d. The selection process: general suggestions

Whatever methodology you choose for selecting the winners of the contest, please consider the following ideas:

C Every step of the way, ensure that everyone involved in the process places emphasis on the fact that each and every scenario, in and of itself, is extremely important and warrants serious, equal consideration.

"As members of the jury, we are bound to each individual participant by a contract of conscience."

Ibrahima Bob, documentalist, Africa Consultants International/Dakar, member of the Senegalese pre-selection committee, manager of the central Scenarios archives

C When drawing up your timetable for the selection process, remember that abundant amounts of time should be allotted to a certain number of elements above and beyond actual reading/grading and deliberations:

With a view to facilitating the development of partnerships, synergies and friendships, be sure to schedule in ample time for jurors to interact with one another in a spontaneous, informal way. One way to do so is to allow for longer lunches and coffee breaks in an atmosphere conducive to dialogue.
Be sure to schedule in a great deal of time at the beginning of the process to provide a thorough introduction to the project, the process in general, and specific technical issues.
Schedule at least a half day at the end of the deliberations, i.e., after the winners have been selected, to discuss jurors' perspectives on the contest and selection phases, their observations and recommendations after reading and discussing large numbers of scenarios, their input with regard to upcoming research and audio-visual production phases, etc. In the event of a large-scale Scenarios-type project, consider setting aside a full day for this forum.

C EXTREMELY IMPORTANT: With a small number of scenarios, pre-test your selected methodology exhaustively.