From what I observed in today’s lecture, which was in fact a continuation of the previous one, the focal point of the session was FACILITATION. The role of a facilitator was explained in detail at first and then, by using the different cases on which we are working on, we were given the task of acting like facilitators for the other groups on a number of topics.
We started by stating the goals expected from our project. We formulated individual dreams into common objectives by trying to analyze it from the perspectives of the various stake-holders. For example, what would be the objective of a telecom equipment manufacturer in the scope of our project?
Following this activity, two broad classes (objective clusters) emerged for the project. On one hand, the local community (the villagers & the small scale entrepreneurs) who stand to benefit from the technology (or solution) and on the other hand, the established business entities who arrive in search of expanding their businesses & thus increase their revenues (the local telecom operators, the telecom network solution/equipment providers and the consumer electronic vendors/retailers).
We also developed the means to attain these objectives. We then worked on indicators that help to monitor if the mentioned targets have been met. It was interesting to note that some of the indicators are qualitative where as some of them are quantitative. In the case of our project, by tracking the number of people who are connected in the village, it may be possible to measure the success achieved in terms of improving access to communication. But what about the benefits gained in terms of health care system & education system? How to measure improvements in standard of living?
Throughout these activities, we worked with visiting facilitators from other groups. I had the chance to work as facilitator with the ‘Reflecting Energy’ group while they were trying to come up with alternative strategies to realize the objectives they set. I observed that people tend to originate and share ideas when they are encouraged to speak and engage in dialogues. On the technical aspect of their work, it was interesting to observe that for some of the objectives, it was easier and rather straightforward to define alternatives to the primary means (for instance using other green technologies such as wind and mini-hydro instead of the solar reflector). In contrast, for some of the objectives it was a bit difficult to state the required alternatives.
Once again the session was quite interactive and a good platform for experience sharing.
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