In our successful development initiatives in Vietnam, a common element that stands out is the use of a participatory approach in planning and implementation. This has been alluded to in earlier posts. To get our research and extension partners on the same page, our first step is to carry out a diagnostic approach. This approach aims to build quality partnerships among stakeholders and promote shared objectives to finding solutions to a given problem. The approach starts with a diagnostic workshop involving stakeholders.

In the workshop, analytical techniques are used to facilitate achieving shared views of the problem and objectives in research, extension, and policy. Descriptive techniques are also employed in the workshops to gain a common understanding of the management perspectives of the problem. These include the use of decision trees illustrating interactions between time and management options, pay-off matrices, and cause-effect analysis. Another important activity in the workshop is the on-farm dialogue with farmers to better understand their perceptions of the problem. Follow-up workshops are conducted to review and redesign research and extension activities.

A typical workshop consists of about 30 participants from research and extension with a mix of specializations in resource management (crop, pest, weeds, postharvest, water, etc.) and the social sciences. Wherever appropriate, farmers, NGO representatives, and local government officials are included. The main objective is to build a consensus and obtain a shared view of the problems and consequently develop a shared strategy for action. The workshop serves as the platform to introduce new ideas and methodology and recent research findings as well as to gain support from national agricultural authorities. Throughout these workshops, four basic points are used to guide the discussions:

• Separate the people from the problems
• Focus on interests, not positions
• Generate options
• Develop objective criteria and make judgments based on them

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