communities, either as part of

this workshop or earlier on, they should draw on that information as

well as any other knowledge they have about the resources available in

or to their communities.

B. Move around the room, encouraging and assisting teams as

needed. If time allows, poll the teams for a few examples of

resources they have identified.

STEP V. Selecting Best Strategies and

Approaches for the Project

(30 minutes)

A. Have the teams review their framework thus far and then pose

the next question: “Given these resources, how can we make our

vision happen?” Ask them to brainstorm all the possible ways

they might approach getting to the vision and list these as possible

strategies and opportunities in the space provided on their

worksheet. Allow approximately 10 minutes for this activity.

Trainer Note: Encourage the teams to be as open and creative as

possible during the brainstorming. Sometimes a great strategy will grow

out of an idea that, at first, may seem a bit zany. If some teams seem to

be struggling to come up with ideas, have them join with another team

to share and solicit more ideas.

B. Ask the teams to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of

the various approaches and then select what they think is the

best strategy or set of strategies. (This may involve combining

and/or modifying some of the items on the list.)

C. Optional ranking exercise: If participants need more assistance

in deciding which are the best strategies, suggest they use a

decision matrix as a ranking tool. As needed, explain and guide

them through the method.

Trainer Note: Using the Ranking Worksheet Handout, help the teams

design a matrix modeled on the sample below. Obviously, the teams will

be working with limited information. The criteria listed in this matrix

are options for you to adapt as appropriate to your group. Once you

have settled on the criteria you want to use, determine a three-point

scale for the ranking. (For example: 1= less acceptable, less sustainable,
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high cost, and fewer people reached; 3 = more/most acceptable, more/

most sustainable, low cost, more people reached.)

The result from the ranking should be a strategy or set of strategies that

are likely to be successful and feasible.

D. Have the teams copy their selected strategies onto the appropriate

block on their worksheet. As time allows, have the teams share

their work with another team or with the large group.

STEP VI. Whole Group Discussion on Using the

Design Process in the Community

(15 minutes)

Conclude this first half of the Project Design exercise by asking

participants to offer their observations and suggestions about the

process. Use these questions to stimulate the discussion:

• How easy or difficult is the process so far?

• How do you feel about the quality of your design work? (Creative?

Realistic? etc.)

• How can you facilitate a similar process with members of your

community or group? How could we adapt or improve the

process for application in your communities?

Be sure to capture all concrete suggestions on the flipchart and have

the teams make similar notes on their worksheets.

Thank the group and take a break before proceeding to the second

half of the design (goals and objectives, signs of success, and feasibility

testing).

Possible Acceptability Sustainability Cost Benefits a large

Strategies to community number of people

Strategy 1

Strategy 2

Strategy 3

Strategy 4
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1. What is our preferred dream or vision of the Dream or vision statement describing a preferred

 future? future

2. What are our existing assets that will help us List of assets, best resources

reach our vision? (sometimes done before and

after the visioning)

3. How can we make our vision happen? List of possible strategies/opportunities; ranking

 and selection of best strategies.

4. What are the long-term and short-term results Project goals and objectives

we want?

5. How will we know if our project has been Signs of success or achievement

successful?

6. How feasible is our project? Feasibility analysis

Session Plans Community Project Design Handout - Page 1 of 10

Community Project Design—

Description and worksheet

Once you have worked with the community to identify the priority issues it wants to address (i.e., desires to

fulfill, needs to meet, problems to solve), then you are ready to help them plan a project around a selected

priority issue. The first major part of the planning process is creating what we call the “basic design” or broad

framework for the project plan. The design is built around six important questions (see box below) that you and

your community work together to answer.

On the following pages is a worksheet for drafting a project design for one of your community’s development

priorities. Use it as a practice tool during the PDM workshop and then adapt it as appropriate for use with your

community project design team. Your trainer will provide you with one or two sample designs to help you see

how the process works.

Project Design

(Starting point—community or group has selected a major priority issue, e.g., mother-child heath, girls’ education,

soil conservation, or other.)

Questions Steps
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PROJECT DESIGN WORKSHEET

Your Selected Priority Issue is:

What is your preferred vision or dream of the future?

Focusing on your priority issue, imagine the future you want for your community. What does it look like? Using

pictures, symbols, word (or whatever!), create your vision here on this page.

Session Plans Community Project Design Handout - Page 2 of 10

1
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What are the community’s existing assets that will help you reach your vision?

Think about all of the strengths and resources your community has that could help it reach the vision. What are

the physical resources? Groups such as civic organizations, NGOs, government services, and businesses?

Individuals with relevant skills and experience? Strong relationships/affiliations with others from outside of the

community? Use the space below to list as many of these resources and assets as you can identify.

Session Plans Community Project Design Handout - Page 3 of 10

2
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How can you make your vision happen? (What strategies/approaches will

work best?)

Considering the nature of the vision and the resources available to the community, think about the different ways

you might approach the project. What strategies can you think of that might work well? What opportunities are

out there that you could use? Let your mind flow freely and think of several different approaches. Write them

down below.

Possible Strategies/Approaches:

3

Session Plans Community Project Design Handout - Page 4 of 10
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Selection of Best Strategies

With your planning partner(s), weigh the strengths and weaknesses of the strategies on your list, narrowing the

options down to a few top strategies. Then, decide what criteria you want to use to make a final decision. Some

possible criteria include: acceptability to the community, sustainability, cost, number of people benefited, greatest

likelihood of success in the short-term, and so on.

Sometimes, it helps to use a decision matrix to structure this process. Here is how it works:

1) Select and write your criteria across the top of the matrix.

2) List your strategies in the left-hand column of the matrix. If you have many, select the top five or six.

3) Using a three-point scale, rank each strategy under each criteria. (For example: 1= less acceptable, less

sustainable, high cost, and fewer people benefited; 3 = more/most acceptable, more/most sustainable, low

cost, more people benefited.)

4) Total the points to determine the top strategy or set of strategies.

Possible Strategies Criterion 1 Criterion 2 Criterion 3 Criterion 4

Best Strategies/Approach for your Project:

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What are the long-term and short-term results you want?

Let’s start with the long-term results. Look at the work you have done so far in this design—your vision, the list

of community assets and resources, and best strategies or approaches for the project. Now, think about the desired

result(s) you want to get out of this project. (Pretend for a moment that you have just finished the project and

you’ve invited a Peace Corps staff member and a ministry representative to see the results. What would that look

like?) These major results are the goals for your project. The number of goals will depend on the scope of your

project. Most small projects have only one or two goals.

Project goals—

• restate the vision and approach in terms of what is to be accomplished;

• define the long-term results or changes that the project will bring about;

• are realistic and include an overall time frame.

Write your goal(s) in the space provided below and continue on the following page as needed. Leave the sections

for “objectives” and “signs of success” blank for now.

— COMMUNITY PROJECT GOAL 1: —

OBJECTIVE SIGNS OF SUCCESS

 Objective 1:

 Objective 2:

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4
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— COMMUNITY PROJECT GOAL 2: —

OBJECTIVE SIGNS OF SUCCESS

 Objective 1:

 Objective 2:

 Objective 3:

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Session Plans Community Project Design Handout - Page 8 of 10

Project Objectives: Objectives are similar to goals but much more specific and focused on the short-term

results you need to meet the longer-term goal(s) of the project. Goals and objectives form a hierarchy as illustrated

below. For each project goal, you should have at least two or more objectives.

Goal

(higher level: broad, long-term result

that helps you to reach your dream)

Objective 1 Objective 2

(lower level: specific, shorter-term set of

 results that lead you to reach the goal)

Project Objectives—

• Are the short-term results you need to meet the longer-term goal(s) of the project;

• Are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound

• Answer these questions:

Who is the target group or individuals expected to change?

What action or change is expected?

When will the desired action or change be accomplished?

How much change is expected?

Go back to the grid on the preceding pages and write in your objectives for each of the goals you have listed.
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How will you know if your project has been successful?

This important question helps you to determine how to measure (i.e., evaluate) the achievements you expect from

the project. It pushes you to think about what success means with regard to this particular project. For example,

if your project centers around increasing local awareness of the need for forest preservation and a major strategy

is to design and conduct environmental awareness camps for youth at the local preserve, what would indicate to

you that you had achieved something? One measure of short-term success is an increase in knowledge about

local environmental concerns on the part of the students attending the camp. You could administer a pre-and

post-test to measure their learning more precisely. Though hard to do, you should also think about what larger

and lasting impacts you hope your project will have on the people and the environment. In this same example,

maybe you hope that youth will begin volunteering to work on some small environmental improvement activities

sponsored by the preserve, or bring their parents and siblings to special events at the preserve.

Look at the objectives you have set for your project. What are some ways you could measure your achievement of

each one? List at least one sign of success beside each objective on the worksheet.

How feasible is your project?

At several points in the planning process, you should stop and consider the feasibility of the project. Is this

project logical? Is it possible? Use the following questions to help you test the feasibility of the basic design you

have created here. The insights you gain from this analysis will help you determine if you need to adjust your

goals and objectives.

 — FEASIBILITY TEST —

1. What, beyond your direct control, could cause this project to fail?

5

6

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2. How can you (the community) improve the likelihood that the project will succeed?

3. All things considered, do the benefits justify the costs?

4. Does the community have the capacity to handle and sustain a project of this type and

scope? If no, how can we narrow the focus to make it more manageable and sustainable?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Congratulations! You now have the basic design for your community project. Although building this type of

framework may seem tedious and downright difficult at times, it is a critical part of the planning process and

community members (e.g., a design team or committee) should be fully engaged in its development. Also, it is

helpful to remember that the design (along with the rest of the plan) is a living document in the sense that it may

need to be updated and amended as you begin implementing your project.

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Session Plan

Session 7

The Project Design:

Part 2 – Goals, Objectives,

Signs of Success, and

Feasibility Test

Rationale

In the previous session, participants worked in teams (VolunteerCounterpart) to practice the first three steps in the Project Design.

They created a project vision based on a real priority issue for their

respective community, they identified the community resources and

assets which exist to apply toward reaching the vision; and they

analyzed and selected best strategies or approaches for the project. In

this session, the teams continue to work through the remaining

components of the basic design—developing goals and objectives,

identifying signs of success, and testing the feasibility of the project.

Goals and objectives are basically a restatement of the vision and

approach using language that is more specific and measurable. Wellstated goals and objectives give everyone involved in the project a

clear picture of the intent of the project and the tangible results they

can expect from doing the project. The signs of success are indicators

or ways of measuring to what degree a particular objective has been

achieved. They point to the impact the community hopes the project

will have.

Feasibility testing is something project planners should do at various

points in the design process. We include it at the end of the basic

design sequence to underscore its importance, and to encourage the

teams to check the soundness of their design before moving on to the

details of the action plan and budget.
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Objectives

By the end of the session participants will be able to:

1. Practice the last three steps or components of the Community

Project Design—describing project goals and objectives,

identifying signs of success, and testing the feasibility of the

project.

2. Identify and practice participatory activities that may be used to

facilitate the planning process with community members

Time

2 hours, 15 minutes

Materials

• Prepared flipchart of Project Design Questions/Steps (from Session

VI, Part 1, worksheets)

• Community Development Cycle visual (from earlier session)

• Handouts:

– Project Design Worksheets – English version (from Part 1)

– Project Design Worksheets – translated version, as appropriate

(from Part 1)

• Sample Project Designs (see Appendix A)

• Prepared flipchart that lists Sample Goals and Objectives (see Step

II B)

• Prepared flipchart that lists four Feasibility Questions (copied from

Project Design Worksheets)

Preparation

1. This session assumes that participants have completed the previous session, Project Design: Part 1, and have written the first

half of their practice project design.

2. Keep the Project Design Questions/Steps and the Community

Development Cycle visual posted on the wall (as in the Part 1

session)

3. For the whole group discussion of goals and objectives in Step II,

you may want to select one of the practice projects from the group

and write a set of goals and objectives to use as your samples.

4. Read the Monitoring and Evaluation session so that you

understand the relationship between the signs of success and

evaluation planning.
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Procedure

STEP I. Climate Setter—Pointing North

(10 minutes)

Remind the participants that they are halfway through the process of

developing a basic design for their practice projects. Introduce the

next components of the design—goals and objectives—by conducting

a brief exercise called, Pointing North. Have participants close their

eyes and point north. Tell them to hold their arms steady, still pointing,

while they open their eyes. (Typically, people will be pointing in all

directions.) Use the exercise to illustrate the need for community

members/groups to have a clear and mutual understanding about

where they are headed with their project.

Trainer Note: It may be helpful to explain to participants that by creating

the vision and approach for their practice projects, they are already well into

the design. What is needed now is to put the vision and approach into concrete

terms that will help the community clarify where they are headed with the

project and to be able to measure its success.

STEP II. Whole Group Discussion on Goal and

Objectives—Terms and Hierarchy

(15 minutes)

A. Using the goals and objectives from the Sample Project Designs

or some of your own examples, define the terms and explain the

distinctions and hierarchy between goals and objectives.

Trainer Note: Here are several important points to cover.

Project goals—

• Restate the vision and approach in terms of what is to be accomplished.

• Define the long-term results or changes that the project will bring

about.

• Are realistic and include an overall time frame.

Project objectives—

• Are the short-term results you need to meet the longer-term goals of

the project;

• Are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timebound;

• Answer these questions:

Who is the target group or individuals expected to change?

What action or change is expected?

When will the desired action or change be accomplished?

How much change is expected?
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The number of goals will depend on the scope of your project. Many

small projects have only one or two goals.

For each project goal, you should have at least two or more objectives. (If

you draft a goal and you determine that you can accomplish it through

one specific action, then check to see if that goal is actually a subset of

another goal, i.e., one level down on the hierarchy.)

B. To test participants’ understanding, show them a few examples

of goals and objectives, some complete and some incomplete. Ask

them to decide which ones are well written and why, and then

invite members from the group to rewrite some of the poor

examples to improve them.

Trainer Note: Here are a few examples to draw from or adapt. The

(yes) or (no) at the end of each question signals whether or not the

statement is complete.

• After attending one week of Camp GLOW, at least 20 of the 40 girls

(50%) will volunteer within two months at an NGO in their

community. (yes)

• NGO X will improve citizens’ quality of life. (no)

• Following a joint NGO/media conference, NGOs that attended the

conference will publish 10% more articles in local publications during

the next year than they did this year. (yes)

• Our environmental group will run educational programs in the fall

of 1999 to decrease pollution in the city. (no)

• Using vitamins will increase the birth weight of 100 babies in Santa

Rosa. (no)

• The number of people who access HIV/AIDS information at the Iasi

Community Resource Center will increase by 25% during the first

three months after the Internet becomes available at the center. (yes)

• The number of unemployed women will decrease in Tonga in the

year 2000 due to the introduction of a microfinance program. (no)

• At the completion of the PDM workshop, 70% of participants will

use at least two of the activities demonstrated in the next six months

in workshops their organizations provide. (yes)

• Farmers with 1 to 5 hectares of land in the local river delta have

started using environmentally friendly fertilizers. (no)

• Through informal networking and a panel presentation, every

participant in this Proposal Writing Workshop will have identified

at least four potential donors to contact. (yes)

• During January to February, 2000, the Eva Foundation will

successfully assist 15 local girls or women to sell their handicrafts,

via the Internet, at market value or better to foreign buyers. (yes)
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Session Plans

STEP III. Writing Goals and Objectives for the

Practice Projects

(40 minutes)

A. Ask each team to write goal and objective statements for their

selected community project. Allow about 20 to 30 minutes for

this task. While the teams are working, move around the room to

check their work and make suggestions as appropriate.

Trainer Note: Some people will have much difficulty with goal and

objective statements. Try to help them draft at least one goal and one or

two objectives so they see the notion of hierarchy and have a good example

to take home. At the same time, try not to overload them with so many

elements and guidelines that they become afraid to write. They may find

it helpful to go back again and review the goals and objectives in the

sample projects (Appendix A).

B. Have teams exchange their worksheets with a partner team. Ask

them to read and review each other’s work, discuss and clarify

their logic, and share ideas and suggestions on improving the

goals and objectives with their partners.

C. Call the teams together in the large group and ask them to do a

final check on the plausibility of their goals and objectives (i.e., are

they logical?). Explain this as follows:

“To check the plausibility, start from the bottom of the hierarchy

and work up. Look at your objectives and ask: ‘If we do these

actions, will we get the results we were hoping for in the goal

statements?’ Next focus on the goals and ask yourself: ‘If we get

these results, will we make our dream/vision happen?’ If your

answer is ‘yes’ to both questions, you are on the right track. If

‘no’, you may be missing or misplacing a piece.”

Provide any further clarifications of goals and objectives as may

be needed.

STEP IV. Identifying Signs of Success for Practice

Projects

(25 minutes)

A. Using the description provided in the worksheet, introduce the

concept of signs of success. With examples, discuss ways to measure

the short-term gains or achievements of the project, as well as its

longer-term impact. Briefly mention the linkage between signs

of success and project evaluation.
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B. Ask the project teams to identify at least one sign of success for

each of their objectives and write these in the appropriate sections

on their worksheets. Give them about 15 to 20 minutes to do the

task. Circulate around the room, assisting teams as needed. If time

allows, have each team share one example of a sign of success in

the large group.

Trainer Note: Depending on your background, you may be more

familiar with the term indicator rather than sign of success. Using

whichever term you prefer, impress upon the group that signs or

indicators give greater focus to a project and they form the basis for

evaluating project effectiveness later on.

STEP V. Testing the Feasibility of the Practice

Projects

(30 minutes)

A. Introduce the group to the concepts of assumptions and feasibility

testing. Key talking points include the following:

• To check the feasibility of your proposed project, you need to

consider the assumptions you are making as you develop the

design.

• Assumptions are those aspects of a project that are uncertain

and beyond your control, but they can be identified and

measured for relative risk. For example, in a crop production

project, you base your design on an assumption that you will

get adequate rainfall. By analyzing local rainfall patterns

during the past several years, you can determine whether your

assumption about adequate rainfall is valid or not. If you

discover that the average seasonal rainfall is much less than

what your crop requires, you obviously have a high-risk

project.

• Ideally, testing project feasibility should happen more than

once in the planning process—two good places for it are at the

end of the framework and again after the budget has been

developed.

• The process should include input from a variety of people in

the community. Sometimes it is hard for those most involved

in the planning to see the risks.

• The insights from your test will help you make appropriate

adjustments in your project goals and objectives
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B. Post the flipchart with the four feasibility questions (taken from

Step 6 of their Project Design worksheet). Solicit from the teams a

few examples of assumptions they are making in their current

practice plans.

Trainer Note: The four questions on their worksheet are—

1. What, beyond your direct control, could cause this project to fail?

2. How can you (the community) improve the likelihood that the project

will succeed?

3. All things considered, do the benefits justify the costs?

4. Does the community have the capacity to handle and sustain a project

of this type and scope? If no, how can we narrow the focus to make it

more manageable and sustainable?

C. Have the teams work individually to apply the four questions to

their practice projects. Allow about 15 minutes for this work.

Check-in with each team to make sure they are on track and

understand the overall concepts of assumptions and feasibility.

STEP VI. Whole Group Discussion on Using the

Design Process in the Community

(15 minutes)

Conclude the session with the same process questions we asked at

the end of Part 1:

• How easy or difficult was the design process?

• How do you feel about the quality of your design work? (Creative?

Realistic?)

• How can you facilitate a similar process with members of your

community or group? How could we adapt or improve the

process for application in your communities?

Be sure to capture all concrete suggestions on the flipchart and have

the teams make similar notes on their worksheets. Congratulate the

group on their accomplishment!
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Session Plan

Session 8

Action Plan:

Identifying

and Sequencing Tasks

Rationale

After community members have completed the basic design for their

projects, they are ready to prepare the action plan containing the details

on how the project will be implemented. The action plan includes

three components—tasks for each project objective, roles and responsibilities of the community and other project stakeholders, and the

timeline for getting the project done. In this session, we address the

first component—identification and sequencing of tasks.

Tasks are the concrete and very specific activities that must be completed to achieve the project objectives. Each objective has its own set

of tasks. Once defined, the tasks need to be arranged in a logical order

and placed in a time sequence (timeline). Insufficient or incorrect

definition of tasks, or incorrectly designed task timelines during the

project design phase may lead to mistakes or failures during the project

implementation phase.

In this session, participants continue working in their project teams

and start their action plans by identifying tasks for at least one of

their practice project objectives. In later sessions, they will complete

the other parts of the action plan.

Objectives

1. Identify all of the tasks for each objective of the practice project.

2. Arrange the tasks in sequential order under each objective.

Time

1 hour
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Materials

• Participants’ Project Design Worksheets completed in

previous sessions

• 20 slips of paper (about 2" x 8") for each project team or large-size

sticky notes

• Action Plan Worksheets and/or flipchart paper, markers, and tape

for making large worksheets

• Glue sticks for pasting the task slips onto flipcharts

Preparation

1. Using a sample project, prepare some examples of objectives and

associated tasks for the introduction.

2. Decide whether you and your group prefer to make the Action

Plan Worksheets on flipchart paper or use the worksheets provided in the manual. If you want the different teams to share with

one another, then it is easier to use flipchart paper taped to the

walls or easels around the room. Participants can always transfer

their work from the wall charts to the small worksheets in their

notebooks later. Another advantage to working on wall charts is

that it reinforces the idea of making information accessible to the

community (vs. closely held by only a few people). The disadvantage to working on flipchart paper is that corrections are

harder to make and some people tend to spend much time redoing the charts to make them more attractive.

Procedure

STEP I. Introducing the Action Plan/Clarifying

Terms

(10 minutes)

A. Using some of the points from the session rationale, draw a linkage

between the project design and the action plan. Distribute copies

of the Action Planning Worksheet and review it briefly with the

group, describing the overall process: identifying tasks, assigning

roles, and making the timeline. Explain that we will begin the

action plan in this session and finish it later in the workshop.

B. Define the key term task for the group. Be sure to clarify the

relationship between a task and an objective. Give or elicit some

examples of tasks, using an objective from one of the sample

projects. Use the examples to illustrate how to sequence tasks

that are dependent on prior tasks.
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Trainer Note: You may need to help the group understand the level of

detail or specificity required at this stage of the planning process.

STEP II Identifying/Sequencing Tasks for

Practice Projects

(35 minutes)

A. Explain to the group that each team will now write an action plan

for their practice projects, starting with tasks. Distribute the strips

or sticky notes to each team and give them their assignment as

follows:

1. Using the slips of paper or sticky notes provided, write down

all the tasks for at least one of the objectives from your practice

project design. Write only one task on each slip of paper so

that you can arrange them in sequence afterwards. Organize

with your team partner so that you can both work simultaneously.

2. Once you think you have all the tasks listed for one objective,

place the strips in the sequence in which they would be carried

out.

3. When you finish with the first objective, continue on to the

next one.

B. As the teams begin to arrange their tasks in order, the facilitators

should move around, sitting with them and reading through their

work. Ask questions to clarify tasks, suggest the addition of

missing tasks or subtasks, and discuss sequencing. For example,

before starting on a task requiring materials, there must be a prior

task of acquiring the materials and perhaps others of fund raising

or soliciting donations.

C. If time permits, have two teams meet together and review their

tasks for clarity and suggestions.

Trainer Note: At a minimum, the teams need to identify and sequence

tasks for at least one of their objectives. If possible, allow enough time so

they can list tasks for two or more objectives.
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Session Plans

STEP III. Summary/Transposing Data onto

Action Plan Worksheet or Wall Chart

(15 minutes)

A. Ask participants if they have any questions about this step of the

action plan.

B. Ask the teams to transpose the data from their tasks slips to the

worksheet or, alternatively, draw a large version of the worksheet

on flipchart and paste or stick their tasks in the appropriate

column. Explain to the group that they will complete the other

sections of the worksheet in later sessions.
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The New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual Action Plan Worksheet for Project ___________________________ Goal No. _____________________ Objective No. _________________ Tasks: What to Do? Roles: Who will do it? Timeline: When will it start and finish? (List in sequence) (Place asterisk (*) beside name of (expressed in weeks or months.) person with primary responsibility) Session Plans Action Plan Worksheet - Page 1 of 1
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Session Plan

Session 9

Action Plan:

Assigning Roles

and Responsibilities

Rationale

Throughout this workshop, we have underscored the need for the

community’s participation in all aspects of the development cycle,

from setting priorities and planning all the way through project

implementation and evaluation. In other words, the community

should be a part of the design process and be responsible, or share

responsibility, for the discrete tasks that must be carried out. Learning

the process of designing, carrying out, and monitoring a project is

perhaps more important to the community than achieving particular

outcomes.

In the previous session, participants began identifying the various

tasks in their practice projects including the human resources (i.e.,

the people) who will actually carry out the tasks. In addition to those

who perform the tasks, someone must be responsible for seeing that it

gets done. The duties of the responsible person may be to locate and

hire the persons needed, arrange for outside experts to come to the

community, or, perhaps to plan and implement training of local

resource people. Or, the person responsible might organize a fundraiser, solicit donations, or monitor the completion of certain tasks.

In assigning roles and responsibilities for aspects of a project, it is

important to consider skills, knowledge, and attitudes. Sometimes

there are individuals with the needed skills but their attitude toward

the project would make them inappropriate. Culturally determined

roles and expectations of those roles are also important for outsiders

to understand. The functions carried out locally by persons in certain

roles may differ from those in the culture of the foreigner. Sometimes

a role may be ceremonial or inherited and not carry the responsibility

for doing more than being informed or publicly acknowledged.
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Some functions that people may perform on a particular project

include overseeing work, giving approvals, consulting on certain

decisions, informing others about the project work, or doing the actual

work. How these functions relate to role titles needs to be explored so

that appropriate people are put in the necessary positions. The community members have this type of inside culturally based information, and,

thus, are important decision-makers in terms of assigning roles and

responsibilities. In this session, project teams will consider the various

tasks in their project and discuss who might be responsible for each.

Objectives

By the end of the session participants will be able to:

1. Identify ways in which community members can be responsible

for various tasks on the practice projects.

2. Explore culturally defined roles within the community that need

to be considered when planning a project.

Time

1 hour, 15 minutes

Materials

• Blank flipchart, marking pens, and tape

• Flipchart prepared with questions from the Trainer Note in Step I.

• Action Plan Worksheets or wall charts started by project teams in

earlier session (Identifying Tasks).

Preparation

Prepare some examples of role assignments to use in Steps I and III.

Procedure

STEP I. Whole Group Discussion on Community

Participation

(15 minutes)

Introduce the session by holding a brief discussion around the

following points from the rationale:
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Session Plans

1. The importance of including community members in taking

responsibility for the steps of a project.

2. The distinction between those who may do a task (build something, teach others,) and someone who may be responsible for

seeing that the task is done (approve, oversee).

3. The need to be aware of cultural differences in roles and responsibilities.

Trainer Note: Volunteers often report the lack of involvement in projects

on the part of key players. In some cases, this may be because they weren’t

encouraged to get involved earlier in the planning phases or they were given

roles that were not compatible with their skills and/or social/cultural roles.

To help participants explore potential participation, you may want to

introduce some of the roles listed below by posing the associated questions.

Have participants think about all phases of the Community Development

Cycle (not just project implementation) as they answer the questions.

Function Question

Be Informed Who are the people you need to keep informed about major

decisions and progress on the project?

Consult Who are the people that may offer consultation to the

project? They might bring valuable technical information

or expertise to the work, or they may have insights that

would help you make a key decision.

Perform Who will be directly involved in carrying out the work?

These people are the actual “do-ers.”

Oversee Who will oversee and give timely approvals for the work?

These are the people who are responsible for seeing that

the work gets done.

Animate Who will encourage and mobilize people to get involved

and stay involved?

STEP II. Metaphor Exercise: Describing the

Volunteer and Counterpart Roles

(20 minutes)

A. Have the group spend a few minutes focusing on the roles and

responsibilities of the Volunteer and Counterpart. Ask two project

teams to join together to make a group of four, then assign them

the following brief task:
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1. With your colleagues, exchange ideas and opinions about your

perceived role in the practice projects you are planning. As a

group, select a metaphor that describes or depicts the role(s)

you want to play. Take about 10 minutes for your discussion.

2. Share your metaphor with the large group.

B. When the small groups are ready, have each one describe their

metaphor. Use the inputs from the groups to re-emphasize the

value of sharing leadership and building capacity in the

community.

Trainer Note: Here is an example of a metaphor—

“We are like the tenders of a beautiful garden. We test the soil to see how

fertile it is, adding a few nutrients to make it richer. We dig and mix the

soil so that the texture is just right—soft enough to allow the plants’

roots to grow freely, but firm enough to support the stalks. When the

plants are young and small, we pull out weeds that might threaten their

health. As the plants grow bigger and stronger, there is less space for

weeds and we have less and less direct work to do. We are careful not to

over-fertilize, because this can cause the plants to become so tall and

spindly that they fall over unless we support them with a stake....”

An option to the metaphor activity is to have project teams describe

their roles visually (drawings, symbols, colors, etc.) on a half-sheet of

flipchart paper. Each team would then have one minute to present and

interpret their drawing for the rest of the group, and all of the drawings

could be posted for the remainder of the workshop.

STEP III. Assigning of Roles and Responsibilities

to Practice Project Tasks

(30 minutes)

A. Ask project teams to make specific role assignments for each of

the tasks they identified in their action plan during the earlier

session. Have them work directly on the Action Plan Worksheet,

identifying who will perform the task and who will supervise or

oversee.

Trainer Note: As needed, remind participants that if the Volunteer

appears in too many places on the role assignment list, it may indicate

too high a leadership profile for that person. Since we are trying to nurture

leadership development among others in the community, we have to

look for ways to give them responsibility. In cases where the Volunteer

feels the need to be responsible for something, then she/he should consider

who else can be involved to assist and learn.
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Session Plans

B. Facilitator should circulate, sit with groups, listen to their

discussions, and ask clarifying questions as appropriate.

STEP IV. Summary Discussion and Closure

(10 minutes)

Have the large group reassemble and ask participants to summarize

their insights and learning. Use some of the following questions to

help them reflect:

1. What culturally determined roles did you discuss, and how were

important people in your community included in your project?

2. What are examples of tasks you found easy to assign? Why? What

tasks did you consider hard to assign? Why?

3. How could your community be helpful in assigning tasks?
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Session Plan

Session 10

Action Plan:

Making the Timeline

Rationale

Creating a timeline for the project includes two different considerations: (1) how to sequence the project tasks so that each one prepares

for something that follows; and (2) when various tasks can take place

over the life of the project implementation.

Sequencing involves thinking through the tasks and making sure that

tasks such as procurement of materials precedes the activity for which

they are needed. Sometimes more than one activity can be happening

simultaneously, such as making bricks or doing a marketing study

while local people are being trained in a new skill.

The second involves looking at the community members’ daily activity

schedules and seasonal calendars. Finding out when during the day,

and during what seasons community members are available to do

the tasks needed, is critical to a project’s success. Women and men,

and boys and girls, all have different roles and responsibilities, and

their daily activities need to be considered individually. It may not be

self-evident when people have time to work on a project task. For

example, it may be more possible for teachers to engage in a project

after their school day is finished during the school year than during

the vacation period when they may be gardening, holding down a

different job, or having to care for children who are out of school.

Seasonal events may impact how projects can be timed: transportation

may be less available during times crops are being moved to markets;

rainy or dry seasons may impact construction or other tasks; and

specific holiday periods may preclude work on projects.

In this session, participants consider all of these aspects of timing to

develop a tentative timeline for their project.
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Session Plans

Objectives

By the end of the session participants will be able to:

1. Organize the tasks of the project according to sequence and time

estimates.

2. Make a realistic project timeline that respects the daily activities

and seasonal events of the community.

Time

45 minutes to 1 hour

Materials

• Blank flipchart, marking pens, tape and/or glue sticks

• Sample daily activity schedules and seasonal calendars, trainer

prepared and those brought from communities.

• Action Planning Worksheets or wall charts started by project teams

in earlier sessions (Identifying Tasks; Assigning Roles).

Preparation

Prepare some examples from a sample project, using daily activity

schedules of more than one group in the community and a seasonal

calendar, if possible.

Procedure

STEP I. Introducing the Timeline

(10 minutes)

Introduce the timeline as the final step in laying out how the project

will be implemented. Present the major points emphasized in the

session rationale. Using a sample project, give examples of how to

sequence multiple tasks. Then use the sample daily activity schedules

and seasonal calendars to illustrate the considerations in scheduling

project work (people’s work constraints, climate considerations, etc.).
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STEP II. Creating Timelines for the Practice

Projects

(35 minutes)

A. Tell the participants that they will have about 35 minutes to

complete a timeline for their practice projects. If they have not

already arranged their tasks in sequential order, have them do

that first. Then ask them to consider which month in the calendar

year would be the best time to begin the project and to schedule

specific tasks from that point through the end of the project. Have

them indicate the sequence and time estimates on a weekly or

monthly calendar template.

Trainer Note: If participants have not brought a seasonal calendar

with them, they may need to do one. It should include at least major

labor times (of their community group who would be doing the project),

weather and health patterns, high periods for financial demands, holidays

and other periods when they have other tasks.

B. Circulate among the project team, joining in to listen to their

discussion and ask clarifying questions.

C. If participants have been developing their action plans on large

wall charts, have them do a gallery walk to view the work of

their colleagues and share ideas with one another.

STEP III. Summary Discussion on the Action Plan

(15 minutes)

Have all participants reassemble, and discuss the now-completed

action plan for their practice projects. Build the discussion around

the following questions:

1. What are some key questions you will need to ask your community members regarding the assignment of roles and responsibilities?

2. How will you involve community members in the action planning? How will the action plan be updated and shared as time

goes by?

3. For your particular community and practice project, what might

be two to three major scheduling considerations?

If participants have been working on large wall charts, suggest they

take the charts back to their communities with them and also make a

notebook size duplicate for safekeeping.
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Session Plans

Session Plan

Session 11

Monitoring and

Evaluation Planning

Rationale

Most community project planners and implementers recognize the

basic need for monitoring and evaluation. Monitoring tells us if our

project is on track and we are making progress. Evaluation tells us if

our project is on the right track and having the impact we had hoped

it would. All of us can probably think of at least one example of a

community project that suffered or failed because people didn’t

allocate the time and resources to track its progress and results. If

monitoring and evaluation is to happen in our projects, it has to be

planned from the start, not tacked on later as an afterthought. In fact,

the very act of doing the monitoring and evaluation plan pushes us

to think harder and become clearer on our project goals and objectives

than we might have otherwise. The result is usually a better overall

design. In this session, the project teams will develop (or at least start)

monitoring and evaluation (M & E) plans for their practice projects.

Two worksheets are provided to help participants focus and organize

their plans.

Objectives

By the end of the session participants will be able to

1. Describe the differences between monitoring and evaluation.

2. Define monitoring points in the practice project design, assign

responsibilities, and identify any resources needed.

3. Define evaluation opportunities in the practice project design and

consider who would be responsible.
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Time

1 hour, 40 minutes (plus 15 minutes if you select Option 1 Climate

Setter)

Materials

• Blank flipcharts, markers, and masking tape

• Mini-descriptions for Option 1 Climate-Setter

• Monitoring and Evaluation (background reading)

• Practice Project Designs and Action Plans (already in progress)

• Handouts:

– Monitoring Checklist

– Sample Monitoring Checklist

– Evaluation Plan Worksheet

– Sample Evaluation Plan Worksheet

Preparation

1. This session offers two options for the climate-setting activity.

Read both of the descriptions and decide which one you want to

try. Option 1 is light and fun but requires more time and is less

predictable in terms of participants’ responses. Option 2 is a

quicker, more serious exercise, and the group’s responses should

be fairly easy to predict and guide.

If you decide to do Option 1, you will need to draft minidescriptions for four special occasions such as a birthday party, a

wedding, or a local cultural event. Write one or two sentences to

provide some context and help participants get started on the

task. Here’s a sample mini-description for a birthday party:

One of your favorite family members is celebrating her/

his 30th birthday. This relative has been so helpful to

everyone in the family that you want to show your appreciation by throwing a huge party. You’re inviting 100

people for dining, dancing, and fun.

2. Later in the session, the project teams will use two worksheets to

develop their M & E plans. Practice with these tools until you feel

comfortable with them. Use the Sample Worksheets or create some

examples of your own to use to illustrate the different M & E

components.
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Session Plans

Procedure

STEP I. Skills Test: Monitoring and Evaluating

the Birthday Party

(30 minutes)

Trainer Note: See the Optional Climate-Setting Activity at the end of the

session plan. If you are pressed for time, consider using that activity rather

than this one.

A. Open the session by telling participants that they are going to

have an opportunity to test their skills in monitoring and

evaluation. Divide the group into 4 smaller groups and hand each

one a slip of paper with a brief description of a special event such

as a birthday party, a wedding, a traditional feast, or some other

appropriate celebration. If possible, each group should work with

a different event. Then explain the task as follows:

“Let’s pretend that you and your group are planning this special

occasion. It’s scheduled to happen next week and you really want

it to be a tremendous success! What aspects of the “project” will

you want to track or monitor and how will you do that? Once the

event has taken place, what will you want to evaluate about it,

and how will you go about that? Take the next 15 minutes to

discuss these questions in your group.”

B. Encourage the groups to have fun with the exercise, intervening

only if someone gets way off-course. Once all groups have finished

the task, ask each one to share some of their monitoring and

evaluation ideas with large group. Write these down on two

separate clipcharts (one list for monitoring, the other for

evaluation).

Trainer Note: A few examples might include—

Monitoring—

What to monitor How to monitor

RSVP returns, number of Maintain running list of

guests attending RSVPs and make phone calls

to people who didn’t respond.

Track the arrival of food and Use a checklist and assign a

beverages person to receive.

Guests receptivity to the music Observe the dance floor—are

and ambience for dancing people moving? If not, use

informal questioning technique

to find out what would improve

the scene.

Etc.
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Evaluation—

What to evaluate How to evaluate

Does Birthday Betty/Bob feel Conduct in-depth phone interspecial and happy after the view a few days after the party.

event?

Did majority of guests have a Do exit interviews, count and

good time? review the post-party “thank

you” notes/calls received from

guests, informal family rumor

mill.

Was the food good and Visually survey the food

appealing? remaining in relation to amount

prepared and number of guests.

Visually survey amount of

uneaten food discarded into

trash cans at the party. Remember unsolicited comments from

guests during and after the

party.

C. Once you have several examples, ask the group to describe the

distinctions they see between monitoring and evaluation. As they

define each of the terms, write key words on the charts where

you have already been listing their examples. If needed, refer to

the Monitoring and Evaluation handout for specific definitions and

distinctions.

Trainer’s Note: Monitoring is a management tool that helps us gauge

our progress toward meeting our project goals and objectives. Monitoring

concentrates on the short-term performance compared with what we

have planned. Evaluation is an assessment tool that measures the overall

results/impact of the project, and provides data for similar projects in

the future. In a small-scale project, evaluation is usually done after the

work is complete. To summarize, monitoring tells us if our project is on

tract, and evaluation tells us if it is the right track.

STEP II. Creating a Monitoring Checklist for the

practice projects

 (25 minutes)

A. Introduce the Monitoring Checklist by explaining each of the

components and illustrating with an example or two drawn from

the participants’ practice projects. Use the sample checklist as
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Session Plans

needed to clarify the types of things typically monitored and the

process for doing it.

B. Give the project teams the following assignment:

1. Look back through the tasks in your practice designs and

identify specific dimensions or aspects of the project work you

want to monitor. Think about why it is important to monitor

each item you name.

2. List the monitoring items on the blank checklist provided and

fill in the other columns on the checklist. (Try to complete the

information across the chart for at least 3 to 4 items.)

3. Finish as much of the worksheet as possible in the next 20

minutes.

C. Monitor the teams as they work on their checklists.

D. As a summary, have the group address these questions:

1. Where was monitoring called for because of a need for resources (materials or funds) to move on to the next task?

2. What are examples of monitoring to check on the progress of

key tasks?

3. At what points did you think monitoring would be useful to

keep the total group (community) informed and involved in

the project?

STEP III. Introducing the six-step Evaluation

Plan and Key Evaluation Questions

(30 minutes)

A. Ask the group to turn its focus now to evaluation. Refer

participants to the six-step worksheet they will use to develop an

evaluation plan for their practice projects. Walk them briefly

through all six steps so that they understand the total worksheet.

B. Focus the group on the key questions (What do we want to

know?). Have them look back at the objectives and signs of success

they drafted in their Project Design Worksheets (Session Plan 6).

Explain the relationship between the framework and the key

impact questions: The objectives and signs of success state or

imply what you hope the result or impact of the project will be.

They form the basis for the key evaluation questions you will

want to answer later on when the project is done.”
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Trainer Note: Participants have already started their evaluation plans

by writing measurable objectives and by identifying specific signs of

success. (Some planners use the term indicator in place of sign.) What

the group will do now is formulate key evaluation questions based on

this work, and then develop a plan for getting answers to the questions.

Key questions are already contained or implied in well-written objectives.

However, by using a question format, we encourage ourselves to think

through what we want to learn from the project and how we can discover

the answers. It is essential that the community itself be involved in

formulating the key questions, as well as in gathering the information

that leads to lessons learned.

 As you help the group understand the concept of key questions,

emphasize the need to measure not only the inputs of the project, but

moreover, the quality of the process and the overall impact of the project

work. For example, we want to know not only the number of people

attending a given workshop (project input). We also want to measure

how well the group worked together and demonstrated good leadership

skills (quality of process), and the degree to which participants are

applying their newly acquired knowledge and skills in their daily lives

(impact). Learning from the process is particularly important in

development projects and programs that have capacity-building as an

overall goal.

Some examples of evaluation questions are included in the two climatesetter options. Here are a few samples written for a community project:

• Were the goals and objectives achieved?

For example, one project goal was to encourage wider youth

participation in environmental conservation activities. An evaluation

question is “What are youth doing now relating to conservation that

is different than before?” Another goal of the project was to strengthen

emphasis on conservation in the school curricula. A second evaluation

question might be “What are the teachers who participated in the

project doing now to focus on the environmental issues? What else

could they be doing?”

• What can people do better now than they did before?

• Did the project have a positive effect on the community? Were there

any negative effects?

• How were people and organizations in the community linked

together? Were new connections made between associations and

institutions such as schools, businesses, churches, and social clubs?

• What existing community resources or assets were utilized? Were

additional resources mobilized?

• What were the key decisions made, and how did these influence the

project? What other alternatives could have been considered?
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Session Plans

• Has the project been sustainable? How is the community working

toward this?

C. Have the project teams work for a few minutes to distill several

key evaluation questions for their practice projects. They should

write these questions in the first column on the worksheet. Ask

each team to share one key questions with the large group. Use

their examples to reinforce the focus on measuring impact and to

answer any other concerns the group may have.

STEP IV. Completing the Evaluation Plan for the

Practice Projects

(20 minutes)

A. Clarify the other steps and columns on the Evaluation Plan

Worksheet. Use one or two of their sample key questions to

illustrate how to complete the matrix. Use the following points

to help the group understand the decision of whether to collect

quantitative and qualitative information:

1. The choice of when to use one or the other really depends on

what you want to know about the project (i.e., the nature of

the key questions).

2. Technical-oriented information is usually quantitative (percentage of increase in crop yields, amount of weight gained

by young children in a nutrition project, etc.).

3. Key questions focusing on capacity building, leadership

development, and so forth call for qualitative information

which may be gathered through methods like open-ended

interviews, focus group discussions, and/or observation.

4. Often it’s good to have both quantitative and qualitative

information so that you can cross check the results. That said,

the overall scope of the project evaluation should be determined by the scope of the project itself, and the resources the

community has available.

B. Ask the project teams to sketch an evaluation plan for their

practice projects. Describe the task as follows:

1. Finish drafting the key evaluation questions based on the goals

and objectives and signs of success from your project framework.

2. For at least two to three of the questions, fill in the worksheet

matrix.
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3. Finish as much of the evaluation plan as possible in the next

20 minutes.

C. Circulate among the teams, offering assistance as needed. If time

allows, ask the teams to share one example from their worksheets

with others in the room.

STEP V. Summary Discussion in the Large Group

(10 minutes)

Lead the group in a final discussion to synthesize and summarize

their practice with monitoring and evaluation planning. Use the

following questions to guide the discussion:

1. How easy/difficult was it to complete the worksheets? Which

components were harder than others? Any suggestions for how

to make the worksheets easier to understand and use?

2. Why is it important to address monitoring and evaluation when

designing a project?

3. How can your community be involved in determining monitoring

and evaluation steps and participating in them?

Close the session by referring participants to the background handout

on monitoring and evaluation.

Optional Climate Setting Activity:

Monitoring and Evaluating the PDM Workshop

(15 minutes)

Trainer Note: This activity is an option to the Birthday Party exercise

(Step I) at the beginning of the session plan.

A. To help participants define and distinguish between monitoring

and evaluation, ask them to consider the current PDM workshop:

“What types of things are we monitoring in this workshop and

how are we going about monitoring?” Have participants confer

with one or two of their colleagues and then offer their ideas.

Write these responses on a flipchart.

B. Next, ask participants to review the workshop goals in their

notebooks and the list of expectations they generated on the first

day. Then ask the question: “What aspects of this workshop will

we want to evaluate and how would we go about doing it?” Write

these answers on a second flipchart posted next to the monitoring

ideas.
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Session Plans

Trainer Note: By using the “here and now experience of the PDM

workshop,” participants should be able to cite several examples of monitoring

and guess what we might do to evaluate the impact of the workshop. Their

actual responses will vary, of course, from workshop to workshop. Here are a

few possible responses.

Monitoring—

What to monitor How to monitor

Daily knowledge and skill Reviewing practice project worksheets,

acquisition generalized discussions, spot checks.

Group dynamics Visual observation, process check-ins

with group, wall pocket charts

soliciting issues and suggestions,

individual check-ins during breaks.

Group participation Observation during large and small

group activities.

Sequencing and pacing of Checking quality and completeness of

activities practice project plans, types and

number of clarification questions posed

by participants, soliciting group and

individual feedback.

Lodging and meals Observation, soliciting feedback from

group and facility providers.
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Evaluation –

What to evaluate How to evaluate

Did participants gain Review the practice plan at end of

sufficient skills to be able to workshop for quality and completeness,

do project planning with observe and review plans and reports

their communities? on project carried out with community.

Are they engaging and train- Look for evidence of community meming community members in bers taking active role in project planhow to plan and implement ning and implementation.

projects?

Do PCVs and Counterparts Observe and review documentation of

(CPs) have stronger partner- PCV and CP sharing planning tasks,

ships as a result of this informing each other of progress,

training? solving problems as a team, etc.

Interview the individuals.

Do participants perceive of Look for evidence of PCV and CP

their role as one of community sharing leadership roles with other

facilitator? community members (e.g., community

members leading meetings and

initiating new projects.)

C. Once you have several examples, ask the group to describe the

distinctions they see between monitoring and evaluation. As they

define each of the terms, write key words on the charts where

you have already been listing their examples. If needed, refer to

the Monitoring and Evaluation handout for specific definitions and

distinctions. Also see the Trainer Note under Step I C of the

Birthday Party exercise.

Proceed on to Step II in the main body of the session plan.
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Community Project Monitoring Checklist

Develop a checklist that will help you monitor the routine progress of your community project.

What to Things and Places How? Who Does It? When?

Monitor? to Check

Session Plans Community Project Monitoring Handout - Page 1 of 2
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— Sample —

Community Project Monitoring Checklist

Develop a checklist that will help you monitor the routine progress of your community project.

What to Things and Places How? Who Does It? When?

Monitor? to Check

Materials and Inventory, estimates, bills of Visits Project Daily

equipment lading, condition of equip- participants

ment, supply of replacement Meetings Weekly

parts, etc.

Books/ledgers Monthly

Budget Ledgers, financial/bank

accounts, comparing plan- Testing Etc

ned expenses to actual.

Observation

Training and Attendance at sessions,

education material learned, new skills Daily logs

developed, number of

materials developed, quality, Interviews

etc.

Letters

Interest and Attendance, participation,

motivation new members join, Reports

committee doing work, etc.

Roll call

Roles and Work schedules, work

responsibilities quality, performance, Budget analysis

promptness, contracts, job

reviews, etc. Surveys

Administrative Permits and licenses Statistics

needs acquired, proper documents

available, etc. Job review

Etc.

Session Plans Community Project Monitoring Handout - Page 2 of 2
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— Sample —

Community Project Evaluation Plan

This worksheet will help you plan how to measure the success and impact of your project. Start the plan by identifying several key questions that will guide and focus your evaluationefforts. These questions are already stated or implied in the project objective and signs of success, but it is helpful to restate them here in a question format. Once you have the questions,then proceed with the rest of the planning components.

Key Questions Quantitative– Sources of Information Methods to Collect Who Participates/When

Qualitative Information

Information

(What do you want to know?) (What type of inform- (Where can you find the (How will you collect the (Who will collect and analyze

ation do you need?) information?) information?) information? When?)

Session Plans Community Project Evaluation Plan Handout - Page 1 of 2
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The New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual — Sample — Community Project Evaluation Plan This worksheet will help you plan how to measure the success and impact of your project. Start the plan by identifying several key questions that will guide and focus your evaluation efforts. These questions are already stated or implied in the project objective and signs of success, but it is helpful to restate them here in a question format. Once you have the questions, then proceed with the rest of the planning components. Key Questions Quantitative– Sources of Information Methods to Collect Who Participates/When Qualitative Information Information (What do you want to know?) (What type of inform- (Where can you find the (How will you collect the (Who will collect and analyze ation do you need?) information?) information?) information? When?) Were the goals and objectives achieved? Both quantitative and Project participants (e.g., youth, Depending on project, may include (e.g., teachers administer test with What can people do better now than qualitative their teachers, park staff, project pre testing and post testing obser- students at end of semester and before? (e.g., if one project goal was to sites, products vation, physical measurement continuously observe students’ encourage wider youth participation in (e.g., weighing babies in a nutri- conservation projects; mothers then the key question is: What are youth tion project), counting, group weigh babies monthly, etc.) different than before?) discussions, interview Did the project have a positive effect on Mostly qualitative Community leaders and mem- Conduct meetings and interviews Project leaders, community leaders; the community? Were there any negative bers, records, photographs with community leaders and collected quarterly. effects? members, observation with checklist, etc.

How were people and organizations in the Qualitative Representatives and members Keep and review meeting notes, Project leaders, on-goingcommunity linked together? Were new of participating groups, read reports, conduct in-depth Documentation, interviews atconnections made between associations community members interviews or focus groups beginning and end.and institutions?What existing community resources or Quantitative Project participants, other com- Keep and review records, take Project leaders, communityassets were utilized? Were additional munity members, project logs, photos, measure quantities, etc. members, on-going documentationresources mobilized? physical site

What were the key decisions made and Qualitative Project leaders and participants, Group discussion with leaders, Project Leaders, communityhow did these influence the project? What community leaders surveys or interviews with participants, end-of project review.other alternatives could have been community members.considered?

Has the project been sustainable? How is Qualitative and Community leaders and mem- Financial record review, focus Project and community leaders,the community working toward this? quantitative bers, project leaders group with community end-of project review

Session Plans Community Project Evaluation Plan Handout - Page 2 of 2
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Session Plan

Session 12

Resource Identification

and Budgeting

Rationale

An obvious and important part of the community project plan is the

budget. Before the community can start implementing the actual

project, they must identify all the resources they will need to conduct

the project tasks, and then estimate the cost or value of those resources.

General categories of resources for small community-based projects

include people or human resources, equipment, materials, supplies,

and transportation. Once community planners have outlined the

budget, they can then determine how to acquire the resources. Some

may be available within the community, others donated or bartered,

and others purchased with cash funds.

The budget plan will provide timely information about the requirements for outside expertise or training of local people, and loans,

grants, or other funding to purchase or rent equipment and materials.

Many project planners gasp when they see the sum for total project

cost and realize they need to either find significant funds or make

some creative cuts in the project scope. Hence, the budget serves as a

reality check in addition to its role as spending guide.

In this session, participants identify the resources needed to carry

out each task of their practice project, and begin to develop a budget

for the project.

Objectives

By the end of the session participants will be able to:

1. Identify the types of resources (human resources, materials and

supplies, travel, etc.) needed to carry out the tasks of a small

project.

2. Begin to identify specific resource needs and begin a budget for

the practice projects.
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Time

1 hour, 30 minutes (plus 20 minutes for Optional Step V)

Materials

• Blank flipchart, marking pens, and tape

• Action Plan Worksheets completed in the previous sessions

• Handouts:

– Budget Worksheets

– Sample Budget Worksheets

Preparation

1. The budget format presented here is geared toward small-scale

projects with a few line items and simple calculations. If some of

your participants are working with more complicated projects

and budget schemes (and if you are not a “budget person”), you

may want to recommend they look for additional guidance from

someone with financial management expertise, e.g., a microenterprise development Volunteer.

2. Practice with the budget worksheets until you are comfortable

using them. If your participants are accustomed to a different type

of form (i.e., different categories and/or format), then feel free to

alter these worksheets to make them more suitable to the group.

3. Before you conduct the session, read this entire outline and the

session outline for Funding Sources: Looking Inside and Outside the Community. Decide if you will have time in your PDM

agenda to do the Funding Sources session. If not, we recommend

the optional brainstorming activity at the end of this session.

Procedure

STEP I. Resources Scavenger Hunt:

Introduction to Session Themes

(15 minutes)

A. Open the session by asking participants to divide into their project

teams and play a game called Resources Scavenger Hunt. Explain

the game as follows:

“Imagine all the different resources you will need to

be able to implement the tasks in your practice

project. In the next few minutes, try to locate as many
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Session Plans

of these resources as possible at the site outside and

around our workshop room. Each time you identify

a resource, list it on paper. You must actually be able

to see the resource to count it on your list. The first

team to get 15 resources on their list wins a prize.

Whistle and clap your hands when you have the 15

items.“

B. Have them play the game until a team wins. Then, call the participants together and have them share items from their lists,

starting with the winning team. As the teams share items, write

them on flipchart paper, clustering them to correspond with the

major categories we will be using on the budget worksheets: (1)

human resources, (2) materials and supplies, and (3) travel and

other costs. Once the list is fairly complete, write the name of the

category at the top of each cluster. Then step back and explain to

the group that they have just done the first step of making a

budget—identifying the different types of resources needed to

carry out project tasks.

Trainer Note: Although 15 items may seem like a high number of

resources to find, you will likely have some people in the room who will

see objects around the training area and quickly relate them to one of

their project tasks. If you see the teams struggling to find that many

items, then call time after about 7 minutes. The team with the most

valid items wins.

This activity is best suited to workshop locations where participants

can leave the training room and wander around the larger facility and/

or ground. If your training location is more confined, you may want to

consider an alternative activity or begin the session by simply asking

participants about some of their experiences with writing budgets,

estimating costs, identifying sources for materials, and so forth.

STEP II. Overview of Resource Requirements

(15 minutes)

Use the points below in an interactive lecture to describe the different

types of resources to consider in planning and budgeting. During the

discussion, draw as much as possible from participants’ actual

experiences in their communities. For each of the three categories,

ask participants where they would go for current and accurate price

information, emphasizing the need to involve the community in the

budget work.

A. Human Resources and Labor

To determine labor needs, examine each task you have delineated,

and try to imagine how that activity will be performed. Ask:
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• Who is going to do it?

• What skills or knowledge to do they need?

In trying to determine whether someone is available locally,

remember the assets map we created earlier. In your community,

who has the skills or knowledge? Or, who has the connections in

the larger region or nationally to get the needed skilled persons?

Are there ways to acquire outside help without cost by going

through certain channels? If your community has not done an

assets map, it would be a valuable activity to do as you begin

working on designing a project.

If the skills are not available locally, consider the notion of

providingtraining to local people as a part of the project, especially

if the skills are needed for sustainability.

Trainer Note: Take some examples of human resources required for

specific tasks from the participants. As necessary, encourage participants

to be sure that the Volunteer and/or Counterpart are not the only names

associated with a task (rather, who in the community can be assisting

and learning).

B. Equipment, Materials, and Supplies

For each task, identify any equipment, materials, and supplies

that will be required. Equipment items such as slide projectors,

well drills, and jigsaws might be bought, rented, or borrowed.

Supplies are consumables, such as pencils, paper, cooking oil, or

gas. Materials are also consumable, except that the time frame

for their consumption is much longer. Examples include building

materials, books, fencing, thermometers, and so forth. Materials

and supplies may need to be purchased or they could possibly be

obtained through donations from local business, other institutions,

or individuals. Check to make sure your project really needs all

the items you have listed in this category. Sometimes we forget

some of the essentials and include items that are nice but not

necessary.

Trainer Note: Take some examples from the group. As appropriate,

explore options for obtaining equipment in the most economical or

practical ways. Discuss in-kind donations and other economical ways

to obtain needed materials.

C. Transportation and Other Costs

There almost always are transportation needs in projects. These

are often forgotten when developing a budget. Equipment or

materials may need to be transported. Members of the group may

need to make trips to attend meetings, visit a similar project, or

go to the bank. Others, such as skilled laborers, extension agents,

or experts, may need to visit your project site to provide advice,
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and so on. Transportation costs may be high; it is important to

consider them.

Besides transportation, there may be other costs that do not fit

into the first two categories (human resources and equipment/

materials/supplies) of the budget worksheets. For example, you

might need to rent a room to conduct a workshop, or pay for

participants’ lodging at a conference center. These types of

expenses may be placed under Transportation and Other Costs.

Trainer Note: Again, ask the group for examples of costs that might

fit into this category. Suggest they look at their evaluation activities

and determine what costs might be incurred that should be projected in

this budget category.

STEP III. Identifying the Resource Needs for

Practice Projects

(30 minutes)

Ask the project teams to turn back to the action plan and list of tasks

they started in the earlier session. Now have them go through each of

their tasks, identify the resources needed for each one, and write them

in the appropriate column of the worksheet. Give them about 20

minutes to work.

STEP IV. Entering Data onto the Budget

Worksheets

(30 minutes)

A. Distribute the budgeting worksheets and review each. Using costs

items from the sample worksheets or from the participants’

practice projects, illustrate how to make the calculations. When

you review the budget summary sheet, be sure to explain what

the different columns represent. One column lists the resources

the community (or primary project group) will contribute. A

second column represents what a partnering organization or

group will contribute (i.e., for those projects in which two groups

are collaborating closely.) The final column show what resources

will be solicited from sources outside the community (for example,

grant funds from a donor organization).

Trainer Note: It’s important that everyone involved in a community

project—Volunteers, Counterparts, community members, local and

regional institutions—value the contributions that the community is

making toward the project. Oftentimes, we portray the community’s

contribution in general terms—“they’ll supply the labor” or “they’ll

gather locally available materials such as sand and clay.” A better
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approach is to estimate the actual cost of all of the resources needed, that

is, what would it cost if we had to pay for it? Then, you know the total

real cost more definitively, and show pride at just how much the

community can off-set those real costs and reduce the need to seek outside

funds. If the participants’ communities are likely to need some funding

from the outside, then they will be more successful in securing those

funds if they can clearly show contributions from within the community.

If you are planning to conduct the session, Funding Sources: Looking

Inside and Outside the Community, you may want to discuss

this subject in greater depth at that point in the workshop. If you are not

planning to do that session, then consider doing the optional brainstorming activity at the end of this session.

B. Have the participants begin to develop the worksheets by transferring the task information from their Action Plan Worksheets

over to the budget worksheets and proceeding on to estimate

costs. Circulate and assist the teams as needed. Give them as much

time as possible, leaving a few minutes at the end of the session

to review and discuss questions that occur.

Optional Activity: Brainstorming Ways

to Find Resources Inside the Community

(20 minutes)

Ask participants to take three minutes to individually write down

fund-raising ideas they have either done or seen others do in their

communities. Ask participants to contribute one idea, circling around

the room until everyone has contributed. Have someone write these

on flipchart as they are shared. Keep going around the room until

you have exhausted all of the ideas. Then ask the group if anyone has

ideas they have never seen tried but think might work. Write these

down in a different color marker. Ask participants to consider the

entire list and then reflect on the following questions:

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a community

earning its own project funds?

2. What kinds of skills and abilities do these fund-raising methods

call for? Where can we find these?

Close the session by asking each project team (Volunteer and

Counterpart) to make a note of one or two new ideas they want to try

with their community.
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Trainer Note: When talking about fund-raising, it is important to clarify

that we are referring to fund-raising activities conducted by the community

to benefit their projects. Peace Corps prohibits Volunteers from participating

in fund-raising activities that would result in personal gain for themselves.

The chances are good that every participant in the room has participated in

several fund-raising activities. By pooling their experiences, each person will

walk away with a long list of creative ideas to try with his or her community.

This type of brainstorm also has the effect of making people feel empowered

in the sense of “we can do it!” Here are a few examples taken from a PDM

workshop in Romania:

Local Fund-Raising Ideas:

• Donation boxes in public places

• Collect and recyle materials for cash or other resources

• Fairs and expositions (charge for displays, sell food, charge admission)

• Write and distribute solicitation letter with inspirational story

• Make small craft items and sell them and/or distribute to potential

sponsors.

• Swap in-kind gifts with other NGOs

• Talent show, “nontalent” show, concert, dance (charge admission

fee and sell food)

• Sports competitions (charge admission fee and sell food)

• Outdoor movie (charge admission fee and sell food)

• Car wash, raffles, local postcards
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The New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual Budget Worksheet 1 Project Name: _____________________________________________________________ Tasks Human Resources/Labor Needed Cost (from Action Plan) (Trainers, teachers,technicians, Number Number Wage/day construction workers, drivers, etc.) of people X of days X or job = Subtotal Session Plans Budget Worksheet Handout - Page 1 of 4
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Budget Worksheet 2

Project Name: _____________________________________________________________

Tasks Materials/Supplies/ Transportation/ Cost(from Action Plan) Equipment Other Cost Items Unit Cost X No. Needed = Subtotal

Session Plans Budget Worksheet Handout - Page 2 of 4

Subtotal This Page:
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The New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual Budget Summary Worksheet Project Name: _____________________________________________________________ Budget Category Total Cost by Amount Provided by Amount Provided by Amount Need from Category Community or Project Partner(s) Outside Community Project Group Session Plans Budget Worksheet Handout - Page 3 of 4

Project Totals:
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Session Plans

Sample Budget Worksheet 1

Project Name: _____________________________________________________________

Tasks Human Resources/Labor Needed Cost(from Action Plan) (Trainers, teachers,technicians, Number Number Wage/day

construction workers, drivers, etc.) of people X of days X or job = Subtotal

1. Conduct Environmental Awareness (EA) Park EA Leaders 2 3 (prep day 20.00 (120.00)*

Camp – 40 youth (staff time donated by park)* + 2-day camp)

Local participating teachers 3 3 (prep day 20.00 (180.00)*(teachers’ time donated by school) + 2-day camp)Park Administrative Assistant 1 2 days 15.00 (30.00)(staff time donated by park) (equivalent)Local traditional forest users 3 1 day 10.00 30.00

(equivalent)

Subtotal for 30.00/

Task 1 (330.00)

2. Plan and implement conservation Participating teachers 2 2 days 20.00 (80.00)

project at school— (teachers’ time donated by school) (equivalent)Plant live tree border to prevent Park staff to help plan and advise on project 1 1.5 days 20.00 (30.00)erosion at edge of play field (staff time donated by park) (equivalent)

Subtotal for (110.00)

Task 2

Etc.

Session Plans Budget Worksheet Handout - Page 4 of 4

Subtotal This Page 30.00

Person-time donated (440.00)

* ( ) = donated time
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Session Plan

Session 13

Proposal Writing

and Optional

Project Presentations

Rationale

When developing small, low- or no-cost community projects, the

emphasis should be on identifying and mobilizing a community’s

internal capacities and resources first before looking for outside help.

That does not suggest that all the resources necessary for the successful

completion of a project are always to be found within the community.

At times, external resources are necessary. A project proposal can help

identify and mobilize additional internal resources as well as appropriate external resources.

This session teaches participants to organize a proposal based on the

work they have done in designing their project during the workshop.

It also explores the value in having a proposal in writing, even if not

seeking outside funding. In the optional activity at the end of the

session, project teams present their projects to their colleagues in an

effort to share innovative design ideas and solicit constructive

feedback.

Objectives

By the end of the session participants will be able to:

1. Describe the functions and uses of a project proposal.

2. Identify information that should be included in a proposal and

describe the process for transposing a project plan into a basic

proposal.

3. (Optional) Synthesize and present the key components of the

practice project to peers for the purpose of sharing design ideas

and soliciting feedback.
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Time

45 minutes, plus additional time for optional project presentations

(see Step III)

Materials

• Project plans the participants have developed in the workshop.

• Handouts:

– Parts of a Proposal

– Guide To Writing Capacity-Oriented Proposals handout

(other proposal requirements if applicable)

Preparation

1. Consider introducing and/or providing different proposal formats required by typical funding sources for the participants, if

appropriate.

2. Decide if you are going to have participants make project presentations (Step III). If the teams have not had much opportunity to

observe their colleagues’ work during the course of the workshop,

then they might welcome the presentations as an opportunity for

cross-fertilization. The presentations also provide participants a

chance to practice important communication skills, such as

synthesizing information, speaking with clarity, and selling ideas.

If you decide to have the presentations, allow approximately 12-

15 minutes for each team. If your group is large, consider dividing

it into two subgroups and running concurrent presentations in

two breakout rooms. Another idea would be to group teams by

technical sector or project type.

Procedure

STEP I. Establishing Rationale for Proposal

Development

(10 minutes)

Open the session by asking the group “What are project proposals

used for?” Write their answers on the flipchart paper. Considering

their responses, discuss, clarify and add, if necessary, the following

functions and uses of project proposals:

• to explain the logic and thinking behind a planned community

project;
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• as a tool for planning and evaluation;

• to identify and communicate to others the resources necessary

for the completion of a project;

• to communicate to and recruit potential project partners/stakeholders to participate in your project.

STEP II Overview of Basic Proposal Components

(35 minutes)

A. Distribute the handout, Parts of a Proposal. Review each of the

sections and relate them to the planning steps that participants

have worked through in the workshop.

Trainer Note: You can help to demystify the art of proposal writing

by showing participants how their project plans are almost a proposal at

this point in the planning process. The project teams actually have all

the pieces of the proposal and they need only to add enough text to connect

the sections and make the description flow or read well.

B. Explore participants’ experiences with proposal writing by asking:

“Who has developed a proposal for a project? How did the

information required for the proposal compare to the format we

are reviewing here? What other types of information did you need

to provide?” Explain that different organizations that offer support

to development projects will have their own specific application

forms which solicit information they have decided is important

for them. However, generally speaking, most project proposal

forms will have these elements in common.

Trainer Note: If there are specific formats used by organizations that

participants will be contacting, you might prepare copies or even a booklet

of information with the forms. Unless the information applies to everyone

in the workshop, this may be simply handed out or an optional discussion

may be held for those interested.

C. Ask the group, “Who should be involved in writing the project

proposal?” Record responses on flipchart and discuss them.

Emphasize, and add, if necessary:

• Proposal writing should be a team effort; Volunteers should

not write project proposals independent of their community

and Counterparts.

• A project planning committee can work as a team to develop a

proposal.
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Session Plans

• Where the required proposal language is an obstacle, initial

proposal work can be done by participants in local language

and then translated, as necessary.

D. Close this part of the session by inviting participants to read and

reflect on the short handout, Guide To Writing Capacity-Oriented

Proposals. Answer any questions they may have about the key

points in the handout and suggest they use it as a guide when

they return to their communities and begin applying their

planning skills.

STEP III. Optional Project Presentations

(45 minutes for preparation; 12-15 minutes for each presentation and feedback)

Trainer Note: Please read the points under the Preparation section of this

outline to help you decide if project presentations are a good idea.

A. Introduce the project presentations and explain the rationale (to

practice communicating clearly and concisely about the project;

to practice selling the project idea to others; to share design ideas

with peers in this group; to get feedback from peers, including

constructive suggestions for how to improve the project).

B. Give the following guidelines for participants to follow:

1. With your project partner, prepare an 8 to 10 minute presentation of your practice project. Use the proposal format to help

you organize your information, but be mindful of the time

limits. Your goal is to give us a clear picture of what your project

is and why it is worthwhile to undertake.

2. Both members of the team should participate in the actual

presentation (it models collaboration.)

3. Provide some visual reference or outline to help the group

follow you. Use whatever materials or props you wish from

around the room (flipchart paper, markers, transparencies, etc.)

4. At the end of your presentation, ask your colleagues for feedback and suggestions.

Trainer Note: These guidelines do not prescribe the exact format for

the presentations. Rather, decisions about how to organize the briefing

are left to the individual teams. Make sure the participants are clear on

the 8 to 10 minute time limit and suggest they resist the temptation to

squeeze in all the details. For example, they probably will not have time

to present the whole Action Plan.
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C. Give the teams at least 45 minutes to prepare, more time if your

schedule allows. Then have the presentations, each one followed

by a round of questions and feedback.

D. Ask participants to reflect on these questions:

1. How did it feel to present your project? Did you feel confident

and knowledgeable? Why or why not?

2. If you were going to meet a real donor, what would you do

differently? Why?

3. What suggestions do you have for making the presentations

clearer? More convincing?

4. Do you think members of your community could present the

proposal? What would the benefits be, if they did the presentation? How might you assist them in preparing for presentations?

5. What were your overall impressions of the proposed projects?

What were some elements that many projects had in common?

What are some examples of unique ideas?
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Parts of a Proposal for a Community Project

Introduction/Summary

This introduction should be a brief cover page that includes:

• Contact name, contact phone number and address, community group name, date

• Title of the project

• Purpose of your organization (50 words for less; who you are and why you are the best

group to do this project)

• Concise description of your project, including your vision (also 50 words or less; should

appeal to the emotions)

• A clear statement of what you are requesting from the donor.

• A statement about the community’s investment in the project.

Where to find the information in your plan:

Summary statements drawn from vision, strategy, assets, and goal sections of the Project Design; summary

figures from the Budget Worksheet.

Background Information/Project Description

(Big Picture; What? and Why?)

Describes the community’s situation and offers the vision of where the community wants to be in

relation to the proposed project. Clarifies why the project is important and how it will build on and

enhance existing community assets. Describes the major project strategy or approach and, if appropriate,

reasons why this strategy was selected over others.

Where to find the information in your plan:

Community vision, assets, and strategy sections in the Project Design.

Goals and Objectives (What?)

These goals and objectives are literally, the long-term and short-term results you want to achieve.

Where to find the information in your plan:

Goals and objectives as written and edited in the Project Design.

Session Plans Parts of a Proposal for a Community Project Handout - Page 1 of 3

1

2

3
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Methods/Activities/Procedures (How? Who? When? Where?)

This section includes detailed information on how you will implement the project

Where to find the information in your plan:

Strategies from Project Design; tasks, roles, resources and timeline from the Action Plan.

Monitoring and Evaluation Plan

(How we will know how we are doing?)

This section highlights the monitoring steps and evaluation procedures that are built into plan.

Where to find the information in your plan:

Signs of success in the Project Design; the Monitoring and Evaluation Plan Worksheets.

Sustainability (How will the project or its product continue?)

Sustainability describes how the project or its product will continue (e.g., who will be involved, trained

to maintain what was purchased, built) once the initial funding runs out. Discusses how the project

will provide continuing benefits and why it is a good investment for potential funders and for the

community itself.

Where to find the information in your plan:

References to sustainability in the strategy, signs of success, and feasibility test sections of the Project Design

(i.e., the lasting impacts you hope the project will have; capacity-building elements of the design, etc.); also the

budget (key project resources that the community will continue to contribute after initial project implementation).

Resources (What we have; what we need, and why)

This lists what labor, supplies, funding are available locally and how they will be obtained. If other

materials, expertise, or funding are necessary, what amount and why they are not available locally.

Where to find the information in your plan:

Budget, including estimated costs of in-kind contributions from the community.

Session Plans Parts of a Proposal for a Community Project Handout - Page 2 of 3

4

5

6

7
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Other Information

Other information is often included as attachments to the main body of the proposal. Examples include:

• A description of how your group is structured. Groups that come together to for a charitable

purpose and have five or more people and some type of governing body are more likely to

get funded.

• A list of the board of directors or those responsible for your organization.

• A letter from the board chairman or volunteer leader of your group that approves your

application for funding.

• Letters from groups that are working together with you on the project, specifically how you

will work together.

8

Session Plans Parts of a Proposal for a Community Project Handout - Page 3 of 3
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Guide to Writing Capacity-Oriented Proposals

Capacity-based project proposals...

Clearly identify the skills, abilities, capacities and assets which local residents will contribute

to the proposal. How will local residents’ capacities be used to address the issues identified?

Have you developed an inventory of the capacities and skills of the local residents to help

guide this process? Express how you will discover and use the gifts and abilities of those people in

your community who have been marginalized and overlooked because of labels such as disadvantaged,

uneducated, unemployed, underclass, elderly, developmentally disabled, ex-offender, physically

disabled, mentally disabled, mentally ill, etc.

Clearly identify the capacities of your community’s citizens associations and indicate how

they will be involved in both governance and problem-solving in your proposal. Donors are

interested in the involvement of groups such as church groups, organizations of the elderly,

organizations of men and women, ethnic associations, health groups, self-help groups, outdoor

organizations, school groups, political organizations, youth groups, etc.

Indicate how the proposal will mobilize, utilize, enhance or expand these local capacities.

How will local citizens and groups be stronger at the end of the proposal? How will they be better able

to develop local assets?

Contribute to building the local economy, for example, employing community residents,

enhancing local purchasing, capturing public budgets for local use, etc.

Show evidence of significant investments and resources and time by local residents and

organizations before the funding is initiated. Donors are particularly interested in projects which

local residents design, carry out, and control themselves.

Session Plans Guide to Writing Capacity-Oriented Proposals Handout - Page 3 of 3

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2

3

4

5
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Session Plan

Session 14

Funding Sources:

Looking Inside and

Outside the Community

Rationale

As noted in the earlier session on community assets and deficits, an

assets-based development approach promotes the idea of starting with

what people have and can do, not with what is missing. That aim not

only helps us frame our proposed community projects, but should

also guide our funding efforts. In a strength-based development

approach, we want to value, mobilize and use local resources first before

looking for outside support. Initial funding questions to address with

community planners include: what human, material, and monetary

resources can the community contribute to this project? How can we

use our skills and energy to raise some of the monetary funds needed

or generate in-kind materials and services for the project? How can

we build our own capacity to generate funds and make our project

work more sustainable? Once these questions are answered, there may

still be a legitimate need for outside funding assistance, and Volunteers

and Counterparts can be helpful by connecting their communities

with appropriate funding sources.

The focus of this session, then, is on expanding participants’ ideas of

how needed resources might be solicited or earned within the

community. An optional part of the session is to look at outside

funding sources, including the Small Project Assistance fund, as

necessary and appropriate to the country and participants.

Objectives

By the end of the session participants will be able to:

1. Identify multiple ways to build and use local resources for funding

community-based projects.

2. (Optional) Explore sources of outside funding.
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Time

1 hour to 1 hour, 30 minutes, depending on options chosen

Materials

• Table tents for panelists’ names.

• Handouts as suggested by panelists or funding organizations.

Preparation

1. The preparation for this session depends on the funding focus

for your particular PDM workshop. If the workshop goal is

finding local funding and other resources to carry out projects,

then it may be possible to develop a panel from the participants

themselves. Ask participants to identify their expertise in this area

by signing up on a flipchart on the first day of the workshop.

This will give you an idea of the diversity and degree of experience

among participants. Also, consider inviting other Volunteers and/

or host country nationals with particular success in local resource

development, such as fund-raising activities (bazaars, plays or

concerts, raffles, sporting events, fees), in-kind materials or

services acquisition (work ‘unions’, matching funds, donations

of expertise or funds, loans), and so on. If, on the other hand,

outside funding (proposal writing, solicitation letters, etc.) is the

primary focus, then you and the workshop sponsors may need

to put significant effort into finding resource people to form a

panel for discussing funding sources and explaining different

proposal formats and procedures.

2. When organizing a panel, be sure to brief the panelists beforehand.

Clarify the topics you want them to address and the amount of

time they have for their brief presentations. Try to limit the size

of the panel to four or five people. With more than five people,

you run the risk of having too much talk from the panelists and

not enough exchange between the panel and the participants.

Procedure

STEP I. Introduction to Session Themes

(5 minutes)

Introduce the session by reiterating the objectives and the priority

focus of local or outside funding.
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STEP II. Local Resource Panel and Post-Panel

Discussion

(55 minutes)

A. Introduce the panel and explain the format. Have each panelist

speak for about 5 to 7 minutes on the topic for which they were

selected, for a total of 35 minutes, maximum. Then take questions

from the participants.

Trainer Note: It is important to have variety among the panel members,

both in terms of funding experience and degree of success. Brief the

panelists ahead of time to ensure that each person shares something new

and expands or enhances the topic.

B. Thank and excuse the members of the panel. Have a short plenary

discussion using the following questions:

1. Did the panel presentations spark new ideas you had not

considered? What are some examples?

2. What are the advantages to the community group finding ways

to locate or earn their own resources rather than seeking

outside assistance?

3. Would a panel like the one we had be a useful learning

experience for your community group when they are designing

their project? Why or why not?

STEP III. Outside Funding – Optional Activities

(30–45 minutes)

Trainer Note: In the context of these activities, the term funding sources

refers to not only donors of monetary funding, but also organizations and

agencies that offer other types of contributions. For example, a computer

company may contribute several computer units to a secondary school.

Option A: Information Pooling

(30 minutes)

Have Volunteers and Counterparts meet by agency or organization

groups, that is, all of those working for the Ministry of Social

Development meet in one group, all of those working for such-andsuch nongovernmental organization meet together, and so on. Have

each group develop a list on a flipchart of funding sources they know

about and/or have access to. Have the groups share their lists with

each other and discuss them.
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Option B: Panel Discussion

(45 minutes)

Provide a panel of representatives from funding sources, or persons

knowledgeable about outside funding sources. Introduce and moderate the panel. Make available supplemental materials, such as

requirements for funding and proposal formats for each funding

source, a list of names and addresses of funding sources, and so on.

Trainer Note: Potential panelists for an outside funding focus might include

a SPA fund coordinator, a development officer from a private voluntary

organization, a local business executive, or a representative from one or more

of the following: an Embassy, a United Nations organization, a development

donor, or a local foundation.

STEP IV. Summary Discussion on Funding/

Resource Development

(15 minutes)

Bring closure to the session by asking participants to consider the

following:

1. What are the benefits to the community of different types of

funding? What are the drawbacks? (For example, a member of

the community might not be able to access certain outside funds.)

2. There often are issues around funds and money. What ideas do

you have for making sure any project funds are being used

correctly and that the community is aware of that? (Ideas might

include having more than one person responsible for the funds,

bank accounts that require two signatures, periodic reporting on

how funds are being spent, a large wall chart that shows how

funds are spent, and so on.)

3. In what ways can you ensure that the community itself is learning

about this aspect of project design and management? (How can

individuals be involved?)

4. What are some key points about resource development or fundraising you want to take back to your community?
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Session Plan

Session 15

Next Steps:

Taking It Home

to the Community

Rationale

As with all intensive skill-building workshops, participants need an

opportunity to think practically about how they will apply what they

have learned in the workshop to their real situations back home. At

this point in the training, the burning question becomes: Where do

we start? By planning next steps, participants help themselves successfully bridge from the relative safety and support of the workshop

setting to the more ambiguous and complex landscape of their

communities. The application plan also promotes further strengthening of the partnership between Volunteer and Counterpart by asking

them to share and clarify expectations they have of one another as

they move in tandem toward home.

In addition to next steps planning, this session also focuses on network

building, encouraging participants to look at the skills and assets

available among all participants in the group and to begin thinking of

ways to offer and receive support from one another.

Objectives

By the end of the session participants will be able to:

1. In project teams, identify and agree on specific tasks or steps to

take in order to apply new planning skills and knowledge to the

community back home.

2. Reinforce and further develop the network or support that each

participant has been building throughout the workshop.
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Time

1 hour, 15 minutes

Materials

• Project Plans completed by teams during the workshop

• Handouts:

– Next Steps Plan

– Network Contract

Preparation

Read over the Next Steps Plan and Network Contract, and amend them

as appropriate to suit the needs of your group. For your information,

we have purposefully avoided using the term action plan in this session

outline because participants may confuse it with the action planning

components (tasks, roles, and timeline) of their practice project.

Procedure

STEP I. Introducing Next Steps Plan

(5 minutes)

Open the session by asking participants to imagine they are now back

home in their communities and eager to begin applying the planning

skills they have acquired or enhanced during this workshop. Ask three

to four people to share their ideas about the first steps or actions related

to project planning that they want to take once they are back in their

respective communities. Use their remarks along with the points in

the rationale to introduce next steps plan. Refer the group once again

to the graphic diagram of the Community Development Project

Cycle (posted on the wall) and suggest they use it as a rough way of

locating where and how to get started applying their planning tools

and ideas.

STEP II. Next Steps Plan in VolunteerCounterpart Teams

(20-30 minutes)

A. Review the Next Steps worksheet with the group, clarifying the

task instructions as needed. Have Volunteers and Counterparts
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Session Plans

pair together to share expectations and reach agreement on key

actions they want to implement in the first few months back at

site.

B. Once the teams have finished the plans, have them share with

the larger group any insights or concerns they have about getting

started with their communities.

Trainer Note: If you sense that some participants feel over-whelmed

with the notion of introducing a participatory planning process in their

communities, encourage them to take small steps first until they and

the community gain more confidence.

STEP III. Forming a PDM Network

(20-30 minutes)

A. Explain the notion of a PDM network to the group, emphasizing

the wealth of assets represented in the group and the diverse ways

in which participants may support one another’s efforts as

planning facilitators. Ask the group to offer some quick examples

of support they would like to receive from or offer to certain of

their colleagues.

Trainer Note: Examples of support might include providing contacts,

sharing resource materials, collaborating on a community exchange or

field trip, offering monitoring and evaluation or budgeting expertise,

reviewing project plans, and so on.

B. Have participants use the next 20–30 minutes to select and meet

with several colleagues who will act as a support network for

them over the next few months or the year. Ask participants to

discuss with their network partners specific ways in which they

think they could communicate and assist each other and then to

write these ideas down as an informal contract on the worksheet

provided.

Trainer Note: This exercise should involve not just Volunteers and

Counterparts, but all workshop participants, including any Peace Corps

staff and NGO leaders who are in attendance.

During the networking time, the Volunteer-Counterpart teams need

not feel constrained to stay together in pairs. The idea is for people to

feel free to wander around the room approaching a few people for future

support. They may want to form small clusters for some of these

conversations or meet individually.
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STEP IV. Closing Activity—Recipes for Success

(15 minutes)

Close the activity by asking participants to reflect on all they have

learned about the planning process and to consider their sense of

readiness to go back home and get started on or continue their

planning work with their communities. Ask them to create a simple

recipe for success that playfully or poignantly describes what they want

to do back home. Give participants a few minutes to compose their

recipes, then ask two to three participants to share theirs with the

large group. (Do not force people to share against their will.)

Trainer Note: Give participants room to create whatever style recipe they

want and to use however much poetic license they wish! Most people can

relate to the cooking metaphor even if they don’t do much cooking in real life.

Here is an example:

Recipe for Community Bread

Sift together in a beautiful and strong community bowl:

2 cups of highly motivated people

1 cup each of local institutions (church, business, social

club)

1 packet of technical expertise

Slowly add to the dry mixture:

1-2 extra-large committed community leaders

Several locally grown project ideas (chopped small enough

to be manageable)

1-2 cups of rich cultural traditions

1 heaping tablespoon each of luck, tenacity, patience, and

creativity (add more as desired)

Fold in fun until the mixture is firm and no longer sticky.

Knead the mixture with loving hands and allow it to rise

and grow. Bake at 360 degrees of respect. Remove from

oven and admire while it cools a bit, then enjoy!
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Session Plans

Next Steps Plan

1. Based on the work you and partner (Counterpart/Volunteer) have accomplished in the PDM workshop and

what you know about your community’s situation, identify and list the initial actions or tasks you want to

do when you return home.

2. Once you have listed the tasks, write down the assumptions you are making that these tasks can be completed.

3. Discuss and list the expectations you have of your partner during the next few months.

Tasks to be completed: Assumptions:

By the end of 1 month—

Within 3 months—

By the end of 6 months—

Expectations I have of my Counterpart/Volunteer:

Session Plans Next Steps Plan Handout - Page 1 of 1
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Session Plans Network Contract Handout - Page 1 of 1

Network Contract

for _______________________ (you)

with your Network Partners:

Name Best way to contact

_______________________________________________ ______________________________________________

_______________________________________________ ______________________________________________

_______________________________________________ ______________________________________________

_______________________________________________ ______________________________________________

_______________________________________________ ______________________________________________

Commitments to Provide Support:

Who Issue/Type of Support When

________________________________ __________________________________________ _____________

________________________________ __________________________________________ _____________

________________________________ __________________________________________ _____________

________________________________ __________________________________________ _____________

________________________________ __________________________________________ _____________

________________________________ __________________________________________ _____________

________________________________ __________________________________________ _____________

Signatures: _____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

Date: ____________________________________
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Appendices

147

Appendices

Appendix A:

Sample Community

Project Designs

Panaderia “La Flor”

Background information: We are a women’s cooperative in the town

of Las Flores. We started out as a women’s club, doing small projects

in and around the community to benefit our families, especially our

children. After a couple of years, we decided to formalize our organization and become a legitimate cooperative. As such, we have officers,

committees, by-laws, and other components of a cooperative structure.

We currently have a membership of 75 women and a small but stable

revolving fund for projects and miscellaneous activities. We have had

some successes and a few failures with the projects we have undertaken in the past few years. On the whole, we are a motivated group

with much concern about our community’s welfare in these times of

economic instability.

Our Vision

In our vision, we want to enhance our community’s self-reliance so

that we don’t have to depend on so many imported items and so we

have more income to buy the products we can’t produce. In other

words, rather than buying all of our staples and other necessities from

outside vendors, we want to produce them ourselves and supply

others in the community. We also want to create opportunities for

our younger members to earn an income and contribute to their higher

education.
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Our Assets

(Include relevant civic organizations, NGOs, government services, businesses, and individuals.)

Strong women’s co-op with some prior successful business

experience. Results of a capacity inventory show that two of the

co-op founders have fairly strong planning and management

skills; a few other members sell some items from their homes and

have some basic business skills; most of the members have skills

in cooking and baking; some know crochet, and basic sewing.

Several of the co-op members, including the younger women,

are interested and motivated to get involved in projects.

The co-op has one medium-size bread oven.

One co-op member has a sister in the capital with a successful

bakery business, and she is willing to train co-op members in

medium-scale bread making.

Two of the co-op officers own sewing machines they use to

produce articles for home use and limited sale.

Agricultural co-op with members (men) are historically supportive of women’s co-op. Agricultural co-op has safe storage areas

for bulk items like rice, flour, sugar, etc.

Community is compact and transportation by foot, bicycle, and

cart is relatively easy.

The market is held twice weekly and draws in lots of people from

surrounding villages. Co-op has sold products here in the past.

Peace Corps Volunteer has small business planning skills.

Co-op has small fund to offset start-up costs for a modest-sized

project.

A regional NGO offers loans to women to fund micro enterprises.

A nearby factory has approximately 150 workers—potential

customers.

Strategies/Opportunities

The co-op members have done capacity inventories and identify

cooking and baking as strong skills.

Women enjoy the camaraderie of the co-op and like doing joint

projects. Men perceive baking as a traditional role for women and

probably would not feel threatened by this type of project.
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Appendices

Some of the younger co-op members are energetic and want to

get involved in a more substantial project than they previously

have involved themselves.

Two co-op officers have proposed a clothing production project.

They both have sewing machines they are willing to rent to the

co-op for use in a project. Not many other women are interested

in sewing as a joint enterprise, plus vendors are bringing in more

and more clothing items at very low cost. Several women have

expressed doubts about producing garments that would really

sell. Might take a long time to get skills developed to the degree

required.

Bread and other baked goods—considered staple foods—are

popular in the local diet. At current time, community has no

bakery business (burned down three years ago); some people

make bread irregularly at home, others buy baked goods at

considerable mark-up from outside vendors.

Co-op has done an initial feasibility study of a bakery project and

the community seems very interested.

Can apply to a local NGO for small loan to cover a portion of the

costs of materials to build second oven and production area.

Best Strategies

A bakery project. It gives women an opportunity to work together

and provides steady work. People want fresh bread every day or every

other day. Co-op is well positioned to sell bakery goods at the local

market, to the nearby factory, and even sell door-to-door. Young

women are more interested in the bakery idea than sewing. Potential

for spin-off projects so that the participating co-op members could

make extra family income apart from the bakery project.

Goals, Objectives, Signs of Success

Community Project Goal:

By the end of one year, the La Flor Women’s Cooperative will establish

and operate a medium-scale bakery business to provide bread and

baked goods to the local community, sustaining a profit margin of

20% and increasing household income for 12 younger women

members and their families.
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OBJECTIVE SIGNS OF SUCCESS

Objective 1:

By XX month, co-op members will acquire • Two stoves installed adequate to handle average onematerials and build a second bread oven week production volume.

and production area suitable for mediumscale bread production. • Kitchen area adequate in layout and size to comfortably

accommodate bakers.

Objective 2:

By XX month, co-op members will complete • Existence of a business plan that lays out production and

and implement a bakery venture, to include marketing goals for the venture.

establishing a bakery management committee, developing a business plan for produc- • Bakery management committee successfully managing

tion, marketing and financial management, the operations and finances of the venture.

staffing and training 12 younger members

as bakers. • Committee addresses problems in a timely way and

provides information to all members.

• Bookkeeping and accounting practices are transparent

and accountable to all co-op members.

• Women are acquiring skills in baking.

• Both committee members and bakery staff expand their

business skills and confidence in small business management.

Objective 3:

By the end of one year, 12 co-op members • Bakery has increased its production yield.

will generate income for their families from

the production and sale of bread and baked • Bakery has increased volume of goods sold.

goods in the community.

• Bakery is diversifying production, and special orders are

being filled for individuals, community groups, and local

businesses.

• Number of special orders is increasing.

• Household income is increasing.

• Sales are sufficient to sustain a 20% profit over costs.
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Feasibility Test

1. What, beyond your direct control, could cause this project

to fail?

A. The price of grain/flour could increase dramatically due to

unexpected drought or other unusual weather condition.

B. Some people in the agricultural co-op and/or general community could get jealous if the project becomes very successful.

C. Women could feel pressured by influential people (local

government or religious officials, etc.) to give or sell the bread

products at reduced prices.

D. Co-op officers could mismanage funds and profits from the

project.

2. How can you (the community) improve the likelihood that

the project will succeed?

A. We should look at grain storage options/cost in case of shortterm shortages. (Flour market does not seem any more volatile

than other staple grains, e.g., maize, sugar, etc.) We could ask

the agricultural co-op to give/lease us space in their grain

storage areas to store bulk flour safely.

B. Relations between the agricultural co-op and women’s co-op

have been good over the years. Many of the members represent

the same families and, as such, it is in everyone’s interest to

have the bakery project succeed. Still, we may have to look at

ways to “help” the agricultural co-op get involved in a successful venture of its own. We will also need to pay attention to

the reactions in the community and look for ways to continue

to maintain an image of a caring and capable women’s

organization that puts the interests of the community-at-large

first. If the bakery project becomes very successful, we should

guard against losing our sense of civic responsibility.

C. Our business plan will need to consider the norms for occasional “donations” of bakery products to the church or other

local institutions, and specify guidelines accordingly.

D. Co-op has good track record on bookkeeping and accounting

for funds. A careful business plan and clear checks and balances

by project management committee will encourage monitoring

and transparency.
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3. All things considered, do the benefits justify the cost?

A new business venture like this one always carries some risk.

However, we have conducted a preliminary product study and

we think the community will be receptive to and support the

project. The project requires some initial equipment purchase and

construction to which the co-op will contribute both monetary

funds and labor; the remaining funds will be sought from outside

sources. The total cost investment is still relatively modest and

the start-up time is short.

4. Does the community have the capacity to handle and sustain

a project of this type and scope? If no, how can we narrow

the focus to make it manageable and sustainable?

We believe the co-op is ready for a business venture of this type

and scope. The co-op has implemented smaller successful projects

and now the members want to try something larger in scope. This

project has the capacity to build business savvy and confidence

in this group of women and provide a real service to the community-at-large. As time goes by, we can modify our product list as

necessary to accommodate changes in customer demands and

study the feasibility of expanding. If we are able to sustain the

20% profit margin, we should be able to continue running the

bakery, including training new bakers as needed.
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Appendices

Action Plan Worksheet for Project:

Panaderia “La Flor”

Objective 1: By XX month, co-op members will acquire materials and build a second bread oven and production area suitable for medium-scale

bread production

Tasks: What to Do? Roles: Who will do it? Timeline: When will it start and finish?(List in sequence) (Place asterik (*) beside name of (expressed in weeks or months.)

person with primary

responsibility) 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22

Conduct detailed walk-through of proposed Co-op business manager*, Xproduction area; list all needed materials, co-op bakery managementsupplies, and equipment and estimate costs; committee (BMC), PCVcompare list against the original budget.

Mobilize co-op members for collecting local BMC*, co-op members and X X Xmaterials (e.g., sand, bamboo, etc.) their families

Apply for/secure loan from the women’s BMC*, co-op business manager, X Xco-op revolving fund. co-op executive committeeContact local contractors and get bids on BMC*, co-op business manager X Xkitchen construction from at least 3 people. PCV

Review bids, select preferred contractor, BMC*, co-op business manager Xhold negotiations, draft and sign contract. PCVImplement and supervise construction. BMC*, local contractor/workers; X X X

executive committee

Test ovens, stove, refrigerator, and other BMC*, PCV Xequipment; make any necessary repairs.

Purchase and stock kitchen with utensils, BMC*, bakery staff Xbakeware, other tools.Stock kitchen with initial dry and wet BMc*, bakery staff X Xgoods to begin actual production.
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The New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual Action Plan Worksheet for Project: Panaderia “La Flor” Objective 2: By XX month, co-op members will design/implement bakery venture, including establishment of bakery management committee; development of business plan for production, marketing, financial management; staffing and training of co-op members to work in business. Tasks: What to Do? Roles: Who will do it? Timeline: When will it start and finish? (List in sequence) (Place asterik (*) beside name of (expressed in weeks or months.) person with primary responsibility) 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 Hold general meeting with co-op members; Co-op executive committee*, X X get nominations for bakery management co-op members committee (BMC); select and organize the committee. Design and conduct product study in Bakery management committee X X community; determine initial bread products; (BMC)*, PCV, selected co-op calculate production costs; set prices. members Draft business plan for first 9 months of BMC*, co-op business manager, X X X operation, including production schedules, committee, co-op business mgr food stocking/restocking, staffing, financial management systems, loan repayment; submit plan to executive committee for approval.

Get applications for bakery staff; interview BMC*, executive committee, X Xand select staff. candidates for staff positionsTrain staff in baking skills, food management, BMC*, ”master baker’ (sister X X Xproduction area hygiene & maintenenace, sales. of co-op member), PCV, staff

Set up and test financial management system, BMC*, PCV, co-op business X Xincluding sales intake, record-keeping, in-kind manager, bakery staffpayments to staff, etc.; train staff to use.Prepare marketing materials for bakery; pilot BMC, bakery staff and families, X Xtest and distribute to community. PCV

Plan and hold bakery inauguration; start first BMC, bakery staff, co-op X > > >bread production. members and families,

community
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Action Plan Worksheet for Project:

Panaderia “La Flor”

Objective 3: By the end of the year, 12 co-op members, including five youth, will generate income for their families by working in the bakery project

and spin-off activities (e.g., filling special orders for individuals, groups, or businesses in the community)

Tasks: What to Do? Roles: Who will do it? Timeline: When will it start and finish?(List in sequence) (Place asterik (*) beside name of (expressed in weeks or months.)

person with primary

responsibility) 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46

Conduct brief interviews with customers of Bakery staff*, BMC X X Xthe bakery to determine interest in otherproducts/services.

Hold meeting to identify, select, and plan BMC*, bakery staff, PCV Xspin-off activities.

Organize and conduct training in speciality BMC*, master baker, bakery staff X Xbaking (cake design/decorating, pastries, etc.)and catering for the bakery staff.Prepare business plan addendum for managing BMC*, PCV, bakery staff, X Xspin-off activities separately from the general executive committeebakery management plan. Get approval fromexecutive committee.

Prepare/distribute marketing materials Bakery staff*, BMC X X > >announcing spin-off products; make marketingvisits to local factory and other potential clients.

Establish production schedule for initial Bakery staff*, BMC X > > >spin-off orders; begin filling orders.

Determine and distribute earnings to staff. BMC*, bakery staff X > > >equipment; make any necessary repairs.
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Community Project Monitoring Checklist

Panaderia “La Flor”

What to Monitor? Things and Places How? Who Does It? When?

to Check?

Acquisition of basic • Price estimates • Observation • Business Manage- • Daily

assets (including • Bills of lading • Review of books ment Committee • Weekly

materials, equipment, • Building plans for kitchen and ledgers (BMC)

and infrastructure) • Progress of construction • Project participants

Management (design • Formation of BMC • Observation • Project participants • Weekly

of business plan) • Existence of plan • Meetings • PCV • Quarterly

• Existence of staffing plan • Review of plan

• Production and marketing • Interviews

targets

Training and education • Existence of technical • Observation • BMC • Monthly

training courses • Training attendance • Project participants • Quarterly

• Participation in courses records • PCV

• Skills acquired (bakery, • Interviews

small business manage- • Number of benefiment) ciaries applying

new skills

Financial management • Books/ledgers • Observation • BMC • Daily

(budget) • Bank accounts • Budget review • Project participants • Weekly

• Compare targets to actual • Books and ledgers • PVC • Monthly

expenses

• Reports and information

sharing with members

Interest and motivation • Attendance at meetings • Observation • BMC • Weekly

• Maintenance of work • Minutes of meetings • Project participants • Monthly

schedules • Interviews

• Quality work performance • Job reviews

Roles and • New roles and functions • Observation • Project participants • Quarterly

responsibilities assumed • Interviews • PCV

• Beneficiary perception of • Testimonies

self and of co-op • Information posted

• Emergence of leaders within co-op for

• Participation in meetings easy access and

• Participatory decision- communication

making • Minutes of meetings

Capacity to manage • Production yields • Daily logs • BMC • Daily

human, financial, and • Marketing volume • Orders filled • Project participants • Weekly

material resources • Special orders generated • Reports • PCV • Monthly

and filled

• Jobs generated and maintained

Income-generation • Revenue • Books & ledgers • BMC • Monthly

• Profit margin • Daily logs • Project participants • Quarterly

• Use of income within • Observation • PCV • Year-end

family
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Community Project Evaluation Plan

Key Questions Quantitative– Sources of Information Methods to Collect Who Participates/When

Qualitative Information

Information

(What do you want to know?) (What type of inform- (Where can you find (How will you collect (Who will collect and analyze

ation do you need?) the information?) the information?) the information? When?)

Were the goals and objectives achieved? Both quantitative and • BMC • Group meetings • BMC(Are women members of co-op able to qualitative • Project participants • Interviews • Project participantsproduce and market bread and other • PCV • Document review • PCVbaked goods, manage their business, • Project reports • Volunteer reports (Collected twice each year)and generate a profit?) • Financial reports

• Type and variety of products

produced

How has the group been affected by the Mostly qualitative • BMC • Meetings with group leaders • BMCproject? (What can the women do better • Project participants • Meetings with group participants • Project participantsnow than before? What skills have been • PCV • Individual interviews • PCVtransferred to the women? How are they • Observation of production • APCDapplying these new skills? process (Collected at end of project)

• Volunteer reports

How has the group changed as a result of Qualitative • Project participants • Meetings with group leaders • BMCthe project? (Has the project strengthened • PCV • Meetings with group participants • Project participantsthe organization, in terms of participatory • Community members • Individual interviews • PCVdecisionmaking, strategic planning, man- • Information (ex.: minutes of • Observation (Collected at end of project0agement, transparency and accountability?) meetings) posted within co-op • Volunteer reports

How has the community been affected Mostly qualitative • Community leaders and • Meetings and/or interviews with • Project participantsby the project? (Were any new linkages members community leaders and members • Community leadersmade between the co-op and other • Representatives of other • Observation (Collected twice yearly, perhapscommunity organizations?) community groups around a commonly-held

• Project participants community event)

What existing resources or assets were Quantitative • Project participants • Document review (financial) • BMCused by the co-op? What additional • Other community members • Physical inventory • Project participantsresources were mobilized? • Books/ledgers (Collected at end of project)

(continued on page 158)
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The New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual Community Project Evaluation Plan (continued) Key Questions Quantitative– Sources of Information Methods to Collect Who Participates/When Qualitative Information Information (What do you want to know?) (What type of inform- (Where can you find (How will you collect (Who will collect and analyze ation do you need?) the information?) the information?) the information? When?) Is the project sustainable? (Is income Both quantitative and • BMC • Financial document review • BMC sufficient to cover costs, including qualitative • Project participants • Interviews with project • Project participants salaries of women?) participants (Collected twice each year and at • Interviews with community end of project) members (clients) Were there any unanticipated outcomes Mostly qualitative • Project participants • Interviews with project • BMC from the project? • Community members participants • Project participants • PCV • Volunteer reports • Community members • PCV (Collected at end of project) What lessons were learned that could be Mostly qualitative • Project participants • Interviews with project • BMC shared with others? • Community members participants • Project participants • PCV • Interviews with community • PCV members (Collected at end of project0 • Volunteer reports
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Environmental Awareness of Phu

Wua Forest Sanctuary

Background information: We are a joint group of concerned community members composed of staff of the Phu Wua Wildlife Park

Sanctuary and leaders in the local educational system. The Phu Wau

Sanctuary is a designated national forest park preserve that gives home

to a broad diversity of flora and fauna. The forest is part of our

economic, environmental, and cultural world and we are concerned

about the cutting and poaching practiced by some people who live in

and around the sanctuary borders.

Our Vision

In our vision, we want to be a community that values and actively

contributes to the preservation of the local forests, not only for the

sake of the wildlife, but for our own long-term prosperity as well. We

want our young people to have a solid awareness of these natural

resources and view them as critical to the future of the region. In our

view of the future, we see our youth engaged in preservation/conservation activities and having a positive influence on their siblings

and parents alike.

Appendix A:

Sample Community

Project Designs (cont.)
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Our Assets

The Park Sanctuary itself—one of this country’s most ecologically

diverse and beautiful resources. Besides the forest land, park has

nice meeting areas that could support educational programs and

attract visitors.

Pho Wau Park staff – the director and key program staff are very

interested and want to get involved in community outreach.

Interested teachers and directors from those schools in the buffer

areas around the sanctuary.

Local staff of Plan International (working in environmental

management and small business sectors with villages in the buffer

zones).

Local representative from the Nature Conservancy (has relationship with the sanctuary and can help with the environmental

education curriculum).

Nature Conservancy also has some funding available for environmental awareness programs targeting youth.

Traditional resource “users” such as honey collectors, hunters,

herbalists/traditional healers, rattan/spice gatherers, etc. (They

have a stake in the forest, too!)

Strategies/Opportunities

We can target the young people and the local educators through

environmental awareness camps to develop their understanding

of and appreciation for the forest sanctuary. We can also give them

opportunities to work on conservation projects so they feel a sense

of connection with the sanctuary. Perhaps a few students should

be targeted for peer leadership roles.

We could try to get dialogues underway with some of the local

NGOs and PVOs who work on income-generation projects is this

region to explore income-supplementation options for the part

of the local population currently engaging in poaching and cutting

activities. PLAN International is already doing some work in this

area.

We could make a nature trail in a section of the preserve. The trail

could highlight medicinal products and other benefits of the forest

and could become an on-going project for the camps. Local school

children and others might be interested in visiting the trail.
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Local villagers have significant informal knowledge and many

legends about the forests and animals that they pass down from

generation to generation. We could draw on these cultural connections between people and forest to raise greater awareness about

the complexity and fragility of the forests.

The park staff are committed to their work as forest preservers

and see their secondary role as that of environmental educator

and/or community liaison. The sanctuary director wants the community to view the sanctuary as part of the local community,

rather than an isolated preservation area. He seems receptive to

the idea holding environmental awareness camps at the preserve.

Several schools teachers are very excited about the idea of building

an environmental education curriculum for implementation in

the schools. We could capitalize on the teachers’ motivations by

giving them training and on-going support so they maintain a

focus on the environment in their lessons and practical activities.

Best Strategies

Sanctuary staff and local teachers partner to implement environmental awareness camps with local school children. Camps would

draw on/involve local resource users (herbalists, honey and spice

gatherers, etc.).

Teachers develop follow-on environmental awareness program

with hands-on conservation projects as part of school curriculum.

Part of program is leadership development targeting a few highly

motivated students.
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Goals, Objectives, Signs of Success

Community Project Goal 1:

By the end of a one-year project, park sanctuary staff and local teachers will form a partnership to link the park

and school communities together, and engage youth in environmental educational activities (e.g., camps and

school-based conservation projects) that support the park’s mission.

OBJECTIVE SIGNS OF SUCCESS

Objective 1:

By XX month, the park educational • Park staff take leadership role in the project and make EE

coordinator and PCV will train three park a priority in their work plans.

staff in environmental awareness (EA) and

environmental education (EE) methodologies • Staff apply their enhanced EE and project design skills

that are appropriate to the park’s conserva- toward effectively training and building a partnership

tion activities and compatible with the local with local teachers.

school curricula.

• Staff give technical support to teachers.

Objective 2:

By XX month, the three park EA staff will • Teachers incorporate environmental education into their

design and conduct an EA teacher’s camp curricula and promote the environmental awareness

to train nine local teachers from three buffer camps to their student and colleagues.

schools to develop their knowledge of

environmental education, become familiar • Teachers design and implement beneficial conservation

with the sanctuary, and build skills in activities with their students.

teaching methodology and conservation

project design. • Students show sustained interest in the conservation

projects.

Objective 3:

The three park EA staff and nine participat- • Park staff and teachers meet regularly and share responsiing teachers will form themselves into EA bilities in planning and conducting the camps and other

teams and make a strategic plan for collabo- EA activities.

rating on youth camps and other youthfocused conservation activities. (Each EA • Teams implement at least three viable conservation

team has one park staff and three teachers; projects per year at each participating school.

three teams total.)

• Park EA staff provide technical support to teachers and

teachers reciprocate by helping park staff develop their

educational programs and signage.
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Community Project Goal 2:

By the end of two years, students and teachers in 3 local high schools will understand the importance of forest

and wildlife conservation and will personally contribute to the protection of the park sanctuary by conducting

effective conservation projects.

OBJECTIVE SIGNS OF SUCCESS

Objective 1:

By XX month, the EA teams will design and • At least 75% of the students and their teachers demonconduct a series of two-day environmental strate an enhanced awareness of the forests and their

awareness camps for 200 local students, importance as natural resources (measured through preages 6-18. The camps will involve several and post-tests and observation).

of the local traditional “users” of the park

sanctuary. • Camp activities engage the students—camps become

popular and other schools ask to attend.

• At least three to four traditional users of the park lead or

participate in camp activities.

Objective 2:

By XX month, six upper-level students (two • The six leaders participate fully in the camp activities,

per school) will be trained in leadership modeling good environmental awareness in front of

skills and serve as student leaders at the their peers.

environmental awareness camps and on

the school-based conservation projects; the • They coordinate small conservation projects at their

student leaders will join the EA Teams as schools and voluntarily assist the teachers in promoting

active members. and implementing an environmental education focus.

• They voluntarily visit/spend time at the sanctuary to

learn more.

• They promote the sanctuary’s mission to other students

and to their families.

Objective 3:

150 students (i.e., 75 % of the camp partici- • At least 75% of the students who attended camp will get

pants) will carry out conservation projects actively involved in conservation activities and consider

that help to protect the park sanctuary. themselves “supporters” of the sanctuary.

• At least 30% of the students will promote positive

conservation practices at home with their families.
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Feasibility Test

1. What, beyond your direct control, could cause this project

to fail?

A. There could be a sudden and devastating influx of agricultural

colonists who clear land adjacent to the Park, jeopardizing its

very survival.

B. The government could withdraw some of its financial support

for the established wildlife parks and sanctuaries, triggering

reduction in sanctuary staff.

C. The park director or school directors could be reassigned;

replacements may not be as keen on the EE project.

D. Some students will have family members who are currently

hunting wildlife or cutting trees in the sanctuary. While these

acts are illegal, they are tolerated to some degree by the local

authorities. These students could feel threatened by the project.

Our project is not offering these people any income generation

alternatives.

2. How can you (the community) improve the likelihood that

the project will succeed?

A. We can continue our lobbying efforts (along with the Nature

Conservancy and others ) against new colonization and clearcutting. (But if this started happening, we would need to plan

a different project focused more on the park land designation.)

B. If the park director determined that he could only afford to

assign two or possibly even one staff member, we could scale

the project back some and focus on only two schools the first

year.

C. Getting the project off to a strong start is one way to address

upper echelon changes; it is harder for a newly appointed boss

to cancel a popular project. Another approach is to help the

new boss see how our project will serve the purposes of one

or more goals on his agenda (e.g., linking the Park more closely

to the community).

D. 1. The park staff and teachers will have to be sensitive toward

the community and current practices. Perhaps we can identify examples of other communities which have benefited

in positive ways from their proximity and association with

a nature preserve, and organize a visit to share experiences

and concerns.
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Appendices

D. 2. Helping families find alternative sources of meat and fuelwood is not a direct goal of this project, but we will do our

best to support this through our partnerships with PLAN

International and other organizations working in the

economic development sector.

3. All things considered, do the benefits justify the costs?

This project has the potential to impact a high number of people

in even its first year and the potential to grow into a popular curriculum. We are not aware of any other programs that are directly

targeting youth as key players in local conservation efforts. The

project includes capacity building for three distinct groups of

people: sanctuary staff, teachers, and student leaders. It brings

the park staff and local educators together in a partnership for

mutual benefit. It also involves and values the traditional users

of the forest (herbalists, spice gathers, etc.); these people often

get overlooked as resources.

We have diverse funding sources for the tangible costs (e.g., food

and lodging at the camp, transportation, books and materials,

and miscellaneous costs for conservation projects) and we are

acutely aware of the need to use low-cost, environmentally

friendly supplies.

Yes, we think the benefits will justify the costs.

4. Does the community have the capacity to handle and sustain

a project of this type and scope? If no, how can we narrow

the focus to make it manageable and sustainable?

By involving only three schools, we believe we are starting out

conservatively. Once we have designed and begun implementing

the camp, and conducted an initial leadership workshop, then

we may need or want to expand the program to include a few

more schools who have already expressed strong interest. Since

this area draws a number of tourists, we might explore the

feasibility of offering guided hikes along a nature trail. We could

charge a modest fee for the tour to anyone from outside the local

area, and the funds could be used to offset some of the on-going

project costs.
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The New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual Action Plan Worksheet for Project: Environmental Awareness of Phu Wua Forest Sanctuary (Goal One) Objective 1: By XX month, Park Educational Coordinator and PCV will train three park staff in environmental awarenss (EA) and environmental education (EE) methodologies that are appropriate to the park’s conservation activities and compatible with the local school curricula. Tasks: What to Do? Roles: Who will do it? Timeline: When will it start and finish? (List in sequence) (Place asterik (*) beside name of (expressed in weeks or months.) person with primary responsibility) 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 Meet with park director to review project plan, Park EA coordinator*, PCV X set TOT dates, get necessary permissions and solicit support Recruit and select park staff to participate in Park EA coordinator*, X X TOT and project. Park director, PCV Plan and prepare materials for TOT; order PCV*, Park EA coordinator X X curriculum materials from PC/W, WWF and Park director (approve agenda) Nature Conservancy; invite reps from local conservation NGOs/PVOs to assist in TOT.

Make logistical arrangements for TOT. Park EA coordinator*, X X X

Park administrative assistant

Conduct TOT with three selected staff members Park EA coordinator*, PCV*, X

three Park EA staff, Park director,reps from local EA NGOs.

Plan/hold initial meetings with school Park EA coordinator*, Park EA Xdirectors to explain project, solicit support, staff, school directorsand outline teachers’ roles. (three local schools)

Plan/hold meeting with interested teachers Park EA staff*, Park EA Xto present project, clarify roles, invite coordinator, school directors,applications teachers
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Appendices

Action Plan Worksheet for Project:

Environmental Awareness of Phu Wua Forest Sanctuary

(Goal One)Objective 2: By XX month, three park EA staff will design and conduct an “EA teacher’s camp” to train nine local teachers from three buffer schools

to develop their knowledge of environmental education, become familiar with the sanctuary, and build skills in teaching methodologyand conservation project design.

Tasks: What to Do? Roles: Who will do it? Timeline: When will it start and finish?(List in sequence) (Place asterik (*) beside name of (expressed in weeks or months.)

person with primary

responsibility) 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22

Recruit/interview/select teachers who will Park EA coordinator*, Park EA Xparticipate in project (three per school). staff, school directors*, PCV,

teacher candidates

Hold meeting with selected teachers, school Park education coordinator*, Xdirectors, and EA team to select dates for EA Park EA staff*, school directors,teachers camp, do capacity inventories and selected teachersget teachers inputs into camp agenda.

Review EA curriculum materials collected Park education coordinator, PCV*, X Xfrom various sources; select preferred Park EA staff, Park/schoolmaterials; get approval from park/school directorsdirectors.

Plan EA teachers’ camp agenda; prepare all Park EA staff*, PCV, Park EA Xparticipant materials; invite/schedule guest coordinatortrainers from other local conservation groups.

Make logistical arrangements for camp, Park EA coordinator*, Park EA X X Xincluding facility preparation, lunches, and staff, Park administratorlocal transportation to/from town and withinpark.

Conduct one-week teachers camp including EA Park EA staff*, Park EA Xteaching methodology; familiarization with coordinator, PCV, teachers,park preserve, role of teachers in project. Park/school directors, local EANGO reps
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The New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual Action Plan Worksheet for Project: Environmental Awareness of Phu Wua Forest Sanctuary (Goal One) Objective 3: Park staff and teachers will form EA Teams; make strategic plan for collaborating on youth cmaps and other conservation activities. Tasks: What to Do? Roles: Who will do it? Timeline: When will it start and finish? (List in sequence) (Place asterik (*) beside name of (expressed in weeks or months.) person with primary responsibility) 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 Hold initial meeting to form EA teams, clarify Park EA coordinator*, PCV*, X roles and responsibilities of team members, Park EA staff, Park director, and make strategic plan. selected teachers Apply for small grant from conservation NGO Park EA coordinator*, EA teams X X X to fund purchase of EA resource materials; research available materials; make purchase. Develop EA lesson plans and materials for use EA Teams*, PCV, Park EA X X X X >> by teams at school or park; pilot test and coordinator modify as necessary.

Dialogue and coordinate some activities with Park EA coordinator*, X X >> other local conservation NGOs. Park Teams, PCVHold monthly meetings to share successes EA Teams, Park EA coordinator X X >>and challenges with other teams.
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Appendices

Action Plan Worksheet for Project:

Environmental Awareness of Phu Wua Forest Sanctuary

(Goal Two)Objective 1: By XX month, the EA Teams will design and conduct a series of two-day environmental awareness camps for 200 local students, ages

6–18. The camps will involve several of the local traditionalk “users” of the park sanctuary.

Tasks: What to Do? Roles: Who will do it? Timeline: When will it start and finish?(List in sequence) (Place asterik (*) beside name of (expressed in weeks or months.)

person with primary

responsibility) 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36

Establish schedule for EA youth camps. Park EA coordinator*, EA teams, X

PCV, school and park directors

Hold initial planning meeting to draft agenda Park EA coordinator*, EA teams, Xand select materials for youth camp. PCVGet agenda review/approvals from park/school Park EA coordinator*, EA teams Xdirectors; get review/feedback fromconservation NGO/PVO local reps.

Develop detailed camp curriculum/materials EA teams*, PCV, X

(student leaders for input)

Recruit/select students and teachers for first EA teams*, student leaders, X Xcamp; get approvals from parents. students, (parents for approval)Identify and prepare traditional forest users Park EA coordinator X Xfor participating in camp.

Make logistical arrangements for first camp, Park EA coordinator*, EA teams, X X Xincluding facilities, transportation, and meals. Park administratorConduct pre-camp team-building and Park EA coordinator*, PCV*, Xpractice with camp staff. EA teams, student leaders

Implement EA Camp 1, 2, etc. EA teams*, student leaders, X X X X X

students from three local schools
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The New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual Action Plan Worksheet for Project: Environmental Awareness of Phu Wua Forest Sanctuary (Goal Two) Objective 2: By XX month, six upper-level students (two per school) will be trained in leadership skills and serve as student leaders at the environmental awarenss camps and on the school-based conservation projects; the student leaders will joint the EA teams as active members. Tasks: What to Do? Roles: Who will do it? Timeline: When will it start and finish? (List in sequence) (Place asterik (*) beside name of (expressed in weeks or months.) person with primary responsibility) 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 Nominate and select student leaders. EA teams*, student leaders X candidates (approval from parents) Design leadership training sessions for PCV*, EA teams, Park EA X X student leaders (after school). coordinator Make logistical arrangements for leadership EA teams*, school administrator X X sessions. Conduct leadership skills training with EA teams*, PCV, Park EA X

student leaders. coordinator, student leaders

Participate in leader capacity at EA camp 1. Student leaders, EA teams X

supervisors

Schedule leaders for other camps. EA teams, student leaders, X

(approval from parents)
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Appendices

Action Plan Worksheet for Project:

Environmental Awareness of Phu Wua Forest Sanctuary

(Goal Two)Objective 3: 150 students will carry out conservation projects that help to protect the park sanctuary.

Tasks: What to Do? Roles: Who will do it? Timeline: When will it start and finish?(List in sequence) (Place asterik (*) beside name of (expressed in weeks or months.)

person with primary

responsibility) 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36

From strategic plan, select first conservation EA team*, student leaders Xproject (one project per EA team/school).

Prepare workplan for project and draft budget. EA team XPresent and get approval for Project 1 from EA team*, school director, Xschool director and park EA coordinator Park EA coordinator

Recruit students to work on project; EA team*, student leaders*, X Xget approval from parents as needed. student candidates,

(approval from parents)

Plan logistics to support the project EA team*, student leaders X X(obtain materials, tools, other items).Implement and supervise Project 1. EA team*, student leaders, X

students
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Appendices

Appendix B:

Working with

an Interpreter

Overview

The need for an effective partnership with an interpreter is crucial.

The interpreter’s English language skills (both speaking and listening)

and confidence in front of groups may affect the approach and pace

of the session.

Keep these concepts in mind when working in a multilingual setting:

• Different languages express the same idea in different ways,

seldom through word-for-word equivalents. A translation may

be briefer or longer, more detailed or more ambiguous than the

original. The translation of one work into another language may

carry with it an entirely different range of meanings.

• Words and concepts in one language may not exist in another.

• Even when capable of understanding what you say in English,

foreign listeners will usually pay attention only to the translation.

• Who the interpreter is, not only as an individual, but what he or

she may represent (e.g., social status, age, or political faction) can

affect participants’ attitudes during the session.

Work cooperatively with the interpreter, encouraging him or her to

communicate openly with you (ask questions, seek clarification). Be

sure that the roles and responsibilities are clear. For example, should

the interpreter be responding directly to a participant’s question or

translating it for you to answer? This should be clarified. Here are

additional tips for working effectively with interpreters before and

during the session.
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Before the Session

• Meet with the interpreter to plan the session.

• Identify main points of the presentation and discuss how to emphasize them.

• Give the interpreter a copy of the session plan or handouts and

allow time for a thorough study of them.

• Decided on the most effective sequence of topics and activities.

• Be sure that the interpreter understands not only the content,

but also how you plan to present it.

• Ask the interpreter to help identify potential trouble spots (e.g.,

points of cross-cultural misunderstanding, controversial issues,

or unfamiliar topics).

• Give the interpreter any visuals or handouts you need to have

translated. Be clear about how you want any written information

to be presented, in handouts or poster. Give samples, if possible.

During the Session

• Speak slowly and clearly and allow for translation after saying

one or two sentences.

• Be patient and focus on the interpreter when he or she is translating.

• Avoid difficult vocabulary, complex sentence structure, and

idiomatic expressions like “in the ballpark” and “out of the

question.”

• Use visual clues, repeat important points, and emphasize key

words.

• Look at participants for non-verbal cues indicating a lack of

understanding.