Plan Together

STEPS
  1. Decide the objectives of the planning process
  2. Determine who will be involved in planning and their roles and responsibilities
  3. Design the planning process
  4. Conduct/facilitate the planning process to create a community action plan

Step 3: Design the planning process.

In step 1 you determined what you hope to achieve through the planning process which, ultimately, should be an agreed-upon blueprint for community action to address the CM health issue. And in step 2 you determined who should be invited to participate in the planning process.

Now it is time to prepare for the actual planning session when you will bring together the participants you have selected to design the community action plan. You may want to review general facilitation guidelines and experiential learning principles as part of your preparation, and the core group should review its findings and priorities from phase three to identify important information that needs to be incorporated into the planning session.

In designing any participatory group process, you need to first think about planning from the participants’ point of view. What are their needs and expectations? What have we learned about what participants now know and do in relation to the CM health issue? What planning and other relevant skills do they possess? What are the existing power relations between participants? How do participants relate to each other? What has been their prior experience participating in groups and with planning processes in particular? How does the cultural context in which they live affect how they are expected (or expected not to) participate in collective action (age, sex, ethnic group, socioeconomic class, political or religious affiliations)? Is there a wide range of experience or is the group fairly homogeneous? Will there be more men or women? Will participants be representing other organizations or individuals or are they participating as individuals?

You may also find it helpful at this point to observe how community members plan other activities and incorporate important lessons or activities. Generally, participatory planning should build on existing skills and knowledge and help all participants to:

  • Know what is happening and why (purpose of the meeting, what the group tasks are).
  • Feel safe and comfortable to express themselves.
  • Challenge assumptions and think creatively.
  • Contribute their knowledge, experience and skills in positive ways that are helpful to the group.
  • Share and maximize the collective experience of the group.
  • Produce an action plan that clearly states what they want to achieve and how they intend to do it.

A Guide to the Planning Process