Document(s) 2 of 10

Who are the different community groups and the other stakeholders concerned with the selected problem and solution?

At this stage, the research team or the development practitioner needs to identify the different community groups or categories of people concerned with a given problem or with a given development action, and to identify the best way of making contact and establishing dialogue with each of them. The same applies to the other stakeholders involved in the given problem and solution to experiment.

Addressing ourselves to a general audience such as "the community" or "the people of such-and-such village" does not really help in involving people in communication. Every group that makes up the community, in terms of age, sex, ethnic origin, language, occupation, social and economic conditions, has its own characteristics, its own way of seeing a problem and its solution, and its own way of taking actions.

In participatory development communication, the communication is targeted in order to reach specific groups. We often speak of "target population" or "target groups" to designate those to whom the communication is to be addressed. This term, of military origin, once referred to the kind of communication where the communication facilitator sought to prepare and transmit messages to reach specific groups within a given population. While we take a different approach today, where community groups are invited to become participants in the communication process, the former term still remains in use. However the metaphor is misleading and it is important to change the way we refer to the specific groups with whom we are working, if we want to modify our way of establishing a relation with them.

Approaching specific groups in the community: addressing ourselves to a general audience such as "the community" or "the farmers" does not help in involving people of different groups. Every community group has it's own way of seeing a problem and its potential solutions, and its own way of taking action.

How do we differentiate these groups?

The main criterion for identifying the different groups is to identify the various categories of persons who are most affected by the development problem and those groups that might be able to contribute to its solution. The principle is the same if we are speaking of a development initiative rather than a problem: we must identify the people most concerned about it.

We may distinguish among these categories on the basis of factors: age, gender, language, ethnic or other specific social factors, livelihood or socio-professional categories (and periods of availability), income, educational level, localization, culture, values or religion, behavior or common interests.

Approaching specific groups in the community: this is also true of men and women within each of these groups.

For example, in the case of forest management, concerned groups can include not only "youth", "women" or workers from a logging company, but may also include a group of people who protect a sacred area of the forest, another group consisting of traditional pharmacologists, a group of people living on the edge of the forest and who "clean" the forest by collecting dead fire wood, a group collecting wood for charcoal making, etc.

Groups of participants can often be identified at the outset of an intervention. But it may sometimes be necessary, once the intervention is underway, to refocus or revise our initial selection and identify the groups most specifically affected by the problem.

Similarly, we might identify other stakeholders who, although not directly affected, have the capacity to provide assistance in resolving the problem or in conducting the planned activities. In the example discussed above, we might, depending on the circumstances, call upon the assistance of traditional or religious authorities, personalities who wield influence among the young, such as sports heroes or popular singers, teachers or social workers.

Who and with whom?

One way to identify those specific groups is to ask first "Who is involved in the problem or in the initiative to carry out" and then ask ourselves "With whom are we going to work?"

A first list can be made out of three global categories: community groups, policy makers and other stakeholders. We then identify every group in each of these categories who is affected by the problem or can play a role in the solution. In a second list the research team or development practitioner will identify within these groups those with whom they will work as a priority.

If all the small-scale farmers of a specific county are involved with a soil fertility problem for example, the researchers or practitioners may decide to work in priority with farmers involved in actions aiming to manage the erosion, with women groups, and with poor farmers.

Similarly, although all the local and district leaders should be involved, they might concentrate their action on sub-county authorities. Within the third category, they might decide to work first with the extension people working in the area, although there are other stakeholders involved. It is a question of priorities and resources.

The gender issue: paying particular attention to the different needs and social roles of men and women

In all cases it is important to pay particular attention to the issue of gender. In every setting, the needs, social roles and responsibilities of men and women are different. The degree of access to resources and of participation in the decision-making processes may also be different between men and women. And the way they will view a common problem or potential solutions is also very different.

The same is true for the young people of each sex. There is often a sharp distinction between the roles and needs of girls and of older women, or between older men and young people's perceptions of the same problem.

Consequently, their interests are different, their needs are different, the way they see things are different, and their contributions to development are different. Formerly, the focus of interest was on "the community", without really taking this difference into account. As a result, women and young people alike were often overlooked in the development process, although their participation was an essential condition. If their involvement was to be enhanced, it was quickly realized that it was not enough simply to focus on women or on young people as a separate group: what was needed in all cases was to pay attention to the different roles of men and women in the development situation concerned, and to the various relationships between these roles. It is this realization that underlies the preoccupation with gender.

From the communication perspective, the gender issue implies two things. First, it is important to distinguish clearly between the needs of men and women. In order to achieve this, we must learn how to establish communication, in all settings, with both men and women.

In many settings, women are often barred from village meetings, or if they are admitted, they do not always have the right to speak. Even where this inhibition is cultural rather than formal, it must be taken into account. It often happens that women who are authorized to participate in these meetings are not really representative of local women as a whole. It is important then to be aware of these realities. Within each category of participant groups, we need to think about the specific roles and needs of men and women.

Social and economic roles of men and women are different. Needs and responsibilities also differ. This is also true of the degree of access to resources and of participation in the decision-making processes.

Secondly, it is important to encourage and promote women's participation. The challenge here is to bring women to participate in defining problems that concern them and in seeking solutions, rather than "mobilizing" them. Here again, depending on habits and customs in each setting, the ways of establishing communication will be different. Sometimes it may be necessary to interact with the men first, and proceed only later to bring together groups of women and discuss issues with them.

A third important aspect of the gender issue is to distinguish between gender roles in each of the specific groups we intend to work with and not to build separate categories of "women" and "young people". Many researchers and development practitioners at this stage will have the tendency to identify groups such as: farmers, foresters, fishermen, women, young people, etc. that is a mix of gender and socio-professional roles. But this categorization is not very productive: first, there are women and young people in each of these socio-professional categories and their roles, needs and perceptions are often different from those of the men. Second, one has to ask how people, in each of these categories, are affected by the problem or involved in the initiative.

How well do we know each specific group?

Each specific group has its own characteristics and these must be taken into account in any communication action. In the same way, each group will be concerned with a given development problem in different ways.

For this reason, we cannot approach each group in the same manner. Moreover, each group has its own social codes and ways of doing things. Similarly, their ways of participating in communication will be different and certain conditions will have to be assembled if real communication is to be established with each group. It is important then to take the time to become familiar with each group and identify the general characteristics that must be taken into account in communication, as well as the factors that may condition their participation.

It can be useful here to draw up a profile of each group as if we were trying to describe the group to an outsider. This profile should specify:

• Physical characteristics: age, sex, etc.
• Ethnic and geographic background.
• Language and habits of communication.
• Socio-economic characteristics: lifestyle, income, education, literacy, etc.
• Cultural characteristics: traditions, values, beliefs, etc.
• Knowledge, attitudes and behaviour with respect to the development problem to be dealt with through communication.

It is also important to identify each group's own methods and channels of communication (the ways in which people interact, or specific places where they do so), not only in order to make contact initially but also to facilitate the expression of the group's viewpoints.

Finally, we need to identify the particular context of each group: the season or the time of day when its members are available, the seasonal nature of their economic occupations, their physical setting (meeting places, availability of electricity, means of communication, etc.). In fact, many communication initiatives run into difficulty because they fail to take into account this aspect.

This information-gathering process does not require an in-depth sociological survey, but rather a quick review of basic information that will serve to orient the communication strategy. This review is best done when it involves directly the representatives of the local community.

Document(s) 2 of 10