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Time to Listen: A Discussion Guide
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Abstract
Time to Listen: A Discussion Guide was developed to stimulate discussion and reflection among practitioners working in international, national and local aid organizations, governments and donors. For those already familiar with Time to Listen, this guide serves as a useful review and as a means to introduce colleagues and partners to the voices and ideas presented in the book on how to improve the effectiveness of international aid efforts. For readers with no prior exposure to the Listening Project or Time to Listen, the Discussion Guide aims to spark an interest in and a desire to further explore the findings of the Listening Project and the implications for their work.
The format of the guide closely follows the structure of Time to Listen, briefly summarizing each chapter and presenting the reader with a series of thought-provoking discussion questions. These questions are intentionally open-ended, allowing users to tailor the discussion to fit their organizational needs. For practitioners, the questions can be used to encourage reflection on their personal approaches and practices. Supervisors can use the questions to encourage reflection and inspire changes among their team members. The questions can also be used in a class setting, allowing educators and students to discuss the implications for future policies and practices.
How to Trigger for Handwashing with Soap
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Abstract
Handwashing is a vital part of good sanitation and hygiene. When Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) and its aim of ODF (open defecation free) communities are fully understood and put into practice it is clear that handwashing is implicit in the approach. Without addressing handwashing and other hygiene practices, communities can never become fully ODF since CLTS aims to cut all faecal-oral contamination routes. However, in practice, the degree to which handwashing is integrated into triggering and follow up, depends on the quality of facilitation. This guide, developed in Malawi, addresses the need for specific tools that help to incorporate handwashing into CLTS.
Advocating for Evaluation: a toolkit to develop advocacy strategies to strengthen an enabling environment for evaluation
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Abstract
This toolkit contains guidance and tools on how to plan, design, implement, monitor and evaluate advocacy strategies to promote national evaluation policies and systems that are equity-focused and gender-responsive. It aims to help users understand the role of advocacy in increasing demand for evaluation, and develop operational strategies to promote demand for evaluation services.
PADev Guidebook
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Abstract
PADev is an innovative toolbox of tools and methods that have been designed to get a bottom-up assessment of development and change in a particular area over a period of time based on the value systems of the population. PADev is thus a holistic and participatory approach to development assessment. It differs from conventional assessment methods which tend to focus on a single agency/project/programme with an expert-driven approach to evaluation. Instead, PADev assesses a wide range of changes, projects and agencies and may look back over 20-30 years. As an alternative approach to conventional assessment it enables the construction of a “big picture” of development and change for an area that can be very useful to both development agencies and local communities. This guidebook has been written specifically for those interested in using the PADev methodology. It offers an introduction to this style of workshop set-up and the nine participatory PADev exercises that can be run over three days. However it is not intended to be prescriptive and encourages experimentation and adaptation as circumstances require.
From Beneficiaries to Agents of Change: self-administrable tools to assess community preparedness for vulnerability reduction
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Abstract
This guide shows how self-administrable tools can be used to assess community mobilisation of any community-based organisation (CBO). The book can help CBOs assess their own performance, plan their future strategies and monitor themselves.
From Vulnerability to Resilience: A handbook for programming design based on field experience in Nepal
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Abstract
This handbook is aimed at practitioners who seek examples of how the V2R framework can be used in practice, based on examples from Nepal. It offers a step process, workbooks and tools. It includes guidance on how to include long-term trends in programming with a focus on climate change.
It is essential that organisations working on poverty reduction take into account the impact of climate change on the communities and sectors where they are working. In so doing, they will be better able to support community members and government officials to adapt to the adverse effects and take advantage of any opportunities presented. This requires a detailed analysis of the impacts of climate change at the local level in order to build adaptive capacity to withstand both sudden shocks and incremental changes in the climate. Participatory tools have been updated for use of uncovering community perceptions of changes, alongside identifying historical climate data.
Power: elite capture and hidden influence
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Abstract
This resource book explores the theme of power. It discusses key issues about what power is, how it is used and what role power plays in change processes. It presents tools for analysing power and practical strategies for civil society practitioners to manoeuvre and negotiate through the webs of hidden power towards more inclusive people centred development.
Voice: representation and people's democracy
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Abstract
This resource book is about people’s participation in decision-making and about people’s right to have a ‘voice’, to be heard and to choose their own representatives. Democracy is an ongoing process and to create more just and equal societies it is essential that democratic “spaces” are made that enable real influence for those living in poverty. This book is for local level civil society practitioners who want to make their own voice heard, and who want to involve more people in their efforts to make their opinions and ideas heard at the local level, in elected local government and other state bodies, in civil society organisations, and in public spaces and media.
Budgets: Revenues and financing in public service provision
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Abstract
Budgets are the starting point of this book, and it continues with different types of revenue and taxes at the local level. Tax Justice is introduced and finally the book explains decentralization and the dilemma local government has in terms of limited independent space for planning and implementing plans. The book is designed for field workers and civil society organisations at the local level. Whilst the political context is very different in each country, it is hoped the book can inspire engagement in budget work at the local level. The book includes tools for analysing budgets and understanding political economy at the local level.
Power: a practical guide for facilitating social change
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Abstract
Between 2008 and 2010 the Carnegie UK Trust and the Joseph Rountree Foundation jointly funded a programme of work on power, participation and social change. Over two years the project worked with 20 different organisations to explore ways in which the analysis of power could support them to achieve the social change they were working towards. The work revealed that a good understanding of power is a missing link between how people envisage the change they want, and how they go about achieving that in practice. This handbook – which supports the programmes report “Power and Making Change Happen” – is about taking action. It is a practical guide drawing on the methods and tools used to build the capacity of others and achieve social change. It is designed for people within organisations, networks or community groups who want to explore power as part of the process of change in their communities. As such it provides background information on power and facilitation, and looks at how to explore power through workshops, one-to-one mentoring and self reflection.
Mapping Memories: participatory media, place-based stories and refugee youth
Abstract
Mapping Memories is a book/DVD of first-person narratives by youth with refugee experiences. It explores the practical and ethical issues of launching participatory media projects around sensitive issues, and offers practical insights on using digital storytelling, mapping, video, photovoice, soundscapes, and oral history. It also explores the power of using personal stories to inspire audiences, counter biases, and build understanding in classrooms and communities. There is more information at the Mapping Memories website at www.mappingmemories.ca
Framework for community-based climate vulnerability and capacity assessment in mountain areas
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Abstract
People living in mountain ecosystems in the developing world are particularly vulnerable to climate change as a result of their high dependence on natural resources for their livelihoods, comparatively higher exposure to extreme events, and widespread poverty and marginalisation. However, little is known about the impacts of climate change on these communities, people’s perceptions of change, or their capacity to adapt. In order to identify the key determinants for future adaptation, we need to have a much better understanding of these issues. This publication provides an analytical framework and methodology for assessing environmental and socioeconomic changes affecting the livelihoods of rural, natural resource dependent communities living in mountainous environments. It also gives guidance on how to gain a better understanding of the forces which shape mountain communities’ vulnerabilities, and the capacities inherent to these communities for coping and adapting. The framework is intended primarily for development practitioners and institutions working on climate change vulnerability and adaptation in mountainous environments.
How Do They Do It? Civil society monitoring self-effectiveness
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Abstract
NGO-IDEAs is a cooperation of about 40 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from South Asia, East Africa and the Philippines, and 14 German NGOs working in the field of development cooperation. Together they have been developing tools that are specifically relevant for civil society involved in community development in a wider sense. As a result they have produced the Impact Toolbox which is organised along the lines of the project cycle.
The examples in this publication tell stories of how NGOs have applied elements of this tool box, with a view to giving people an idea of how the process works in practice. Hence, rather than presenting the impact of NGO development work, they give a practical description of how the tools have been applied, and the difference they have made. They only report on parts of the practice relevant to this publication and also highlight errors and learnings.
Implementing urban participatory climate change adaptation appraisals: a methodological guideline
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Abstract
This paper provides conceptual and methodological guidelines for researchers seeking to undertake an urban participatory climate change adaptation appraisal (PCCAA), illustrated with examples from appraisals in Mombasa (Kenya) and Estelí (Nicaragua). It highlights the importance of hearing local people’s voices regarding incrementally worsening and often unrecorded severe weather. The conceptual framework distinguishes between the analysis of asset vulnerability and the identification of asset-based operational strategies, and sets out a number of methodological principles and practices for undertaking a PCCAA. This PCCAA addressed five main themes: community characteristics; severe weather; vulnerability to severe weather; asset adaptation; and institutions supporting local adaptation. For each of these, it identified potential tools for eliciting information, illustrated by examples from Mombasa and Estelí.