N.B. This is a checklist, implying that the researcher chooses questions depending on the flow of discussion and may not necessarily ask all questions.
1. Data on key informant/organization
- Name of informant.
- Name of organization.
- Organizational mandate - community development roles and obligations.
- Organizational mission and specific objectives.
- Type of extension service vis-à-vis community development, and in what areas:
topical - intervention programmes and specific issues;
- Organizational approach and strategies.
- Extent to which organizational approach and strategies are oriented towards collaboration.
- Organizational culture - norms, beliefs and taboos.
- Perceptions on problem of uncoordinated extension.
- Perceptions/perspectives on benefits of coordinated extension.
- Organizational structure.
- Staff complement at various levels.
- Outreach indicators:
- Resource endowments.
- Profile of beneficiaries:
2. SWOT analysis of service providers (institutional/organizational level)
- Strengths and capacities.
- Weaknesses and constraints.
- Opportunities.
- Threats.
3. Actor analysis of the pluralistic extension system in community development
- Major categories of actors involved in public and private extension systems.
- Actors involved in each category.
- Other "peripheral" service providers (including informal farmer-to-farmer extension).
- Brief analysis of type of service provided by each actor.
4. Formal partnerships and institutional linkages among extension service providers
- Existing formal partnerships with other organizations.
- Actors involved - collaborating partners.
- Types and forms of partnerships:
- Why and how the various partnerships were initiated.
- Where applicable, funding and level of funding for partnerships.
- Communication among organizations:
- Areas of community development where potential partnerships exist:
- Potential partners - actors that can be involved in specific partnerships.
- Why identified potential partners are not yet partners.
5. Network analysis
- Informal collaboration programmes/projects/initiatives that are already in place.
- Initiators and sources of funding of such programmes/projects/initiatives.
- Logistics of the programmes/projects/initiatives.
- Actors involved in the programmes/projects/initiatives.
- Post and level of contact person within each involved organization.
- Types and forms of networks:
- Contributions of individual actors/organizations:
- Communication among network components.
- Benefits accruing from the existing networks.
6. Interface analysis
- Interfaces within and among organizations.
- Actors involved.
- Causes: Political factors:
- Causes: Technical factors:
- Causes: Organizational factors:
- Other causes of various interfaces.
- Programmes/initiatives affected by various interfaces.
- Suggestions for improvement.
7. SWOT analysis of service providers (collective level)
-Strengths and capacities.
-Weaknesses and constraints.
-Opportunities.
-Threats.
8. Experiences o improving smallholder farmer livelihoods
- Examples of successful experiences of improving smallholder farmer livelihoods from extension/collaboration efforts:
- Period and implementing organization(s).
- Reasons for success.
- Other conducive and contributory factors.
- Examples of failures at improving smallholder farmer livelihoods:
- Reasons for failure.
- Documentation of successes and failures.
- Examples of exceptional cases that are not well documented.
9. Collaborative extension delivery strategies
- Existing collaborative extension delivery strategy options:
- Individual recommendations for coordinated and collaborative strategies for effective delivery of extension services:
- Suggestions for effective coordination.
- Suggestions for division of responsibilities.
- Areas recommended for pilot study:
- Justifications for recommendations.
- Other opportunities for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of extension intervention.
Additional guidelines
10. Organization fact file
- Name of organization.
- Organizational mandate.
- Motive for extension work (e.g. for private companies - profit).
- Major extension approach used.
- Extension and community development programmes.
- Source of funding.
- Sustainability of funding.
- Type of target population/beneficiaries (e.g. cotton growers).
- Numbers in hundreds or thousands.
- Staff compliment:
- Extension worker to farmer ratios.
- Mobility means and capacity.
- Perceptions at different administrative levels.
- AGRITEX and stakeholders' views about the changes at DR&SS and AGRITEX.
11. Swot analysis (category level)
- Strengths and capacities.
- Weaknesses and constraints.
- Opportunities.
- Threats.
12. Linkages
- Factors hindering the establishment of effective linkages.
- Examples of successful interventions:
- Potential role of the government (e.g. collaboration function).
13. Chivi project
- What has been done?
- Project components.
- Linkages with other extension service providers.
- Division of resources, tasks and responsibilities.
- Critical analysis of project (success or failure).
- Elements of success/failure.
- Measurable indicators of impact (success/failure).
- Impact of the project on people outside the project area.
- Empowering the communities: are they given a platform?
14. Commercial Farmers' Union/commercial and smallholder farmers
- Sources of technical information for:
- Farmers' linkages with sources of information.
- Sustainability of the links?
- Farmers' perceptions of pluralistic extension:
- How farmers deal with pluralistic extension.
- Why is the commercial farmers' extension system efficient?
- Interface between commercial farmers and public extension system.
- Are all commercial farmers members of the Commercial Farmers' Union?
- Issues for further research.
