The Community Facilitation Guide is a manual to assist facilitators in encouraging active participation of community groups when using Mini Atlas for neighborhood planning. It is aimed to identify and capture specific local needs and aspirations in the neighborhood in a meaningful and enjoyable way for community groups. The guide was developed as part of the Solo Kota Kita initiative, a participatory community mapping process in Solo, Central Java in 2013 to collect data about the city’s many neighborhoods, from access to water, sanitation, poverty levels, and the number of children enrolled in school.

How does this work?
The guide provides step-by-step instructions and exercises for facilitators when conducting a workshop with community members using the Mini Atlas. The workshop exercise involves at least two facilitators (one leading the discussion and one as note-taker), a mini atlas, colorful sticky notes, and markers. Click here to see an example of a Mini Atlas.

Who can use this?
This tool can be used by community facilitators, civil society organizations, citizens, and government officials who want to encourage meaningful citizen participation in shaping their surroundings.