Common Misunderstandings about Dividers and Connectors
People who use Do No Harm continually analyze their situations according to the issues and factors that divide individuals and groups from each other and the issues and factors that connect individuals and groups. These two simple categories of Dividers and Connectors provide them with a depth of understanding of the contexts where they work and of the impacts of their work on those contexts. Using these two categories for the basis of their program designs makes a significant difference in understanding, insight, and effectiveness.
Common Misunderstandings about Dividers and Connectors
Dividers and Connectors are very simple categories. This is often a strength when people are dealing with complex environments. However, their simplicity can be a weakness when people do not approach them seriously and make quick assumptions.
Dividers and Connectors, no matter how simple and seemingly direct, still require thought and care.
How does a Divider divide people? Don’t assume!
How does a Connector connect people? Don’t romanticize!
“Our organization is a Connector/Divider”
Including yourself in your Dividers/Connectors Analysis makes it extraordinarily difficult for you to see where you are having an impact on other Dividers and Connectors. Critical Detail Mapping is where you get to discuss your own interventions.
“We can create Connectors to bring people together”
Do No Harm has seen many attempts to create new Connectors in post-conflict situations. This does not work when the activities are brand new, having no historical basis.
“That person or group is a Divider/Connector”
By identifying a person as a Divider or Connector, it becomes difficult to respond to that person’s behavior. If we label people, we interpret their behavior through that label and we may miss changes that signal opportunity.
Weak Connectors are not Dividers
How we define an issue—whether as a Divider or a Connector—influences the options and tactics we consider in order to work on that issue.
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Related Topics
How to do a Dividers/Connectors Analysis
Dividers and Connectors as Categories
Understanding Dividers and Connectors
Do No Harm SAVES: Categories for Disaggregating a Context
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