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What are the advantages of using
toolkits? 
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Toolkits represent the practical application of tried and tested
communication strategies.
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The activities are structured with common
field realities in mind; e.g. number of participants and their
age group, available time, venue for meetings...
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They incorporate best practices so
that relatively inexperienced field workers can work more efficiently.
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Activities enable facilitators to break the ice, start meaningful
dialogues, listen to the voices from
the community.
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Ensures that the communication process is based
on dialogue and not a one-way process.
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Gives relief to field workers by breaking down an interactive session
into simple enjoyable steps, requiring minimal
preparation.
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Designed to be easy to learn and use.
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Monitoring and evaluation opportunities
are built into the activities.
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Helps facilitators to be systematic and thorough in addressing issues.
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How does the use of toolkits affect programme
planning?
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Communication toolkits are designed after carefully examining the
needs and constraints of the original project. Planners who are familiar
with the recommended structure and the contents of the toolkits can
use them with a great deal of flexibility. We could also suggest ways
of adapting the toolkits to the needs of the field and the programme
plan.
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Generally, the toolkits are meant to be used with community groups.
Group sizes range from 15 to 50 depending on the issue. Curricula
of the toolkits are broken up into sessions; again, depending on the
issue, each session takes between 45 minutes to 2 hours, and the number
of sessions required range from 1 to 5.
 Example 1 : Using a single Watsan
Kit over 1 year with 1 facilitator
This toolkit is designed for use in a classroom with up to 50 students.
The kit curriculum requires 6 sessions (classes) of about 45 minutes
each. A facilitator who takes 2 classes in a day can cover a population
of about 3000 students in a year (200 school days)
Example 2 : Using a single ARH kit over 1 year with 1 facilitator
This toolkit is designed for use with a group of up to 20 adolescents,
and the kit curriculum requires 6 sessions of about 2 hours each.
A facilitator who takes 1 session in a day can cover a population
of about 800 adolescents in a year (260 working days).
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The kits themselves have a long shelf life and can be re used hundreds of times to cover a different segments
of the population over a number of years.
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Can I download and print material
available on this web site for personal use?
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Yes. As a part of our ongoing effort to make resources available
for free, this web site contains much that can be downloaded and printed.
Feel free to try them out for your own programme.
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We would appreciate it if you could let us know what you have downloaded,
and how you are using it.
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Can I purchase the material
listed on this web site?
Yes, most of the material listed are available.
Some can be bought off-the-shelf, and others need to be ordered for,
so that we can produce them in case they are not in stock.
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What is the procedure for
ordering tools and kits?
Just email us with the following information:
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Specify the name of the tool or kit you are interested in, and how many units you would like to buy. Please let us know your
location, and a brief description of
the project you are considering the tools for. This helps us
track emerging needs, determine language versions, and calculate freight
costs.
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We will email you back with the cost of the material and any additional
packaging or courier cost that may be applicable. We will also let
you know the time it would take us to produce any article that is
not in stock.
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To confirm your order, you will have to send
us a bank draft in favour of "Thoughtshop Foundation" to cover the cost of the material and freight.
If no order specific production is required, we will process the order
and send the material within a week.
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How much does it cost?
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We are trying our best to make all tools available on a one-off,
off-the-shelf basis, while keeping the costs low and consistent. Contact
us for the current price of the tool or kit that you are interested
in.
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Some products are a part of a kit, and not readily available separately.
These have to be produced according to the specific order. In these
cases, costs depend mostly on the volume (number of tools or kits)
ordered for. The more the number, the less the
cost per unit.
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Can you let me know when an
updated version of a product becomes available?
Yes. You could visit our facebook page and
leave an instruction for us to keep you posted on our latest developments. You could always email us. To help us give you information most relevant to your needs, make sure
you describe your project, the issues that interests you, your location and contact details.
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Could you adapt or develop
communication tools and strategies specifically for our needs?
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