Trust in the Leader of Collaborative Process Design and Facilitation
SKILL SK-08 | Communication & Inclusion
Technical-Community Translation
The ability to explain environmental, legal, technical, and institutional content in language directly relevant to community livelihoods, daily experiences, and concrete concerns - without simplifying to the point of inaccuracy.
How to Develop It
1. Livelihood-impact mapping
Before any consultation, map every technical element of the project to its specific livelihood or access implication. Use this map to structure explanations - lead with the implication, then explain the technical cause.
2. Plain-language rewrite
Take a section of a technical document (EIA, EPRMP) and rewrite it in plain language for a community audience. Have a community member with no technical background read it and identify what remains unclear. Revise until it passes.
3. Teach-back method
After explaining a technical concept, ask a community member to explain it back to you in their own words as if telling a neighbor. What they cannot explain, you have not yet translated. Continue until the teach-back is accurate and accessible.
Why This Skill Matters
Information asymmetry between technical actors and communities is a structural condition identified across all four sites. When technical content is not translated, communities cannot meaningfully assess impacts or provide genuine consent. They can only react - usually after impacts have already materialized.
Observable Behaviors
+ Explains technical concepts using local livelihood analogies before introducing technical terms
+ Checks understanding through questions, not just acknowledgement
+ Identifies the specific livelihood, access, or income implications of each technical element
+ Prepares plain-language versions of key technical documents for community use
+ Invites community members to identify gaps in their understanding rather than assuming comprehension
Self-Assessment
Read each Reflective Question below and honestly consider how consistently you demonstrate this in your actual fieldwork, not how you think you should behave, but how you do behave. Then assign a score from 1 (lowest) to 4 (highest):
(1) Not yet developed: Rarely demonstrated in practice
(2) Emerging: Demonstrated sometimes, but inconsistently or only under favorable conditions
(3) Established: Demonstrated reliably in most situations, including moderately challenging ones
(4) Adaptive: Demonstrated reliably even in high-pressure situations, and practitioner actively helps
Common Gaps & Pitfalls
! Assuming that translated documents are equivalent to shared understanding
! Using simplified language that loses accuracy - translation must maintain truthfulness
! Translating for the most educated community representatives and assuming it reaches everyone
Connections
Related Skills
SK-09: Culturally Adaptive Communication
SK-10: Visual Communication Design
SK-11: Facilitation
Reflective Questions Score from 1 (lowest) to 4 (highest):
I explain technical content by leading with livelihood and access implications, not technical definitions
I check comprehension through questions and teach-back, not just acknowledgement
I can produce plain-language summaries of key technical documents for communities
I am aware of what I have not yet successfully translated and have a plan to address it
Th shared to the public for free courtesy of the
THE CONFLICT RESOLUTION GROUP FOUNDATION
www.coregroup.org.ph * info@coregroup.org.ph
in partnership with SustainABILITIES Lab
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