Everyone in the community knows who is nice and who is nasty and people in rural villages have long since decided how to deal with the mean ones. If this happens, materials meant for the whole village will be sequestered away or the con-artist will use the project as a method of personal leverage against others in the village. Projects work best when the material benefits expected address basic issues, such as more food, better health, and interesting things to do - things nice people are interested in promoting. Information programs work when they address the information needs of the community. The successes of participatory programs are greatest when they focus on environmental assessment and monitoring that addresses information needs of communities as well as those of scientific or technical experts.
Information gathering is more efficient and effective when directly linked with a community vision .
The measurements should show if the community's goals are actually being reached. A practical and attainable vision works, even if the goals don't seem very earth shaking. On the other hand the vision should not be trivial either. People caught up in the process of researching something of interest to their own lives quickly learn the critical issues and become real advocates for environmental sustainability. Research is a process of learning.