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Key words that begin with the letter F

by Phil Bartle

FACILITATE

There are two ways the word facilitation is used in community empowering:

(1) One is a facilitation method of training and organizing participants which is more effective than lecturing or preaching.

(2) The other is to set up an enabling environment of facilitating self-help, where the laws, the administrative regulations, procedures and practices, and the attitudes of leaders, technical experts and administrators support increased responsibility and self reliance of low income communities.

(See Training methods).  (See Policy Paper).

FACTION

A "faction" is a group of people on one side of a social schism.

As a mobilizer, you should ensure that you are not identified as supporting any one faction in a community (explained in Unity Organizing).

See social schism.

FACTORS OF POVERTY

The "big five" factors of poverty (as a social problem) include: ignorance, disease, apathy, dishonesty, and dependency.

These, in turn, contribute to secondary factors such as lack of markets, poor infrastructure, poor leadership, bad governance, under-employment, lack of skills, lack of capital, and others.

FEMINIST THEORIES

These are sociological theories which examine the historical and cultural aspects of gender and gender relations. Feminist perspectives include Marxist, Liberal and non-Marxist approaches.

In your job as a mobiliser, you need to observe and understand the nature of gender in the community, and what gender relations impact on the potential for empowering the community.

(See Gender).

FISH OUT OF WATER

See:  Deutsch: Komischer Fisch,    English: strange fish,    Français: poissons étranges,    Japanese: おかしな魚  Türkçe: sudan çıkmiş balık,  

FORECAST

When you forecast something you work out what you think is likely to happen in the future. A forecast tells you what is likely to happen in the future.

A forecast is an important consideration in planning, both for micro enterprise and for communal facilities.

FOUR QUESTIONS

The "Four Questions" represent the core of management decision making, whether it is management of a community or management of an organization. If we take the overall decision making processes, which vary from context to context, we can distil all to four essential questions. Answering of these questions (which does not have to be so brief) constitutes the basic management planning process.

These four questions are:

FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS

In sociology, a functional analysis, functionalism or structural functionalism is a theoretical framework which sees society as consisting of various elements which contribute to equilibrium in that society.

Criticism against functionalism includes accusations that it supports conservatism and non change. It is also seen as a circular argument in that functionalism can not be proven or disproved (like a genuine scientific theory).

Most sociologists, however, do see that different aspects of a social organisation do contribute to maintaining other aspects. Changes in one aspect, therefore, will have effects of changing other aspects.

A mobiliser does not have to prove the theory, but to be as observant about the community as possible, and see how some parts help to maintain the community as a whole, and how changes in one may contribute to changes in others.

FUND RAISING

The action of fund raisingis an important aspect of planning and implementing a project, or maintaining an organization. Also see Resource Acquisition.

While some activists may not like fund raising (its professionals are trained in marketing), it is necessary and therefore as honourable as any other element of a project or an organization.

© Copyright 1967, 1987, 2007 Phil Bartle
Web Design by Lourdes Sada

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Last update: 2015.09.23