Methods for Defining Objectives and Priorities
a strategy for self-sustainability
More self-sustainability means having more autonomy and less reliance on external funding, expertise or decisions. It means having a larger capacity to choose and negotiate with other initiatives what’s best for your project and what’s not. It means an increasingly equitable participation, which will lead to development models that are more comprehensive and relevant for all, that is, more sustainable. Know more
One strategy taken up by several development initiatives to become more self-sustainable is to carefully choose the methods they will use to define their objectives and priorities.
Some development projects have greatly benefited from devoting adequate time and space to defining their objectives and priorities, and asking themselves who should be invited to participate in this process: Donors? Beneficiary communities? Experts? Other development initiatives? Local or regional authorities? Because not all methods for defining objectives and priorities yield the same results: some gather the voices, opinions and interests of all participants, while others detect the points of view of groups that are especially significant for the project, and still others draw from the experience of groups or individuals who have knowledge of the development problem at hand.
Methods chosen by projects can help define their objectives and priorities in more or less equitable ways. When equity is prioritized, interventions tend to be more self-sustainable because inviting different stakeholders to incorporate their interests, needs and knowledge is a way of getting them involved and collectively identifying the resources that are available to the project or that each person is willing to contribute. When a project’s priorities reflect everyone’s interests and draw on everyone’s expertise, interventions may be more relevant to more people. In addition, when the opinions of experts from different areas of development (both from the beneficiary communities and from outside) are considered, it is possible to make more effective interventions that make the best use of resources.
Some projects organize participatory diagnoses with their different stakeholders to define objectives and priorities; others convene focus meetings with experts or leaders. Others use pilot projects to identify obstacles and opportunities. Some initiatives use legal figures such as trust funds to ensure the interests of all parties are clearly stated and guaranteed; still others form rotating management commissions, parliaments, festivals, online surveys and other forms of organization and participation to sound out everyone’s priorities.
There are many different methods for defining objectives and priorities that can help make a project more self-sustainable. Take a look at how these initiatives have done it!
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