The Change Project
The Change Project is the main activity in the LoCoFoRest programme. Its purpose is to identify specific barriers and opportunities for successful forest restoration, gather relevant stakeholders to discuss important factors, and investigate collaborative solutions.
A Change Project is preferably undertaken by two or more participants from the same country, with support of their appropriate organizations. It must be approved by, and beneficial for, the participants’ organization. The purpose is not to change the whole system or technically to plant trees, but to thoroughly find and address prerequisites for the process to be more beneficial and scalable.
Below you find the overall project structure:
1. Project idea - Identify an area that needs improvement
2. Form a team - Can you join with other participants in the programme and/or with colleagues in your organization?
3. Research
3.1. Map the market system that you plan to improve with your project
3.2. Identify the restoration potential
3.3. Interview and engage all concerned stakeholders in the defined market system
3.4. Accumulate build knowledge and register common and deviating perceptions of the market system from the interviews
4. Challenges forum - Gather the stakeholders and identify challenges/ barriers for change
5. Analysis - Develop ideas for change to contribute to a self- sustaining, scalable market system, which drives restoration
6. Solutions forum - Gather the stakeholders and discuss possible solutions
7. Next steps - Address the projects findings to those who have the mandate to make necessary changes
The market system approach
To map the market system, the environment within which the participant operates, is an essential part of the project. In the figure above you can see an example without details. The barriers for change can be within any, or many, areas presented, for example financing, policy, infrastructure or within the value chain itself.
Stakeholders
Another essential part of the Change Project is to involve the key stakeholders, to help identify all the barriers and solutions, and make the necessary changes. It is relevant to attract stakeholders with high interest and engagement to help persuade the stakeholders with influence.
Stakeholders with high interest and engagement can help persuade stakeholders with influence, who will ultimately help facilitate many of these changes.