Tools and Techniques

Elements of an Environmental Analysis

There are four broad areas to be considered:

• Culture, policy, economy, and health
• Background demographic information
• Supply of and demand for family planning services
• Sources of funding and commodities.

• Culture, Policy, Economy, and Health:
  • Culture -- Consider:
    • Position of religious groups on family planning
    • Pro-natalist beliefs and pressures among the population to be served
    • Status of women (limitations on their education, employment, travel outside home, control over decisions)
  • Policy -- Consider:
    • Government's population policy and how it affects programs
    • Role of private and public sectors in family planning
  • Economy -- Consider:
    • Whether insufficient resources for a fast-growing population are resulting in:
      • Low family income
      • Unemployment
      • Lack of schooling
      • Lack of medical facilities and equipment
    • Past, present, and forecast data on:
      • Inflation rates
      • Exchange rates
      • Income levels
      • Distribution
  • Health -- Consider:
    • All problems associated with frequent and/or unwanted childbearing:
      • Maternal mortality (due to high-risk births or illegally-induced abortions)
      • Infant and child mortality
      • Rates of illness in these groups
      • Malnutrition
      • Prevalence of anemia among women
      • Breastfeeding practices
      • Prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and human immunodeficiency virus infection

  
  

• Background Demographic Information -- Collect information on:
  • Size of the population in the expected geographic areas of operation
  • Age structure of the population
  • Total fertility rate and age-specific fertility rates
  • Contraceptive prevalence rates
  • Number of women of reproductive age (target population)
  • Education level of population to be served
  • Desired family size

  
  

• Supply of and Demand for Family Planning Services -- Consider:
  • Current and potential competitors (other family planning service providers):
    • What types and quality of services they provide
    • To whom and where they provide services
    • What needs are not covered adequately, and what strategies you can develop to meet these needs
  • Current and potential collaborators, to see if you can meet the need for family planning better by sharing resources or offering complementary services
  • Current and potential clients:
    • Who they are
    • Where they are located
    • What services they need and desire
    • How much they can pay
    • How many people cannot pay anything

  
  

• Sources of Funding and Commodities -- Collect information on:
  • Suppliers of commodities such as contraceptives supplies, and equipment:
    • Who are the key suppliers
    • What influence they might have on services in terms of:
      • Cost
      • Imposition of policies
      • Reliability of supplies and equipment
      • How potential risks in this area can be minimalized
  • Financial donors
    • The organization's level of dependence on current donors
    • Possibilities of attracting new donors
    • Possibilities for raising revenues locally