Steps

Research pairs visit villages in which powerful actors reside, and inquire among local residents about ‘critical incidents that have occurred within the community, asking people to recount:

• A timeline of the events,
• Actors involved and
• Outcome of the issue described.

In this process, teams also take note of with whom they speak in terms of the person’s social/economic position, committee membership within a community, assets owned, etc.

Within the village, teams explore several incidents. Key incidents that involve informal and/or formal leaders are further explored by asking others to tell the story within and in neighboring communities, and among both sides of those involved in the issue.

Extracting from critical incidents, research teams can identify various dynamics and relationships among the powerful and between the powerful and others in terms of:

• Key historical events,
• Conflict over key resources,
• Gender-related conflicts,
• Securing control over resources and investments in public institutions and
• Informal and formal dispute arbitration, and access to justice

Working through critical incidents also helps identify key powerful actors within a community to inform the construction of a power net within a community.