Mapping Methodology

The mapping and NAP approach therefore is founded on the principles of comprehensiveness, sustainability, inclusiveness, realism and ownership. These are the principles that have informed the creation and ongoing development of the mapping methodology. At the time of writing, in June 2003, SaferAfrica and Saferworld have undertaken and completed mappings in Tanzania and Uganda and are currently engaged in mapping Kenya and Mozambique. The methodology has developed and been enriched by experiences of application and lessons learnt. One of the key lessons that experience of arms control in Africa has taught and that informs the mapping methodology is that each country and each situation is different and requires a nuance approach. The methodology represents a broad framework that can be developed and adapted to the specific needs and circumstances of an individual country. It is not a 'one size fits all' approach. Such flexibility is of paramount importance. The political, geographic, economic, cultural, historical and societal situation of every country is different. The nature of the small arms problem and the capacity to address it will also differ from country to country. Consequently, a national mapping and NAP must be just that; national. They must both be sculpted to fit the specific needs and circumstances of that individual country. The mapping and NAP approach is therefore a flexible and adaptable process.

The mapping process involves an in-depth analysis of the real demand and supply factors for small arms as well as assessing the real capabilities and needs of the country. The following factors are those that the mapping seeks to uncover and critically assess:

The extent of illicit small arms penetration in society;
The impact of firearms penetration on the security, well-being and economic potential of society;
The mechanisms, routes, circumstances, people and organisations responsible for the proliferation, trafficking and transport of small arms and light weapons as well as the levels of ownership by both state and civilian actors;
The regulations and administrative procedures that exist to assist with law enforcement;
The functions, responsibilities and capacity of each government department and law enforcement agency that has a role to play in terms of combating small arms trafficking and minimising the impact of the penetration in society;
The attitude of the population to security and the spread of small arms (gauged through an extensive quantitative survey). This helps to determine the demand factors present in society (e.g. fear, insecurity and poverty) and possible agents for change that can be utilised to control small arms proliferation;
The requirements of international agreements, protocols and action plans and the changes and actions required of the country to meet these commitments in relation to its own national situation, objectives, legislation, and policies; and
The resources available in both government and civil society to tackle the problem immediately, and the capacity and other needs that must be met in order to implement the required action plan.

The conduct of a mapping and the creation of a NAP is undertaken as a full partnership between the key national stakeholders, from both government and civil society, and the Mapping Team from SaferAfrica and Saferworld in response to a request for assistance from the government. The design of the project will depend upon the level of development and progress that has been made nationally on the small arms issue and more specifically on the extent to which effective national structures to address the issue have been established. For a mapping to be successfully conducted and a NAP effectively developed and implemented there must be some inter-agency body to co-ordinate small arms initiatives on the national level. Indeed, the establishment of inter-agency co-ordinating bodies or national focal points is a requirement of all the international and regional small arms agreements. Ideally such a body will include all government departments with a key interest in small arms control issues and representatives of civil society. Where such a body does not exist the first task is to help establish and capacitate a national focal point, helping to develop its mandate, work-plan and identify a lead agency. Once a national focal point is established, there are four main phases involved in a national small arms mapping process. A summary of the Mapping Process looks as follows:

Summary of the mapping process

Description

Preparatory phase
Information collection phase (mapping)
Analysis and plan creation phase
Implementation and verification phase

a. Preparatory phase:

The main goals of the preparatory phase are:

To identify the goals and objectives of the mapping;
To undertake the logistical planning for the information collection phase; and
To identify those gaps in information relating to the small arms situation in the country that must be filled during the information collection phase.

The first step is researching and producing a background country report on the political and security situation in the country to identify key local issues. This is essentially a desktop study using existing information from public sources. It will look at the political and security situation in the country, levels of production and exports, status of borders, regional and international small arms commitments etc. It will also include some regional overview research to examine the relationships with neighbouring countries and other regional factors. The information contained in the report will be verified and added to during the fieldwork conducted in the information collection phase.

A series of planning meetings then takes place between the responsible government agencies (usually the national focal point or similar inter-agency body and including civil society representatives) and the Mapping Team. These meetings focus on the following key issues:

Establishing terms of reference.
Defining the objective(s) of the mapping exercise.
Planning the mapping exercise.
Determining the needs for the mapping exercise.
Allocating resources for the mapping exercise.
Completing the mapping timetable.
Completing physical logistical preparations for the mapping exercise.

These meetings are vital to ensure local ownership of the NAP process. It is important that all stakeholders share the same objectives for the exercise and understand their roles and responsibilities from the outset (as defined and stipulated by the NFP itself). Through this process of determining objectives and planning the information collection phase, the mapping methodology is adapted to meet the specific needs of the country. Typically, this series of meetings will look first at the terms of reference and objectives of the mapping. Then the key national stakeholders will report back with existing information on the small arms problem and other key factors (e.g. logistics, capacity, security, political sensitivities) that will impact on the mapping exercise, and needs and resources will be identified. Finally, the mapping timetable will be completed and the logistical preparations concluded.

There is no set timetable for this preparatory phase and its duration will vary greatly from country to country. In many ways this is the most important stage in the process and cannot be rushed. If the initial planning is not done thoroughly the whole process can be derailed further down the line. It should also be recognised that undertaking a mapping exercise is a very large undertaking logistically and one that requires substantial concerted commitment and engagement from a number of actors.

There are many potential obstacles and the better the initial planning, the greater the chance of successfully overcoming the inevitable obstacles that will arise in a process of this magnitude. Indeed during this preparatory stage there may well be need to postpone the information collection and plan development phases because one of a number of essential building blocks upon which a successful plan must be built may not yet be in place.

b. Information collection phase (mapping):

During this phase information is collected in three areas of interest using three primary methods of research. This phase seeks to collect the following three sets of data:

Physical (or geo-political) information about the nature and extent of the small arms problem in the country concerned and the region.
Attitude information to assess the manifestation of the problem in the country and its impact on civil society.
Resource information to establish what resources are available at the national, regional (provincial) and local levels to currently address the small arms problem and assist with the implementation of the NAP. These resources can come from either governmental or non-governmental sources. Without having a thorough understanding of what is available for assisting with the implementation plan it will be impossible to fully ascertain the additional resources and skills needed for implementation.

These three sets of data are collected using three primary research methods:

Law enforcement agency workshops - these are conducted in each region (province) of the country by the government representatives of the national focal point and the Mapping Team. Visiting each region of the country and identifying its specific circumstances, needs and experiences is important in creating a nuance NAP adapted to regional needs. Typically, these meetings will be attended by members of the police, army, intelligence, customs and immigration services and representatives of the local administration / authority. Participants will come from both the regional / provincial level and the district level to ensure that the needs and experiences of officials at all levels are gauged. The workshops aim to both inform the participants of the ongoing mapping exercise and of the development of the NAP, and their involvement as well as assess their level of commitment to the unfolding process. They are also designed to collect information on key security and firearms issues in the region and on issues of resources and capacity and to solicit their views on what should be done. Information is collected during the workshops through open discussion, more targeted discussion in small groups and a specially developed assessment questionnaire looking at specific aspects of law enforcement, small arms and capacity issues. The regional police commander will also present a paper on the small arms issue in the region and presentations will be given by the NFP representative and the mapping team.
Civil society workshops - these are conducted in each region (province) of the country by the Mapping Team and government and civil society representatives of the national focal point. Participants come from active civil society organisations including nongovernmental organisations, religious groups and community based organisations. As with the law enforcement agency workshops, identifying regional peculiarities is important. These workshops seek to inform local civil society actors of the NAP and their potential involvement in its implementation. They also seek to collect information from local civil society on their engagement and knowledge of the small arms issue, their views on what should be done and their capacity needs.
Population (attitude) survey - a representative cross-section of the population in terms of age, gender and geographical distribution are surveyed. The survey is conducted by local people trained in research methods by the Mapping Team. In Tanzania, 3,000 surveys were conducted by 41 fieldworker's, while in Uganda 5,000 were carried out by 60 surveyors. The survey itself examines various socio-economic indicators as well as indicators of security and firearms penetration. In so doing, the survey illuminates some of the factors influencing the demand for small arms and the interconnections between these factors and other societal socio-economic issues as well as highlighting the true impact that firearms are having on society. The results of the survey are particularly important in identifying those regions most seriously affected, prioritising responses within the framework of the NAP and identifying specific strategies to reduce the demand for small arms. The survey also helps to throw light upon the capacity of communities themselves (community structures, ability and willingness to help others etc.) to proactively address the small arms issue.

In addition to these three primary research tools, assessment visits (e.g. to border regions where illicit trafficking of small arms is suspected) may also be conducted to key problem areas. The time taken to conduct the information collection phase varies from country to country but is likely to take up to six months. In Uganda, for example, the information collection phase began in late October 2002 and was completed at the beginning of March 2003. This period included a break over the Christmas and New Year period and meant that the mapping team was dispatched in the field for two periods of about six weeks each.

c. Analysis and plan creation phase:

During this phase all the primary and secondary information is analysed to determine the possible options for the national plan of action. This analysis is done jointly by key government officials, local civil society and the Mapping Team, and will typically take about two weeks of intensive assessment and discussion. This helps to ensure complete local ownership and that the prescribed courses of action and the resource allocation are reflective of the existing realities. During the analysis phase the following factors and issues must be identified and critically assessed:

The factors fuelling the supply and demand for small arms and light weapons within the country and the region.
The resources and current legislation and regulations that exist to deal with the small arms problem.
The possible courses of action and options for the national plan of action to manage, resolve and prevent the manifestation of the small arms problem.
The additional structures, resources, capacity, controls and initiatives that need to be developed to lead to the sustainable resolution of the small arms problem in the target country.

When undertaking this analysis the different levels of engagement and action must be considered: the international; sub-regional; national; provincial; and local levels.

Analysis of collected information against objectives and needs

Supply factors
Demand factors
Facilitating factors
Inhibiting factors
Resources Resource needs

Who? What? Where? When? Why?
Which resources?

The result of this analysis is the development of a national plan of action that has the full ownership of the national government and civil society, and has emerged from a comprehensive assessment of the small arms situation in the country.

The structure of the national plan itself is dependent on the needs of each country. However experience in Tanzania, where the NAP is in its second year of implementation, and indications from Uganda, where the information collection phase is now complete, suggest that the establishment of the structures and infrastructure upon which implementation of practical projects can be based is a likely priority for the first year. Capacity building of the implementing agencies and civil society will also be a likely priority during the first and second years of implementation.

Within each country the focus of projects will vary depending upon the needs that have been identified. Each plan will combine initiatives to address a number of arms control, security and societal and developmental issues. During the creation of the NAP the different types of project that are needed, for instance, the establishment and development of a central firearms registry, further research on the dynamics of conflict in a particular region (province) or the establishment of alternative sources of income to the manufacture or trafficking of arms, will be identified. Priorities will also be determined and the mechanics of how and when these projects will be activated will also be decided. Within this process of need identification and prioritisation, a key factor will be the level of resources available and the consequent need for capacity building and the securing of additional resources. The provision of local resources (government, civil society and private sector) is important to increase local ownership and ensure sustainability. Part of this process of resource identification will involve examining how existing resources can be used more efficiently or where resources can be re-routed to support the implementation of the NAP. From the results of this internal audit of resources it is possible to identify the extent of external support that needs to be generated and in what areas and when this support needs to be accessed.

SaferAfrica and Saferworld will then work to assist the government with the identification of external sources from in country and overseas donors. In this regard, the ongoing engagement and consultation with the donor community (governments and international organisations and agencies) is an important way of ensuring that sustained support can be secured. One of the primary goals of this consultation with donors is to identify projects that can fit into an integrated structure of donor support and into the existing priorities and programmes of donor agencies. While external support will be vital to the full and effective implementation of a NAP, in most countries, the prioritisation of projects and the identification and allocation of existing resources means that in the short term significant progress can still be made without substantial external support. For instance, the creation of a national firearms policy and the review and harmonisation of firearms legislation can be undertaken on a tight budget.

The end product of the analysis and plan development phase is a comprehensive NAP, usually covering a five year period, that is based upon a careful identification of needs and resources, out of which a realistic budget and priorities for action are drawn. Once the analysis and internal consultation has been completed and a NAP agreed, the plan will then be forwarded by the NFP to senior government structures for approval. In order to ensure full political support for implementation, the NAP is usually approved by the Cabinet. Upon approval implementation can then begin.

d. Implementation and verification phase:

It is important to sustain the momentum that the creation of a NAP will have generated. In Uganda, Kenya and Mozambique, SaferAfrica and Saferworld are providing concerted support for the first six months of implementation to ensure that some of the fundamentals are in place and to capacitate local stakeholders to drive longer-term implementation. In Tanzania, however, SaferAfrica have been requested to manage implementation over the full five years of the NAP. During the first six months of implementation a number of practical projects will be started. In Tanzania, these included law enforcement agency training, a review of policy and legislation, public awareness-raising and civil society capacity building.

Shortly after the NAP has been approved, an Implementation and Verification Plan will be developed with the government and civil society, to ensure continuity in implementation and timely verification and adjustment of the plan. The Implementation and Verification Plan allocates clear responsibilities and roles to different government and civil society agencies. This Implementation and Verification Plan ensures that implementation activities are monitored and their impact verified on a constant basis. This ongoing process of monitoring means that adjustment to projects and, where necessary, corrective action can be taken to ensure that the agreed objectives of the NAP are successfully fulfilled. The institutional structure (National Focal Point or Arms Management and Disarmament Committee) that is given overall responsibility for implementing the NAP plays a key monitoring role. During the creation of the NAP itself SaferAfrica and Saferworld will encourage the inclusion of a re-mapping exercise after three years of implementation. This re-mapping would include the conduct of a second population survey to establish whether local people feel more secure and have noticed a reduction in small arms proliferation, or a reduction in the impact of small arms, as a result of the NAP.

In conclusion, the mapping approach encourages national stakeholders to undertake research and analysis into the uniqueness of their own problem; ensures the emergence of a fully agreed national plan at inter-agency and civil society level; assists with the earmarking of national and foreign funds to accomplish implementation; and supports the first phase of implementation to consolidate national capacities and ensure that the foundations are laid for sustainable and effective implementation.

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