Act Together

STEPS
Define your team's role in accompanying community action Strengthen the community's capacity to carry out its action plan Monitor community progress Problem-solve, trouble shoot, advise and mediate conflicts

STEP 2: Strengthen the community's capacity to carry out its action plan

During the preparation, exploration, and priority setting phases, you learned about community history, how groups and organizations function and relate to each other, how community members perceive the CM health issue, and what they currently do to improve their health. You observed how they worked in groups and were able to discern their skill levels in a number of areas. At the end of the Plan Together phase (phase four), participants identified desired results and actions to achieve them.

Now it’s time to review these needs with participants and determine whether and how your team can help community groups strengthen their abilities or help identify other individuals and organizations that would assist. In this context, you may want to take stock of your team’s strengths and weaknesses before you make any promises of technical assistance.

The kind of assistance and expertise the community will need to increase its capacity vis-à-vis its action plan will depend on what that plan consists of. The following table lists a few examples of actions that communities often propose to improve health and the corresponding knowledge and skills needed by community members to successfully carry out the particular action.

Examples of Proposed Actions in Community Action Plans and Corresponding Knowledge and Skills Needed to Implement the Actions
Proposed Action	Knowledge and skills needed to implement the proposed action
Establish and Maintain a drug revolving fund	Logistics management of commodities Basic accounting Numeracy and literacy Links to external supply sources Money management
Conduct a public awareness raising campaign	Formative research skills Communication strategy/planning and technical skills Knowledge of local media channels and methods Monitoring and evaluation skills Ability to budget, leverage and monitor resources
Establish support groups, women's groups, health committees	Organizational development skills Leadership skills Technical content (knowledge of current relevant health research, recommendations) Ability to link groups to external resources (as needed)
Improve health facility infrastructure	Physical space design Construction skills (carpentry, masonry, painting, plumbing, electricity, etc.) Ability to leverage necessary resources
Improve transport systems by establishing emergency funds, install communication systems (radios), and establishing linkages with local transport workers	Negotiation skills (e.g., contract with transport workers) Ability to leverage resources Equipment maintenance skills Management/operations skills Logistics Ability to coordinate/link various levels of referral system
Prepare and distribute home care materials (clean birth kit, ORS packets, impregnated bed nets, etc.)	Research and product development skills Ability to leverage resources Marketing skills Distribution skills and/or links to distributors Production skills Money management

Your team can develop a similar table with community groups to identify where participants believe they need assistance. Once you and your team have a sense of what skills and knowledge the community may need, you will have to answer three related questions: (1) whether you will provide the necessary assistance and, if so, (2) how much, and (3) what kind. Your answers here will be affected by many factors, which vary according to circumstances. Here are some useful criteria to help guide you in making this decision:

Are there other resources in the community that can meet the curren needs?
Does our team possess the necessary expertise? What are the short- and long-term pros and cons of us providing this assistance?
Are there other accessible external resources with the required expertise? What are the short- and long-term pros and cons of inviting these individuals or organizations to assist?
What would happen if no one provided assistance?

Keep in mind that not every effort will succeed and that some of the most important and valuable learning comes from mistakes or failed efforts. While this is sometimes painful to live through, the experience can ultimately be very positive.

You can use the Capacity Building Worksheet presented in the Useful Tools section at the end of this phase to help you organize your information. This worksheet can then serve as a tool to help participants and your team monitor progress.

Health education: a dialogue of knowledge