Approaches to Livelihood Planning

Choosing the appropriate methodology for livelihoods enhancement, while keeping the targets and the desired impact in mind requires considerable thought and is often determined by the beliefs and assumptions of the intervening organization.

T here are several ways to promote livelihoods. Accordingly, there are many different methodologies that are based on factors such as the existing capabilities of the targeted people, the resources and linkages available in their environment, the capabilities of the change agent and the priorities set by the promoting organizations. Each of these factors is founded on some assumptions and decisions made by the implementing organization such as PRADAN.

We also have to keep in mind that, in a given situation, in which targets and the desired impact are clearly defined, the output and impact would vary with the methodology used to implement changes. Therefore, formulating a methodology is important if we are to arrive at consistent results. In order to do so, we need to define factors that include:

• Our target people in different locations
• The desired impact we want to create
• The resources and linkages in the environment
• The professional capabilities of the intervening teams
• The organization’s commitment to human resource development (whether we will accept variance in the capabilities of the teams).