[notes about participatory methods in problem analysis]
expand problem analysis tools to incorporate community participation in the analytical process
reflect on which tools will be most effective given your context and/or particular facilitation style
DRAFT FACILITATOR NOTES:
discussion and/or the session agenda should identify a shared problem ('trunk'), then give time for everyone do their own tree - only to bring it back together and show just how many more roots and branches exist than any one individual might have been aware of
pre-cut paper 'leaves' and 'roots' can be passed around to participants, who can write directly on them and then come to the front of a room to tape/paste their aspects on a shared tree - this collective work can feel more engaged than simply discussing and/or having a facilitator do all the writing, and it creates a workshop artefact that can be a useful 'regrounding' tool throughout the project's lifespan
DRAFT FACILITATOR NOTES:
with a group, you can complete a perspectives timeline: list a series of events 'objectively', with two opposing parties' perspectives on what that event 'really' means; this tool can help with empathy building and helps everyone understand the impact of divergent narratives in perpetuating conflict; it can also help pinpoint entrypoints for intervention re: clarifying/creating a unified story of events
this can be for a real or imagined scenario, and participants can play themselves, or be assigned to walk the timeline in anothers' shoes; having diverse small groups required to collectively identify how Actor A versus Actor B sees a situation can help tease out the politicised viewpoints without feeling quite so targeted at an individual's statements
DRAFT FACILITATOR NOTES:
with an identified conflict, give individual participants time to draft their list of connectors and dividers
Then, in small groups, have them share - and for each connector named in the group, the group has to also identify an analogous/related divider; for each divider, they have to identify a connector. This helps emphasise how CPS interactions are almost never inevitable or absolute, but rather greatly fluid dependent on governance and response; it can also help get people thinking far more creatively about possible solutions and interventions
DRAFT FACILITATOR NOTES:
participatory approaches to a seasonal calendar allow a wider range of people's and groups' interactions with resources and landscapes to be included, showcasing how different communities may experience stress at different periods; this may highlight shared moments of stress or ease that can be leveraged to bring communities together, and/or support ideas for more equitable management mechanisms
DRAFT FACILITATOR NOTES:
we're building a deck of linkage tiles, with the idea that they can be printed and used to create participatory linkage maps, where participants in a focus group could choose tiles, place them dynamically on flipchart paper, and draw linkages - helping the group see how different people will highlight different issues of concern, and different CPS intersections; the 'ideal' situation involves someone with power to intervene in an intersection being shown that intersection in a new light thanks to someone else in the group
Current Reality Check
A compelling vision is the foundation of any long-term, high-impact solution. Visualization has been proven to activate the same neural pathways in your brain as actual performance.
In this activity, your group imagines and shares visualisations of how the future would look like for different personas in your community with your solution successfully implemented.
Use this activity to get your team on the same page by painting a picture of the future your work is building. This activity will inspire and motivate your team while you take the first step towards a robust strategy to actually achieve your solution.
INSTRUCTIONS
Set the Scene
Prepare a whiteboard, poster board, or other shared writing surface.
Arrange the whole group into small groups of 3-7 people.
Give each small group sticky notes or other means to add their ideas to the shared writing surface.
Assess Successes and Strengths
Ask your group: What is our community already doing well when it comes to climate, peace, and security?
In case that question is imposing to group members, here are some related questions to get the ball rolling:
How are your livelihoods sustainable and climate resilient?
How do people in your community support one another through environmental and other challenges?
After a few minutes of large group discussion, ask each small group to discuss among themselves.
After some small group discussion, ask each small group to write down their key findings on sticky notes.
Identify Misalignments
Ask your group: Where is our community not in alignment with a sustainable future?
In case that question is too big for group members, here are some related questions to get the ball rolling:
How has the weather caused challenges or harm to our community lately?
Have community tensions or conflicts caused challenges or harm to our community?
Have there been any disputes related to natural resources or the environment? What caused these?
What things or activities are harming our environment?
Is everyone in our community getting along? If not, who isn't, and why not?
Are some people in our people more affected by tensions or conflict than others?
After a few minutes of large group discussion, ask each small group to discuss among themselves.
After some small group discussion, ask each small group to write down their key findings on sticky notes.
Discover Missing Links
Ask your group: What is missing?
Are there any current successes or strengths that can help fix misalignments?
Are there any successes or strengths causing misalignments?
What are some things we're missing in order to address those misalignments?
After a few minutes of large group discussion, ask each small group to discuss among themselves.
After some small group discussion, ask each small group to write down their key findings on sticky notes.
Share and Organize Findings
On the shared writing surface, draw X and Y axes with the following axis labels:
Y axis label: "Importance to our Community"
X axis label: "Alignment with Climate, Peace, and Security Sustainability"
For an example, look at the image accompanying this activity.
Ask each group to post their key findings onto the shared writing surface.
Review and Discuss Key Findings
Have everyone read over the shared writing surface for a few minutes.
Invite group members to raise questions or share comments on the findings everyone has shared.
Did they realise something they didn't think about before?
Are there any clear solutions or priorities starting to show themselves?
Adapted from The Weave
Wicked Questions
Wicked Questions are paradoxical challenges that a group must confront to succeed. Within a complex system (like a country or community), paradoxical-yet-complementary forces are constantly influencing behaviors. Identifying this forces is particularly important during changemaking efforts.
Brainstorming Wicked Questions engages everyone in sharper strategic thinking by revealing entangled challenges and possibilities that are not intuitively obvious. This activity makes it possible to expose the tension between current strategies and on-the-ground circumstances.
Asking Wicked Questions puts your group on a path toward unearthing new, transformative strategies that lay hidden in deeply paradoxical waters.
INSTRUCTIONS
Set the Scene
Arrange the room into groups of 4-6 people (tables are not strictly necessary).
Give each group a piece of paper to record their work.
Introduce Wicked Questions
Wicked Questions are opposing yet complementary strategies that we need to pursue simultaneously in order to be successful.
Ask the entire group: What are some Wicked Questions in our context?
Give the entire group the following template:
How is it that we are __________ and we are __________ simultaneously?
Some Tips and Traps to keep in mind:
Avoid data questions that can be answered with more analysis.
Avoid questions that appoint blame or are unbalanced on one side: How can we focus on our customers when we are forced to spend more and more time on the headquarters’ bureaucracy?
Draw on lived experience: When have you noticed these two things to be true at the same time?
Examples of Wicked Questions:
For Parents: How is it that you are raising your children to be family-oriented, yet independent individuals simultaneously?
For Leaders: As leaders, how is that you have stepped up and stepped back to help your team(s) take more ownership of solutions?
For a Global Organization: How is it we are an organization with a singular global identity, and yet we are uniquely adapted to each local setting?
Individual and Small Group Work
Each participant generates pairs of opposites or paradoxes at play in his or her work using the Wicked Question template.
Each participant shares their best Wicked Questions with their small group.
Present to the Entire Group
Each group selects its most impactful and wicked Wicked Question.
Small groups spend some time further refining their selected Wicked Questions.
Each small group shares its refined Wicked Questions with the entire group.
Entire Group Workshops Wicked Questions
The entire group picks out the most powerful Wicked Questions.
As a group, everyone works to further refine these Wicked Questions.
Adapted from Liberating Structures
