The process used to obtain and analyze information in order to arrive at a goal and purposes may be more important than the results. Learning will occur along the way. This section outlines several principles to guide that process; the next section sets out a rough sequence of steps to follow. Although a program manager probably will not be directly involved in all parts of the process, these principles and steps should help in orienting consultants working with local counterparts and in monitoring their actions.

Keep an open mind
Maintaining an open mind is a general principle for programming, but it is especially important when formulating ECCD programs because of the cultural aspects of early child development. The process should not be directed toward "selling" a preconceived idea that a particular problem or model must form the basis for a project. A manager or consultant should not arrive, for example, with the idea that the fundamental problem is primary school repetition and that the ECCD solution is to extend and improve formal preschools serving children a year away from entering primary school (as is being done in some places in the region).

Instead, the emphasis should be on listening to (and perhaps proposing) options to be explored during the project analysis. It is wise to take even the national definition of the problem and of the proposed project's goals and purposes as a starting point for discussion rather than as the final word. The national proposal may carry with it a strong cultural bias that overlooks cultural variations in child rearing.

Take a constructive rather than a compensatory approach
This principle deserves emphasis because of the long and often entrenched tradition in the ECCD field of providing compensatory programs. Taking a constructive approach means beginning by identifying positive as well as negative practices—within the context. An analysis should identify not only what is lacking, so that this lack can be compensated. It should also identify what is being done well, even in the midst of poverty, so that these practices can be incorporated and built on in the project.

It is useful, for example, to identify what parents do successfully (such as breastfeed or provide a great deal of affection) as well as what they do not do (such as take a child for health checkups or interact verbally with the child) or what they do that by one standard seems wrong (such as use physical punishment). And if a general problem is found, analyses should try to identify families or organizations that have found a way to overcome the problem. This approach provides a basis for reinforcing and building on strengths and for identifying possible solutions that are locally viable, even while seeking to produce changes in some practices.