11.3.2 Prioritisation of projects

Part of the process when trying to mobilise a community is to work with them to identify and prioritise possible projects, as shown in Figure 11.3. There are several approaches for project prioritisation.

Figure 11.3 Prioritisation meeting at Kori, Afar.

Some Ethiopian towns already have Water and Sanitation Master Plans that have been prepared through a consultative process with the local population. If such a plan exists, this is a good place to start because this will have identified the most important water and sanitation problems for the town. If not, your WASH project prioritisation procedure might follow these steps:

• Organise a meeting with community representatives and try to build consensus on priorities. This is most likely to be feasible in smaller urban communities.
• Facilitate the formation of community action groups (CAGs). These are small groups tasked with managing individual projects and should involve those best placed to help with project implementation.
• Ensure discussions include the pros and cons of various options, based on criteria that have been agreed by the community.
• If community members realise that more information is needed to make a decision, the CAG can agree on how to collect the required information and arrange another meeting for further reviewing priorities before project selection.
• Keep the larger community informed about the schedule, process and actions taken by the CAG, using appropriate communication channels such as community notice boards or local radio announcements.
• Organise a community vote or some alternative way to obtain acknowledged agreement, so that you ensure the project is acceptable to the community.