Livelihood Reports Al Amrikeya Area - Final Assessment | Page 167

3.1
The needs assessment workshops explored
broadly the area’s needs and priorities from a
random sample of shop owners, mall managers
and street vendors. The major findings are pre-
sented in this section of the report.
3.1.1 PARTICIPATORY NEEDS AS-
SESSMENT (PNA) WORKSHOPS
The PNA workshops are a core element in the
participatory design process. They also allow
for a broad valuation of the main and most
pressing needs of the immediate community in
the AAA. Participants get to know a true feel
of the problems and threats the area faces. In
order to involve stakeholders in the project de-
velopment process; two PNA workshops were
organized in AAA. The first one was conducted
with shopkeepers and owners and mall man-
agers (Figure 59), and the second with street
vendors, mediated by the Consultant’s team.
The aim of the workshops was to verify the
problems and needs that have been reported in
the interviews. The workshop attendees were
asked open-ended questions for qualitative as-
sessment and heard about their concerns and
suggestions for the area. Each group shared
specific experiences, presenting opinions and
exploring possible solutions.
METHODOLOGY OF THE
NEEDS ASSESSMENT
3.1.2 FOCUS GROUPS
In order to understand the people and the ar-
ea’s needs better, two Focus Group meetings
were conducted in the AAA by the consultant.
The first focus group was conducted with street
vendors, the second one with mall manag-
ers and shop owners (Figure 60). These focus
groups helped to identify the persisting prob-
lems and needs of each group, and their visions
about the possible fields of intervention in the
AAA. An obstacle faced in both the focus group
meetinsg and the needs assessment workshops
is that many of the participants were both re-
luctant and reserved, due to the instability of
the area.
Figure 60: Focus group meeting with mall managers and
shop owners © Takween icd
Figure 59: The PNA Workshop involving shop owners and
mall managers © Takween icd
109 | THE AREA’S NEEDS ASSESSMENT