Water for a food-secure world The IWMI Community Engagement Training Module: Lessons from Ghana and Nepal by Prof. Saa Dittoh (University of Development

Water for a food-secure world

The IWMI Community Engagement Training Module: Lessons from

Ghana and Nepalby

Prof. Saa Dittoh (University of Development Studies. Ghana) and Katherine Snyder (IWMI)

AWM Workshop, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia16 November 2012

Water for a food-secure worldWater for a food-secure world

INTRODUCTION• The IFAD CC project found that in all countries

community engagement was a challenge to AWM investment success.

• The Community Engagement Training in Ghana and Nepal piloted a community engagement curriculum (in AWM) to make it more practical and experience-based, for future use by IFAD and other interested stakeholders.

• Participants trained to improve their own capacity in engagement and to train others for scaling out.


Community EngagementBawku West District, Ghana Rolpa District, Nepal

•


INTRODUCTION • Skill development in the engagement of communities

was emphasized.• Participants were drawn mainly from IFAD sponsored

projects and relevant government ministries and departments.

• Small-scale reservoirs and canal (river diversion) schemes were the agricultural water systems used as examples in the two pilot cases.

• The trainings took place from 17th to 21st Sept. 2012 in the Bawku West District of Ghana and from 1st to 5th Oct. in the Rolpa District of Nepal.


Participants (Trainees and Facilitators)

Ghana Nepal•


CURRICULUM• Development of a case study site: materials on site

description, challenges to agricultural productivity, socio-economic characteristics, farming systems

Training, first day • Familiarizing trainees with each other and with an

overview of participatory methods; • Role playing exercise• Adequate preparation of trainers is important for

successful community engagement; need plenty of time for brainstorming and idea sharing


Adequate preparations by trainees before community visits very necessaryGhana Nepal

•


CURRICULUMSecond day

• Briefing district and village about the training program and objectives.

• Engaging with different groups within the community to get their views on what constrains development in their village. Ensure balance of gender, age and power. Have community members report back their views to wider group.

• Community visioning: work with groups to move beyond constraints and problems to what their vision and aspirations are for future water management and agriculture. Identify specific challenges to reaching this future.


CURRICULUMThird day

• Community walk through: with technical experts and social mobilizers, extension agents, farmers (men and women) to see their farming systems and visit sites for AWM.

• Discuss feasibility of community designed plans with technical experts.

• Discuss contextual factors that will have an impact on success: market access, market demand, labor availability, seasonal patterns, competing livelihood strategies


CURRICULUM

Fourth day• Discuss options and trade-offs• Review access to resources and equity issues• Review goals and objectives with community and

feasibility• Draft an action plan including all issues surrounding

construction, operation and maintenance; wider contextual factors such as market engagement and resource access (land and water); design for multiple use


CURRICULUM

Fifth day• Review of community engagement with trainees• Lessons learned• Identify ways to improve engagement• Identify improvements in training


LESSONS LEARNT • The technical and institutional knowledge and

experience that exists at the district and community levels should not be underrated.

• Trainers should be well prepared with technical knowledge as well as information with regards activities in the districts and communities for effective engagement: Community members and local politicians and leaders get disappointed when trainers give indication that they do not know what is happening on the ground.


Must know what is on the ground

Poorly constructed canals Multiple use of dams


LESSONS LEARNT

• Flexibility: trainers must be able to adapt quickly to the case study context and issues. Should not follow strict curriculum if adaptation will improve results.

• Bottom up (demand driven) interventions have been stressed over time. One of the lessons learnt however is that interventions that are limited to only what is demanded by communities may not yield the desired results. There is need for some emphasis on “top down meeting bottom up” approaches.


LESSONS LEARNT

• The case study needs to be utilized adequately during the field exercises.

• The language factor should be taken into consideration. Reading materials should be in appropriate languages for participants (trainees who will be trainers).

• It is not possible to wish away time for translations (at times multiple translations) at the field level.


LESSONS LEARNT (Community sensitivities)• Community engagements:

should involve some planning with community leaders.

should clearly indicate the purpose to leaders especially stressing the learning nature of the exercise to provide knowledge to policy makers (and not monetary assistance from the foreigners present).

should respect community protocol.should respect community priorities on timing (which

have implications for work schedules) and what to discuss.


Group Discussions - Ghana

•


Group discussion and plenary session - Nepal


Be prepared for any eventualities in the communities

Ghana Nepal


AFTER COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WHAT NEXT?

• The curriculum addresses this in the form of an action plan.

• A workable action plan can only be designed only after a lot of consultations with policy makers, politicians and other stakeholders and not on the 5th day.

• There is need for follow-up with the communities or else lack of trust will set in.

• A work plan after consultations must be communicated to communities within a reasonable time period.


What next?

Nepal•

Ghana


CONCLUSION• Community engagement is clearly a cross-learning

exercise between “experts” and “non-experts” (may be experts of a different orientation).

• The cross-learning exercise is important for understanding most complex community level development problems.

• It is necessary and should be carried out prior to taking specific intervention decisions.

• All relevant stakeholders must be part of the engagement• The engagement must be done in an atmosphere of

respect for each other’s views, trust and desire to get identified problems solved.

Documents

Water for a food-secure world The IWMI Community Engagement Training Module: Lessons from Ghana and Nepal by Prof. Saa Dittoh (University of Development