PALS overview

     The basis is use of simple diagram tools by programme participants and groups to examine issues of importance to them, to identify ways forward and communicate convincingly to lobby the necessary authorities. These diagram tools can be reduced to a number of basic types: road journeys, trees, webs, circle diagrams, maps, matrices, calendars and so on. The underlying principles and steps of which can be easily adapted for a range of different issues and purposes: training/participatory learning, decision-making and planning, monitoring and evaluation and advocacy and lobbying.

    Use of participatory diagram methods at all levels enables direct communication and more equal participation between very poor illiterate women, programme staff and policy-makers. Although initially training and facilitation is needed, after a relatively short period of time these tools can be used without external support for ongoing action learning by individuals and groups. These tools can be used rigorously for collection of both quantitative and qualitative information. The diagrams produced remain with those who drew them, but are easily digitally recorded with a digital or video camera (with participants' permission). These are filed on CD-Rom for wider dissemination and communication in PowerPoint or video presentations which can be presented by programme participants themselves to other participants as well as to policy-makers. Use of participatory diagram methods is complemented where necessary by simple qualitative and quantitative methods by programme participants, programme staff and others.

To download the original PALS Manual Click Here(Word document 1.27Mb)

Underlying principles

      Much of the motivation for all parties has been dissatisfaction with both the illusory rigour and lack of real developmental contribution of conventional monitoring and evaluation systems and impact assessment exercises, even much of what is called participatory monitoring and evaluation.

PALS is based on three underlying principles:
PARTICIPATION FOR EMPOWERMENT
  Builds on grassroots information needs
Develops grassroots capacity for investigation and collective action
Links grassroots learning into decision-making in order to ensure downward accountability to programme participants as well as upward accountability to donors.
Ensures the inclusion of the views and interests of the most disadvantaged throughout, and at all levels of, the action learning process.
ACTION LEARNING
  The main aim is to yield practical recommendations for collective action and programme improvement in future, rather than simply ‘policing’ what has happened in the past.
Practical questions are the starting point for identification of indicators, sampling and design of investigation.
The process of investigation and dissemination strategically builds partnerships and networks for decision-making and action.
SUSTAINABLE SYSTEM
  Integrates learning into existing information systems and all routine programme/participant interactions to minimise cost and time.
Information is collected and analysed at first point of use in order to maintain interest and commitment.
In order to maintain rigour and credibility it develops complementarities between information collection of the different stakeholders including donor reviews and evaluations and academic research so that these build on and serve as triangulation rather than ad hoc duplication of each other.
The main goal is to empower people to collect the information THEY need in order to solve at least some of their problems and to increase pro-poor accountability of the whole development process.
The primary focus is therefore to build up skills, capacities and networks at community-level, particularly for the most disadvantaged groups. However the aim of learning is not only to produce information, but for the process itself to build institutional structures and networks for participatory decision-making and collective action. Information collection is not seen as an end in itself, but as a means for improving programme interventions, increasing accountability of local governance, and ultimately macro-level economic and social policies.
Sustainability and dynamism are further maintained through building on existing information systems at group, programme and donor level, refining and streamlining each and linking them into a loose 'system' for more strategic institutional learning. PALS therefore fits very well with LEAP's vision and empowerment model.

PALS IN LEAP

   PALS will be used to increase women's own ability to analyse their individual and group problems and identify solutions in relation to their enterprises, gender relations and participation in local policy-making and implementation. Although the full details still remain to be thought through, PALS includes tools for:
Organizational training and poverty targeting : road journeys, inclusion diamonds, problem/solution trees and institutional mapping.
Enterprise action learning/training: road journey diagrams to identify enterprise aims and strategies, market mapping, participatory value chains analysis, income/expenditure trees, problem/solution trees, work calendars, resource access and control profiles. All including gender disaggregation and analysis.
Gender analysis: empowerment road journeys, household decision-making trees, gender problem/solution/effect trees, resource maps and so on in addition to the gender analysis of enterprise tools.
Local level lobbying: circle diagrams and decision-making webs for institutional analysis, community mapping, problem/solution/effect trees.

These tools will be used for a range of purposes to increase women's own ability to analyse their individual and group aspirations, achievements, challenges and ways forward, including:
Participatory training in enterprise, gender and community participation.
Development of the Women's Centres: aspirations, opportunities, challenges and ways forward in relation to enterprise and gender-related needs. PALS would also initially be used for systematic investigation of why most of the former Women's Centres folded once they were handed over to the Community and the most cost-effective strategy for reviving them building on local networks and initiative.
Increasing participation in decision-making in LEAP and PASED programmes including systematic assessment of credit needs and potential products, problems of existing poor female PASED borrowers and potential extremely poor borrowers, how successful women are succeeding and how their experience can best be shared to help others.
Identifying lobbying and advocacy priorities and effective lobbying and advocacy strategies at local and national levels.

Although some of the tools have already been developed, further development of the tools and their collation into a workable system specifically for women's empowerment through enterprise development would be a specific contribution of LEAP to further development and refinement of the methodology. This would be of use not only to LEAP, but also to many other programmes in other countries. For this reason this project would need to cover both further innovation in the methodology and its documentation and dissemination in both English and Arabic.

Monitoring and Evaluation

    The innovative Participatory Action Learning process will be the main mechanism for impact monitoring, evaluation and assessment.
Participatory impact monitoring and evaluation through PALS will be conducted at the start of the programme and for each new location/group for whom activities are started:
Develop participatory indicators for poverty reduction and women's empowerment based on women's own aspirations and local circumstances which can then be weighted for comparative programme-wide monitoring
Collect detailed baseline and contextual information.

Progress towards the goals will then be continually assessed through collecting information at four levels:
Individual diaries which monitor and evaluate individuals' livelihood and personal achievements
Centre diaries or minutes which aggregate individual level impacts and monitor and evaluate Centre achievements
Annual fair which provides a forum for aggregate participatory assessment for the programme as a whole
Cross-checking and qualitative investigation focusing on the very poorest participants and investigation of more complex processes of social change and collective activities.
   The focus throughout is on using the M and E process as a participatory action learning process for the participants and staff rather than an expensive and separate donor-oriented policing/measuring process. In this way the time and energy diverted from other activities by programme staff and women participants contributes directly to the LEAP goals of poverty reduction and empowerment. As well as having in itself a direct development contribution, the information collected will be more reliable, rigorous, in-depth and useful for programme improvement than that collected through more conventional M and E systems.