Capacity building

Capacity is, at its base, the ability to act (GSE827 2010). Capacity can refer to that of a country or multilateral organisation, as well as to individual or community capacity.

Capacity building is achieved through participatory processes which develop skills, confidence or knowledge. In GSE827 (2010), it was noted that the term capacity building could comprise: participation, partnerships, collaboration, stakeholder involvement, active learning, decision making, envisioning, knowledge transfer and human resource development, but not critical thinking.

However, I believe that in a broader sense critical thinking is a capacity that can be built through critical thinking exercises and training (whether that be through the process of formal education or through in and non-formal EfSD programmes). I think that critical thinking skills are the most important element of sustainability and thus of EfSD. While the technical term capacity building does not comprise critical thinking, I think that is is largely about developing skills and building competencies such as this which help us recognise and bring about the "fundamental changes required to the way people view and evaluate their lives" (ARIES 2005) and that critical thinking can be one of those skills.

Partnerships

Because of the size and complex nature of sustainability actions, partnerships between multiple organisations/group/communities can be a good way to effectively access skills, expertise and resources (create synergy). Agenda 21 identifies partnerships as one the critical ways in which its goals can be implemented on a global scale, and Tilbury and Wortman (2004) note that partnerships which "share learning experiences can accelerate the process of change towards sustainable development."

Partnerships can range in intensity from outcome based, distant and formal (like government to government) to fully participatory, equal partnerships in which a shared goal is developed and actioned. Partnerships recognise that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and can build collective capacity through knowledge and skills sharing and synergising (Tilbury & Wortman 2004).

I've come to the conclusion that partnerships are vital given the scope and multi-faceted nature of many sustainability problems. I believe that by harnessing specialist skills and knowledge of stakeholders and their issues, partners can cover alot of ground with limited resources (Tilbury & Wortman 2004) and help challenge each others assumptions about the best way to solve a particular problem.

Sucessful engagement: Brown and Issacs "6 Cs"

Brown and Issacs (1994) have developed the "6 Cs" model for guide the development of a successful community engagement process:

• Capability - the members are capable of dialogue
• Commitment - mutual benefit beyond self interest is created or demonstrated
• Contribution - members volunteer and there is an environment that encourages participation
• Continuity - members share or rotate roles and, as members move on, there is a transition process that sustains and maintains the community corporate memory
• Collaboration - reliable interdependence, members have a clear vision and an environment of sharing and trust
• Conscience - embody or invoke guiding principles/ethics of service, trust and respect that are expressed in the actions of the community

These 6 Cs may also be used as filters to measure the functionality of a community or participant group.

(Reproduced from the Effective engagement toolkit, Victorian Government Department of Sustainability)

Future search: tool

Future Search is a type of group planning meeting that goes for 2-3 days. It can encorporate groups from 20 up to several hundred, and aims to achieve four main outputs from one meeting: shared values, a plan for the future, concrete goals to achieve that plan, and an implementation strategy to get to those goals.
The method has been employed in many Australian and international communities, Governments, organisations, corporations and NGO’s.

Resource: Victorian Department of Sustainability, Effective Engagement toolkit

The Effective Engagement toolkit was developed by the Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and the Coastal Co-operative Research Centre. The toolkit outlines a wide selection of engagement tools.

Each tool listing includes a detailed description of the objectives, resources required, a discussion of their strengths and weakness, as well as references for further exploration.

The Department's website also includes a tool - Choosing the Right Tool - that is design to help you select the most appropriate tool(s) for your needs.

The selection criteria for selecting engagement tools include:

• Project context (i.e. project goals, objectives and anticipated outcomes)
• Community context within which your project sits (i.e. your community profile and the social and political context)
• Project parameters (including the project size, budget, timeline and resources allocated)
• Project teams (i.e. skills of team and availability of the members).

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This is a useful and fairly comprehensive collection of tools, and most of the tools could be effectively adapted to multiple situations as necessary. The Choosing the right tool checklist, based on the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) participation framework, also offers a quick and easy checklist for choosing a participation tool based on your projects requirements.

Critical thinking

Critical thinking has been described as "purposeful reflective judgment concerning what to believe or what to do."1 While it is called critical, it does not have to be negative - it can be deep enquiry and questioning, or be respectful exploration. Having said that, it can also be paradigm shifting and part of an active process to challange the status quo.

Critical thinking challenges "one size fits all" thinking, and helps challenge bias and dominant versions of what is important based on incomplete understanding of the issues involved. It encourages examination of personal and professional contribution to change, and helps lead to self determination and autonomy for the learner. It can also provide an encouraging basis for future participation, and the capacity to take a stand (GSE827 2010).

Envisioning: teaching tool

Normally, people are told what their goal is, and how to get there. It has been noted that creates a situation where people "don't take ownership of the change process and also feel extremely disempowered" (ARIES 2006).

Envisioning invites participants to create a shared vision around an issue, and take many forms. It involves the creation of a shared vision among the group, and gives people a positive goal to work towards together that they have created together (GSE827 2010, Tilbury & Wortman 2004).

I think it could be a useful tool to sidestep the hopelessness that can surround may seemingly overwhelming environmental problems. It helps people simultaneously hope for better outcomes, as well as take ownership of the problem and its solutions: while it is important to show people "hell" [the world if the problem is not fixed], you must also show them "heaven" - this also helps them contrast the positive vision world with the status-quo world (GSE827 2010).

Systemic thinking

(Image reproduced from asiasociety.org)

Systems thinking is an approach to problem solving which aims to understand how individual things influence one another within a whole system. Systems thinking aims to view problems or issues as parts of an overall system. Systems thinking is based on the belief that the component parts of a system can best be understood in the context of relationships with each other and with other systems,  rather than in isolation.

Participation

(Image reproduced from gravis.org.in)

Participation is to take part, share and act together. In some forms it brings together multiple stakeholders and their views to a) help build consensus and b) help future decision making processes. It can:

• help build capacity, skills and motivation to contribute to sustainability
• empower communty groups, especially those with less power, to contribute to decision making
• recognise and involve indigenous groups and their knowledge.

Participation is different to consultation: consultation related to sharing information but not necessarily decision-making powers, and participation involves a more active level of engagement between groups and can give participants more significant control over decisions.