monitoring and evaluation
Develop a Survey
As part of our integration phase, we plan to meet with local communities to discuss the implementation of our remediation project. During this time, we’d like to develop a thoughtful discussion regarding the concerns local community members have about our involvement, as well as what they hope to achieve using our development framework. From this information, we should be able to put together a comprehensive survey to evaluate the success of our strategy among communities as well as their perceptions of the organization as a whole.
Field Measurements
During the implementation phase, it will be important to take measurements of the remediation areas in order to assess the efficacy of our treatment techniques and monitor overall progress. Two professors at the University of Port Harcourt, Chioma Blaise Chikere and Matthew Owhondah Wegwu, have extensively researched soil remediation and monitoring methods. We will contact them upon arrival regarding the use of the University’s scientific facilities, as well as collaboration possibilities. We plan to monitor treatment implementation using a variety of indices. In order to measure the overall extent of oil pollution in Bodo's soil, we will use the process of gas chromatography, which can extract hydrocarbons from a mixture and quantify their presence. The microbial content of the soil will also be extremely useful in ascertaining the efficacy of our remediation process. Both treatment strategies involve making hydrocarbon pollutants more readily available for bacterial consumption, so an increased incidence of certain bacterium species will be a good indicator of success. Soil samples will be easy to collect from the community farming plots, but water samples may prove to be slightly problematic. While it will be easy to test community wells and the water purification process for personal use, it will be tough to keep track of our work with local fishermen. We plan to use a registry of program participants to check back in with community members. Participating fishermen will hopefully be able to take time out of their day to guide us to where they applied the the powdered mucilage, after which we will track the location on a map and continue to take water and mud samples for analysis over the next 6 weeks.
Quality Survey
Throughout the entire process, we plan on creating a database of participants by collecting information at community meetings. It will be necessary for the formation of the community farming plots, as well as distribution of remediation supplies. We will also use this network to circulate a survey which will look into PROSPER’s ability to work with community, whether or not our involvement is beneficial, and the overall scope of our project's results. This will be done door-to-door to ensure participation and avoid potential literacy issues. Additionally, we’d like to organize further community forums where participants can voice suggestions or concerns that may arise throughout the process.
As part of our integration phase, we plan to meet with local communities to discuss the implementation of our remediation project. During this time, we’d like to develop a thoughtful discussion regarding the concerns local community members have about our involvement, as well as what they hope to achieve using our development framework. From this information, we should be able to put together a comprehensive survey to evaluate the success of our strategy among communities as well as their perceptions of the organization as a whole.
Field Measurements
During the implementation phase, it will be important to take measurements of the remediation areas in order to assess the efficacy of our treatment techniques and monitor overall progress. Two professors at the University of Port Harcourt, Chioma Blaise Chikere and Matthew Owhondah Wegwu, have extensively researched soil remediation and monitoring methods. We will contact them upon arrival regarding the use of the University’s scientific facilities, as well as collaboration possibilities. We plan to monitor treatment implementation using a variety of indices. In order to measure the overall extent of oil pollution in Bodo's soil, we will use the process of gas chromatography, which can extract hydrocarbons from a mixture and quantify their presence. The microbial content of the soil will also be extremely useful in ascertaining the efficacy of our remediation process. Both treatment strategies involve making hydrocarbon pollutants more readily available for bacterial consumption, so an increased incidence of certain bacterium species will be a good indicator of success. Soil samples will be easy to collect from the community farming plots, but water samples may prove to be slightly problematic. While it will be easy to test community wells and the water purification process for personal use, it will be tough to keep track of our work with local fishermen. We plan to use a registry of program participants to check back in with community members. Participating fishermen will hopefully be able to take time out of their day to guide us to where they applied the the powdered mucilage, after which we will track the location on a map and continue to take water and mud samples for analysis over the next 6 weeks.
Quality Survey
Throughout the entire process, we plan on creating a database of participants by collecting information at community meetings. It will be necessary for the formation of the community farming plots, as well as distribution of remediation supplies. We will also use this network to circulate a survey which will look into PROSPER’s ability to work with community, whether or not our involvement is beneficial, and the overall scope of our project's results. This will be done door-to-door to ensure participation and avoid potential literacy issues. Additionally, we’d like to organize further community forums where participants can voice suggestions or concerns that may arise throughout the process.