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Reflections

Why we start by listening

On letting communities set the priorities — and why it makes the work last.

By Rising Beyond Borders

A large group of people sitting and standing together on the grass at an outdoor gathering

Every piece of work we do begins with a conversation. Before any plan or budget, we ask the people closest to a challenge what they need, what is already working and what a good result would look like to them.

It is slower at the start. But work shaped by the people it serves is work they own — and work people own is work that lasts after any single project ends.

Listening does not stop once a project begins. We keep asking, keep adjusting, and report back on what we heard.

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