TOOLS AND METHODS
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Tools And Methods overview
Problem tree
To explore cause and effect.A tree can be used to explore cause and effect or problem and solution. The various elements of a tre…
Access and control matrix
To analyse who has the power to access and control different resources and who is denied this.The Access and Control Matrix encou…
Community scorecard
To help groups assess services, facilities programmes or projects run by government, NGOs or other organisations, by grading them…
Chapatti diagram
To explore relationships between things – particularly the relative importance, influence or power of people, organisations or gr…
Pairwise ranking matrix
To compare a set of issues and find out which is the most important to participants. Known as a pairwise or preference ranking ma…
3Ps power circles
To deepen analysis about how power relationships work at 3 different levels related to how we interact with the world: :personal …
Social audit
To collect and present evidence about a programme or service. The Social Audit process uses partici…
Body map
To explore issues around health and sexuality, women’s rights and violence against women.Steps in the processDraw the outline of …
Balloons and stones
To help identify factors that might help or hinder you in your work or in your progress towards a goal. The stones represent thin…
Focus group discussion
To bring together a group of individuals with similar interests or experiences to explore a particular issue in a structured way.…
Activity mapping
To explore the different activities that women and men do each day and how these contribute to the local economy.The tool asks pa…
Seasonal calendar
To help participants to analyse the distribution of agricultural work / crops / illnesses / etc. over the year.Cross referencing …
Daily activity chart
To help participants to analyse how their time is used each day.The processDraw a daily timetable from sunrise to sunset.Ask part…
Public services map
To analyse the state of a public service (e.g. education) and the impacts on local people, and to analyse and prioritise the most…
Action plan matrix
To support participants to develop a community action plan.Steps Community members develop action plans based on the solutions id…
Cobweb for rights analysis
To help understand the rights situation and of different groups in a community.In the example below the focus is on women's right…
Timelines
To track changes or document the history of a community or organisation.By capturing the chronology of events as perceived and …
River
To explore the history of an individual, community or organisation. The characteristics of a river (its changing width, current a…
Forum theatre
To help people explore how they might change their reality and rehearse possible actions. In forum theatre a play or scene, usual…
Social map
This is a bird’s eye view of a village that shows the demographic details and the social infrastructure available for the people …
Community power map
To map spaces of power in a clear, visual way and presenting local information, problems and opportunities. A community map can b…
Maps
To present local information, problems and opportunities in a clear, visual way. A basic map of a local area can be overlaid with…
Peeling the onion
To uncover and facilitate a process of deeper analysis about different forms of power related to specific issue.Visible power: ob…
Power line
To help participants explore the unequal distribution of power amongst people. It can evoke many negative emotions among partici…
Participatory expenditure tracking
To track the flow of public resources through different levels of government. Information is gathered from the central, local and…
Power flower
To look at shifts in different forms of power. The power flower tool provides a critical lens and a simple way to gather, consoli…
Citizens' budget
To share information about a budget in a clear and simple way. Budgets reports are often very long and written in complicated tec…
Citizens' voice
Citizens' voice is an approach to citizen journalism that can support the extension of communities’ capacity to pursue their own …
Body map - power within and power to
To facilitate critical analysis about shifts in ‘power within and power to’ with a focus on sensitive subjects such as sexual aut…
Natural resources map
To identify the natural resources within a community and to discuss changes in the availability and quality of such resources. Na…
Agricultural map
To show the different crops grown and / or livestock kept in a community.Steps in the processThe group may wish to begin the exer…
Transparency board
To share information about government or NGO projects and programmes.Transparency Boards are used to share information about proj…
Household expenditure wallet
To explore how households distribute their income to provide care.This tool focuses on how households earn and spend their income…
Chapatti diagram - spaces of power
To explore power relationships between organisations and people, focusing on spaces of power (closed, invited, created).The chapa…
Transect walk
A transect walk is a systematic walk along a defined path (transect) across a community to explore conditions by observing, askin…
Suggestion box
To enable citizens to submit anonymous complaints, suggestions or questions. Community suggestions boxes allow citizens to submit…
Card sort - problem prioritisation
To prioritise issues identified by the community.After identification of all the problems, prioritisation of these is done throug…
Role play
To analyse issues and to rehearse speaking up in new situations or on different topics. Everyone has different roles in different…
People’s caravan
To raise awareness or lobby on an issue. A group of people travelling together in procession often to raise awareness or lobby o…
Forcefield analysis
To identify helpers and spoilers – people, organisations or events that might help or hinder your work. For a similar tool, adapt…
Ideal future map
To discuss what the participants would like to see in their village in future and to prioritise amongst these.Steps in the proc…
What is VAT? The shopping list.
Participants discuss what ‘VAT’ and ‘VAT exemptions’ are by looking at local products they have bought recently. Objecti…
Community meetings - monitoring
To enable community members and other stakeholders to meet regularly to monitor progress towards agreed goals and are able to ide…
The tax stones
To introduce the idea of tax systems that help the poor (tax justice), to explore links between paying taxes and having services,…
Bridge
To develop or evaluate an action plan.The image of a bridge over a river (or road) is used to show the steps taken from the past …
Value for money grid
To review community or organisational costs related to a particular programme intervention or project and assess value for money.…
Who pays tax? The teacher, the vendor and the far…
The facilitator uses a series of questions to three taxpayers (a teacher, a market vendor and a farmer) to introduce the idea of …
Gatekeeper tool
To identify people who can help you access duty bearers relevant to your advocacy or campaigning work.The processDraw up a table …
Role play - understanding tax
The idea of ‘tax’ is explored through a role play. Topics should be chosen according to their relevance to the local context, for…
Traffic light ranking
Stickers or markers of three colours - red, yellow and green - are used to indicate safe, semi-safe and unsafe.StepsThe participa…
The ‘tax-pays-for’ photo
The relation between tax and public services is explored through a photo action.NB. This tool needs at least one camera or mobile…
Master suppression techniques and counter strateg…
Master suppression techniques can be used as an analytical tool to understand and analyze situations where unequal power position…
Ripples of change
To assess the levels of change resulting from a programme or project. A stone dropped in water creates ripples outwards. This ima…
Flow chart
To help make sense of different processes or complex systems - to explore cause, effect and inter-connections.Flow charts can be …
The ideal school – paying twice for education
The idea that tax-pays-for-education is explored through a school mapping activity.ObjectivesTo explore links between paying taxe…
Pillars of power
Use pillars of power analysis tool to identify the institutions without whose support your target would collapse. It helps you st…
The market mountain - multiple taxation
Participants explore tax problems at the market place, including the idea of ‘multiple taxation’, by collectively interviewing a …
Tax Biscuit
The fact that big foreign companies are taking more from poor countries than they are giving is explored through the image of a b…
Kite - grounding international work
To explore how international campaigns can be grounded and linked to the local level.The tool can be used to review or evaluate a…
Simple ranking matrix
To rank issues according to their importance to the group. StepsIf you are working with a large group, subdivide the participants…
Diamond ranking
To set priorities after a discussion or a brainstorm.Steps in the processDivide the participants into small groups of 4-8 people.…
Income and expenditure tree
To analyse income and expenditure of an individual, household or organisation.Steps in the processIn this example we look at hous…
Mobility map
To explore where people go, for what reasons, the frequency of their visits, distances covered, and modes of transport used.Steps…
Leaky pot
To explore how governments lose revenue through tax avoidance and corruption. This image of a leaking pot is used to support part…
Local tax indicators - what have we achieved?
A list of indicators for LRP staff to categorise and assess their gains on tax. This can be shared with community people too.Obje…
Monitoring Matrix of Local Fees and Taxes
This tool has been developed to support community organizations, district platforms and local communities to follow the process o…
Safety walk
To identify areas in the community that are safe and unsafe for women.NB: This exercise should be facilitated by a trained traine…
Solutions matrix
To explore possible solutions to a particular issue or set of issues.StepsBased on the results of the ranking tool, ask participa…
Timeline - action planning
To plan for action by marking key activities on a timeline or 'yardstick'.StepsMap each of the actions in your action plan along …
Process diagram
To show the different stages involved in a process, including details of who does what and the time or cost involved in the diffe…
Tax body map
A body map is used to look at the effects of not having public services on local people’s rights, especially women (and youth).Ob…
Helping relationship spiderweb
To explore the web of people and organisations that can support a person in a difficult situation and to identify what makes a he…
Public service trust diagram
To explore the levels of trust in public services in a community.StepsFor all the issues identified previously in the process, as…
The tax cow
The image of a cow is used to explore the idea of tax collection.ObjectiveTo highlight the importance of fair tax collection (mor…
Safety map
To identify safe and unsafe areas in a city or community.This exercise was designed as part of the Safe Cities Urban Book process…
Criteria ranking matrix
To rank different items / issues against a set of criteria.Steps in the processHere we use the example of a criteria ranking of f…
Care sharing square
To help identify actors that can support and share an individual's care work.The tool helps to introduce the idea that care is a …
Income and expenditure pie chart
To analyse the relative allocation of an individual or organisation's income on different categories of expenditure. It is a part…
Systems diagram
To help make sense of a system, exploring the interdependence of different elements within it.A systems diagram may be used to de…
Spectrum of allies
Movements seldom win by overpowering the opposition; they win by shifting support out from under it. Use a spectrum-of-allies ana…
What would happen if ...?
To explore what happens to individuals and communities when care for people or for the environment is not provided. Participants…
Income and expenditure calendar
To analyse income and expenditure over the year of an individual, household or organisation.Steps in the processIn this example w…
Monitoring Matrix of Information Access
This tool was developed to support civil society organizations, citizens and civil servants in evaluating the performance of loca…
The tax scale – tax holidays for locals or for bi…
With this tool participants explore the concept of tax holidays in big companies by comparing it to the VAT tool or the tool of t…
Report card (for documenting issues)
To document issues, identifying who is impacted and how and who is responsible.This documentation tool was designed as part of th…
THEMATIC AREAS
Empowerment
Read MoreHumanitarian Needs Assessment
Read MoreHuman Right Based Approach
Read MoreInternal Accountability
Read MoreM&E - Measuring Power Shifts
Read MoreM&E - Value for Money Analysis
Read MoreOther
Read MorePromoting Rights in Schools
Read MorePublic Service Accountability
Read MorePVA - Vulnerability Analysis
Read MoreReflection-Action Cycle
Read MoreReflection-Action Lenses
Read MoreRooted Campaigning
Read MoreSafe Cities - The Urban Book
Read MoreTax Power
Read MoreVillage Book
Read MoreWomen's Access to Markets
Read MoreWomen's Unpaid Care Work
Read MoreYouth Programming
Read MoreNOT FINDING WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR?
