2.2 Define focus areas

Group people together to define the focus areas that they will explore. Because you are likely to have multi-stakeholder participants, you need to decide whether it is best to allow similar stakeholders to work together – for example, all donors – or to mix up their knowledge and skills across groups. The former is likely to give rise to a voicing of interests around the issue, which may be a good starting point for sharing the different perspectives of stakeholders. The latter is likely to give rise to a broader and less positional voicing of interests, which may be good for moving towards solutions.

Think about how you will ask groups to capture their ideas; for example, using flip charts or sticky notes. Whilst the groups are working, go round and listen to the sorts of ideas that are being generated. Don’t be afraid to redirect groups that are going off topic – a good definition of a focus area should be short and to the point.