From their Learning from Innovation grant, entitled Strengthening the capacity and voice of LGBT, Positive Vibes produced a series of learning volumes which are available below.

Volume I “Learning from Innovation” is an overview of the project itself, describing the philosophy, process and products of the one-year participatory action research initiative.

Volume II “First Principles” is a contextual and conceptual analysis of Looking In Looking Out (LILO) in East Africa, exploring the relevance and appropriateness of the methodology for the specific socio-cultural and political environment of Uganda, and to African sexual and gender minorities, specifically.  The document explores the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings that constitute LILO as a representation of personalisation-based programming, and suggests areas for strengthening that would increase its efficacy in an African context.  It makes a case for the novelty and innovation of LILO, to the political space of activism, to the programming space of development and social justice work, to the psychosocial space and discourse around mental health in the context of acute and chronic minority stress, and to the practice of movement building.

Volume III “If I were a boy” is a collection of personal stories from lesbian, bisexual and queer women in rural Northern Uganda, giving intimate insight into the lifeworlds of women in this part of the country, and framing an understanding of marginalisation that has its roots in patriarchy.

Volume IV “Deeper Love” is a collection of personal stories from trans men and women in peri-urban Eastern Uganda, offering intimate insight into the unique vulnerabilities, trauma and resilience of trans diverse people in this part of the country.  As with volume III, this publication strongly draws attention to the intersectional axes of oppression that contribute in complex ways to marginalisation:  genderism, heteronormativity and patriarchy, wealth.

Volume V “Making meaning” is a record of the Cycle One process of the LFI, in particular the exercise of participatory data analysis and interpretation facilitated with communities in different locations around Uganda.  This volume is presented in a powerpoint format, containing graphed data that represents results from pre-and-post workshop questionnaires of 100 LILO participants across seven locations around the country, and describes the process of data collection and analysis, the process of participatory data review and interpretation, and the key insights emerging from that joint analysis with communities.

Volume VI “Make it work” focuses on the work of the Technical Review Group established during the LFI to think about the Implementation Science of LILO and, more broadly, PV’s personalisation-based programming and approach.  This publication is an anthology of technical working papers linked to strategy, method, approach and practice that may be of particular interest and relevance to programme designers and programme implementers.