What are the limitations of an LFA workshop?
• The skill of the moderator and the quality of the Terms of Reference determine the success of an LFA workshop. The moderator guides participants through each procedure in the workshop with the aim of identifying a well thought-through objective. Open-minded communication with the individuals present in the workshop – each of which represents a specific point of view – is a complex process and demands a strong, determined individual who is also flexible, creative, objective and independent-minded. Mismanagement of such a workshop is likely to lead to chaos, conflict, disappointment and demoralisation, and an ‘outsider’ is thus required to act as a professional moderator. • An LFA planning workshop calls for the presence of individuals who not only represent key stakeholders/beneficiaries, and thus bring with them essential knowledge of the problematic situation. It also calls for those present to have the authority to make operational decisions on behalf of the entity they represent.
