Tips for PDM Workshop Trainers

4.

In the design of the PDM workshop, Volunteers and Counterparts

join together in pairs or small groups (called, project teams) to

practice the planning process by selecting a real community

priority and designing a project around it. This practicum is core

to the learning process in the sense that it gives participants the

opportunity to immediately apply each of the steps in project

design and understand the power and pitfalls of the process. The

more time you can preserve for the hands on practice, the richer

the experience will be for the project teams and the more confident

they will feel in leading a similar process with community groups.

5.

Since the project teams will be working together for considerable

portions of the workshop, trainers should observe the dynamics

in each pair and ensure that Volunteer and Counterpart are sharing

the work and supporting each other. Break up the pair work from

time to time with large group discussions and mixed group

activities. Also, bear in mind that the teams will work at different

paces some will finish their worksheets in record time while

others will struggle with the task and need one on one attention.

The PDM workshop should

It is critical to group morale to have all teams producing a planning

close with some sort of

product about which they feel good.

celebration (for example,

6.

The room arrangement is particularly important in the PDM

a special lunch, the award

workshop. If possible, select a large room that allows project teams

to spread out and create a comfortable planning space, and also

of Certificates of

permits the trainer to call the group together quickly to discuss

Completion, and so forth).

an important question or insight that has emerged from the

teamwork. Furnish each project team with supplies such as

flipchart paper, markers, post it notes, and so forth.

7.

Some Volunteer Counterpart teams may have difficulty selecting

a project for their practice planning. Ideally, participants should

be asked to discuss possible project ideas with their communities

prior to the workshop. If they are still trying to select an

appropriate project when they arrive at the workshop site, the

APCD should help them make a decision.

8.

As with any multiple day workshop, it's a good idea to begin the

morning with a warm up exercise and close the afternoon with a

summary and reflection on the day's work.

9.

The PDM workshop should close with some sort of celebration

(for example, a special lunch, the award of Certificates of

Completion, and so forth). This final activity reinforces celebration

and appreciation as essential components of the Community

Development/Project Planning Cycle.

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