Some relevant information will already exist (for instance, project baseline surveys
and case study reports). In addition, the facilitation team should conduct a transect
walk with a knowledgeable community volunteer who will be willing to highlight
significant features (waterbodies, infrastructure, livestock routes etc.) and discuss
issues regarding social features, recent changes to livelihoods and any specific
difficulties in the area.
The output will be a small document of 3-4 pages outlining the context (quantitative
and qualitative features) of the planning area and which will act as a reference for
the facilitating team and will be available to local stakeholders as required.
1.2 Participant selection
Once the facilitators have a good understanding of the local context they must
decide who to include in the first stages of PAPD. Normally about 30 local primary
stakeholders will form a group which is large enough to be representative but small
enough for the facilitators to manage the process. This group should be: 1) willing to
donate their time and motivated by the planning process; 2) representative of the
diversity of primary stakeholders within the village or village cluster. There is a need
to retain the same participants throughout the whole planning process and to
minimise changes to this group.
The decision on who to include should be based on local advice. For instance, in
some settings it will depend on whether women are permitted to meet and talk in
mixed groups or whether it is possible to meet and talk with people from other
ethnic groups. This will also have a bearing on the composition of the facilitating
team (i.e. language skills, gender).
The participants should be notified of the time and venue of the planning several
days in advance.
2. Problem Census & Problem Prioritization
(approximately half a day)
The first task is to explain the purpose of this planning with PAPD and its role in
relation to local work and projects. Introductions can be used as a way to reveal
attendants’ names and stakeholder group. This should be recorded in a register each
day there is a PAPD meeting.
The purpose of this stage is to initiate discussion of the range of livelihoods and
natural resource management problems in the area, to increase awareness of these
issues and their underlying causes, and of how they impact different groups.
Discussing the concerns of each stakeholder group, in turn, helps build confidence
and empathy between the primary stakeholders.
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