Working with regional NGO to get idea accepted as an EBSA
Gaining buy-in from Costa Rica government & other countries
Working toward a marine protected area (MPA)
Capacity-building of local people in agroforestry
Rehabilitation of coastal areas through agroforestry reforestation
Gervais Munyororo Yade
Embers production from trees planted by the project - modern carbonization technique
Gervais Munyororo Yade
Formation on chicken breeding techniques
Gervais Munyororo Yade
Agricultural technicians formed the population in the sustainable use of land, tree planting, charcoal production and crop management.
Only available in French. To read this section in French, please download the document "Blue Solution Template in French: ‘Réhabilitation des espaces côtiers par le reboisement agro forestier” from the bottom of this page, under 'Resources'.
Only available in French. To read this section in French, please download the document "Blue Solution Template in French: ‘Réhabilitation des espaces côtiers par le reboisement agro forestier” from the bottom of this page, under 'Resources'.
Fishers from target communities visit other communities already implementing temporary fishery closures or other marine management strategies. By learning directly from the real experiences of fishers from similar backgrounds to themselves, target communities realise that this is something that they can adapt to their own contexts. Experienced communities often recount not only the benefits but also the challenges that they have faced in implementing community management and thus allow new communities to prepare for, or even avoid these challenges themselves.
- Funding to support a fisher-fisher exchange - An initial management interest in the visiting/target community - Key fishers representatives / respected spokespeople from visiting communities to lead discussions in their home communities - An honest and supportive hosting community with relevant experience - Planned follow up after the exchange
Follow up after a peer exchange trip is crucial. The supporting organization must ensure that participants have understood key messages from the host community, synthesized what they’ve learned and are comfortable leading discussions in their home communities. Participants in the exchange trip should be community members who are legitimate in the eyes of fishers (i.e. fishers themselves) and respected. It is also helpful to have participants who are known as being sceptical and asking difficult questions –these types of people will often be the hardest to convince and the first to oppose the establishment of a closure, so having them in support of the closure from the start is a big advantage.
This building block is concerned with establishing a process for the use of the instruments and tools in assessing the competence of professionals and their suitability for certification. Such a process is known in WIO-COMPAS as an ‘event’, and starts with a call for applications from suitable professionals working at the appropriate level for the certification level focus of the event. The application process provides an initial screening to ensure as far as possible that the applicants have a very reasonable chance of certification. Applicants who are successful become ‘candidates’ and are invited to a 4 day event where the interactive assessment instruments are employed by experienced assessors. Prior to the event portfolios and the case studies are developed by the candidates. Assessors are appointed, following a rigorous selection and training process, and at Levels 1 and 2 each is assigned 3 or 4 candidates, whom they mentor through the process. At Level 3 the assessors work in concert as a panel. The final decision on whether to certify a candidate is not that of the assessors, but of the Certification Board acting on their recommendation.
Appointment of appropriately experienced, qualified and trained assessors with a good tacit knowledge of the field and/or assessment processes
Assessors acting as supportive mentors, rather than as judges
Inclusion of a rigorous application process
Provision of clear guidelines on all aspects of the process for applicants/candidates
Inclusion of a clear appeals process for dis-satisfied candidates
Established and trusted network which the Certifying Bodies are able to access for engaging organizations to send their staff to Events.
The quality and commitment of the assessors is paramount. The relationship developed between assessors and candidates needs to be both collegial and disciplined, maintaining the necessary distance while providing the necessary support. In WIO-COMPAS it has been agreed that assessors should preferably not be from the same institution as any of their candidates. While single assessors can have sufficient capacity to assess at Levels 1 and 2, Level 3 assessment requires a panel of specialists working in concert. Assessors, while having individual responsibility for a pool of candidates (except at Level 3), should frequently interact with each other and share the progress of their candidates. Ultimately the recommendations for certification or not, are submitted as a collective decision. Adequate time must be allowed for each stage in the process from initial applications, and for application of all instruments at the event.
Identifying the most appropriate means of assessing the different competences requires the development of a number of assessment ‘instruments’ to provide varied opportunities for competences to be demonstrated. The instruments should be appropriate both for the type of skill or understanding being assessed, and to the level at which the assessment is taking place. The instruments used by WIO-COMPAS are:
Application form for initial screening (all Levels)
Portfolio of evidence comprising documents produced in the workplace (all Levels)
Core Activity Document/Case study (all Levels)
Practical demonstration through scenarios (Level 1)
Written quiz, based on projected images of key species (Level 1); Written test (Level 2)
Face to face interview (Levels 1 and 2); Panel interview (Level 3)
To develop a system and associated ‘tools’ by which the assessed competences can be marked or ‘scored’. In WIO-COMPAS the most important competences carry a weighting of a possible score of 4 points, with the others weighted at 2 points. A score sheet is used for each instrument, and the scores are transferred to an Excel based ‘Candidate Scoring Package’.
Developed by team with strong ‘tacit’ understanding of the field at all levels
Inclusion of education and assessment specialist
Establishment of clear criteria for achievement of certification
Recognition of process as essentially a capacity development and enhancement process – for everyone, including those achieving certification
It is critical to recognize the differences in the roles and activities performed at the different levels, and the varying requirements for written and/or oral communication skills at these levels. The instruments must therefore be appropriate to the daily work functions at the various levels. Adequate opportunities must be provided for certification candidates to provide evidence of their competences. One instrument is not enough as this can favour some candidates over others. The key concept is that of ‘evidence’, which the instruments are designed to elicit from candidates. A scoring system is essential, as it provides a rigorous measure of the assessments and of the strength of evidence presented through the various instruments by the candidates. The range statements associated with each competence are vital to ensure consistency in assessment and in scoring of evidence between assessors.
The purpose is to identify the critical competence requirements for effective functioning at all levels. The levels are closely linked having the same competence areas (see below) and with many of the competences within these demonstrating progression in skills and understandings through the levels. Some competences are specific to particular levels. The competences are then used to:
Establish benchmarks for operations at the three levels
Provide rigorous criteria for professional certification
Inform assessment of existing competence and identify competence gaps
Inform training and other capacity development intervention needs
Certify MPA personnel who meet the competence requirements as MPA–PROs.
Inform recruitment, performance review, and promotion processes
Establish a career path for MPA personnel
Shape the training provided for MPA personnel
The competences are grouped into 7 ‘Competence Areas’:
Policy, Legislation and Compliance
MPA Concept and Establishment
Communication and Stakeholder Engagement
Financial Management and Fundraising
Management Operations
Biophysical and Sociocultural Environment
Leadership, Ethics and Innovation
Initial focus on one level
Competence lists developed collaboratively involving a range of perspectives: (M)PA management; science; education and assessment
Competences grouped into Competence Areas
Competences sufficiently generic to be widely applicable
Competences at a fairly broad level with each competence encompassing a range of specific skills
Competences limited to less than 80 (absolute maximum) to facilitate effective assessment
Competences supported by Range Statements indicating the level required and evidence relevant to their assessment
The main lesson is that the identification of the competences must be a collaborative and iterative process. They do not appear overnight, and require consistent focus over a considerable time. The different perspectives are essential, but will pull the process in different directions, with the ultimate outcome inevitably representing something of a compromise. The starting point should probably be the Competence Areas (see the WIO-COMPAS competence lists in the Handbook). The initial focus on one level was a strong feature of the process, avoiding the complication of trying to work at all levels at once. It cannot be stressed too hard that the process of identification of the competences is absolutely central to the whole process, and the competences are the foundation for everything that follows.
On field inquiries and sensitization with Guinea Focal Points : F. Doumbouya and M. Silla, coastal fisherman village in Tristao Islands.
DRDH
Visits to network members by the focal point of the country for data collection and awareness-raising.
Only available in French. To read this section in French, please download the document "Blue Solution Template in French: ‘AfricaSaw, Réseau d’alerte/sauvegarde du poisson-scie, Afrique de l’Ouest’” from the bottom of this page, under 'Resources'.
Only available in French. To read this section in French, please download the document "Blue Solution Template in French: ‘AfricaSaw, Réseau d’alerte/sauvegarde du poisson-scie, Afrique de l’Ouest’” from the bottom of this page, under 'Resources'.
