aces participatory methods training 2011

www.see.leeds.ac.uk/sustainableuplands

ustainable UplandsLearning to manage future change


Participatory Methods Workshop




Plan1. Basics

2. Process Design

3. Interview skills

4. Stakeholder analysis

5. Methods workshop



1. Basics



What are stakeholders?• Anyone who can affect or be affected by a decision or

action

(after Freeman, 1984)



What is stakeholder participation?• A process where stakeholders (e.g. individuals, groups

and organisations) choose to take an active role in making decisions that affect them

(After Wandersman 1981; Wilcox 2003; Rowe et al. 2004)



What is ‘participatory governance’?

• Process component: how are decisions being taken?

• Actor-related component: who participates in decisions?

• Working definition: Participatory governance comprises all forms of public decision-making in which non-state actors (individual or collective), who are not routinely engaged in this decision-making and who broadly represent those who are affected by the decision or the problem it seeks to address, have a substantial influence on a collectively binding decision through a minimum of open input



What is ‘participatory governance’?

• Three dimensions of participation:– the scope of participants,– the direction and intensity of information flows, e.g.

mere information of the public via brochures or face-to-face communication,

– the influence participants are given and the influence they actually exert on the decision at stake



Different levels/types of participation in community planning

The ladder of participation (Arnstein, 1969)



Different levels/types of participationThe wheel of participation (Wilcox, 2003)



Different levels/types of participationCommunication flows (Rowe & Frewer, 2000)

Facilitators Stakeholders



Communication

Consultation

Participation



Discussion

• Why participate?

• Challenges for effective participation

• Best practice participation



Why engage stakeholders?

• Participation is increasingly embedded in policy for the normative & pragmatic reasons discussed

• A democratic right e.g. Aarhus Convention

• Higher quality and more durable decisions



Challenges and disillusionment• Empowering marginalised may interact with existing

power structures to cause unintended consequences

• Group dynamics may create “dysfunctional consensus”

• Consultation fatigue as poorly run processes fail to deliver change



Evidence for claims of participation?

• Few claims have been tested, but there is firm evidence that effective participation can enhance:

• Quality of decisions: due to more comprehensive information inputs

• Durability of decisions: due to stakeholder buy-in

• But, decision quality and durability are highly dependant on the quality of the process leading to them



Tools vs overall process• Participation is

more than a collection of tools and methods for engaging stakeholders



1. Stakeholder participation needs to be underpinned by a philosophy emphasing empowerment, equity, trust and learning

• Empowering stakeholders:

• Ensuring participants have the power to really influence the decision

• Ensuring participants have the technical capability to engage effectively with the decision

• Overcome power inequality between participants

• Facilitating iterative and two-way learning



2. Where relevant, stakeholder participation should be considered as early as possible and throughout the process

• Involvement typically at implementation and increasing in monitoring

• Needs to be from concept development and planning, throughout process



3. Relevant stakeholders need to be represented systematically

• Stakeholder analysis (later)



4. Clear objectives for the participatory process need to be agreed among stakeholders at the outset

• “As with any analysis, well-formulated questions are more likely to generate robust answers” (Lynam et al. 2007; online)

• May require negotiation and trade-offs

• If goals developed through dialogue, ownership and partnership building more likely, and outcomes likely to be more relevant to stakeholder needs & priorities



5. Methods should be selected and tailored to the decision-making context, considering the objectives, type of participants and appropriate level of engagement

• Set objectives, then decide level of engagement, then select stakeholders, & only then select tools

• Adapt methods to changing contexts e.g. literacy

• Adapt methods to stage in process e.g. getting engagement versus evaluating outcomes

• Need a range of tools so you can adapt



6. Highly skilled facilitation is essential

• The outcome of any participatory process is far more sensitive to the manner in which it is conducted than the tools that are used

• Same tool, different facilitator = different outcome

• Skills in managing groups and difficult situations sensitively

• Techniques to help (later)



7. Local and scientific knowledges should be integrated

• Stakeholder processes need to be informed by scientific analysis: the “know-why”

• Comparing/integrating with local knowledge (“know-how”) can investigate uncertainties and assumptions and develop a more rigorous understanding

• More robust decisions



8. Participation needs to be institutionalised

• Many limitations in participatory processes have roots in top-down organisational cultures e.g. non-negotiable positions

• Decision-makers must commit to resource as-yet unknown outcomes: uncomfortable

• Create organisational cultures that facilitate processes where goals are negotiated and outcomes are necessarily uncertain

• Risky, but worth it?



2. Process Design



What is important in planning an event?

Understanding the situation• Purpose• Outputs• Stakeholders• Timeframes

Process plan•Timetable•No. of workshops•Key tasks•Action plan

Event plan•Timing•Purpose•Outputs•Sessions

Task plan•Purpose•Questions•Groupings•Techiques

Practicalities•The team•The venue•The tools



Event planning

• What is the purpose of the process/event? – Are there pre-set decisions or options or open?– Disseminating information– Consultation & information gathering– Knowledge exchange & joint decision making

• What are the outcomes you want?• What are the outcomes stakeholders want?



Event planning

• Who are the stakeholders (stakeholder analysis)?

• How does the event link to the wider project or your organisation’s goals?

• What will happen next?• How will you keep people engaged?



Structuring an event• Small groups? How will you group people?• Split discussions up with feedback and

presentations• Let people know where they are in the process• Use techniques to encourage creative thinking

and to get everyone involved• Use variety of techniques to gather different

types of information– Opening out– Closing down – ranking/prioritising to make choices



• Make a facilitation plan– Timings (include buffer – things you can skip)– Who will do what when?– Equipment list– Session/activity titles (for participants’ agenda)– Detailed methods under each title– Try out unfamiliar methods first

• Efficient handling of event outputs

Structuring an event



Choosing techniques• Be clear about outcomes and outputs required

• Practical matters e.g. time available, no. participants, level of conflict

• Alter group size depending on no. participants, no. tasks to be completed, the amount of in-depth discussion needed and the level of conflict

• Choose most straightforward technique to answer question

• Use a variety of techniques



Information gathering: opening out

• Brainstorming • Metaplan• Venn diagrams• Listing• Carousel• Mapping and participatory GIS• Conceptual modelling or mind-mapping



Exploring: analysis• Categorisation e.g. card sorting and Q

methodology• Problem tree analysis or cause-effect mapping• SWOT analysis• Timelines



Decision making: closing down• Voting • Ranking• Prioritisation (e.g. sticky dots)• Multi-Criteria Evaluation



3. Stakeholder Analysis



Plan1. Introduction to stakeholder analysis

2. Try out an interest-influence matrix



Why stakeholder analysis?• We all have interests• We have a stake in the

things that interest us e.g. what happens to a landscape you walk in

• By holding an interest, we hold a stake: we are stakeholders



Why stakeholder analysis?• But without power…• We can never drive our

points/stakes home and we will never influence the decisions that affect us



• To affect change, we need interest and power



Answers key questions relevant to all spatial planning:• Who are the interested parties? Who has the power to

influence what happens? How do these parties interact? How could they work more effectively together?



What is stakeholder analysis?“A process that:

i) defines aspects of a social and natural phenomenon affected by a decision or action

ii) identifies individuals, groups and organisations who are affected by or can affect those parts of the phenomenon

iii) prioritises these individuals and groups for involvement in the decision-making process”

Reed et al. (in prep.)



Development of SA• Business management roots

– Stakeholders affect business– SA to mobilise, neutralise or defeat stakeholders, to

meet strategic objectives

• Development studies and natural resource management– Projects that didn’t understand stakeholders were

often hijacked or failed– Empowering marginal stakeholders to influence

decision-making processes transparently



Development of SA• Major contributions from development studies

and natural resource management:– Recognises that stakeholders and the issues that

interest them change over time– Advocates ongoing and evolving involvement of

stakeholders to meet needs and priorities– Capturing diversity of potentially conflicting views



Typology• Three types of methods for stakeholder analysis

Methods for:

i) Identifying stakeholders

ii) Differentiating between and categorising stakeholders

iii)Investigating relationships between stakeholders



Focus Groups

Semi-structured interviews

Snowball sampling

Interest-influence matrices

Radical transactive-

ness

Stakeholder-led stakeholder

categorisation

Q methodology

Social Network Analysis

Knowledge Mapping

Identifying stakeholders Differentiating between and categorising stakeholders

Investigating relationships between stakeholders

Analytical categorisation

(top-down)

Reconstructive categorisation (bottom-up)

Normative Instrumental

Methods

Typology

Rationale



Interest/Influence MatricesHigh

Low

Influence

Context setters - highly influential, but have little interest. Try and work closely as they could have a significant impact

Key players – must work closely with these to affect change

Crowd – little interest or influence so may not be worth prioritising, but be aware their interest or influence may change with time

Subjects – may be affected but lack power. Can become influential by forming alliances with others. Often includes marginalised groups you may wish to empower

Level of Interest High



Try it yourself• Pairs: choose a familiar issue and think of a

decision/project in which you might want to involve stakeholders

• Brainstorm stakeholders• Who is affected by your decision/project, who

have influence over it and have an interest in its successful or unsuccessful conclusion



More complex matrices• Identify and evaluate stakeholders in turn:

– What is their stake/interest– What is their influence (qualitative info)– The most effective ways for researchers to gain their

support and active involvement in the research– Information re: how stakeholders relate to each other

• Consider categorising stakeholders with stakeholders e.g. 8 categories in uplands project



CategorisingThe stakeholder categories:• Water companies• Recreational groups• Agriculture• Conservationists• Grouse moor interests (owners/managers and

gamekeepers)• Tourism-related enterprises• Foresters• Statutory bodies



Exploring relationships• Social Network Analysis with 80-strong Moors

for the Future Partnership• Communication ties between individuals and

groups



Despite apparently polarised views on burning, upland stakeholders in the Peak District are highly connected…

And despite the fact that certain groups have little contact with each other…

The majority of individuals perceive considerable overlap between their views on upland management and the views of those they know from other groups

Water

Recreation Agriculture

Conservation

Grouse



Exploring relationships• Showed roles of individuals played and identified

more peripheral stakeholders• These groups were targeted for inclusion to

reduce bias, strengthen the legitimacy of the sample group, and include a variety of knowledges relevant to the research process



Summary



Find out more…Reed MS, Graves A, Dandy N, Posthumus H, Hubacek K, Morris J, Prell C, Quinn CH, Stringer LC (2009) Who’s in and why? Stakeholder analysis as a prerequisite for sustainable natural resource management. Journal of Environmental Management 90: 1933–1949



4. Participatory Tools

Your options

Exploratory tools:

• Participatory mapping

• Semi-structured interviews

Analysis and evaluation tools:

• Problem tree analysis

• Metaplan

• Multi-criteria evaluation

1: Participatory Mapping

• Individuals or groups

• Draw a map (pen or on ground)

• Mark key features

• If drawn on ground transfer to paper

• If appropriate:- visit places of interest or

significance, disputed boundaries

• Check map and amend, use GPS

Exercise: Participatory Mapping

• In groups

• Draw a map (using pen & paper) of Aberdeen and its surroundings

• Mark key features

Questions

• Who held the pen?• Who directed the process? Why?• Are you all happy with the outcome?• Was there any disagreement? Did you

have to negotiate your point? How did you do that?

• Was anyone excluded, why?• How did you decide what was important

enough to go on the map?

2: Interviews

Structured interviews

• Introduce yourself, develop good relationship

• Use structured (planned) questions & stick to them

• Use closed questions (e.g. yes / no answers)

• Use tick boxes & expect short answers

• Be keen to learn, respectful, friendly, open, good body language

• Record answers on set answer sheet

In Pairs

Advantages & disadvantages of semi-structured interviews over traditional structured questionnaires:

• More adaptable – cut irrelevant Qs and add new topics as required

• More interesting/engaging for participants (if done well!)

• Open questions better at capturing “why”

• Qualitative: interview less folk in more depth

• Qualitative: harder to get quantitative stats

Exercise: Interviews

Role-play – the challenge of asking semi-structured questions



Participatory Methods 1: Multi-Criteria Evaluation

• Use to rank options against a range of criteria

• List options in column (support with images?)

• List evaluation/ranking criteria in row

• Give participants counters (calculate number by multiplying options by criteria)

• Participants allocate counters to each of the options and criteria

• Calculate total counters per option

• Visualises ranking decision

• Process itself is difficult to understand



For example…

What should we do next in this lecture?

Go home

Move on

Try out MCE

Less workSaves time

Enhances learning

Criteria

Option

4

5

0

11

12

14



Try out MCE

• 6 indicator flash cards per group + 12 paper-clips each

2 criteria:

• How accurately do you think each indicator represents degraded rangeland?

• How easy do you think it would be for land users to use each indicator?

Very accurate/ easy to use: lots of paperclips

Not very accurate/ easy to use: few paperclips



5. Facilitation Skills



Benefits of facilitation

• Efficient: more discussed in less time• Impartiality• Clarity• A helpful atmosphere• Appropriate techniques• More people have a say• No organisation or individual in control or veto• The outcome is open



Obstacles

Interpersonal Behaviour• Personal or positional power• Feelings• Different ways of considering an issue• Different backgrounds and values• Egos• Poor communication skills• Lack of information



Obstacles

Structural and cultural obstacles• Perceived or actual competition• Our adversarial culture• Organisational power• Interpretation of data



Facilitation skills: interpersonal

• Need to be perceived as impartial, open to multiple perspectives and approachable

• Capable of building rapport with group and maintaining positive group dynamics

• Handling dominating or offensive individuals

• Encourage participants to question assumptions and re-evaluate entrenched positions

• Get the most out of reticent individuals

• Humble, open to feedback



Facilitating requires skills that are hard to learn

• Not knowing who you are or not liking who you are, are major causes of insecurity

• A facilitator who is insecure will typically either:

a) lack confidence

b) hide their insecurity by being proud (“I know best”)

• Such a facilitator will struggle to possess the necessary skills, no matter how hard they train



Facilitating requires skills that are hard to learn

• Know yourself

• Be yourself

• Like yourself

• Your calm confidence will be your greatest strength as a facilitator



Practical skills• Active listening and understanding• Enable people to clarify their thoughts• Let people know their opinions are valued• Help people go beyond facts to meanings• Help people to ‘own’ their problems, take responsibility for

them and think of solutions• Giving momentum and energy• Ensuring everyone has an opportunity to input• Making an impartial record of the discussion• Writing clearly and in a well organised way• Managing paper• Useful to have a recorder and assistant



Providing feedback

Non verbal feedback • Eye contact• Nodding• Focussed attention• Smiling• Recording what is said



Providing feedback

Verbal feedback • Sounds• Short phrases• Clarifying details• Encouraging: asking for more information• Summarising content and feeling; to confirm

correct interpretation• Affirming/validating



Things to avoid

Non verbal• Fidgeting• Flat facial expressions• Tense/defensive body language



Things to avoid

Verbal• Advising• Judging or labelling• Analysing/diagnosing• Hostile questioning• Minimising/patronising• Ordering/threatening• Leading questions that aim to pre-determine the

response



Asking the right questionsOpen and closed questions

• Open: What? Where?, Which?, When? Who?• Closed: Yes/no answer. Often better to avoid

but can be useful for specific purposes

Value silenceParking space



Asking the right questions

Reframing: • Technique to move people from a negative

stance to discuss a positive way forward• Acknowledge what has been said• Ask an open question that seeks to get at the

heart of the problem• Involve other members of the group in solving

the problem



Building on this we can explore:

1. Identity and roles: what is your identity, how does it change in different contexts and what does this imply for managing group dynamics?

2.Avoiding conflict: how can you build rapport with the group you’re managing and identify early warning signs of conflict in yourself and the group

3.Power and influence: How can you identify those in a group with more or less power? How powerful are you and how can you increase your power and influence?



Your options

Deeper reflection:

• Identity and roles

• Power and influence

• Avoiding conflict

• Appreciative enquiry



Identity & Roles



1. We are typically more conscious of the parts of our identify that are different to those around us

• e.g. if you are from a different country, older/married etc.



2. We use different parts of who we are in different situations e.g. when we are in different groups of people

• We often do this without thinking about it

• We are not changing our identity – we’re just drawing on different parts of ourselves to adopt different roles



3. This has implications for group dynamics

• Groups take on their own identity – as a facilitator be aware of different identities within the group.

• For example:

– an individual you interview may act differently and say very different things in a group

– and they may do and say different things again if you put them in a another group



4. In conflicts, people slip into rehearsed opposing roles that prevent them listening or learning



Dealing with conflict



Avoiding conflict

• Can building rapport / mutual understanding help avoid conflict?

• Brainstorm: how can you build rapport (do’s and don’ts)



Early warning signs of conflict

• First, be aware of your own feelings

• Early signs of conflict you can detect in yourself?




• Early signs of conflict you can detect in yourself?

• Anxiety, dread, frustration, anger

• Irrational thoughts e.g. “they don’t like me”, “it is going to fail”

• Behaving out of character e.g. nervous checking of things, working faster

• Exhibiting high or low power characteristics that are out of role e.g. becoming bossy or submissive




• Early signs of conflict you can detect in others?




• Early signs of conflict you can detect in others?

• Cold, distant, withdrawn

• Withholding confidences or ideas

• Closing body language

• Threats and offhand comments (even as jokes)

• Argumentative, not agreeing, blaming

• Moralising, intellectualising

• Silence, passivity



Power & influence



Group discussion

• How can you identify those in a group with more or less power?

• What signs can you look for in yourself or others to identify high or low rank?



How much power do you possess?

• There are four types of power you can possess:

1. situational

2. social

3. personal

4. transpersonal



Situational Power

• Role in formal hierarchy

• Seniority

• Expertise or experience

• Access to decision makers



Social Power

• Race or ethnicity

• Gender/ orientation

• Age

• Class

• Profession

• Wealth

• Education level

• Health/physical ability

• Social network

• Marital status/ children

• Appearance or attractiveness

• Religious affiliation

• Title (e.g. Dr)



Personal Power

• Self awareness

• Self confident and assertive

• Charisma

• Strength of character

• Emotional maturity

• Ability to empathise

• Ability to survive adversity

• Life experience

• Ability to communicate and influence others

• Integrity and honesty

• Creativity

• Positive and honest estimation of your worth and abilities

• Easy to get on with, so can build networks

• Build others up



Transpersonal Power

• Connection to something larger than yourself

• Spirituality or faith (not religion)

• Ability to move beyond or forgive past hurts

• Freedom from fear

• Service to an unselfish vision



You may not be able to change your situational power if you’re at the bottom of the organisation’s hierarchy

But you may be able to increase your power in other ways, especially your personal and transpersonal power.

What power do you already possess, and how can you increase your power?



Fill in questionnaire

• Individually

• Then pair up with someone (preferably who you know) and swap notes

• Questions for you to both answer at the end of the sheet



Appreciative Enquiry

• Turns problem-solving on its head

• Focus on rediscovering and reorganising the good rather than problem solving

• Process of sharing success stories from the past and present, asking positive questions in pairs

• Conceive and plan the future on the basis of the successes and strengths that are identified

• Can include everyone in change/future planning




• Pair up with someone

• Ask them to tell you a story about one of their greatest successes

• Get them to tell you right from the start, with a beginning, middle and end, like a story

• Prompt them to tell you why they were so pleased, how they felt and draw out the positives




• How do you feel?!



The End

aces participatory methods training 2011

Education

mark key features

natural resource

facilitating

early warning

problem tree

early signs

stakeholder

appreciative