Guidance to fill out the IP Community Index Questionnaire
The IP Community Index Questionnaire presents a series of questions to quickly assess the
implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) on the
ground.
All the questions have direct relation to provisions of UNDRIP, and will assess the level of
implementation within the following key domains:
Composition of the questionnaire:
Recognition of identity/partic
public life
Self-government/state govern
Consultation and consent
Lands territories and resource
Fundamental rights and freed
Access to justice
Education
Health
Employment, occupation and
development
Languages
Based on the responses, you will be able to calculate the IP Community Index value, which
provides a quick overview of the situation of your people/community in general – and within the
ten thematic domains indicated above.
If you want to go into more details with certain provisions or domains of UNDRIP, you can
download the more detailed questionnaire for Community Assessment, which is available at the
Indigenous Navigator website.
Methodology for data collection
The questionnaire is designed to be used by indigenous peoples/communities who want to
collectively assess the level of recognition and implementation of their rights.
It can be used by individual peoples/communities or by a group of communities or several
indigenous peoples who jointly inhabit a certain geographical location.
The questions are relatively straightforward and the responses should be drawn from the
collective experience, knowledge and memory of the respondents. Hence, the questionnaire is
aimed for a collective community process and the data collection does not require costly or timeconsuming household surveys or individual interviews. It is estimated that it should not take
more than a day to gather the data necessary to respond to the questionnaire.
In order to link the data collection to the goal of empowering indigenous communities and
enhancing their access to justice, it is strongly recommended to combine the data collection with
awareness-raising and training on indigenous peoples’ rights – and to use the resulting data for
advocacy purposes that directly benefit the community/people.
The methodology for data collection should consider the following aspects:
Free, prior and informed consent
Community members should be fully informed about the purpose of the data collection, and
decide whether they want to disclose their identity and make the data public through the
Indigenous Navigator website. Questions 1-3 of the questionnaire will present these fundamental
questions. The disclosure of the identity of the respondents and the public presentation of data
should only happen with the free, prior and informed consent of the respondent.
Information about the data collection process and the Indigenous Navigator purpose and
potential must be presented in an culturally and linguistically appropriate way that is easily
understood by the people/community.
Ensuring diversity of knowledge, experiences and views in the data collection process
People of different ages, gender and social positions have different experiences, views and indepth knowledge about different topic. It is therefore of crucial importance that both young and
old, men and women participate in the data collection process.
Leaving results with the people/community
It is important that the data gathered serve a purpose for the concerned people/community. It is
therefore recommended to use the Indigenous Navigator templates for calculating the value of
the IP Community Index and presenting the data in graphics that are easy to present and
understand. Further, it is recommend to compile and present the data in a small report, which
can be used and discussed in community meetings and shared with government authorities,
support organizations, educational institutions etc.
If the people/community decide to upload their data to the Indigenous Navigator data portal,
they can compare their situation with other communities across the world. Also, the data will
contribute to the global efforts to document the situation of indigenous peoples and improve
their access to justice.
Data collection methodologies
As mentioned, the questionnaire is mainly designed for collective data gathering. Hence, the
responses should be gathered through community meetings, training seminars, focus group
discussions or the like. A full community meeting is probably the best solution in small and
closely-knit communities. In larger communities, it may be more adequate to compose a focus
group1, which can respond to the questions. A community training seminar can also provide a
good context for responding to the questionnaire; thereby participants will have a practical
exercise in assessing the level of implementation of their rights, while producing data that can be
useful for the broader community.
In all cases, it is important to report back to the community assembly or authorities for validation
of data. Also , in all cases, it is very important to ensure that both young and old, women and men
and people of different positions and perspectives participate.
Gender-specific questions:
Questions number 25-30 provide gender-specific questions regarding the vitality of traditional
occupations for men and women. Questions number 31-34 provide gender-specific questions
regarding the poverty situation of men and women. For these gender-specific questions, it is
recommended to divide men and women in separate groups and let them respond to the
questions concerning their gender.
Assessing change over time:
Since 2008
Over the last 20 years, identify a factor that brings back the situation 20 years ago to the memory
Gender, in general and for questions that specifically ask about men and women (traditional
occupations).
Guidance to the individual questions
Questions 1-9: information about the respondent and the community
These initial questions aim at identifying the respondent and the community, including its
population and geographical location.
All questions marked with a * are mandatory questions that require a response.
Question 1: Who are the respondent(s) to this questionnaire?
As we cannot verify and double-check the data, it is important to know that the data come from a
trusted partner, organization or individual. Therefore, you are asked to provide information
about the individual(s) and/or organization(s) that have collected the data. You may be
contacted by the survey administrator to verify that you are actually the respondent to the
questionnaire.
1
A focus group is a group of individuals who have been selected to discuss and comment on a topic (in
this cases with the purpose of responding to the questionnaire). The group should comprise people of
different ages, gender and social positions, to ensure a diversity of views, knowledge and experiences.
Question 2: Do you allow us to publicly disclose that you are the respondent to this
questionnaire?
It is best if we can disclose the identity of the respondent, as it gives legitimacy and trust to the
data source. Also, if there are questions about the data or request for additional information,
people can contact you directly. However, if for special reasons, you do not want to have your
identity disclosed publicly, we will make sure you remain anonymous.
Question 3. Do you allow us to make these data publicly available?
By ticking “yes” you give your consent that the data can be made publicly available if you submit
them to the Indigenous Navigator data portal. If for some reason you do not want to make the
data publicly available, you can simply keep the data for your own use rather than submitting
them to the Indigenous Navigator data portal
Question 4. What is the country?
It is important to relate the date to the geographical location of the community, so you should
simply enter the name of the country concerned.
For people/communities in cross-border situation:
 If the indigenous people/community you are working with is living in different countries
(divided by international borders) then you should fill in one separate questionnaire for
each country section of the population.
 If the indigenous people/community you are assessing is moving between different
countries (moving across international borders) you should fill in only one questionnaire
but specifically point out to us where the questionnaire has shortcoming in terms of
accommodating the diverse realities of your people/community.
Question 5: What region does the country belong to?
Please tick the relevant box for your country. We make use of the regional division adopted by
the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, which divides the world into 8 culturalgeographical regions.
Question 6: What is the coverage of your assessment?
It is important to know what is the coverage of your assessment. The options given are:
 An entire indigenous people (covering all members of one particular indigenous peoples)
 One village/community of one indigenous people (a particular geographical location or
section of one particular people)
 Several villages/communities of one indigenous people (more than one geographical
locations or sections of one particular people)
 One village/community inhabited by several indigenous peoples (a particular
geographical location or section that is inhabited or shared by several indigenous peoples)
 Several villages/communities inhabited by several indigenous peoples (more than one
geographical locations or sections that are inhabited or shared by several indigenous
peoples)
Question 7. Approximately, what is the total indigenous population covered by this
assessment
Here you should enter the total population covered by your assessment. Even if you do not
have the exact number of total population or population covered by the assessment, then please
give an indicative figure, e.g. rounding up to the nearest hundred or thousand. If your assessment
covers only a particular geographical location or section of a population, you should give the
estimated number of population of that location or section and not the population of the entire
indigenous people.
Question 8: If your assessment covers specific villages/communities, what are the
names(s) of these?
Here you should indicate the specific names of any villages or communities (specific geographical
locations or sections of population) that you are assessing. Note that if your assessment covers an
entire indigenous people, with many geographical locations or sections, you don’t need to specify
these.
Question 9. What are the name(s) of the indigenous people(s) concerned?
It is important to know the names of the indigenous people or peoples covered by the
assessment. The questionnaires give you the possibility to enter a maximum of 4 different
indigenous peoples. If your assessment covers more than 4 peoples, we recommend you to fill
out additional questionnaire7s to cover the additional peoples.
Questions 10-37: Key Index Questions
This section provides essential key questions, relating to ten different thematic domains of
UNDRIP, which will allow for a quick overview of the situation of your indigenous
people/community.
All questions marked with a * are mandatory questions that require a response, as these
responses will feed into the calculation of the Community IP-Index.
Question 10: Are these peoples officially recognized as indigenous peoples by the
government?
Indicate here whether the indigenous people(s) covered by your assessment are recognized as
distinct peoples with collective rights by the government, for example in national constitution or
legislation.
Question11: Are there any men or women from your people/community who have seats in
national parliament and/or elected office in local government?
Indicate here if your community/people have either men or women representing them in either
national parliament and/or local government.
Question 12: Do your indigenous institutions/authorities plan their own development
initiatives (e.g. water and sanitation, road infrastructure, electrification)?
Here you should assess to what extent your indigenous institutions and authorities are in control
of the development initiatives within your people or community. Can they plan and organize such
interventions themselves, or are these planned by external institutions and authorities?
Please note that indigenous institutions and authorities can have many different forms and
structures and do not have to be formalized in a particular way. Indigenous institutions and
authorities can, for example, be headmen, traditional chiefs, village councils etc. The important
factor here is whether the institutions and authorities in control of development initiatives are
those selected by and representing the indigenous people/community, or whether development
is controlled or imposed by people from outside.
You are given five response options here, and will have to assess which option best reflect the
situation of you people/community:
 Not at all = all development initiatives are planned by external institutions and
authorities
 To a limited extent= external institutions and authorities plan the development
initiatives, with limited consultation or participation of the indigenous
institutions/authorities
 To some extent= external institutions and authorities plan the development initiatives,
but ensure that development initiatives correspond to the needs and priorities of the
indigenous peoples/community through consultation or participation of the indigenous
institutions/authorities.
 To a considerable extent= indigenous institutions/authorities plan development
initiatives in close collaboration with external institutions and authorities, and these
initiatives reflect the needs and priorities of the indigenous people/community.
 Fully= Indigenous institutions/authorities are in full control of the planning of
development initiatives, in accordance with the needs and priorities defined by their
people/community.
Question 13: Do local or central government institutions obtain the free, prior and
informed consent of your community/ties before approval of projects or other measures
that may affect them?
UNDRIP stipulates that government authorities should undertake consultations in order to
obtain the free, prior and informed consent of your community or people, before they approve or
implement any project or measure that may affect you. This means that you should have a real
opportunity to influence the proposal to accommodate your aspirations and interests and,
ultimately, reject the proposal if it does not serve the interests of your people or community.
Here you have to assess to what extent local and central government ensure that your
community or people actually have given their free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) before the
government makes final decisions or move ahead with a given project or initiative. In many
cases, governments fail to consult and therefore also do not ensure the FPIC of the concerned
people or community. In other cases, the government undertakes consultations but proceeds
with the proposed project or initiative even if the concerned indigenous people or community
does not give their consent. In the best cases, government only moves ahead with a given project
and measure after obtaining the FPIC of the people or community.
You are given five response options here, and will have to assess which option best reflect the
situation of you people/community:



Not at all = Local or central government institutions make decisions without any
consultation with your community/people.
To a limited extent = In some cases, local or central government institutions undertake
consultations and consider the concerns and decisions of your community/people in their
decision-making
To some extent= In most cases, local or central government institutions undertake
consultations and respect the concerns and decisions of your community/people in their
decision-making


To a considerable extent= In all cases, local or central government institutions
undertake consultations and in most cases respect the concerns and decisions of your
community/people in their decision-making
Fully= In all cases, local or central government institutions undertake consultations and
respect the concerns and decisions of your community/people in their decision-making
Questions 14: Does your people/community experience conflicts related to land or natural
resources?
This is a simple yes or no question; whether you experience conflicts related to lands and natural
resources where state institutions, people, neighboring communities, companies or others that
are external to your community/people make claims for the land or natural resources that you
traditionally own, use or occupy.
Question 15: If yes, are the conflicts related to:
If you answer yes to the previous question, you are asked to specify the reasons for these
conflicts. Note that you can tick as many boxes as relevant, including the box “others”. If you tick
that box, please provide more information about the other reasons for conflicts experienced by
your people/community.
Question 16: Have your people or community/ies, since 2008, experienced incidents of
settlement, land grabbing, land use or resource extraction without their free, prior and
informed consent?
This question goes beyond the previous questions about conflict and asks if you have actually
been the victims of land grabbing, land use or resource extractions by state institutions, external
people, communities or companies, without having given your free, prior and informed consent.
Question 17: Have there, since 2008, been incidents where peaceful assemblies of your
people/community have been suppressed?
Your people/community have a right to assemble together to promote and protect human rights
through peaceful protest or expression of their views. The State has the responsibility to ensure
that your people/community is able to demonstrate peacefully and otherwise express their views
without being met with threats, intimidation or violence.
If the right to peaceful assembly of your people/community has been violated since 2008, please
provide additional data about the incident(s), e.g. date, location and main events as well as links
to additional information.
Question 18: Have there, since 2008, been incidents of killing, disappearance, detention or
torture against indigenous journalists, human rights defenders or any other indigenous
individuals who exercised their right to freedom of expression?
Freedom of expression is the right to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and
impart information and ideas of all kinds, either orally, in writing in print, in the form of art, or
through any other media of one’s choice. Here you are asked whether any indigenous individuals,
professionals or activists have been killed, have disappeared or have suffered detention or
torture as a consequence of their opinions and the expression of these opinions.
If you answer yes to this questions, please provide more information about the incident(s) such
as the name of the victim(s), the dates, location and other details about the event as well as links
to addition information.
Question 19: Has your people/community been able to take legal action to litigate rights
and seek remedies for violations?
Indigenous peoples have the right to access to and equality before courts and tribunals. However,
for various reasons, many indigenous peoples are not able to exercise this right. Here you have to
assess to what extent your people/community is actually able to take legal action and seek
remedies, when their rights are violated. You are given five response actions:
 Not at all= your community/people is not at all able to take legal action when their rights
are violated
 To a limited extent = your community/people has been able to take legal action in a few
cases where their rights were violated but you face practical barriers to taking legal action
or the legal framework provides limited opportunities for litigating your rights and
receiving remedies
 To some extent = your community/people has been able to take legal action in some
cases where their rights were violated, and the legal framework provides some
opportunities for litigating your rights and receiving remedies.
 To a considerable extent = your community/people has been able to take legal action in
most cases where their rights were violated, and the legal framework provides ample
opportunities for litigating your rights and receiving remedies.
 Fully = your community/people is able to take legal action every time their rights are
violated, and the legal framework is consistent with UNDRIP and therefore provides full
opportunities for litigating your rights and receiving remedies.
 We have not experienced violations that would require legal action and remedies=
this is the ideal situation, where the rights of your community/people are fully recognized
and protected, without need for legal action.
Question 20: If your community/people does not have full opportunity to take legal action,
which are the restrictions that you encounter (please tick as many boxes as relevant):
Here you are given the possibility to further identify the factors that may limit the access to
justice of your people/community. Please note that you can tick as many boxes as relevant, and
also identify other factors that are relevant in your context. If you tick the “others” option, then
please provide additional information.
Question 21: Approximately, how many children (8-17 years) of your people/community
can read and write in their indigenous language?
Here you are asked about the literacy of the children of your people/community in their
indigenous language (not to be confused with literacy in the official national language). Please
note that literacy in your indigenous language does not necessarily require that your language
has its own particular script (e.g. its own particular letters or signed). Many indigenous
languages are written with, for example, the Roman alphabet commonly used in Western
languages.
You are given six response options (from none to five out of five). This means that instead of
detailed percentages, you have to make a broad estimate, whether it is:
None= 0 %
One out of five = up to 20 %
Two out of five = up to 40%
Three out of five = up to 60 %
Four out of five = up to 80%
Five out of five = up to 100 %
Question 22: How accessible are primary school facilities for the children of your
community/people?
Here you are asked to assess the accessibility of primary school facilities, both in terms of
distance and costs of transport. You are given five response options:
 Immediately accessible= Within short walking distance; all children have unrestricted
access to school facilities
 Accessible= Within reasonable walking distance and/or affordable transport is provided;
with limited efforts, all children can access school facilities
 Moderately inaccessible= Walking distance and/or costs of transport constitute a
challenge; distance to schools facilities limit the school attendance of some children
 Inaccessible= Walking distance and/or costs of transport constitute a severe challenge;
distance to schools facilities limit the school attendance of most children
 Highly inaccessible= distance exceeds the child's walking distance and no affordable
transport is provided
Question 23: How has the importance of traditional healing practices changed over the
last 20 years?
Traditional healing practices can comprise a broad range of spiritual, social and physical
practices, as well as use of medical plants, diets and others. You are here asked to assess the
vitality over time of these practices (see more on assessing change over time in the methodology
section). You are given four response options:




It has no importance any longer = the practices have been abandoned by all generations
and but both men and women of your people/community.
The importance has diminished = as compared to 20 years ago, the practices are used
less frequently, for fewer types of illnesses or by limited sections of the
people/community (e.g. only by people of a certain age or gender)
The importance remains the same = as compared to 20 years ago, the practices are
used equally frequent, for the same types of illnesses and by the same groups of
practitioners.
The importance has increased = as compared to 20 years ago, the practices are used
more frequent, for more types of illnesses or by larger groups of practitioners.
Question 24: Approximately, how many children of your people/community have received
full immunization as recommended by national vaccination schedules?
A national vaccination schedule is the national scheme recommended by national health
authorities, which indicate the series of vaccinations including the timing of the doses. You
should be order to find the details of the national vaccination schedules on the website of the
health authorities of your country. You are then asked to assess, not in detailed percentages, but
as a a broad estimate, how many children of your people/community have received the full
immunization, as recommended. The sic response options are:
 None= 0 %
 One out of five = up to 20 %
 Two out of five = up to 40%
 Three out of five = up to 60 %
 Four out of five = up to 80%
 Five out of five = up to 100 %
Question 25: Which are the most important traditional occupations performed by women
in your people/community (list up to five)?
Traditional occupations or livelihoods are the economic and productive activities that have been
practiced by successive generations within your people or community. These can be both
subsistence or market-oriented. Traditional occupations comprise for example small-scale
farmers, weavers, ceramists, artisans, healers, midwives, hunters, fishermen, cattle herders and
many others. Here you are asked to identify up to five traditional occupations performed by
women in your people or community. These need not to be full-time occupations but can be
occupations that women perform in combination with other activities.
If there is less occupations variety in your peoples/community, you simply enter fewer than five.
Methodologically, it is important to discuss with a broad sample of women in order to identify
these main occupations. You are asked to enter the name of these occupations in the textboxes, in
the order of importance as identified by the women.
Question 26: How has the importance of these traditional occupations for women changed
over the last 20 years:
You are here asked to assess the importance over time of these traditional occupations (see more
on assessing change over time in the methodology section). You are given four response options:




It has no importance any longer = the practice of this traditional occupation has been
abandoned by all generations of women in your people/community.
The importance has diminished = as compared to 20 years ago, this traditional
occupation is practiced less frequently, it is less important for the economy or food
security of the people/community or is performed by fewer women.
The importance remains the same = as compared to 20 years ago, this traditional
occupation is practiced equally frequent, fit has the same importance for the economy or
for food security or has the approximately the same number of practitioners.
The importance has increased = as compared to 20 years ago, this traditional
occupation is practiced more frequent, it has more importance for the economy or for
food security or is practiced by more women.
Question 27: Which are the main barriers or restrictions for women performing these
traditional occupations today?
You are asked to identify the factor(s) that constitute barriers or restrictions for the women
performing these traditional occupations. Please not that you can tick as many boxes as relevant,
and also add “others” (then specify which these “others“ are). The response options are:
 Restrictions in access to land and resources = your rights to traditional land and
resources are not duly recognized and you face restriction in your access
 Scarcity of land and resources= due to demographic growth, over-exploitation or other
factors, land or certain resources have been depleted or become scarce.
 Climate change = climate change have led to changes in the environment, flora and fauna,
agricultural cycle, social patterns or others, with negative impact on traditional resources.
 Limited market access= the physical distance to the market, lack of economic resources,
dependency on middle-men etc. limits your access to market your products.
 Limited relevance of traditional occupations = some traditional occupations may have
become irrelevant, either because certain practices are no longer followed by the
people/community (e.g. traditional healers), traditional products have been replaced by
industrialized products (e.g. clothes) or simply because youth prefer other occupations.
Questions 28-30 concerning traditional occupations for men:
Please see explanations given above concerning traditional occupations for women.
Question 31: Approximately, how many men in your community/people do you consider
poor?
Most people/communities have their own criteria for defining who are poor and who are not
poor. Here you are asked to estimate how many of the men of your people/community are
considered poor, according to your own criteria for poverty. Methodologically, it may be easier to
work on question 32 first, to define the characteristics of poverty within the people/community,
and then estimate how many are considered poor.
Question 32: What are the main characteristics of the men that you consider poor?
Here you are asked to define which are the characteristics that define those men who are
considered poor within your people/community. Please note that you can tick as many boxes as
relevant, and also add “others” (then please specify).
Questions 33-34 concerning poverty among women:
Please see explanations given above concerning poverty among men.
Question 35: Is your indigenous language (or languages) considered:
Here you are given 6 options to assess the vitality of your indigenous language – or languages, if
your assessment covers several different indigenous peoples. The question basically measures
the inter-generational transmission of language(s). The classification used follows the one used
by UNESCO’s Atlas of Endangered languages (see more at: http://www.unesco.org/languagesatlas/). The 6 response options are as follows:
Safe = The language is spoken by all generations and the intergenerational transmission is
uninterrupted
Vulnerable = Most children speak the language, but it may be restricted to certain domains e.g.
only spoken at home
Definitely endangered = Children no longer learn the language as mother tongue in the home
Severely endangered = The language is spoken by grandparents and older generations; while
the parent generation may understand it, they do not speak it to children or among themselves
Critically endangered =The youngest speakers are grandparents and older, and they speak the
language partially and infrequently
Extinct = There are no speakers left
Question 36: Does your people/community experience restrictions in cross-border
contacts and collaboration with other indigenous peoples/communities?
Many indigenous people/communities have been divided by international borders. Here you are
asked whether your people/community face restrictions in maintaining contacts and
collaboration with other indigenous peoples/communities across and international border.
Question 37: If your people/community experience restrictions in cross-border contacts,
which are the implications?
If you have answered yes to the previous question, you are asked to identify which are the
implications of such restrictions. Please note that you can tick as many boxes as relevant and also
add “others” (then please specify).
Questions 38-42: evaluation of the questionnaire
In order to learn from experience and improve the Indigenosu Navigator and the questionnaire,
we will appreciate your responses to these basic evaluation questions regarding the time it took
to respond to the questions, how easy or difficult it was to respond, how relevant the questions
were as well as your observations and recommendations to improve.