Worksheet 2.4: Community Consultation

Following the principle Vision before Technology, the Tech Steward consults with the community members to discuss challenges and opportunities that ICT might be able to address.

Not all problems will be suited to an ICT solution but sometimes this will only be discovered during or after a campaign.

There are various participatory methods for community consulting and you may have experience with some already. The Problem/Opportunity Tree is a method we use in this course.

2.4(a) Problem Tree Exercise

Begin at the trunk: what is a problem that our community of practice is facing right now? Write down a list of problems if there is more than one that comes to mind.

Go to the roots: what are the causes, situations, factors that have led to the problem? Why does the problem exist? There may be more than one cause.

Then go to the branches: what are the effects created by the problem? How do we experience the problem in our daily routines, practices, or group processes?

2.4(b) Opportunity Tree Exercise

Having identified the problem, the causes, and effects, we then consider the opportunities available to the community for making changes.

Start with the branches: What is our vision for the future? What outcome do we want to experience in our daily routines, practices, and group processes?

Go to the roots: What actions, changes in practice, routine, or situation will need to take place to help us achieve our objective? What role can ICT play in helping us to achieve the objective?

Go to the trunk: How do we restate the problem in a positive way? What is the objective and outcome we are trying to achieve with a change in practices and routines?