Prepare To Mobilize
To mobilize or not to mobilize?
At this point in the selection process, you will need to make a formal, conscious decision about mobilization. You will, in effect, be trying to answer the question: Does mobilization promise to be an effective approach to address this particular issue in this particular community at this particular time? Consider the following factors in light of whether in your situation they may facilitate or inhibit a successful community mobilization effort:
- Magnitude of the problem: an objective measure of prevalence or extent of the problem.
- Political support: local, regional, national and/or international policies, political will (including commitment to allocate resources) in place to support community efforts on the issue.
- Sociocultural context: values, beliefs, attitudes, and practices related to the health issue and participation in collective action that may facilitate or inhibit participation in this collective effort. For example, a community that is resistant to change and is suspicious of outsiders will be more challenging to work with than one that is motivated to change and values external perspectives and experience.
- Resources: time, money, skills of staff and community, communication channels, equipment and supplies.
- Organization: includes presence of organizations or agencies involved in the issue, the presence of traditional systems for dealing with the issue, and the amount of effort and resources expended on the issue in a defined period of time by any sources within the community. You should also consider personal networks—the patterns and dynamics of interpersonal relationships in the community can be powerful facilitators or constraints. How much routine interaction exists among members of the community (in general and/or with respect to a given issue)? How extensive and interconnected are the networks? How many people have personal networks that extend beyond the boundaries of the community (these can be important sources of inspiration and resources)? How does information about social issues in general or about a particular issue flow through the community? Is the flow egalitarian or top down? Are there recognized leaders around which collective action can coalesce? How are these leaders’ roles perceived by others in and outside the community?
- Feasibility of response: the extent to which communities can take action to address the health issue. For example, community mobilization around a health issue will be easier if proven technical interventions are available and acceptable to community members as opposed to a situation in which these interventions are not available, may be too expensive, or are not culturally or otherwise acceptable to community members.
- History of community participation: extent to which collective action—in general and/or specific to the issue—has previously occurred in the community.
- Accessibility: geography, climate, availability/use of transportation, and so forth.
- Representativeness of other areas in the country: language, ethnicity, and so on.
You should also consider how community individuals and organizations perceive these factors. Their perspectives will positively or negatively affect whether they choose to participate in the effort.
You may find the “Factors to Consider in Community Mobilization” matrix (see the tools section) a helpful way of organizing your deliberations at this point. Even if the decision to mobilize communities has already been made for you, you may still find it helpful to think about the various facilitating and inhibiting factors presented in this matrix. As you think about your decision, remember that the fact that a community is characterized by many inhibiting conditions does not necessarily mean that you should give up the idea of working there. But these factors will certainly affect your mobilization design.
       
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