What strikes you about learning networks?

Brussels, 6 June. In the peer to peer session on learning networks, Niels from ECDPM presented his experiences facilitating an e-mail discussion group (using Dgroups). Wilma Roem shared ILEIA's experiences as a learning network, and Danny Aerts from ATOL explained its shift in focus from appropriate technology to supporting organisational learning processes.

We asked four participants: What was the most striking remark you heard in this session on learning networks?

Their answers are very interesting and range from the dichotomy between dissemination and learning ('dissemination of information may serve the purpose of learning for others') via practical stories teach people to learn ('asking the question why helps you to analyze and go to another level') and the need to learn from peer to peer experiences ('especially from a southern perspective where people are more sceptical about ideas coming from other people') to how the discussion should be 'at the right place and at the right time'. Hear their views:

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The LEISA learning network

Brussels, 6 June. In the peer to peer session on learning networks, Wilma Roem showed how ILEIA has developed the worldwide LEISA (Low external input Sustainable Agriculture) Network.

She explained the process of collecting and validating knowledge that is taking place during the production of the LEISA Magazines. The editing of the material that ILEIA receives from the field based authors of the local experiences validates the knowledge that is exchanged by means of the published articles. The role of networking is very important in facilitating the exchange of knowledge.

The LEISA network is composed of ILEIA and 6 regional partner organizations that produce the LEISA Magazines in 5 different languages. These magazines are distributed to 40000 subscribers and five times as many readers all over the world. The information is available from the LEISA website portal http://www.leisa.info/ as well.

The LEISA Magazines as an information system contribute to networking by the following process: The local social experiences in LEISA encourage local people through mutual learning to build local networks. The information system builds on local experiences in LEISA that enrich local experimental processes and stimulates interaction of social agents. The interaction of networks builds regional networks that bring together social experiments in LEISA. Through the information system this builds wider networks, nation wide and wider, to world wide. The information system builds the body of knowledge, makes it visible and validates the knowledge which contributes to the mutual learning process.

In the small group discussion the empowerment of local communities was emphasized. Learning from own experiments, taking part in campaigning for own rights, learning from colleagues encourages people and stimulates self confidence. This empowers communities.

To facilitate this process it is important to know exactly what target group you are aiming at and what change you want to reach for what purpose.

The added value of the LEISA network is based on the didactic editing of the received articles. A lot of effort (and money) is spent on this part of the knowledge sharing process. This editing increases the quality, ensures the reliability and this validates the knowledge.

By Wilma Roem, ILEIA

Learning from ECDPM's Pelican Initiative

Brussels, 6 June. As part of the peer to peer session on learning networks, Niels Keijzer explained the Pelican Initiative.

In 2002, several organisations took the initiative to stimulate evidence based learning for development and multistakeholder interaction. We decided to use Dgroups as the basic instrument to facilitate these exchanges.

The idea was that you get better learning when you leave the theory behind and that you create interaction between multiple stakeholders.

The group works at three levels:

1. Learning for policy change
2. Learning within and across organisations
3. Learning in the setting of multi-stakeholder alliances and networks

Around 350 members, researchers, evaluators, policy makers, communication specialists, and knowledge management officers participate.

The didactic approach for the network includes:

• One topic at the time, often accompanied by a brief case study, with a clear start and end. At the end there are summaries shared which are seenas clear and useful results of the discussion.
• The topics change every 2 months, after the summaries are sent around.Discussions can be accompanied by announcements of events, publications,etc.
• Two publications are produced to share the discussions with a largeraudience.

Facilitation:

• Encourages people to respond and share
• Provides technical support and moderate the emails
• Very few targeted invitations, most of the growth of the network through the existing members.

A few reflections:

• People share, but do not always compare their experiences with others.
• Organisational learning is a difficult issue to discuss, it seems easier to discuss the 'cuisine' rather than the conditions in your own kitchen.
• Like with many other learning networks, being a voluntary group makes it more difficult to have precise planning and deadlines.
• Like with workshops, much of the learning is invisible, but does happen often, for instance as people also contact each other directly and forward emails to colleagues.
• Capitalizing on what has been learned through sending summaries of the discussion has been an important motivating factor and a clear outcome of the discussion.
• The quality of the exchange can become an obstacle for some people, while at the same time some degree of quality in the posts is crucial for motivating others. This is a dilemma in all other mailing lists.
• Given that each online network differs in aspects as size, purpose, diversity and culture of interactions, lessons learnt from one Dgroup maynot automatically apply to others.

Following the presentation, small groups discussed the issues, especially the question: "How can we move from dissemination to spaces for learning and change?" A few remarks and questions featured during these discussions, included:

• Is an email discussion list still a good idea in 2007, compared to some years ago, given the amount of emails that people that people in development organisations need to deal with?
• In informal learning networks, ensuring the commitment of members is an important issue, given that most people contribute on a voluntary basis;
• In most online learning networks, very little attention goes into monitoring and evaluating the quality and quantity of exchanges, and whether these exchanges lead to learning at an organisational level.

Story by Niels Keijzer, ECDPM

ATOL supports organisational learning

Brussels, 6 June. 15 minutes to explain ATOL's experience with learning networks? No problem! ... Boy, was I proven wrong ;-)

A small summary (in five words, Peter, give or take a few): ATOL does two different things with networks in Africa:

1) it works with groups of organisations around organisational learning
2) it accompanies libraries and documentation centres

While the activities in the field of organisational learning have taken root and show a lot of encouraging results, the work with the libraries and documentation centres is far more practical for the moment. Due to the lack of library management education, the documentalists feel the need for concrete and practical training to improve their day to day work. In a second stage, ATOL will collaborate with a smaller group of organisations that will focus on, what we call, offering information relevant for development (actors).

Therefore, the information needs and wishes of the NGOs in the South will have to be answered by the products and services offered by the documentation centres and libraries. This, obviously, involves a lot more than just opening the door in the morning and waiting for the visitors to come. Libraries will have to elaborate a strategy, create an acquisition policy, take existing information and transform it into information products, adapted to the target groups. This way they go from being libraries to “information brokers”, from documentation centres to information centres and knowledge centres...

Some of the key challenges we encounter are:

• getting feedback is not (always) easy
• it's a long process
• cultural differences (e.g. sharing, overt criticism, oral vs. written culture...)
• technological barriers

In the discussions afterwards, we didn't really answer the question "How to get from information dissemination to spaces for change", but some elements and challenges around the question were discussed:

• the need for adapted methods:
• "oral reports" can be used to capture knowledge (cd's, podcasts, streaming audio)
• let someone else write the report based on whiteboards and drawings participants made
• have journalists record experiences (asking WHY can be a trigger)
• a long term approach is helpful
• be patient
• change doesn't happen overnigh
• need for planning and follow-up actions (informal contract, engagements)
• monitor and evaluate what was really learned?
• individual versus organisational learning?
• results show up slowly
• look at change

Some interesting issues and ideas were raised, let's hope we can find the time to exchange on them some more. Here in Brussels, or somewhere on Web 2.0...