Video: Our Work in Jakarta

There are so many ways to know whether a project could really have an impact in communities that we work in. The most frequent method use is, of course, conduct a base line assessment (output: numbers) and then conduct the end line assessment (output: numbers) and compare the two of them. Final result? Written reports of numbers and numbers.

And I’m not against number, really. I love statistics. I’d got straight As for the subjects in college (OK, so I’m a geek). But I think one of the downfalls of focusing in numbers and the whole quantitative way of measuring impacts of a project is you don’t really see the community as the subject. And, do you honestly read those written reports?

So by the end of last year, as we completed one of the urban projects that we have in Jakarta, we tried to seek another way to measure impacts. We wanted to engage the community and let them participate in the evaluation process. We decided to do a "Participatory Video for Evaluation," a methodology increasingly used in community development and sociological research that enables a project implementer to do a monitoring and evaluation assessment in a community and replaces the conventional practice of written reports.

It’s a really simple method. We asked the community members to explain the most significant changes that have occurred there during the life of the project, and then made them to film that. We showed them how to use a video camera, and let them to film whatever scenes they wanted to show. Lessons learned? This method is simple, inexpensive (you only need a camera, doesn’t need to be an advance one), and capture the right things. It is a powerful tool to engage and empower the community. It also can be used as an advocacy tool. And highly enjoyable, I must tell you!

In the spirit of honoring the great work of the communities there, I would like to show you that video. The best part is: everything was done by them.

For more information on using Participatory Video, please visit http://insightshare.org/