Challenge

I work in a non-governmental organization which operates with projects in the field of health  predominately influenced by governmental rules, regulations and guidelines. One of our  values is effective and positive collaboration with local partners in whichever area we work in  so as priorities are set and needed assistance is given in areas most needed. The challenge  comes in planning meetings where the inputs of the partners are necessary in order that  project plans that are right for each area are implemented. However, different partners have  different views about projects, how plans are made, who should be involved as well as what  should be included and how they should look. Hence involving all relevant stakeholders and  keeping them interested in planning is sometimes an obstacle.

Selection

Visualization: this is a tool useful in everyday tasks in which graphics can be used to get the  message across as well as for further clarity and understanding. It helps in explaining further  what one is putting across as at times people may perceive words differently and make own  conclusions which may not necessarily be the presents (Jana Zeller, Module 1).  Visualization therefore brings about cohesiveness and assists in memory as people turn to  remember things more once they see them than those they hear or read about. Visualization  entices people to be creative and come up with ideas which they would not necessarily would  have thought of if they were only discussing them or reading about them. It is a tool most  suitable in all kinds of tasks and can be easily adapted and combined even with other tools to  make an emphasis or statement a little clearer. It boosts imagination and thinking non-verbally  to portray ideas differently but precisely.

Application

In one of the workshops held for one of the areas we work in; a hospital in the hard to reach  areas, the use of visualization was made to engage with everyone. All department heads were  invited which not only included the clinical departments but also administration, maintenance  and Laundry. As this was the first time that all departments were together, the meeting began  first with a video clip showing the forest ecosystem and how interactions in a natural  environment are made for sustainability. This enabled everyone to see how important each  part is to make a whole and that if we all pull our efforts together towards a goal, that goal is  highly likely to be achieved and sustained. Each representative was then asked to introduce  themselves by drawing what their jobs were on the board and for others to guess what that  was, after which they can then explain what that department does. This not only made  everyone laugh as we are not all best at drawing but it made people connect faster and feel  at ease.

The discussions went on to explain the aim of the workshop and what needs to be  accomplished. Everyone was then grouped into teams each with a theme and start writing  down what they believe can work in their context. To explain the contexts, pictures of each  department and the entire hospital were shared. With them and they were to form ideas as to  what they would like improved physically and systematically to make the hospital more  hospitable and for patients recover quicker as the technical aspect is covered by their

knowledge and skills. At the same time the hospitals Mission and Vision were displayed in the  room the entire time so that ideas can be mapped and aligned with them.

At the end of the day, the ideas that came were not only meaningful for each department but  had a link to others and the rest of the hospital. There were about 10 ideas put down in a table  format with scales and color coding from the most important to least using red, amber and  green (least to most important). These were taken to the management of the hospital and  communicated with our management (the NGO) in order that they give approval and start  working on that which the participants found as the most vital in which they can implement  thus have a sense of ownership instead of management having imposed on them.

Insights from using the tool

-  People understand faster and better when they see things;

-  Visualization makes summaries that are clear even to people who did not attend the  workshop;

-  Cohesion can be built since people can easily make sense of ideas and the direction  of where the presenter or person with idea wants to go;

-  Trainings that use more visual aids are more attentive and keep people interested,  their innovative juices flow well in this context;

-  I realized I use the tool often but was not aware of it in this light and was therefore not  using all its strengths to cultivate all its advantages but now its functionality shall  become my everyday tool

Approach

Visualization is a very helpful tool as it can be adapted to any context. People stay alert and  the workshops go well and are not so boring thus its use shall be made further. More of its  functions in presenting results for example shall be made, for example, graphs. I believe  matched with mind-mapping the two can bring the best out of any situation. My next move will  be utilizing both the tools in a workshop and try matching it with other tools too and see how  far one can go with it.

