1. Brief overview of this chapter

The initial planning and preparation phase of Scenarios from the Sahel was an exhilarating, fascinating experience. Our reflections on the many intersecting components of the project and our dialogues with a wide range of people from highly diverse disciplines deepened and enriched our perspectives on how together we could rise to the abundant challenges posed by the epidemic. We gained a more expansive, more accurate sense of the many powerful human resources available and willing to help stop the spread of the virus and improve the lives of those affected by HIV/AIDS. It all led to the generation of great energy and an atmosphere of optimism about our abilities to make a real difference if we all worked together, pooling our energy, technical prowess and creative talents. It is our conviction that extensive dialogue with people from a wide range of different relevant fields is the starting point and a cornerstone of successful planning.
This chapter, like the Replication Guide in general, places particular emphasis on two things. First of all, it highlights the fact that a Scenarios-type project is capable of producing many more, highly varied outputs and achieving a far greater number of objectives than one would imagine at first glance. Secondly, it underscores the potential of Scenarios to foster partnerships and synergies among individuals and their organizations _ a process that can and must outpace the progression of the epidemic itself. These potential objectives and outputs are the subject of the second section of the chapter.
As replication will surely take on very diverse forms and be carried out on a variety of scales in settings that have little to do with one another, this chapter is made up of ideas and general guidelines rather than any kind of detailed planning blueprint or step-by-step recipe.

The methodologies section is devoted to a series of tasks most Scenarios-style projects are likely to face: deciding on a coordinating structure; conceptualizing the project (where will it take place? on what scale? what will be the target group for the contest? etc.); selecting a team of core advisors; detailed planning (an opportunity for team building); costing; and fundraising. Particular emphasis has been placed on specific topics (i.e., selecting a coordinating structure and fundraising) in direct response to requests by colleagues who are currently pursuing replication.
The final section of this chapter provides some suggestions on the monitoring and evaluation of this stage.
The planning stage is the bedrock of the entire project. A project is likely to succeed or fail based on the strengths or shortcomings of this stage. In the preparation of your project, this chapter is intended to complement a close reading of subsequent chapters. It is no substitute for it.

Obvious priorities for the planning stage include ensuring that clear objectives have been set, that an effective monitoring and evaluation strategy is in place, that each project phase has been thoroughly planned and budgeted, and finally that funding is secured. Yet it is possible to formulate and pursue a number of additional objectives for this stage. The following are just a few examples.
Remember that mention of objectives such as these in your fundraising document could help a prospective funder to get a clear sense of the sheer breadth of what can be achieved through the project.
Objective: Enhance the project partners' abilities to plan projects effectively.
Project partners can learn a great deal from one another about relevant methodologies in the course of a detailed planning process carried out in collaborative fashion. Because planning is a multi-dimensional activity, everyone has something to contribute and this helps build a sense of ownership in the project.
Objective: Improve project partners' understanding of the epidemic and its consequences in the project zone.
The entire team, however experienced in HIV/AIDS prevention, has something to learn about the epidemic and its consequences from the project.

Scenarios from the Sahel has been an ongoing education in this regard. For the most part, it has been education through dialogue, and our teachers have been young people from diverse backgrounds, the members of the project team with the perspectives they bring from their various disciplines, partners who are living with HIV/AIDS, and others.
The hours spent in dialogue with prospective partners during team-building activities and with partners in the course of conceptualization and detailed planning mean that the preparatory stages offer a particularly steep learning curve.
The project can be an excellent pretext for informing key opinion leaders (artists, journalists, religious and political leaders_) about HIV/AIDS. The planning and preparation stage offers the opportunity to engage many such individuals in dialogue about the project, and that sets the stage for a discussion about the epidemic. We have found that opinion leaders tend to be receptive to the idea of actively supporting the AIDS-prevention community, but most are not at all well-informed about the epidemic. Given their busy schedules, when and by whom are they going to become informed? You and your team might just be the answer.
In the process of seeking out dialogue with prospective partners, you will also be building up a coalition of support around the project. The more diverse your dialogue partners, the more comprehensive that coalition will be. In the case of projects on potentially controversial subjects like HIV/AIDS, it is particularly important to invest time in building a broad coalition, including influential political and religious figures who could help defuse any opposition that may arise.
Objective: Increase project partners' familiarity with ongoing local efforts in the area of HIV/AIDS.
In the field of HIV prevention, it is all too often the case that local organizations have no idea what activities others are carrying out. This can lead to the squandering of effort and funds through duplication of activities and missed opportunities for complementarity and synergies.
Here in the Sahel, probably the greatest barrier of all to the development of collaborative relationships is the inadequacy or total absence of systems to help potential partners find one another. Scenarios from the Sahel has been able to improve the situation by providing a number of opportunities for organizations to become familiar with one another and to develop relationships rooted both in professional collaboration and personal friendship.

Objective: Assist project partners in fundraising efforts for their own, independent activities.
Here in West Africa, we frequently come across committed, talented organizations that are not able to make full use of what they have to offer because they are forced to spend a disproportionate amount of time chasing after funding. Unfortunately, many of them do not have knowledge of or access to networks (international, electronic) that would facilitate their fundraising efforts.
It is likely that a large-scale Scenarios replication will involve collaboration between several NGO_s and CBO_s. Through dialogue, you will become familiar with one another_s current and prospective activities and funding needs.
In the planning and preparation phase, you will have to address the issue of funding yourself, perhaps putting in many hours, lots of energy and even considerable financial resources (directly or indirectly) to research and develop relationships with funders. You are bound to come across a great deal of information about funders who may or may not be suitable for a Scenarios-type project, but who could well be potential funders for certain activities of your partners.
Referring such information to your partners can: a) assist funders to become familiar with structures that are well-placed to help them achieve their stated objectives in optimal fashion; b) reduce the amount of time devoted by your partners to fundraising efforts (and thus increase the time they can devote to activities in the field); c) facilitate the development of a spirit of profound trust and partnership among the members of the Scenarios team.
In addition to referring information about potential funders to partner organizations, you will also be in a position to help funding organizations learn about your partners and the work they are doing. The high profile of Scenarios from the Sahel, and its reputation as a project of broad-based, regional partnership, has prompted several large international structures to turn to the Scenarios coordinators for advice about possible partners for projects in the Sahel. We feel that we are in a position to have a marked impact on the course of the epidemic by helping to see to it that the limited funds available today are put into the hands of truly effective organizations.