South Africa
Readiness Assessment: A Participatory development approach
The Community Readiness Model (CRM) is a model for community change that integrates a community’s culture, resources, and their level of readiness to more effectively address a particular problem. In an effort to gain the necessary community support and enhance the prospects of achieving an effective intervention, we conducted a readiness assessment at the King Sabata Municipality in Eastern Cape, in anticipation of the implementation of our Girls Empowerment in King Sabata Municipality (GEPiK) Project. The purpose of the assessment was to assess the level of readiness of the district leadership, and other relevant stakeholders to participate in the implementation of the GEPIK project.
We conducted key informant interviews (KIIs) with the leadership team at the OR Tambo District and other local CBOs in the district. Evaluating the community’s capacity to implement the GEPiK project will enable us to match the projects’ intervention not only to the community’s readiness, but more importantly, to ensure that our efforts to improve health and create better livelihoods are not too ambitious, and the communities will be ready and willing to participate.
why the participatory approah?
"We strive to involve the community at every stage of the intervention process. We believe this participatory approach is crucial in enhancing development at the basic community level, and a critical tool for sustainable development. This approach, coupled with our belief in pursuing accessible evidence-based solutions to problems, has been the underlying factor that drives the success of our program interventions."
