♦ Tool: FORCE FIELD ANALYSIS

Force Field Analysis is a technique to visually identify and analyze forces affecting a problem situation to plan a positive change. It has been used in diverse fields ranging from organizational change to self-development. Its visual character, simplicity, suitability for group work and applicability in planning for change make it a potential tool with wide application.

According to Lewin, the creator of the tool, any situation or performance can be viewed as a state of temporary equilibrium. This equilibrium is caused by two sets of opposing forces:

• those which try to bring change: driving, facilitating or positive forces; and,
• those which try to maintain the status quo: restraining, resisting or negative forces.

Because it is based on visual depiction, FFA provides people with opportunities to think of forces that are affecting the problem in question.

Even problems that look quite vague start becoming clear. The forces are quantified and their strength is represented visually. This makes it easier for the participants to think of how to grapple with them to bring about change. It becomes obvious that the magnitude of the driving forces has to be increased and that of restraining forces has to be decreased. These decisions are taken jointly in the light of resources available, other constraints etc. Often solutions start to emerge to seemingly insurmountable problems.

DURATION:

depends on the circumstances: number of people, topic, etc. around 60 minutes 

MATERIALS/REQUIREMENTS:
A couple of sheets of paper, different coloured sticky notes, and markers.

STEPS:

These steps are suggestions only; they are not prescriptive. The circumstances, location, profile of the participants, time available, problem etc. will determine the exact nature of the process. You are the best judge.

1. Write or draw the problem that the group of participants wants to discuss on a sheet of paper. Try to make the problem as precise as possible.
2. Keep the sheet of paper with the problem written/depicted on it in front of the participants and ask them to concentrate on the problem. Ask them to visualise the problem situation in a state of temporary equilibrium maintained by two sets of opposing forces - ones that are favouring change: ENGINES or driving forces, and the others opposing them: BRAKES or restraining forces.
3. Ask participants to list one set of forces first followed by the other. Each of these can be written/depicted on small cards. Different colour cards can be used for driving and restraining forces. Clarify that if a force seems to be made of multiple elements, each component should be listed separately as a force. The use of cards is more flexible than simply listing forces on a sheet of paper, but each of the participants may have their own sheet of paper for individual use and for personal notes. They can also create a more participatory discussion, as with cards, writing/drawing can be done by many, and control is not in the hands of one person.
4. Keep the sheet of paper with the problem written on it in the centre and draw a line across it. Spread the cards with restraining forces below the line and those with driving forces above the line.
5. Ask them to look at the cards and see if they would like to make any changes.
6. Next, ask the participants to assign weights to each of the forces. They should position each force card at varying distances from the problem line/present status line in such a way that the distance denotes the strength of the force. The greater the distance, the greater the perceived effect of the force on the problem. If you decided to use the printable template:
   1. have a 100 points as a pool for each of the side of forces.
   2. After naming the forces ask participants to give each of the force a score from the 100 points pool and write it next to the force. Is easier to do it individually and then share the results in the bigger group to discuss the opinions.
7. Check if they are satisfied with the diagram, then ask them to discuss how they can change the situation. Which of the driving forces can be reinforced and which restraining forces can be diminished?
8. Brainstorming techniques can be used here. Smaller cards preferably of different colours can be used to write down possible interventions for each of the driving/restricting forces to increase/reduce its magnitude. Each of the possible interventions can be further weighed in light of various factors e.g. resources available, time, ideology of the organisation etc. The idea is generally to capitalise on those that would bring the greatest change.
9. Copy the diagram onto a piece of paper.

If the number of participants is large, one common way is to divide them into smaller groups and then ask them to work on the FFA separately. The findings are later shared amongst the different groups. The frequency method described elsewhere in the article can be used with the large number of participants

Additional resources:

https://www.iied.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/migrate/G01849.pdf