How can we define the scope of our action?
Description
Citizen Observatories can trigger a variety of positive changes. Their impacts can range from changes in public awareness and understanding to changes in people's individual behaviour, or directly improving and taking care of the environment. All these are of great importance, and while many Citizen Observatories aim for one or more of these changes, each type may require divergent, deliberate action to be achievable (check this WeObserve Cookbook resource for further information). Before embarking on the implementation of our citizen-led action, we should collectively define and agree on its scope or, in other words, what are the objectives of the citizen-led action, its desired outcomes (the desired changes that should result from the project, which are related to the overall challenge being addressed), the scale (local, regional, national…), the duration and its outputs (the things that are done or created in the course of the work, which may be physical or practical (such as a workshop).This involves a collective reflection process by the CO, linking them with the identified environmental problems or needs that require attention, and aligning them with the impacts sought by your Citizen Observatory.
Why is it relevant?
The Citizen Observatory should collectively define the scale and complexity of the citizen-led action, and agree on the intended goals of the action before embarking on the planning and implementation phases. Different goals will shape what type of steps need to be taken, what resources are required, and what expertise and skills are needed (see Resources Mapping Section for more information). For instance, if the goal is to gain visibility of an environmental issue, the CO might want to focus on actions that involve strong presence in (social) media, whereas actions directed towards denouncing an issue, might require collective interventions in the public space. Therefore, approaching this process collectively debated and decided upon, will help establish effective strategies and action plans from the start and will allow us to measure progress, and obtain relevant indicators throughout the execution of our action, providing valuable insights into whether we have achieved our desired results.
How can this be done?
To facilitate this process, this section starts by proposing a series of questions that will help framing the scope of the action. Next, we offer a comprehensive selection of tools and guides which assist in defining objectives effectively. Although these tools can be applied to various contexts, the focus here is to make concrete decisions on how our ideas for taking action can be linked to the objectives we define and agree here, and how those can be linked to the overarching CO goals.
Key questions to be addressed include:
What are we seeking to achieve?
What are the project aims? (e.g., empowering communities, widening participation in environmental related issues or local decision-making)
What are the desired outcomes, both tangible and intangible? (e.g., a wider awareness of the importance of good air quality, or enhanced engagement between a local authority and communities in local environmental plans)
What are the project outputs (e.g., creative materials produced during workshops or activities, films, blogs, photos, podcasts documenting the project process, recommendations, strategies or action plans that will be informed by project learning)
As a guidance, some of these questions will help understanding the scope of the project and help us defining next steps. For example, for citizen-led actions that are larger in scale or outcomes, might want to visit the impact measurement section too. Below we include some tools that can help navigate this process:
Guide to write SMART+C objectives
The SMART+C framework is an extension of the traditional SMART criteria, where the "C" stands for "Challenging", which means that the objective should be challenging enough to motivate and inspire people to achieve it. This concept provides a clear and concise definition of what needs to be achieved, how progress can be tracked and evaluated, how the tasks can be accomplished, and what the available resources and timeframes are. This approach helps to manage expectations, ensure that efforts and resources are directed towards achieving the desired outcomes, resulting in improved performance and increased success.
Guide to set up a Citizen Observatory by identifying a shared issue
This section of the WeObserve Cookbook offers practical guidance, as well as useful tools and resources for identifying common environmental issues affecting a community. This can be a great starting point to reflect on what the objectives of our action will be.
Mapping the issue
This tool helps you to set out the different levels of issues associated with your citizen-led action, and identify the drivers behind them. This tool will help you to define your action objectives based on underlying sub-issues related to your action.
Useful resources
WeObserve Cookbook resource for further information about different ways that Citizen Observatories can trigger positive change.
Co-Evaluation Tool - University of Dundee This tool was designed to evaluate individual and community-based knowledge and practices, but it can also be useful as inspiration to define typologies of objectives.
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