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T28 Group Sustainability Mapping
T28: Group Sustainability Mapping
A group sustainability map is a tool for visually representing the cornerstones for successfully achieving sustainable animal welfare improvements. It enables a community group to visualise the key ‘results areas’ that need to be in place to achieve a long-lasting improvement in their animals’ welfare. It is recommended this activity be conducted in the planning or implementation phase of the project, and then its outcomes referred to during monitoring and reflection and learning processes throughout the project, as well as the exit and evaluation phase. In this way, the tool supports assessment of the extent to which the group can sustain its animal welfare improvements independently and help inform the determination of the group’s readiness for withdrawal of external support.
Sustainability mapping is slightly different from vision or dream mapping which involved visualizing broad goals, with vision statements often drawn by participants in the form of pictures [79]. Sustainability mapping on the other hand, focuses on identifying specific results areas needed to achieve sustainability, then breaking down each results area into the specific activities to deliver them, thereby enabling participants to formulate a concrete action plan for achieving lasting change.
| Tool purpose: | Time needed: |
| • Enable community group members to identify specific results areas that will support their achievement of lasting animal welfare improvements without external support. • Support community action planning by identifying activities community groups need to undertake to deliver each result area and achieve lasting animal welfare improvements. • Support evaluation of group readiness for withdraw of project support. | 2 hours |
| Materials needed: | |
| Chart paper, coloured cards, markers, or other locally available resources, like sticks, stones, straw, beans, seeds, coloured powders or saw dust, etc. |
Keyword Search Tags
Project Phase:
Planning Phase, Implementation, Exit and Evaluation Phase
Approaches for Working With Communities: Community Development Approach
Behavioural Drivers (COM-B):
Opportunity
Stages of Behaviour Change:
Preparation Stage
Project Support: Participatory Learning and Action Tools
Specific Topics: Group formation/strengthening
Group Sustainability Map
An example group sustainability map is provided in figure T28 below. The map illustrates the results areas identified as needing to be in place for a community group to achieve lasting animal welfare improvements.
The following activities were then identified to support achievement of each results area, followed by discussions about opportunities for carrying them out:
- Animal owners, carers, and users with the motivation, knowledge, and skills to meet their animals’ welfare needs
- Advocate for and secure training for group members on animal husbandry and management best practices from extension service providers
- Raise awareness of animal husbandry and management best practices to others in the community
- Provide guidance to those who need it on preventing/addressing animal welfare issues as needed
- Model best practices in animal husbandry and management and share experiences with other community members to encourage their uptake
- Effective and functioning community group governance structures and savings and loan system
- Group develops and approves constitution with clear vision and purpose to improve animal welfare
- Group elects governing body members regularly as per the governance constitution including ensuring women’s and other vulnerable groups genuine participation and leadership
- Group has financial system (e.g. records, audit reports, minutes of decisions, etc.) and strong management to ensure efficiency, financial stability and sustainability
- All members contribute to group savings as per constitutionally agreed requirements
- Group action plan is regularly revisited and adapted as needed based on monitoring results
- Secure training for group members in community group governance from extension service providers
- Mechanisms for monitoring animals’ welfare needs within the community
- Agree on observable indicators of animal welfare within their group and the community at large that the group can monitor
- Conduct animal welfare transect walks at regularly agreed intervals
- Securing access/availability to/of quality and affordable resources and services necessary to sustaining their animal’s welfare
- Establish good working relationships with key animal resource and health service providers to support the community in meeting animals’ welfare needs through quality service provision.
- Facilitate collective bargaining and purchases from animal resource and service providers at reduced cost to support group members and others in the community in meeting their animals’ welfare needs
- Advocate for and secure water point maintenance training for group members from extension service providers
- Establish, maintain or provide support to a water point management committee to maintain water points or other community-led natural resource management important to the community and their animals
| Group Sustainability Mapping | |
|---|---|
| Step 1 | Invite community group members to identify what they need to put/have in place (sometimes called results areas) in order to maintain good working animal welfare on their own to sustain lasting improvements in their animal’s welfare without external support. Give the participants coloured cards and ask them to draw or write down their thoughts. Some areas to consider are suggested under Step 2. It is important to ensure that different community members are invited and have a safe enabling space for them to share their views on what sustainability looks like from their point of view. |
| Step 2 | Next, ask participants to analyse what is on each card and sort them into categories, facilitating their debate until they come to a consensus on the ‘results areas’ which they believe need to be in place for them to achieve a long-lasting improvement in their/their community’s animals’ welfare. Once results areas are agreed and paste the cards comprising each area onto a big piece of chart paper and ask participants to develop a results statement on each area. Some examples of possible results are provided below for reference: • Animal owners, carers, and users with the motivation, knowledge, and skills to meet their animals’ welfare needs • Effective and functioning community group governance structures and savings and loan system • Mechanisms for monitoring animals’ welfare needs within the community • Securing access/availability to/of key resources and services necessary to sustaining their animal’s welfare |
| Step 3 | Once results statements have been created, ask group members to identify activities which they would need to undertake to achieve each result statement. Ask them to draw or write each activity on the chart under the result area which it contributes to, and discuss the opportunities for carrying out these activities. Once completed, encourage the group to incorporate their identified activities within their community action plan. |
| Step 4 | Document results by either transferring it to a piece of paper or by taking a photo of the completed outputs. Ensure a copy of the sustainability map produced is retained by the community. Record any relevant insights from the community’s analysis in your project action tracker. Follow up with the community to further support their action planning and implementation of identified activities as needed. |
Facilitation Notes
- Note what different sustainability aspects are identified as priorities by different community members considering their lived experiences.
- It is also important to identify what form of group formation and structure is relevant for the intended group sustainability.