Step 6. Getting Comments on and Community Endorsement of the Strategy
Leaders should be careful not to let the meetings and the community mood for "head hunting" or "apportioning the blame for the FO's inefficiency" to take control.
It is necessary to guide the community in a positive direction to develop working strategies. Several methods are available, such as SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis, prioritizing, and action-planning methods. See Chamala and Mortiss (1990) and Carman and Keith (1994) for techniques on participative planning and community consultation.
Useful procedures are outlined in steps 7 to 10 in the section on establishing farmer organizations. It is important to help the community to understand that it is in everybody's interest to strengthen FOs with win-win strategies. Helping them to see beyond petty politics and personal jealousies and to develop inclusive principles for development is one of the main roles for extension personnel. Acquiring facilitation skills is important.