Introduction to process documentation for learning alliances and action research

Based on background paper SWITCH Briefing No 6

Ton Schouten

Introduction

The planned project intervention

The actual course of the project

Introduction Ctd

A tool that helps project staff and stakeholders to carefully track meaningful events in their project. It enables reflection and analysis of these events in order to understand better what is happening, how it is happening and why it may be happening.

Introduction Ctd

• Looking behind the surface, behind the obvious• Understanding power relations, culture, traditions,

attitudes, social relationships, politics, dependency

• Understanding resistance to change / understanding dynamics for change

• Diary: the wheels turning in your head• Making visible what is hidden• Don’t ignore and do away with the outside world

(nasty, standing in the way of the project) but understanding it and making it a factor in the project

• Stimulate the debate about the hidden factors

Conceptual underpinning

“Intervention is visualised in existing models as a discrete set of activities that take place within a defined time-space setting involving the interaction between so-called ‘intervening’ parties and ‘target’ or ‘recipient’ groups. Such an image isolates intervention from the continuous flow of social life and ongoing relations …… intervention never is a ‘project’ with sharp boundaries in time and space as defined by the institutional apparatus of the state or implementing agency.” (Long and van der Ploeg, 1989; page 228).

Conceptual underpinning

• Into the context: beyond the life time and the institutional boundaries of a project

• History• How things have been done and are being done

for years• Taking the anecdotes serious and not only a

corridor or coffee corner laugh

Capturing, organising, analysing, disseminating

• Capturing the change process – the stumbling blocks, the acceleration, the dynamics (social relationships, power, politics, resistance to change etc)

• Organising the captured information to reflect and learn

• Analysing the information: trends, patterns• Disseminating the information

Theory of change

• What to document?• What is the focus?• It is the projects theory of change e.g.

joint decision making will result in better services for the poor

community participation will result in more sustainable services

• Example EMPOWERS: concerted action, joint decision making, empowerment, change of attitudes

• Indicators to have more specific focus

Why document processes

• You do it all the time: but not systematically and not for learning

• Step back: observe trends, warning, opportunities• Collection of qualitative information – monitoring• Learning from mistakes• Deepen understanding – follow curiosity• Portrays people concerned in who they are

(regardless of a project)• Learn internally and externally – communication• It is nice• It is fun

What to document

• Who, where, what, when• Focus: theory of change:

integration between departments or disciplines or sectors,

coordinated action of all stakeholders, joint decision making, participation, change of attitude and empowerment

• Who are involved, what exactly, when and where can you observe, why is it not happening, what is behind the surface, where the project life line makes the sharpest curves etc

Principles

• Go to the stakeholders, give them a voice• Go to the events where there is tension and

conflict • Study and describe the context• Organise stepping back: reflection and analysis• Use for internal learning • Disseminate and share, stimulate debate

Tools

Tools for capturing: interviews, focus group discussions, observation, diaries, visuals (photography, video)

Tools for organising: filing and compiling: articles, case studies, photo books, video films, written portraits etc

Tools for analysing: time, methods and structuresTools for disseminating: internal meetings, channels

(radio, TV, Newsletters, website, presentations, meetings)

Who documents

Insiders – the project teamGood for internal learning, but is there enough distance (in parallel to and as part of the project)

Direct stakeholdersStimulates learning and reflection, gives a voice to groups (participatory video)

OutsidersThere is (independent and critical) distance, there is experience in looking behind the scene

The process documentation specialist

• is non-judgmental and can listen to many perspectives without an ‘expert’ hat on;

• can ask questions that stimulate critical thinking and dig below the surface;

• is able to stay objective while also seeing the big picture and placing learning in context of the larger vision;

• is culturally competent;• understands the dynamics of human transformation;• is trusted by the community, but can report findings

without bias;• can synthesise large volumes of information to identify key

learnings;• is skilled at communicating messages in positive ways.• Has technical skills

Internal and external

Internal project learning (joint learning with direct stakeholders): formats, methods and meetings

Communication to the outside world: communication strategy. Stimulate debate, advocate, inform etc.

Can serve both purposes

Planning

Process documentation plan:• Purpose of the process documentation.

Is it for internal project learning? Is it for communication to the outside world?

• What is the theory of change of the project: which processes to trace, who to follow throughout the process, where and when.

• Which tools are needed for capturing the process, organising the information, analysing the findings and disseminating the information?

• Who will document the processes (project team, a process documentation specialist, direct stakeholders, outsiders)?

Planning Ctd

• Is it needed to develop skills in process documentation (writing, video, photography, editing, website development)?

• What will the outputs be, the products – both for the internal learning and the communication strategy? For each output a short synopsis should be written – what is the content of the case study, video byte, photo album etc. and which specific objectives does it serve?

• How to monitor if the process documentation yielded success?

Politics of process documentation

You cannot always share what you have captured!

Threatens the projectsThreatens your future job

How to overcome?

Final remark

Process documentation may: • help projects to break through their sharp

boundaries in time and space. • help project interventions to engage with “the

continuous flow of social life and ongoing relations”.

• enable projects to raise issues of general interest and stimulate reflection and debate in wider society.

• not take external factors for granted or as the nasty assumptions in a logframe

• be one of the tools to make research projects more relevant.