This resource includes three example trackers you may wish to use to support your work. These are designed for community engagement staff, as a way to record key discussions from community visits, track progress, and capture outcomes. Using trackers will help you to:
Be accountable to the communities you work with
Provide the support requested by communities during your visits
Keep track of actions and ensure that they are completed on time
Evidence progress and requests for further support from your organisation or potential partner organisations
Report to donors more easily
Each of these trackers are suggestions only, and should be adapted and used as is appropriate for your team and context. It may not be appropriate or required to use some of these trackers for all projects so you can pick and choose as is helpful for your work.
Approaches for Working With Communities: Community Development Approach, Community Engagement Approach, Societal Outreach and Campaigns Approach
Project Support: Facilitator Resources, Documentation and Reporting
1. Team Action Tracker
The Team Action Tracker keeps a record of actions to be taken by staff/partner staff teams to support identified animal welfare issues. The tracker is informed by PLA activities and directly supports the community action plan.
The tracker should be populated and updated by community engagement staff. It helps to track which animal welfare issues were identified, using which PLA tools, and captures the follow up actions to be taken by the team to both support the community action plan.
Invite a vet to sensitize on colic (1st priority) during next community meeting.
2. Project/Regional Action Tracker
The Project/Regional Action Tracker is designed to collate information from across communities to inform project/regional planning. Information included within the tracker is populated with information taken from PLA activities and community action plans from within the project/regional operational area. The Project/Regional Action Tracker can support with identifying the scale of different issues, tracking different actions/strategies planned, and recording ideas for actions to take/improvement which should be further explored. The goal is to help teams keep track of outcomes of activities with communities for greater strategic coordination and support for planning and development of projects. The utility of this resource will depend on the scale of the project/programme and may not be needed in all project contexts.
Animal Welfare Issue
Regions & communities where issues was identified as priority
Key actions / strategies to take
Person responsible
Timeline / Deadline
Additional actions / Ideas for improvement
Status / Update
Feeding
Halaba: 17 communities
Regional training on proper feeding practices scheduled for 30th May 2019
Drought (water shortage)
Dodola: 14 communities
· Speaking to WaterAid about opportunities to link communities with water savings programmes
3. Staff Action Tracker
The Staff Action Tracker is designed to support community engagement staff to document their community visits, activities, and action points for follow up.
Staff Name: Community/site:
Visit/ Meeting Date
Number of participants and equines targeted
Community engagement activities Key topics/issues discussed (incl. follow up on progress of action points/results identified in previous meeting/visit)
Identified action points and results expected to be achieved by community Persons responsible + expected achievement date
Identified actions for staff Person responsible + expected achievement date
Action point: 1. Sensitization on hoof care & possible handling for women 2. Follow up on how sharing of stable cleaning activities are going Staff responsible: Expected achievement date:
07/06/2019
# Participants: 10
# Equines:
T15 Cost-benefit analysis – not over-loading · Implementation costs · Cost on animal · Cost on HH if adopted or not · Benefits of mixed feed
Action point/result expected: 1. Reduce from 10 quantal/3 trips to 8 quantal/4 trips 2. Buy wheat bran in bulk to reduce cost (10 birr to 8.6 birr / kg) 3. Focus on balance loading Person responsible: Fanos & Azamach Expected achievement date: Meet to discuss in one week
Action point: 1. Check with animal welfare team that reduction in amount over more trips is good welfare 2. Make plan to collect money for bulk purchase of feed 3. Support selection of money managers 4. Provide support/training on cart balancing & feed mixing 5. Sensitizing shop keeper about over-loading 6. Identify feed sellers who are willing to sell in bulk for reduced cost 7. Revisit for support planning in 15 days Staff responsible: Expected achievement date:
07/06/2019
# Participants:
# Equines:
T14 Group inter-loaning
Action point/result expected: 1. Carry out activity in smaller groups
Action point: 1. Evaluate seed money strategy – focus seed money on direct equine-benefited activities
07/06/2019
# Participants: 10
# Equines?
T15 Cost-benefit analysis – not over-loading: · Implementation costs · Cost on animal · Cost on HH if adopted or not · Benefits of mixed feed
Action point/result expected: 4. Reduce from 10 quantal/3 trips to 8 quantal/4 trips 5. Buy wheat bran in bulk to reduce cost (10 birr to 8.6 birr / kg) 6. Focus on balance loading
Person responsible: Fanos & Azamach
Expected achievement date: Meet to discuss in one week
Action point: 1. Check with animal welfare technical support staff to evaluate potential welfare implications of community’s proposed action. 2. Revisit for support planning in 15 days
Staff responsible: TBD, consult with AHM and UK AW team
The resource is intended to support community facilitators design evaluation questions to track the implementation, progress and outcomes of the animal welfare improvement project/behaviour change processes. The resource can be used when developing community project participant’s individual interview or focus group discussion guide. The sample questions explore community vis-a-vis individual level household changes; group sustainability; and tracking behaviour change from the stages of change perspective. Note these are not exhaustive and need to be adapted to fit to your programme/project/context needs.
Keyword Search Tags
Project Phase: Exit & Evaluation Phase
Approaches for Working With Communities: Community Development Approach, Community Engagement Approach, Societal Outreach and Campaigns Approach
Project Support: Facilitator Resources, Monitoring and Evaluation
It could be helpful to start with questions which encourage the respondent to easily respond to e.g.
Why did you get involved in this project? What did you find the most interesting about this project?
What was the most difficult part for you? What could be done differently to make this project more successful in the future?
You can ask them to recall and explain what things were like before – and then ask them to explain how they are now. Eg) How were animals in your community before this project started? Probe: Were they happy? Why? Did they look healthy? Why? Did they have the things they need? What did/didn’t they have?
Then provide a follow on question, Eg) How are things for animals in your community now? Why? Probe: Do they have what they need? Do they look healthy? If yes, why? If no, why not?
Do people do anything differently with their animals now? Can you give some animal welfare related actions being carried by the community?
Are change agents (if being utilized) playing an active role in supporting your community? In what ways? What do you think they could do differently?
Is there a collective understanding amongst community members of the major animal welfare issues and how to address them?
What are the animal health service providers available in your area? Do these local service providers provide quality services to the satisfaction of community members? Probe: Are group members seeking the help of animal health services?Are local service providers responsive to community requests? Does the responsiveness differ based on people’s gender or socio-economic status? Can you provide examples?
Are community/group members seeking animal welfare related services proactively and in a timely manner? Can you give examples?
Are men, women and children in families who own animals all aware of their animals’ welfare issues and participate in activities that are important to improve and maintain good welfare?
What kind of actions have been taken in your community to ensure better animal welfare improvement is achieved? (Probing questions depending on your focus issue: What examples of community-led animal disease prevention measures are being carried out on appropriate timelines e.g., vaccines and boosters? Are appropriate measures to ensure clean and comfortable environments for animals in place? Are community members engaged in the project have a good knowledge of appropriate and welfare friendly gear? And use them on their animals? e.g., harnessing, saddle-fitting, cart balance and loading, are animals handled in ways that are safe? (Which doesn’t not prevent their development or creates risk of injury. What are the animal – owner/handler interactions? What are the wound prevention or/and management practices in your area? Have you seen changes on that?).
What changes in access to and availability of resources do communities perceive have resulted from their involvement in the project?
Have there been any benefits to the community from this work? Probe: Can you give specific examples?
Have there been any negative consequences on the community from this work? Probe: Can you give specific examples?
Sample questions to ask when assessing group sustainability (if the project included Equine Welfare Group Formation)
Is your community different after forming a group? If yes, in what ways? If no, why do you think this is?
Is the group registered? Is your group functioning well with regular documented meetings? Have there been changes in leadership of your group? Are men and women part of the leadership and membership?
Is conflict resolution mechanism in place, has been used and the outcome recorded in village registers?
Are there examples of collective actions that have been undertaken by the group to meet their animals’ needs and are these recorded in the records of the community group e.g., collective feed purchases, vaccine campaigns, advocacy with government agencies to address their animal needs?
What are the successful animal welfare improvements that were achieved through your collective/group actions? What were your group’s actions to encourage your members to change their behaviour to improve animal welfare? Were there mechanisms that your group established to change your members' behaviour to improve animal welfare? Can you give us examples? Can you tell us more about this?
Sample Questions for Assessing Changes/impact at the individual level
Are all members of your family aware of your animal’s welfare issues? Probe: Your wife/husband? What about your children? Probe: What do they each do for your animal’s welfare?
Have you learnt anything new since being part of this group/work?
What are the changes you have seen in your animals, give examples/specify
What are the practices you have adopted at home that has are helping you improve the welfare of your animals? Give examples.
What kind of support have you received from Brooke/partners or change agents?
Do you do anything differently with your animals now, after being part of this project: Probe: Can you give some examples? Why didn’t you do the things that you do now with your animal, beforehand? What stopped you from doing things with your animal the way you do now, before this project started? What helped you to change your practice or what is a challenge for your not to change your practice? What do you want to know more or practice more to improve your animals’ welfare?
How would you rate your rate of motivation to continue to practice the new targeted behaviour? Do you intend to keep caring for your animal in the ways you do now? If yes, why? What could make it difficult to do this? If no, why not?
What are the prompts and triggers to adopt the new behaviour you identified? [learning questions for reflection and for future programme/project intervention design]
Were you able to identify something that would help you to sustain the desired targeted behaviour? And what is it?
Have you faced unforeseen challenges? If so, what are the unforeseen challenges have you faced?
Is there any resource/time implication of adopting the desired new targeted behaviour when compared to the old practice? Probe: Do you think this will impact whether you continue to do this?
Vulnerable groups’ targeted question: Have you encountered any specific challenges to your gender/situation or position as a result practising this desired behaviour? e.g., making decisions to take the animal to be treated, deciding to pay to a service?
Has it been difficult to continue/maintain the new ways of treating and working with your animal? If yes, why? If no, why not? What or who made it easier for you to keep up these ways of working? What or who made it difficult to maintain the new changes? What kind of support do you still require to maintain/continue with practicing the desired targeted behaviour?
Have you started experiencing the benefits of animal welfare to your livelihood and the associated desired behaviour change?
Tracking Behaviour change using Stages of Change Model
As part of working towards behaviour change, it is important to track progress towards the realization of the desired behaviour. You can use the below questions to monitor progress or as part of overall project evaluation. The below points/questions can help you to check whether you were successful to introduce change within each stage of change. These suggested indicative questions (not prescriptive and exhaustive) can be used for FGD, KII, and within surveys/interviews, or can be included as a follow up of various participatory tools that can be used for evaluation phase. You can also ask these questions retrospectively once the groups/individual project participants progress to the next stage of change to understand the change progress as part of your learning.
Pre-contemplation and contemplation (following Conception phase):
Have community/individual’s knowledge and understanding about animal welfare improved? Do they identify the gap in practice on animal welfare now? You can probe this by asking:- Can you explain what animal welfare means to you? Follow on: What was the standard of animal welfare in your community before this work started/your group formed? Probe: Why was this the case?
Have they become aware of what animal welfare concerns are there in their locality/individual homestead? Probe: Can you provide examples?
Are community/individual’s’ able to link their/o/u/c problem behaviour with the animal welfare gap.
Has the capability (physical and psychological) and motivation (Reflective motivation) of o/u/c changed after the intervention?
What is the belief system of the community/individual about the possibility of change? What is their change talks?
Did their value system change because of the intervention [during conception /planning phase] and/or your organization contribution or that of the CCA?
How would they rate (individual or collective depending on your availability of resource and relevance) their motivation for change? This will be asked retrospectively as part of overall evaluation, or as a question at the end of the first phase? If asked at the end, this could be clearer: “How would you have described your motivation for change at the beginning of this process?”
What kind of steps/actions they are willing to take or have taken so far?
Preparation
How would they rate their motivation to adopt the new desired targeted behaviour?
What is your current understanding about the relationship between the problem behaviour and animal welfare practice gap; and how can you change this?
Did their value system change because of the intervention [during conception /planning phase interactions] and/or your organization contribution or that of the CCA?
What kind of steps/actions they are willing to take or have taken so far?
What kind of support has they received? e.g. Action plan development trainings, etc.
Have they (group and/or individual) developed action plan to act?
What were their barriers to develop action plans before the start of this programme/project? Have these barriers changed? How would they link your programme/project/CCA helped/contributed to reducing the barriers?
What were their barriers to develop action plans before the start of this programme/project? Have these barriers changed? How would they link your programme/project/CCA helped/contributed to reducing the barriers?
Action
Did they find their action plans relevant to their reality when trying to implement them? (This shows doing good COM-B analysis helps in identifying potential barriers and adaptive programming with SI can further help the community/individual to get the relevant/appropriate intervention to help the shift to take concrete actions to perform the desired behaviour change).
What are the prompts and triggers to adopt the new behaviour you identified? [learning questions for reflection and for future programme/project intervention design]
Were you able to reinforce the supporting behaviours that will help you to sustain the desired targeted behaviour? Probe: Can you provide specific examples?
Have you faced unforeseen challenges? If so, what are the unforeseen challenges have you faced?
Is there any resource/time implication of adopting the desired new targeted behaviour when compared to the old practice?
How would you rate your rate of motivation to continue to practice the new targeted behaviour? [for survey or FGD or KII]
Vulnerable groups’ targeted question: what kind of actions were you to take? Have you encountered specific to your gender/situation or position? E.g. making decisions to take the animal to be treated, deciding to pay to a service?
Have you faced any safeguarding issues when practicing this new targeted behaviour [This is particularly relevant when part of the socio-economic and COM-B analysis/gender analysis has shown that it is a hindrance for animal welfare or a prompt/favourable social norm for animal welfare practice without being exploitative of individuals/undermining their dignity and rights]
Who helped you to continue to continue overcome your challenges/distractions to go back to the old way? Did you have supporting relationships or mechanisms?
Maintenance
How long were you able to hold of the maintenance of performing the desired targeted behaviour?
Have you seen the benefit in practicing the new desired targeted behaviour?
Who helped you to continue to overcome your challenges/distractions to go back to the old way? Did you have supporting relationships or mechanisms?
What kind of support do you still require maintaining the desired targeted behaviour?
Termination
How long were you able to maintain/sustain performing the desired targeted behaviour?
Did you have supporting relationships or mechanisms or incentives to perform the desired behaviour and to improve your animal welfare practice? What or who helped you to continue to continue overcome your challenges/distractions not to fall back to the old ways of handling/managing/using your animal?
Have you started communicating the benefits of animal welfare to your livelihood and the associated desired behaviour change to your friends, family, etc.?
Facilitation Notes
Facilitator needs to create an enabling safe space for people/groups who are marginalized to express their lived experiences regarding the different barriers they faced and how they have found the project to help them maintain human behaviour change that benefits their animals’ welfare improvement and also theirs and their family/community lives. Meeting invites to such meetings need to ensure both genders be able to meaningfully participate and for their views to be heard to determine the next steps.
It is important to note that such discussions with communities should be voluntary and use ethical standards which includes informing the participants why they are selected, the purpose of the discussion/interview, that their views won’t affect their involvement in the project and how the interview/the discussion will be take and the purpose of the meeting should be clearly communicated to them. The following tools may also be used to support the evaluation of project success:
The problem animal tool supports identifying and exploring the underlying causes of perceived animal welfare issues through an in depth root cause analysis. This activity can be revisited when planned actions have resulted in desired welfare improvements to promote evaluation and reflection on unidentified or unaddressed root causes. Please note that the first step in this exercise is the same as that ofAnimal welfare body mapping (T20).
Tool purpose:
Time needed:
• To raise awareness of the root causes of welfare issues affecting different parts of an animal’s body and possible actions to be taken to address them, either collectively or individually • To inform organisational planning based on root cause analysis of animal welfare issues
2-3 hours
Materials needed:
Chart paper, cards, sticky notes, coloured markers, tape, and scissors
Keyword Search Tags
Project Phase: Planning Phase
Approaches for Working With Communities: Community Development Approach, Community Engagement Approach, Societal Outreach and Campaigns Approach
Behavioural Drivers (COM-B): Behaviour Change Diagnosis and Planning, Capability
Stages of Behaviour Change: Preparation Stage
Project Support: Participatory Learning and Action Tools, Needs Assessment
Specific Topics: Animal Welfare, Feelings and Needs
Problem Animal
Figure T25a Problem animal diagram
Exploring the complexities of need and demand for farriery service.
This diagram was made by a group of animal owners. First, the group discussed the problems affecting each part of the animal’s body, then they analysed the problems in depth to find their root causes. The group found that wounds on different parts of the body have different causes, but there are also causal factors (sub causes) which are common to more than one body area, such as bad road conditions and the way that ropes are tied. Wounds on the belly, breast and tail base were found to be inter-related. The group created a community action plan to address some of the root causes identified during this exercise.
Figure T25b Problem animal – causes of identified animal welfare problems
Animal body mapping PLEASE NOTE: Steps 1-3 are the same as in T20 Animal body mapping and should be completed prior to carrying out T25 Problem animal.
Animal body parts map
Step 1
If the broken animal jigsaw puzzle is available, start by playing the game. Then, ask participants to sketch the body of their animal on the ground or on paper and to identify the different body parts and the local names used for each body part.
Step 2
Once participants have identified all body parts, initiate a discussion on their perceptions of the role and function of each part. This discussion often creates an opportunity for facilitators to sensitize participants about which body parts are important to animals’ function, which is particularly relevant in relation to working animals.
Animal body issue map
Step 3
Follow step one above, then ask the group to identify issues they commonly perceive on the body of their animals. This may include wounds, symptoms of disease, or other problems with animal health or function which they observe. It is important to allow participants to identify what they perceive to be issues, rather than identify issues you as the facilitator perceive. Encourage participants to draw these issues on the body map or represent those using symbols next to the appropriate body part.
Problem animal
Step 4
Then, ask the community which 2 or 3 of the issues identified in step 3 are the biggest problems and focus on those for the rest of the activity. Start with those most common to everyone.
Have participants discuss the causes of the problems and draw or write the causes near the relevant part of the animal’s body. Analyse each welfare issue in depth by repeatedly asking ‘why?’ questions.
For example:
‘Why does the animal get that wound?’ – ‘Because of the leather belt on the harness’
‘Why does the leather belt cause the wound?’ – ‘Because it is not cleaned and oiled’
‘Why is the belt not cleaned and oiled?’ – ‘Because we don’t have the time’
‘Why don’t you have the time?’
…and so on, until the group reaches the deepest root causes of the welfare problem and cannot go any further.
When one welfare problem is complete, take up the next one and repeat the questions until root causes are drawn or written next to all the problems shown on the body of the animal. If time permits, add additional issues, and repeat the same process with participants.
Step 5
As the discussion progresses and all the causes are identified, analyse any links or relationships between different causes and show these using lines or arrows (see Figure T25).
Please note: It is common for participants to discuss, and debate causes. These discussions often create shared learning opportunities, whereby participants learn from one another as they discuss and seek agreement on the true causal factors. As a facilitator, you should allow and encourage this discussion without inserting your ideas. However, you may need to ask probing questions or take the time to guide participants to the real causal factors if they get stuck or their lack of understanding prevents them from identifying true root causes. You may also need to intervene if they struggle to resolve their differences in beliefs themselves.
Step 6
Ask participants to reflect on what they have discussed and mapped.
Discussion questions may include:
• What have they realized or learned because of doing this activity? • What are possible solutions for addressing the root causes of priority animal welfare issues? • Are there opportunities to take collective action to address the root causes the issues? • Referring to the identified root causes, what are the implications or consequences for owners or animal-owning households if not addressed?
Support the community to identify possible solutions if needed, either in this session or in a follow up session as time and resources permit.
Step 7
Have the community helper record the root causes and any specific actions and activities in the community action plan, including who will monitor, a realistic timeline and any help needed from external stakeholders. Record the root causes and actions to be taken by the team to your project action tracker and support the community by linking them to any necessary stakeholders
Facilitator’s notes: Problem animal
The facilitator should have a good knowledge of animal welfare and be able to recommend solutions to address issues, including community-based collective action ideas.
Men, women, owners, users and carers all have different roles and responsibilities related to their animals and may have different knowledge to contribute to understanding the root causes of welfare issues. Decide who best to include in this activity and whether to carry it out with men and women (or other subgroups) separately or in a mixed group. This will depend on group dynamics, your rapport with the community and the local context.
The in-depth problem analysis explores socially and traditionally induced inequality related issues as root causes from different people’s lived experiences depending on their position within a society e.g. gender inequality, caste systems, migratory status, race, etc. might uniquely affect owners/users/carers understanding in living within and dealing with root causes. Therefore, the importance of creating safe and enabling environment during such discussion is a high priority as part of a ground rule when leading such sensitive areas. It is also important to acknowledge people’s realties/lived experiences; rather than being dismissive.
This exercise needs a lot of patience and questioning in order to enable the deepest causal factors to come out of the discussion. Keep asking “why” until all root causes are identified.
Consider using cards or sticky notes to document the causes and sub-causes, as participants may change their mind about the causes and either move or remove them.
It is important for the facilitator to end such meetings on a positive note by doing Step 6 and 7 focusing on the potential solutions. Doing this helps with reflective motivation for people to be more motivated to continue to engage and work with us (rather than leaving them pondering about all the magnitude of the problems they have to tackle).
If the animal body mapping (T20)exercise was performed by the group in the recent past, it should not be necessary to repeat steps 1-3. In this case, review and summarize the issues identified with the group, then move to root cause identification in step 4.
T26 Animal welfare cause and effect analysis to explore the root causes of an individual welfare issue identified during this Problem Animal activity in greater depth along with the related effects on animals and people. This tool is great for fostering motivation to improve animal welfare, as it explores the consequences of inaction for both animal and humans.
T15 Cost benefit analysis to explore the risks and opportunities of action and inaction on both animals and humans, including potential solutions for reducing costs and increasing benefits to both. This tool is useful if previously agreed community actions are not being adopted due to lack of motivation or high perceived costs.
Undertaking the root causes analysis using T25 tool paves the way to do COM-B behavioural diagnosisto further support the kind of substantive intervention needed to address the desired behaviour change.
The animal welfare cause and effect analysis is sometimes called a problem tree, in which causes are depicted as roots of the tree and effects as branches. This adapted version of the tool provides a visual representation of the relationship between the causes of specific priority animal welfare issues, and the effects of the issues on both people and animals [48]. This tool has proven to be one of the most important and effective participatory tools in this toolkit, as the improved understanding and awareness that results from discussions and outputs of this activity have effectively motivated participants to take action to prevent animal welfare issues, as well as respond to them when they do occur. In particular, the effect analysis portion of this tool can be a key motivator of behaviour change. Consider conducting a pairwise ranking (T8) or matrix ranking and scoring (T9)prior to this one to identify the priority welfare issues.
Tool purpose:
Time needed:
• To identify and promote participant understanding of the root causes of a specific priority animal welfare issue and their implications for humans and animals. • To generate participants’ motivation to take action or change their behaviour, either collectively or individually, to prevent or respond to animal welfare issues • To identify root causes of animal welfare issues and potential implications on the livelihoods and well-being of animal-owning households.
1.5 - 2 hours
Materials needed:
Cards, pens, markers, coloured powder, chalk, sticks, tree leaves, coloured cards or other locally available materials
Specific Topics: Animal Welfare, Feelings, and Needs; Livelihoods; Compassion / Empathy
Animal welfare cause and effect analysis (or problem tree)
The animal welfare cause and effect analysis is used to analyze an animal welfare issue or problem by identifying the complex contributing factors and any relationships between the factors, as well as their effects on animal-owning households and animals alike. In the context of working animals, this tool has been used to help identify the causes of priority welfare problems such as wounds and overloading, and to discuss the effects of these welfare issues on animals and the people who depend on them. For example, discussing the causes of wounds on specific parts of a working animal’s body may highlight causal factors such as the size and structure a harness or saddle, or the design of a cart or carriage. Effects on the animal could include pain, weight loss and reduced working capacity. Effects of the animal’s wounds on the owner could include less income (from reduced work and increased expenditure on treatment) or lower status in the community.
T26a Animal Welfare Cause and Effect Analysis diagram for an Animal-Owning Community
The above animal welfare cause and effect analysis was produced by a group of working animal owners in a rural community. They were particularly concerned about reducing and preventing wounds on their animals’ backs. Four major causes were initially identified: whipping by users, beating by children, bad road conditions and improper harness fitting. These causes were then continuously analysed to better understand why they were happening, until the underlying root causes were identified. The effects of back wounds on the animals were then discussed and identified as decreased energy, low appetite, pain and increased risk of infection. The resulting effects on the household were decreased income, increased expenditure on treatment and always feeling stressed and worried about where money would come from and whether the animal would recover.
This activity motivated the group to take action on the root causes that were within their influence.
This included:
Petitioning the local government for road repairs between nearby communities and major transport routes
Promoting more humane handling amongst members of their household to prevent wounds from whipping and beating
Making their own welfare-friendly harnesses from recycled materials
Animal Welfare Cause & Effect Analysis
Step 1
Ask participants to identify the animal welfare issues they feel are a priority and select one issue to explore in depth with this exercise. Consider referring to animal welfare issues and priorities previously identified using T25 Problem Animal,T8 Pairwise Ranking or T9 Matrix Ranking and Scoring, if available. Make sure that the issue is not broad, such as ‘wounds’ generally.
Step 2
Have the community helper draw a circle on the ground or on a large piece of paper and ask him/her to draw or write the priority welfare issue in the middle of the circle using a symbol, picture, or word.
Step 3
Begin the discussion by asking the group what they perceive to be the major factors that cause this problem. As main causes are identified, each cause is added below the priority issue, using symbols, pictures, or words, and connected to the problem with arrows.
Step 4
Once all initial causal factors have been identified, start with one causal factor, and have participants identify the sub-causal factors by asking them why that causal factor happens? Show this sub-cause below the major cause it is associated with, connecting it with an arrow (see Figure T26). Continue asking why each sub-cause happens and continue adding sub-causes - spreading out like the roots of tree - until the group reaches a stage where no further sub-causes can be found. As a rule, these probing using “why” questions may need to be asked 3-5 times per cause, before the root cause is finally identified.
Please note: It is common for participants to discuss, and debate causes. These discussions often create shared learning opportunities, whereby participants learn from one another as they discuss and seek agreement on the true causal factors. As a facilitator, you should allow and encourage this discussion without inserting your ideas. However, you may need to ask probing questions or take the time to teach participants about the real causal factors if they get stuck or their lack of understanding prevents them from identifying true root causes. You may also need to intervene if they struggle to resolve their differences in beliefs themselves.
Step 5
Once all the root causes of the welfare issue have been identified, facilitate the same process to analyse the effects of the welfare issue on the animal and the animal-owning household. Start by having the helper add two circles above the welfare issue: one representing the animal and the other representing the animal-owning household.
Step 6
Ask participants to identify the effect of the welfare problem on the animal. As effects on the animal are identified, linkages to the animal-owning household will naturally emerge and the discussion can quickly turn to effects on the household.
Please note: The facilitator should allow the discussion to flow naturally, ensuring full exploration of effects on the animal AND household. It is common for participants to identify only a few main effects on the animal, especially in contexts where animals are not viewed as sentient beings. Here, the facilitator’s role is to ask probing questions to promote discussion around the animal’s feelings and experience of the welfare issue. It may be helpful to frame questions in terms of, “If you had this issue, how would you feel?”
Please note: When discussing the effects on the animal-owning household, encourage participants to consider potential effects on all household members, including men, women, and children. Ask: do the identified household effects effect all household members equally? Make sure effects on different household members are accounted for on the diagram.
Step 7
When the diagram is complete, ask participants to reflect on what they have discussed and mapped. Some discussion questions may include: Support the community to identify possible solutions if needed, either in this session or in a follow up session as time and resources permit.
Step 8
Once complete, take a photo or record the outputs on a piece of paper. Ensure that the community has a copy for their records and facilitator has a copy for future reference or planning.
Finally, have the community record any root causes and activities to address the causes in the community action plan. Make sure to include any resources/materials needed to achieve this, including who will monitor it and a realistic timeline. Record the actions, activities, and proposed linkages into your project action tracker, and support the community by linking them to any necessary stakeholders.
Facilitation Notes
The facilitator should have a good knowledge of animal welfare and be able to recommend solutions to address issues, including community-based collective action ideas. Participants may ask for advice on actions to address root causes.
Decide the group dynamics ahead of time and whether it would be best carried out with men and women (or other subgroups) separately or in a mixed group. This will depend on your rapport with the community, culture and local gender dynamics. This is important when their roles and responsibilities related to animals differ, and/or they use/depend on animals differently, as their perceptions and concerns may differ.
If conducted separately between men and women, consider bringing the two groups back together at the end of the activity to review the results of each chart and resolve any discrepancies if time allows and culturally appropriate.
If it is not appropriate to conduct this activity with men and women together in the local context, or if it could prohibit participation and freedom of discussion, consider conducting this activity separately.
This exercise can take considerable time, so discuss this in advance with the group and agree a suitable time to set aside for doing it.
Avoid using your own examples; encourage everyone to express their individual views.
This exercise requires patience from the facilitator in order for deepest causal factors to emerge from the discussion. Allow time for participants to discuss their experiences.
Next Steps
The cause and effect analysis is useful for action planning, especially when combined with:
Animal welfare transect walk (T22) to monitor changes resulting from actions related to animal body issues, resources and environment, and management practices
If the group is struggling to understand that animals have feelings and identify them as sentient beings, consider conducting the T19 Animal feeling analysis again.
If monitoring identifies that the solutions to root causes are unable to be adopted or behaviours go unchanged, conduct a T15 Cost benefit analysis to explore the cost of continuing negative behaviours or practices and benefits of positive behaviour change.
Follow up with resource or service providers needed to help the group carry out their activities. Revisit the activities in the next meeting to monitor progress and if further support is required.
Results may also be useful to informing inform project planning and/or identify potential for partnerships to support:
Identification of community capacity building support to address the root causes of priority animal welfare issues
Addressing priority root causes which may be external to communities’ e.g. changes in policy
Identification of potential livelihood or human wellbeing indicators which could be used in monitoring to assess changes in people’s lives as a result of actions taken to improve animal welfare.
Working animals’ (e.g., donkeys, horses, oxen etc.) welfare is often overlooked in comparison to other livestock/production animals who have a more direct and understood role in supporting communities’ livelihoods. This tool is specifically designed to be used to aid communities in realizing the critical role and importance of these often-overlooked working animals to improve their motivation to similarly meet these animals’ welfare needs.
Tool purpose:
Time needed:
To increase community members' motivation for better meeting the welfare needs of working animals by understanding their valuable contributions to their lives and/or livelihoods.
2-3 hours
Materials needed:
chart paper, index cards or sticky notes, pens/markers, chalk and/or locally available materials.
Approaches for Working With Communities: Community Development Approach, Community Engagement Approach
Behavioural Drivers (COM-B): Motivation
Stages of Change: Contemplation Stage
Project Support: Participatory Learning and Action Tools
Specific Topics: Animal Welfare, Feelings and Needs; Compassion/Empathy, Community Change Agents
Increasing perceived importance of animals
Step 1
Take the community through the process of identifying the general resources and services important to meeting their households’ needs and supporting their livelihoods which their animals either directly or indirectly contribute to obtaining (e.g., water, fertilizer, education, transport, health care, animal health services, agricultural products, income, food, feed for animals etc.). Write or draw these ideas on cards or paper until all are listed for all to see. The resources and services listed need not be limited to animal-related resources or services.
Step 2
Once these important resources and services are identified, ask participants to identify the animals which directly or indirectly contribute to obtaining them e.g., livestock/production animals, working animals etc.). Write or draw pictures of each animal on a card and place them on the ground. Then write the list of the resources or services they support /contribute to the family beside each of the animals.
Step 3
Then ask participants to identify which of the roles listed against each animal are important to them. They can rank them in order of priority. Each listed role should be paired with a picture of the animal that support that role in the household. To aid the participants in identifying these roles, ask participants to think about each animal’s relationship/contribution to all resources identified including(ability to support different resources identified).
Have the community write or draw the roles of each animal on cards or list them on a large piece of paper under each animal identified.
Step 4
Based on the roles and their importance, then ask participants to reflect on which animals they feel are most important/which they cannot live without and why based on the identified roles for each animal. Rank each animal in order of the agreed upon importance based on their roles.
Step 5
Next, support community participants to assess the value & contribution of each animal to their household through a cost & benefit analysis. Use the following discussion points to help facilitate this discussion:
• How much income do they get from their animals? • What are some of the uses of each of the animals? • What are the contributions of each animal in meeting household needs? time savings, social status, labour burden savings? • Prioritize how they spend income and savings from each animal based on the needs of the various household (Distribution of income expenditure at home) • Then consider how much is spent to meet each animal’s welfare needs and compare this to each animal’s contribution to the household income. • Then rank the animals in order of contribution to the household versus what is spent on the animal.
The process helps community members appreciate the value and importance of their working animals in relation to their contributions to meeting the household’s needs. Note which members of the community respond to the various contributions of working animals and lead the discussion for all views and lived experiences are taken, recognized and valued.
Step 6
Summarize the results of the activity and ask community members to reflect on their learnings and motivations for acting to better meet the welfare needs of their working animals. Agree on any actions and activities that that individual and/or the group identified they will take to improve the welfare of their working animals to add to the community action plan and agree on a date to repeat the exercise to assess changes in their perceived importance of their working animals and to monitor any actions taken.
Facilitation Notes
It is helpful to understand how to use processes which support communities in ranking or prioritising, as utilising a ranking process may be helpful to employ if communities’ members struggle to identify priorities through discussion alone.
It is good to note that the discussion/reflection doesn’t lead to the utilitarian assumption that undermines animal welfare.
The community engagement (CE) approach is an intermediate approach between the community development approach and societal outreach and campaigns approach, which requires you the community engagement facilitator or a trained community change agent to directly engage with individuals or groups to facilitate behaviour change to improve animal welfare. This approach relies heavily on using recommended tools and techniques in effective communication for behaviour change and adult learning theory and recommends involving communities in the identification and prioritization of animal welfare issues and working with them to identify solutions for achieving desired changes through a collaborative process of inquiry and reflection. In this way, members of the animal owning community are supported to progress through the stages of change with an in a way that aims to promote sustained behaviour change for lasting animal welfare improvements.
While this approach promotes working through community change agents (CCAs), if it is not feasible to work through CCAs, you are encouraged substitute your project’s community engagement staff and adapt the approach as needed to support working in this way. Before deciding, whether to work through change agents or your project’s own staff, consider the benefits and limitations of both ways of working:
Agent of Change
Strengths
Weaknesses
Community Change Agents (CCA)
• Builds lasting internal community expertise in animal welfare beyond the scope of project. • Community change agents knows the community context better and know what is likely to be well received. • Can be more efficient in reaching more people (as accepted as part of community and reduced language barrier)
• Less expertise in behaviour changes and requires training, and skills/lessons may be diluted when transferred. • Requires support, monitoring and management which can take additional time. • May be constraints on change agent time/availability.
Project Community Engagement Staff
• May be more experienced and skilled in core competencies/effective group facilitation.
• Less familiar with local context and may not be as influential/respected by community. • Efficiency/reach limited to project staff capacity and workload on staff.
Table 7: Key Considerations for Working through Change Agents
While the guidance within this approach are based on best practices in participatory community engagement and behavioural change science [31, 21, 66, 20], the steps are not intended to be prescriptive and can be adapted based on need and context.
An overview of the entire community engagement approach, including each intervention phase and its associated step is mapped in the figure below.
Figure 45: Overview of Semi-Intensive Community Engagement (CE) Approach
The diagram below illustrates the general progress through the stages of change throughout the different phases of a project adopting the community engagement approach. However, as change is a process, community members can progress or relapse through the stages of change at any time during the project. As such, it is recommended that community engagement agents pay careful attention to where individuals are in their change process and adapt their engagement techniques as needed to support people’s continued progress through the stages of change. Refer to the Human Behaviour Change Learning Module for an introduction to the stages of change.
Figure 46: The Stages of Change Linked with the Phases of the Community Engagement Approach
Livelihood’s vulnerability analysis is a method of assessing the impact of hazards on community livelihood resources. The tools help with planning for improving community resources.
Tool purpose:
Time needed:
• Identifying the hazards that have the most serious impact on important livelihood resources. • Determining which livelihood resources are most vulnerable. • Identifying current coping strategies and beginning to identify opportunities for adaptation. • Informing an understanding of local values of ecosystem services in relation to livelihoods and well-being and how these may change because of the threat of hazards.
1.5 hours
Materials needed:
Chart paper, note cards, markers, or other locally available resources, like sticks, stones, straw, beans, seeds, coloured powders or saw dust, etc.
Specific Topics: Livelihoods; Vulnerability / Resilience; Group Formation / Strengthening
The figure below shows an example of a community vulnerability map showing the different livelihood resources/assets and what makes them vulnerable. The process enables the community to understand how their resources can be vulnerable and put in place a plan to address the vulnerabilities to reduce the negative impact they would have on the resources they depend on.
Figure T31: An example of a livelihood’s vulnerability matrix
Livelihood’s vulnerability analysis
Step 1
Ask participants to brainstorm and identify the most important livelihoods resources for them. It may help to organise the livelihood resources or to have a checklist based on the 5 livelihood assets (or resource) classes commonly used in Sustainable Livelihoods frameworks (human, social, physical, natural, and financial) The definitions provided below are from the Brookes Livelihood Position Statement and Guidance notes.
i. NATURAL CAPITAL refers to natural resources, which includes land, soils, air, water, and all living organisms. EXAMPLE: equids, water, soil conservation for feed/fodder production, agriculture production/feed/fodder
ii. FINANCIAL CAPITAL income, savings, loans and/or other economic resources needed to meet their needs. EXAMPLE: access and availability of savings, credit/loans, livestock insurance schemes
iii. PHYSICAL CAPITAL tangible, man-made goods that support the creation of a product or service EXAMPLE: cart, harness, roads, ploughs, market shelters/resource centres, water points, boreholes
iv. SOCIAL CAPITAL is defined as what we share with others, such us our family, friends, and community as values, norms, and trust, that enable us to move developed as individuals and collectively such being in as savings groups. EXAMPLE: self-help groups facilitate working together towards collective action to produce/buy feed and at reduced cost, advocate for needs and accountability of service providers, as well as amongst community members themselves regarding their treatment of animals.
v. HUMAN CAPITAL refers to the skills, knowledge, and experience possessed by an individual or population. EXAMPLE: knowledge and skills to address the equid welfare issues identified as impacting communities’ livelihoods i.e., knowledge and skills to keep animals healthy and prevent/treat disease and death, building competencies of animal health practitioners
As this is likely to create a long list of resources, ask participants to then identify up to six resources that they consider to be MOST important in meeting their animal’s welfare needs.
Create a matrix by first listing these priority resources down the left side column of the matrix, using words, symbols, or graphics to represent the resources for all to understand.
Step 2
Next ask participants to identify the greatest hazards to their livelihoods. Hazards may be natural or man-made. It is important to be specific in the hazards, and to ensure that the issues identified are hazards. Participants may identify conditions such as “food insecurity” as hazards. Ask the group to break down these conditions to determine if they are caused by hazards (e.g., food insecurity may be the result of a drought, which is a hazard). Similarly, some groups may identify scarcity of resources, such as “lack of money”, as a hazard. In this case, it should be determined whether the lack of a resource is the result of a hazard, or in some cases, whether the resource should be added to the list of priority resources identified in the previous step.
Step 3
Once completed, ask participants to identify up to six hazards they consider to be the MOST The five most important hazards should be listed horizontally across the top of the matrix, again using symbols if necessary.
Step 4
Participants should then decide on a scoring system for assessing how vulnerable their animal dependent livelihoods are because of their livelihood resources being impacted by each hazard, identifying significant, medium/moderate, low and no impact from hazards. It is vital that all participants understand the scoring system. An example is provided below for reference:
3 = hazard significantly impacts the resource 2 = hazard moderately impacts the resource1 = hazard has a low impact on the resource 0 = hazard has no impact on the resource
Stones, symbols, or different colours of markers (e.g., red = significant risk to resource, orange = medium risk, green = low risk, blue = no risk) could also be used.
Step 5
Consider each resource in turn, support participants in discussing and agreeing the degree of impact that each of the hazards has on each of the resources. Any inconsistencies or differences of opinion should be discussed and resolved, if possible (either through discussion or by exploring the reasons for these differences and preparing more than one table if necessary).
Step 6
Discuss and analyse the results, noting different perspectives from different participants. An example is provided in the table T31.
The following questions can be used to guide the discussion but should be adopted and adapted according to the focus of the exercise.
• Are there any trends in the impact of hazards on livelihood resources? • Which resources are most affected and why? • Are there any resources that are more resistant to hazard? • What coping strategies are currently used to deal with the hazards identified? Are they working? • Are there different strategies that you would like to adopt which would reduce the impact of hazards on your livelihoods? • What resources do you have that would help you to adopt these new strategies? • What are the constraints to adopting these new strategies?
Step 7
Once complete, take a photo or record the outputs on a piece of paper. Ensure that the community has a copy for their records and facilitator has a copy for future reference or planning.
Record the actions, activities, and proposed linkages into your project action tracker, and support the community by linking them to any necessary stakeholders.
Facilitator's Notes
It can take time for people to understand the concepts and thus good facilitation will be needed to engage them.
There is need for the facilitator to be well versed with the five domain of animal welfare sufficiently prior to conducting this exercise as this is necessary to enable them to help the community identify resources important to meeting their animals' welfare needs.
Be aware that sensitive issues may not be discussed or clear to an outsider.
Local participants should be encouraged to build as much of the diagram as possible without interruption and to suggest anything else that should be recorded.
Consider having different groups based on gender, social status (re marginalized groups) when conducting the discussions.
Recommended Core Competencies for Community Engagement Approach
Excellent communication skills: - Active/reflective listening skills - Two-way communication, open ended questions - Empathy - capacity to see things from other’s people’s perspective, and be understanding and consider their situation, and can read the community’s feelings, cultural norms and adjust as needed to suit situation - Conversations for change: capacity to lead/facilitate discussions to solicit conversations for change and motivate and influence people to change using their own reflections, and good negotiator.
Training of Trainers / Understanding of application of adult learning theory for effective training: having the skill to make an intervention (training or community discussion) interactive using different methods/activities and using of participatory tools.
Understanding of COM-B and stages of change and appropriate strategies of engagement at each stage.
Animal Welfare: good understanding of animal welfare in terms of the five domains framework and their human behavioural equivalents.
Understanding of gender mainstreaming to promote gender equality, as well as intersectionality and implications on vulnerable groups and related implications for planning and implementing projects.
The following C4A tools and resources may be useful to supporting capacity building related to these core competencies:
Recommended readings and external resources that support this approach and the development of recommended core competencies are provided below.
Recommended C4A Readings
Animal Welfare and Communities Learning Module – recommended for gaining an understanding of concepts of the five domains of welfare and how this can be used in raising awareness with communities
Human Behaviour Change Learning Module - recommended for gaining an understanding of behaviour change theory and best practices, the stages of change, and their importance to facilitating behaviour change
Community Engagement and Development Learning Module - recommended for gaining an understanding of the difference between community engagement and community development, and understanding principles and best practices essential to effective community engagement
Extensive Societal Outreach and Campaigns Approach - recommended to complement the community development approach by supporting awareness raising to improve knowledge, change perceptions, and/or develop social norms on a broad scale to support adoption of desired behaviours and improved animal welfare.
Fostering sustainable behaviour: An introduction to community-based social marketing – book and website with useful guidance and resources: www.cbsm.com
Getting Practical: Integrating Social Norms into Social and Behaviour Change Programs - English Guide / French Guide
Webinar series on Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) for Improved Agriculture and Nutrition, by the Agriculture, Nutrition and Health Academy
Animal welfare conversation tool involves an open discussion about what animal welfare is and why it is important. The discussion starts by understanding how men and women and other community members view animal welfare, what they need to provide to their animals to ensure improved welfare and identifying the actors responsible for animal welfare.
Tool purpose:
Time needed:
• To improve understanding of animal welfare needs in terms of health, nutrition, behaviour, and environment. • To raise awareness and promote discussion about animal welfare issues • Understand community members’ attitudes, belief systems, perspectives and current accuracy of knowledge about animal welfare, including indicators they feel are important to their ability to understand their animals’ welfare needs
1.5 hours
Materials needed:
Cards, pens, markers, coloured powder, chalk, sticks, tree leaves, coloured cards, pictures different animal welfare conditions and or other locally available materials.
Keyword Search Tags
Project Phase: Initiation Phase, Planning Phase
Approaches for Working With Communities: Community Development Approach, Community Engagement Approach
Behavioural Drivers (COM-B): Capability
Stages of Behaviour Change: Pre-contemplation Stage
Project Support: Participatory Learning and Action Tools
Specific Topics: Animal Husbandry and Management; Animal Welfare, Feelings and Needs; Community Change Agents, Outreach and Communications, Compassion and Empathy, Animal Handling
Many factors constrain community members’ ability to improve the welfare of their animals. These may include, the Socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental conditions such as attitudes towards animals, community members’ knowledge and skills about giving care for animals, and resources and services determine the welfare status of working animals. Addressing these issues requires engaging community groups in active dialogues and social learning to discuss their animal welfare needs and to find solutions together to improve animal welfare. Figures T32 a, b, and c were images used to facilitate discussions about horse welfare needs in a community using this tool.
T32a Example of an animal with poor body condition.T32b Animal welfare umbrella representing domains of animal welfare important to meeting animals’ welfare needs
Animal welfare umbrella reinforces the fact that animals rely on people, everyone in a household, to provide care for them. In the same way, all household members rely upon healthy and happy animals to increase household members' wellbeing.
T32c Example of meeting animals’ welfare needs
Animal Welfare Conversation Tool
Step 1
Explain the purpose of the community conversations on animal welfare. Ask community groups if they have questions before proceeding.
After introducing the focus of the community conversations, facilitate a discussion about what community members describe as animal welfare.
You can prompt the discussion with the pictures in figure T32a above by asking the community members to discuss in pairs. Ensure men and women participate in the discussions separately to ensure their views don’t overshadow each other’s. Obtain feedback from a few men and women participants on the below questions:
· What can you see from the animal in image T32a? · What do you think this animal is feeling? Do you think the animal is cared for? Why or why not? · How might this image reflect the lives of animals in this community?
Using the picture in figure T32b, ask the community members to discuss this image in pairs and answer the following questions · What can you see from this image (T32b)? · What is happening to the animal in the image? What do you understand from each of the 4 domains? · How does the image reflect the animal welfare situation in this community? (General reflections/understanding on animal welfare within their community using the image)
Step 2
Facilitate a discussion around the responses received on what giving care means to men, women and youth. Take note of any additional resources people think that the animal needs. Discussion questions can include: Obtain feedback from a few men and women participants:
• In which of the images (T32a or T32b or both) do they think the animal is cared for? Why? • What is giving care to animals mean? • Is it important to help your animals feel good? Why? • What does an animal need to be happy, healthy, and productive for your family? • When your animal is not feeling good, how does this affect you and your family members? • What does animal welfare mean to you? • What do you do to care for your animals? • What are the social or cultural values related to giving care to animals? Is there any saying or expression in your community related to animal care giving?
Step 3
The next step is to take the community through a discussion which will enhance their understanding of what is needed for their animals to have a good basic level of welfare. The examples provided here can be used as a guide for the facilitator to discuss the most relevant animal welfare issues in the specific community. Use figure T32c above to facilitate the discussion using the discussion questions below:
• Thinking about your animals, what do they need from you to be happy, healthy, and productive?. • What care do animals need? Who gives this care in your household, within your community, or at your place of work? • What can you see being provided to animals in this image? Are these important? Why? Why not?
These questions will help identify the resources people think their animals need, and who the household members are who influence their animals’ welfare.
Step 4
After image T32c has been discussed, follow up by asking: “Do all animals in your household need the same things or feel the same way?” Prompt the discussion to make sure you have asked questions about: • Healthcare • Feed and water • Behaviour (human – animal interaction and behavioural interaction among animals) • Shelter/shade (depending on your context)
Step 5
After the discussion has progressed, handout the 'animal welfare umbrella', Figure T32b. Explain to the group that this image helps to convey that giving care to animals involves consideration of their health, nutrition, behavioural, and environmental needs. It is important to acknowledge that all animals need this care, and that good animal care benefits the animals as well as people. Ask participants to discuss in pairs: • To what extent are you currently able to provide each of these things for your animals? • Which of these things do you find it easiest to provide for your animals? Why? • Which of these things is it difficult for you to provide for your animals? Why? • What things on this image didn’t you know animals needed? Are any of these things new ideas for you?
After the discussions, ask for feedback from both female and male participants. The question below can be used to prompt feedback: 'What did you learn from the picture and the discussion?' Ask a few participants to share their responses and write them on a flip chart.
Step 6
Use the responses from step 5 to highlight human animal relationships. • Ask the participants to share what they think are the benefits to the animal owners and their livelihoods when the animals are provided with care as depicted in T32b?
Summarise by sharing with the group that whilst animals rely on people to provide them with the things they need, doing this well means that animals are better able to help us with the things that we need from them. If our animals are happy and healthy, they can better help us at work, at home, and in our community.
Step 7
Once the discussions are complete,take a photo or record the outputs on a piece of paper. Ensure that the community has a copy for their records and facilitator has a copy for future reference or planning.
Facilitation Notes
Identify the local term for animal welfare and consistently use the term throughout the discussion. Pay attention to differences in terms among men, women, and youth, and agree on one term.
Pay attention to differences in perspectives/understanding among men, women, and youth about animal welfare. Listen actively and probe as necessary.
Depending on the conversation topic, you can substitute other images or stories to facilitate the discussion.
You can also use this tool by focusing on one domain in one meeting (using separate meetings to discuss each of the domains) (Figure 32b) and repeating steps 4 – 7. E.g. focusing one session on behaviour you can encourage the community participants to reflect on their interaction with their animals including focusing a discussion on their observations of good and bad animal handling practices, and the impacts of these practices on both the animal and its owner/carers/handers, users and service providers. This is provided that communities are willing to meet frequently and/or prefer to focus on one animal welfare domain at a given time and have deeper conversations, reflection and learning.
Next Steps
Continue building on these initial conversations about animal welfare by supporting community members to identify their priority animal welfare issues and the individuals responsible for meeting their animals’ different welfare needs using tool T33: Community Animal Welfare Needs Analysis.
When initiating any community engagement project, it is important to begin building rapport with the local community where you desire to work. Listen and observe more than talking about the project’s interests and aspirations in terms of animal welfare in these early days, and demonstrate genuine interest in community members, their lives, and what is important to them both generally and in term
ATTENTION!
During this period, which may take up to three months, it is important that no education or intervention activities are conducted because: 1. An intervention started without knowledge of local context, animal owning community, their behaviours and practices is likely to be poorly informed, and unlikely to be appropriate or result in desired animal welfare improvements. 2. An intervention started without a genuine rapport with and understanding of the community is likely to be viewed with mistrust.
1.1.1 Project introductions
It is helpful to begin by initiating contact and building rapport with stakeholders already established within the locale, especially those who may already be working with the animal owning community (e.g. governmental bodies, organizations, local community groups like farmers’ associations, self-help groups, and animal service providers). They are usually a useful point of introductions to the community and can provide you with useful insights about the local context and community, as well as how best to engage members of the animal owning community in your project. Introduce yourself as a field worker from an organization that is interested in supporting and organizing community-based groups to work towards sustainable improvement in animal welfare. Hold meetings with village leaders and talk with all interested individuals, including schoolteachers, religious leaders, and anyone else who can support you from the beginning to organize the community.
1.1.2 Relationship building and understanding the local context
Before beginning to facilitate any specific welfare intervention, it is important to first get a feel for the important issues which might have far-reaching effects on the welfare of their animals. The following activities are helpful to building rapport and getting to know the animal-owning community during the initiation phase of the project.
Ask people about their lives, their problems, local culture, and habits. Get different men’s and women’s daily routines and motivations and gain an understanding the local context and community dynamics, including gender roles and power dynamics.
Strengthen contact with animal owning households, including owners and carers, men, women, and children who may have important roles and responsibilities in the lives of their animals.
Take part in daily or regular activities with people and attend important events at the invitation of the community, such as ceremonies, funerals or celebrations. This will bring you closer with members of the animal owning community, as well as help you understand the community. This is particularly helpful to gaining insights on community dynamics and power relations.
Identify and talk with local veterinary and animal health and resource service providers, and anyone else who works with animals, directly or indirectly.
Visit village shops and meeting places for informal discussions.
Take time to observe and understand how people behave with their animals, as well as how they treat each other, work together or do not, which resources and services they may rely on, as well as the condition of their animals and related animal welfare issues.
Ask people who they think are good leaders and respected in terms of their care and management of their animals. Spend time getting to know these individuals and their practices and interests in terms of promoting animal welfare, and where they are at in terms of their own stages of behavioural change. Through this process you may be able to start to identify who may be interested in working together and potential good candidates as change agents.
1.1.3 Gauge interest and motivation for improving animal welfare
During the rapport building phase, hold introductory community gatherings or informal meetings where you introduce your organization/project and its mission in a transparent, ideally fun and engaging way that is appropriate to the local context, without overselling what your organization/project can offer. It is helpful to provide insights on your organization’s experience, interests, and goals for collaborating with the community to improve animal welfare. Consider showcasing examples from previous work with communities, perhaps using visual media or inviting community members from other project areas, to highlight benefits which accrued to the communities and their animals because of working with your organisation can be helpful to generating interest in the project. If you are undertaking this approach with the Community Development Approach, consider inviting animal welfare champions from existing community-based organizations to share their experiences about making animal welfare improvements.
It is helpful to organize community meetings or focus group discussions, with different stakeholders separately such as men, women and other potentially vulnerable groups. Give them an opportunity to learn about the project and your interest in collaborating with them to design and implement an animal welfare improvement project, and introduce your ways of working [67]. This is an opportunity for you to learn about different groups’ interests and motivations in relation to improving their animals’ welfare as well as gauge their general level of awareness of issues. During these sessions:
Ask what their animal welfare concerns and priorities are.
Ask about when best and how best to engage members of the animal owning community and record the names and any contact information available for individuals expressing an interest of being involved with the project.
Ask about who they perceive could be potential champions of animal welfare and respected potential agents of change within the animal owning community. It is important to be transparent about the project’s desired change agent selection criteria, including protocols for ensuring equal or proportional representation of any potentially disadvantaged or vulnerable groups (e.g. women, minority or disadvantaged classes or castes), and encourage considerations inclusive of all members of the animal owning community.
Observe and take note of any individuals expressing a genuine interest in the project and animal welfare and seem ready for change.
1.2.1 Understand community's existing knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practices related to animals and their welfare
Before any project can effectively work with communities to change their behaviours to improve animal welfare, it is essential to first understand the animal owning community’s existing knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours [31]. Organize more in-depth discussions only once you have established a good rapport and trust within the community. It is recommended you use your knowledge of animal welfare issues based on observations and discussions thus far to gain a deeper understanding of existing knowledge, practices, and beliefs specific to any identified animal welfare issues of concern. As different social categorizations such as race, class, and gender, disability etc. often create overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage, it is important to take this into account when designing information collection methods, to ensure the perspectives of different social groups within the animal owning community are sought, and they are provided equal opportunity to participate and have their voices heard.
Invite individuals recommended as change agents by their peers and ask them to help you identify and invite their peers within the animal owning community to participate in focus group discussions (FGD), which will also give you an indication of their potential sphere of influence. Local community leaders and other organizations working with members of the animal owning community may also be able to assist you with this. If community members’ or project staff’s time is limited, consider holding these discussions with only change agents and other relevant key informants, taking care to seek out representative insights from all the differing perspectives within the animal owning community (e.g. men, women, owners/carers/users etc.).
During the FGDs, seek to gather deeper insights on:
What the priority motivations/concerns are in their lives?
What welfare issues seem most important to them and why?
What is their general level of awareness of animal welfare issues, and interest to change them, particularly in relation to identified/observed animal welfare issues?
What are the existing animal care, management and/or use practices, particularly those which may be associated with identified animal welfare issues?
Who typically undertakes them?
What is their sense that these practices may be causing welfare issues?
What do they like/dislike about these existing practices?
What is the access and availability of animal-related services and resources?
Different group’s responses during these discussions will also be useful to helping identify which groups to target, getting a general sense of where people are in the stages of change, and how to support change agents to tailor their messaging and activities to achieve improvements in animal welfare later in the planning process. Make sure to take notes on these discussions, and different groups’ perspectives, and consider using a Project Action Tracker to keep track of key findings and support project planning.
Tools and resources helpful to supporting this step include:
The tool supports discussions with community members about their animals’ welfare needs, the challenges they have in meeting them, and potential actions that may improve their animals’ welfare.
The tool enables the community to identify specific animal welfare issues, and the constraints they may experience when addressing these. Animal welfare issues are ranked in terms of their importance, to enable the community to decide on actions to be taken to address them. This tool builds upon initial discussions introducing animal welfare, which can be facilitated by tools such as the T32 Community Animal Welfare Conversation Tool and T5 Gender Roles and Responsibilities. The tools is also a precursor to community animal welfare action planning (T34) tool as it provides the platform/ a pathway to planning to take action to improve animal welfare.
Tool purpose:
Time needed:
• To identify resource constraints influencing the welfare of their animals, the issues it causes, and how this affects both animal welfare and households. • To help with prioritizing the most important issues affecting animals and households in terms of severity and frequency, disaggregated by gender. • To understand the similarities and differences in gender perceptions of priority welfare issues. • To Promote understanding of the animal welfare domains.
2 hours
Materials needed:
Different counters, e.g., beans and corn, graphic of animal welfare needs (e.g., T32b/or five domains of welfare graphic, flip chart or clear ground, marker pens.
Specific Topics: Animal Husbandry and Management; Animal Handling; Animal Welfare, Feelings and Needs; Animal Health and Services; Community Change Agents
An example is provided below of a sample of community identified responsibilities related to animal welfare (Table T33a) and an example of community prioritization ranking (Table T33 b).If you have done T5 Gender Roles and Responsibilities, T8 Pairwise Ranking and Scoring or T9 Matrix Ranking and Scoring, you can also remind the community participants to the findings of the discussions and the priorities identified by them provided they want to continue to work on those priorities.
Animal Welfare Need
Who is responsible for meeting the need
Comments
Adult Men
Adult Women
Young Men
Young Women
Feed and Water
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○○○
○○○
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Adult women and young do most of the feeding responsibility
Providing Shelter
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○○
○○
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Adult men are mostly responsible for providing Water
Wound care and seeking medical services
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○○○
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Adult women do most wound care related issues
Allow the animals to be free and express their natural behaviour
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○○○
○○
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Adult women tend to be responsible for taking care of behavioural issues
Table T33a. Example of animal welfare needs and who is responsible for meeting them
Welfare issue
Men
Women
Comments /reasons
Feed shortage
○○○○○○
○○○○○○
Water shortage
○○○○○
○○○○○
Lack of veterinary services
○○○○
○○○
Poor shelter
○○
○
Diseases
○○○
○○○○○
Table T33 b. Example Animal Welfare Issue Prioritization Ranking
Community Animal Welfare Needs Analysis
Step 1
Explain the purpose of the activity is to discuss the needs of participants’ animals, the challenges they face in meeting their animals’ needs, and who in their households is responsible to meeting these challenges/animal needs. Depending on the number of equine participants in the meeting, divide them into sub groups of 3-4 and have them discuss at least the priority 3 animal needs that have been identified and share the discussions in plenary. This should allow the rest of the participants to input into the presentations of the smaller sub groups.
Begin by asking participants: ‘What problems do your animals experience?’ Probe further to ask why this is a problem for them and their animals. If the challenges identified are many, let the community members prioritize the most common animal need by the community. Pick this to discuss the following discussions.
Examples of probing questions could include:
• Does the problem cause their animals to stop working? • Does the problem take a long time for their animals to recover from? • Could this problem cause their animals to die? • Does this problem change their animals' behaviour? • Is the problem challenging or expensive to manage, or do they find it unpleasant?
Step 2
Then, ask participants, ‘Who in your household cares for your animals’ needs?’
Draw a matrix, and list all given household members along the top row, or if conducting this activity with a large group instead of a household, list categories of household members e.g. women, youth, men etc.
Next, ask participants ‘What do your animals need to be happy and healthy?’
Encourage them to consider their animals’ needs in terms of their health, nutrition, environment, and behaviour. List their ideas in the matrix in the first column.
Then ask: 'Who in your household is responsible for meeting these animals’ welfare needs?’
Encourage responses from both men, women, and youth (see facilitator notes below on who to conduct this session with). Explain that to see how much each household member contributes to meeting the households’ animal welfare needs, you will use scores. Use different counters to represent men's, women’s, and youth's scoring. For example:
• A score of 3 means most of the time. • A score of 2 means sometimes. • A score of 1 means occasionally. • A score of O means not at all.
Refer to the table T33a above for an example of how this can be done.
Step 3
Ask participants:
'How well do you think you're meeting the needs of your animals right now?'
Ask for a show of hands to demonstrate ’poor’, ‘OK’ and ‘very well’. Ask a few men, women, and youth participants to give examples of good animal welfare actions that they have undertaken.
Record responses on a flip chart. Probe further and encourage a discussion around what good and poor animal welfare examples they see in the community. Find out differences among the participants.
Step 4
Then, ask participants:
'What is preventing you from meeting your animal's needs?'
Invite men, women, and youth to share their challenges in meeting the needs of their animals. Write responses on a flip chart. Possible responses could include resource limitations, lack of awareness, attitudes about animal welfare etc.
Encourage a focus on good handling, feed, water, and wound care if needed.
Step 5
Extend the discussion further to specifically cover the issues and constraints participants face in the areas of:
• Health/disease • Feed/Water • Footcare and lameness • Shelter and shade • Wound care and injuries (E.g. from tethering, etc.) • Harnessing, compassionate handling and training • Veterinary services and euthanasia • Time/need, etc.
Capture the commonly given issues and constraints within each of these themes. As issues of nutrition, water access and wound care come up, share extra information with the group as needed.
Step 6
From the discussion, create a list of the commonly given animal welfare issues and constraints, and collate these into their overarching topics/categories such as health, feed/water, shelter/housing, wound care, handling etc. You will use this list to help the community to prioritize their welfare issues. The example provided in T33b above illustrates what this may look like. To conduct the prioritization, divide the participants into groups of men and women. Explain and demonstrate the ranking exercise before starting, and ask participants if they have any questions. Follow the steps below:
• On clear ground or on a flip chart, draw a matrix with the common animal welfare issues topics/categories identified during the previous discussion written on the vertical axis. • Community members in the meeting must agree on a maximum of seven issues – ensure that both men and women have participated in this discussion and agreement. • Write ‘men’ and ‘women’ on the horizontal axis, as indicated in the example T33b above. • Split men and women into two groups and give each group 20 counters. Ask each group to distribute the counters across the issues. The group should agree on the relative importance of each animal welfare issue, and allocate counters to the issues to represent this importance. • When each group has given their scores, probe for reasons for the highest scores and the lowest scores. Take note of the groups' justifications for their scoring. Probe if their prioritization is affected by resources or seasonality. • This tool will reveal similarities and differences in gender perceptions of priority welfare issues.
Step 7
Discuss the importance and relevance of the issues prioritized. Some issues may not be identified by participants as the most serious, but they are likely to affect a very high number of animals, are relatively easy to manage and will affect both welfare and productivity. However, ask about the scenario in this village as resources or seasonality may affect how common or severe these issues are and how they can be addressed. Make sure to reflect back if such factors were not considered so that they are considered in the ranking activity.
Discussion questions:
• Which issues affect the most animals/are most common? • Which issues are the most severe (not necessarily for the greatest number of animals, but which conditions cause the most suffering)? For example, disease outbreak may cause mortality in a per cent of the herd, but undernutrition may affect more animals for a longer period. In this scenario, disease outbreak may be uncommon but severe, whereas undernutrition may be more common but less severe.
From the ranking exercise, encourage a discussion about important welfare issues that cause suffering for animals. This will invite a discussion amongst community members which can help motivate and inform their development of action plans to improve the welfare of their animals (e.g., using T34 Community Animal Welfare Action Planning).
Step 8
Finally, record the community discussions on the prioritization and the justification given along the different gender perspectives into the actions plan into your project action tracker, and support the community by supporting them to develop action plans using T34 Community Animal Welfare Action Planning to linking them to any necessary stakeholders.
During this session, reinforce the learning points of prior conversations on animal welfare e.g., T32 Animal Welfare Conversations Tool, Be sure to ask questions and prompt for the impact the issues have on an animal's behaviour or their feelings.
Provided you have the time to frequently meet with the community groups or households, once they have identified and prioritized issues, you can do step 4 to 8 for different issues in subsequent meetings. E.g. if you have done the first meeting on Health/disease focused issues provided it is prioritized by community members or households, then you can follow up with the second prioritized issue in another meeting
It is important that this conversation is presented in a way that encourages and supports community members to improve their animals’ welfare, but not solve all problems at once. To accomplish this, focus on activities that community members are doing well, highlighting positive examples of animal welfare that they gave. Ask probing questions when these are identified e.g. How common are these to the community? If it is not common, how easy would it be for more community members to adopt activities that have resulted in better animal welfare?
Ideally, conduct this activity at the household level, and with men, women, and youth present – as they may have different roles, perspectives and priorities which it is important to capture. If it is not possible to conduct this activity at the household level, you may wish to consider conducting the exercise with separate groups of men, women, and youth, as they may influence each other’s responses if the activity is conducted as a large community group. If you are conducting this at a group level, ensure that you have divided the large group into smaller groups to enable everyone contribute to the discussion. If not possible to do together as a group or household, then consider doing it separately at different time convenient to respective groups.
Next Steps
Continue to build on these discussions and support community members to address identified priority animal welfare issues by conducting community action planning using the T34 Community Animal Welfare Action Planning tool.
