FGD DESign TOOLKIT

We have conducted several Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) to test our all-in-a-box household disaster preparedness toolkit. A focus group discussion (FGD) is a good way to gather together people from similar backgrounds or experiences to discuss a specific topic of interest. The group of participants is guided by a moderator (or group facilitator) who introduces our toolkit design, content, readability, and user experience on the expansion from the original design and the toolkit concept.

The strength of FGD relies on allowing the participants to agree or disagree with each other so that it provides an insight into how a group thinks about our toolkit, about the range of opinion and ideas, and the inconsistencies and variation that exists.

This is an important step as the original design was only focusing on floods, and now we are planning to develop a complete toolkit with household preparedness plan templates for floods, earthquakes, volcano eruptions, tsunamis, and fires. In addition, there is a new board game (for the whole family to play), worksheets (for kids), as well as stickers (for hazard hunt) and other essential items (a pocket first aid kit, hand cranked torch, and a whistle).

The first FGD was conducted on 4 February 2018 and participated by 4 families and observers from two humanitarian agencies (from Aksi Cepat Tanggap – a local NGO- and Plan International –a child-focused international NGO), with combined participants of 13 adults and 11 children. The second FGD was conducted on 18 February 2018 and participated by also 4 families and observers who are currently working in organizations related to disaster management, consists of: Akis Cepat Tanggap, AHA Centre, Indonesian Red Cross, Zurich Insurance, Safekids Indonesia, IFRC, and LIPI (the Indonesian Institute of Science). A total of 22 adults and 16 children took part in the second FGD.

In the first FGD, it was the first time that we introduced the concept of an all-in-a-box household disaster preparedness toolkit. Significant inputs were received for improvement for the worksheets, board game, and the design of the box, meanwhile the household preparedness plan poster received minor feedback. After the first FGD, the creative design team worked intensively to improve the product.

The second FGD was very useful as we seek feedback on the new design and improvements. Two families who took part in the first FGD attended again and two new families were recruited. Overall, people like the new designs of the household preparedness plan poster and also the guidance cards for the poster. There were several suggestions for the board games, including the style of the questions for the trivia cards (for the board game), the rule of the game, and the shape of the board game. Meanwhile, worksheets and other components in the kit received minor suggestions. After the second FGD, we are confident that we are in the right direction to produce a child-friendly, easy-to-understand toolkit for the whole family to play.