This document discusses social learning as a way to address "wicked problems" like climate change adaptation. It analyzes three cases of social learning from Africa and reflects critically on social learning in theory and practice. Key challenges include issues of power and consensus building, recognizing problems without the power to create change, and evaluating impact and outcomes. Moving forward, the document argues for transforming institutions and research to build a stronger evidence base on whether and how social learning improves development outcomes in addressing climate change.
Outcome Mapping for Planning Evaluations in American K-12 Urban Education: Po...T. Lee
This presentation shares how and why outcome mapping processes and principles enriched an internal self-evaluation process that was grounded in participatory action research methods toward deliberative democratic curriculum evaluation.
Contesting gender: The translation of gender commitments into action in small...CGIAR
This presentation was given by Sarah Lawless (ARC Centre for Coral Reef Studies), as part of the Annual Scientific Conference hosted by the University of Canberra and co-sponsored by the University of Canberra, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and CGIAR Collaborative Platform for Gender Research. The event took place on April 2-4, 2019 in Canberra, Australia.
Read more: https://www.canberra.edu.au/research/faculty-research-centres/aisc/seeds-of-change and https://gender.cgiar.org/annual-conference-2019/
How can we make stormwater education more effective?Neil Dufty
Education has been viewed by many organisations as an important non-structural stormwater management tool with considerable investment made to support it.
Stormwater education activities have included media campaigns, signage, stormwater drain stenciling and industry training courses. They aim to change the behaviour of sectors of the community whose activities are thought to impact on stormwater quality (and quantity) and the health of waterways.
Yet, have these stormwater education programs been effective in changing behaviour and achieve water quality improvements? According to research, the answer is ‘in some cases’. However, there is certainly a formula for effective stormwater education - this is developed in this paper.
In this presentation to the 'Joint Program on Gender Transformative Approaches to Food Security & Nutrition, Inception Workshop' (Rome, May 6-8, 2019), Dr Cynthia McDougall outlines some key ideas to guide measuring gender transformative change. This draws on WorldFish (AAS and FISH's) and partners work in this area, including leading up to the development of the Women's Empowerment in Fisheries Index.
2016.05.05 collective intelligence – an innovative research approach to promo...NUI Galway
Dr. Patricia McHugh, Dr. Veronica McCauley & Dr. Kevin Davison presented this seminar on Collective Intelligence - An Innovative Research Approach to Promoting Ocean Literacies in Ireland under the Sea Change project. They spoke on behalf of the Social Innovation, Participation and Policy Cluster (SIPPs) as part of the Whitaker Institute's Ideas Forum on 5th May 2016.
Outcome Mapping for Planning Evaluations in American K-12 Urban Education: Po...T. Lee
This presentation shares how and why outcome mapping processes and principles enriched an internal self-evaluation process that was grounded in participatory action research methods toward deliberative democratic curriculum evaluation.
Contesting gender: The translation of gender commitments into action in small...CGIAR
This presentation was given by Sarah Lawless (ARC Centre for Coral Reef Studies), as part of the Annual Scientific Conference hosted by the University of Canberra and co-sponsored by the University of Canberra, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and CGIAR Collaborative Platform for Gender Research. The event took place on April 2-4, 2019 in Canberra, Australia.
Read more: https://www.canberra.edu.au/research/faculty-research-centres/aisc/seeds-of-change and https://gender.cgiar.org/annual-conference-2019/
How can we make stormwater education more effective?Neil Dufty
Education has been viewed by many organisations as an important non-structural stormwater management tool with considerable investment made to support it.
Stormwater education activities have included media campaigns, signage, stormwater drain stenciling and industry training courses. They aim to change the behaviour of sectors of the community whose activities are thought to impact on stormwater quality (and quantity) and the health of waterways.
Yet, have these stormwater education programs been effective in changing behaviour and achieve water quality improvements? According to research, the answer is ‘in some cases’. However, there is certainly a formula for effective stormwater education - this is developed in this paper.
In this presentation to the 'Joint Program on Gender Transformative Approaches to Food Security & Nutrition, Inception Workshop' (Rome, May 6-8, 2019), Dr Cynthia McDougall outlines some key ideas to guide measuring gender transformative change. This draws on WorldFish (AAS and FISH's) and partners work in this area, including leading up to the development of the Women's Empowerment in Fisheries Index.
2016.05.05 collective intelligence – an innovative research approach to promo...NUI Galway
Dr. Patricia McHugh, Dr. Veronica McCauley & Dr. Kevin Davison presented this seminar on Collective Intelligence - An Innovative Research Approach to Promoting Ocean Literacies in Ireland under the Sea Change project. They spoke on behalf of the Social Innovation, Participation and Policy Cluster (SIPPs) as part of the Whitaker Institute's Ideas Forum on 5th May 2016.
Communicative Work to Enact Environmental Sustainability at an Urban UniversityRahul Mitra
This paper was presented at the annual conference of the Eastern Communication Association, 2018, in Pittsburgh, PA. Please do not use without permission of the authors, and proper citation.
Process Stage 1 Analysing Climate Vulnerability: Institutional
Institutional Climate Vulnerability
This module outlines how institutional capacity affects vulnerability to climate change and will cover how to identify and address weaknesses in institutional capacity in order to reduce vulnerability.
The Quest for Impact: The Transformation of Research from a Traditional to a ...Global Livestock CRSP
The Quest for Impact: The Transformation of Research from a Traditional to a Participatory Format in Southern Ethiopia. Presented by D. Layne Coppock (Utah State University) at the GL-CRSP "End of Program Conference" on June 18, 2009, Naivasha, Kenya.
Conservation for/by Whom? Social Controversies and Cultural Contestations regarding National Parks in the ‘Malay Archipelago’. International workshop jointly sponsored by the Asia Research Institute, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Faculty of Science and Faculty of Law, all at the National University of Singapore, 16-18 May 2005, NUS, Singapore.
KEY LESSONS around involving children and youth in climate change adaptation, based on Plan International's work in Asia. You can also listen to the podcast (audio recording) here below!
PART 1
https://soundcloud.com/user-594674169/involving-children-in-climate-change-adaptation-part-1
PART 2
https://soundcloud.com/user-594674169/involving-children-in-climate-change-adaptation-part-2
A multilevel governance perspective on REDD+CIFOR-ICRAF
This presentation was given at CIFOR's side event at the Bonn Climate Change Conference (SBSTA-44) on 18 May 2016. The side event included discussions on the practicalities of results-based finance for REDD+. CIFOR presented research findings on REDD+ performance at different scales, as well as the mechanisms of benefit-sharing, multi-level governance and land use incentives.
This presentation shows findings on REDD+ gathered over the years of the multilevel governance module of CIFOR.
On May 27 2021, the Child Protection and Gender sections at NYHQ and UNICEF Innocenti organised an internal webinar on UNICEF’s Strategy Paper on the Gender Dimensions of Violence against Children and Adolescents in which over 200 UNICEF colleagues from regional and country levels participated. The webinar aimed to help participants learn more about the strategy paper and provided an opportunity to share ideas and recommendations for the implementation of priority actions in this area.
Searching for outcomes in rural Tanzania: Harvesting directly from those infl...John Mauremootoo
The benefits and challenges of using Outcome Harvesting to evaluate a short-term intervention are explored using the example of an 18 month social change project supported by the UK Department for International Development in Tanzania. The project was that was highly ambitious: it sought to influence changes in gender attitudes and behaviour of the general public in Tanzania. Challenges included the lack of outcome indications in project document and the lack of knowledge of outcomes among project personnel. Outcome Harvesting was adapted to allow the harvesting of outcomes using focus groups of those the project sought to influence directly. The concept of ‘proto-outcome’ was used for suggestions of attitude changes that may lead ultimately to behaviour changes. Substantiation of outcomes involved not only third parties but direct observation. The resulting descriptions of outcomes and the evaluation findings proved valuable for learning in the organisation, Search for Common Ground.
The role of education in changing behaviour for sustainabilityNeil Dufty
Behaviour is what people do. People perform a host of environmentally appropriate and inappropriate behaviours every day.
Governments around the world have made numerous legal agreements that commit their countries to take responsibility for a suite of actions to change and move society towards sustainability. Such progress to sustainability depends on the behaviour of people in all walks of life, requiring changes in their way of thinking, living and working.
These background notes provide a theoretical framework for developing education programs that lead to behaviour change for sustainability.
Communicative Work to Enact Environmental Sustainability at an Urban UniversityRahul Mitra
This paper was presented at the annual conference of the Eastern Communication Association, 2018, in Pittsburgh, PA. Please do not use without permission of the authors, and proper citation.
Process Stage 1 Analysing Climate Vulnerability: Institutional
Institutional Climate Vulnerability
This module outlines how institutional capacity affects vulnerability to climate change and will cover how to identify and address weaknesses in institutional capacity in order to reduce vulnerability.
The Quest for Impact: The Transformation of Research from a Traditional to a ...Global Livestock CRSP
The Quest for Impact: The Transformation of Research from a Traditional to a Participatory Format in Southern Ethiopia. Presented by D. Layne Coppock (Utah State University) at the GL-CRSP "End of Program Conference" on June 18, 2009, Naivasha, Kenya.
Conservation for/by Whom? Social Controversies and Cultural Contestations regarding National Parks in the ‘Malay Archipelago’. International workshop jointly sponsored by the Asia Research Institute, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Faculty of Science and Faculty of Law, all at the National University of Singapore, 16-18 May 2005, NUS, Singapore.
KEY LESSONS around involving children and youth in climate change adaptation, based on Plan International's work in Asia. You can also listen to the podcast (audio recording) here below!
PART 1
https://soundcloud.com/user-594674169/involving-children-in-climate-change-adaptation-part-1
PART 2
https://soundcloud.com/user-594674169/involving-children-in-climate-change-adaptation-part-2
A multilevel governance perspective on REDD+CIFOR-ICRAF
This presentation was given at CIFOR's side event at the Bonn Climate Change Conference (SBSTA-44) on 18 May 2016. The side event included discussions on the practicalities of results-based finance for REDD+. CIFOR presented research findings on REDD+ performance at different scales, as well as the mechanisms of benefit-sharing, multi-level governance and land use incentives.
This presentation shows findings on REDD+ gathered over the years of the multilevel governance module of CIFOR.
On May 27 2021, the Child Protection and Gender sections at NYHQ and UNICEF Innocenti organised an internal webinar on UNICEF’s Strategy Paper on the Gender Dimensions of Violence against Children and Adolescents in which over 200 UNICEF colleagues from regional and country levels participated. The webinar aimed to help participants learn more about the strategy paper and provided an opportunity to share ideas and recommendations for the implementation of priority actions in this area.
Searching for outcomes in rural Tanzania: Harvesting directly from those infl...John Mauremootoo
The benefits and challenges of using Outcome Harvesting to evaluate a short-term intervention are explored using the example of an 18 month social change project supported by the UK Department for International Development in Tanzania. The project was that was highly ambitious: it sought to influence changes in gender attitudes and behaviour of the general public in Tanzania. Challenges included the lack of outcome indications in project document and the lack of knowledge of outcomes among project personnel. Outcome Harvesting was adapted to allow the harvesting of outcomes using focus groups of those the project sought to influence directly. The concept of ‘proto-outcome’ was used for suggestions of attitude changes that may lead ultimately to behaviour changes. Substantiation of outcomes involved not only third parties but direct observation. The resulting descriptions of outcomes and the evaluation findings proved valuable for learning in the organisation, Search for Common Ground.
The role of education in changing behaviour for sustainabilityNeil Dufty
Behaviour is what people do. People perform a host of environmentally appropriate and inappropriate behaviours every day.
Governments around the world have made numerous legal agreements that commit their countries to take responsibility for a suite of actions to change and move society towards sustainability. Such progress to sustainability depends on the behaviour of people in all walks of life, requiring changes in their way of thinking, living and working.
These background notes provide a theoretical framework for developing education programs that lead to behaviour change for sustainability.
A ceLTIc project webinar. The ceLTIc project shows how to enable LTI (Learning Tools Interoperability) connectors to build a flexible infrastructure.This session will discuss how the JISC-funded ceLTIc:sharing project is evaluating the use of LTI to provide a shared service for institutions interested in evaluating WebPA. It will include a demonstration of linking to the tool from Blackboard Learn 9 and Moodle, as well as how the outcomes service along with the unofficial memberships and setting extensions are being used to enhance this integration in a VLE-independent way.
Jisc conference 2012
Summary of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) work on Linking Knowledge with Action. This research theme aims to identify ways to catalyze action from knowledge about long-term adaptation, climate risk management and low emissions agriculture so that we can achieve this global vision as quickly as possible.
Putting forest communities at the center of responses to climate change: lear...CIFOR-ICRAF
Carol Colfer gave this presentation on 22 May 2013 at a panel session during the two-day policy and science conference entitled "Sustainable forest management in Central Africa: Yesterday, today and tomorrow", organized by CIFOR and its partners and held in Yaounde, Cameroon. The panel, titled “Response to climate change in Central Africa: Realities and challenges”, focused on revisiting previous efforts in forest management for climate change and on considering future directions while considering the interest of forest communities.
Community-Campus engagement is offered and encouraged in many higher education organizations. This study from Donna Jean Forster-Gill and Tom Cooper seeks to analyze these programs and explore ways to maximize their usefulness to the non-profit community organizations which they assist.
www.vibrantcommunities.ca
www.thecommuntityfirst.org
Cluster evaluation: Learning to complete the virtuous circle! - James WilsonOrkestra
Interesting article about cluster evaluation written by James Wilson in collaboration with Madeline Smith and Emily Wise for the TCI Network's 'Shared Values' publications that was distributed at the European Conference in Bulgaria (March 2018).
Survival guides take experiences and share it with would-be travelers. The CGIAR System is embarking on a collective journey aboard 15 new vehicles called CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs). Prototype CRPs exist and have been working since 2004 in the shape of CGIAR Challenge Programs. Like CRPs, Challenge Programs were designed to explore new ways of linking research to development outcomes through work conducted across a range of partnerships.
Boru Douthwaite, innovation and impact director for the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF), has been part of the CPWF journey since 2005. In this presentation he shares hard-won lessons that will help us all not merely survive aboard our CRPs, but make the trip thoroughly worthwhile.
The COVID pandemic has forced onto schools an overnight pivot to virtual delivery and assessment. This emergency provisions and their online component have remained a part of the reality of teaching and learning for large parts of the last two years. Innovative and emergent uses of technology in the classroom have blossomed rapidly and found a rich and opportune context for growth. This two-year period of change and experimentation has now created an unprecedented thirst for the long-term adoption and integration of digital solutions in teaching and learning – be they virtual, hybrid of face to face.
Much of the reflection that has occurred around the use and integration of technology and virtual tools in teaching and learning, however, has ignored learner diversity, accessibility, and inclusion. The time constraints, exceptional circumstances of the pivot, the urgency of the measures, and the understanding arrangements were temporary have contributed to a certain laissez faire in terms of accessibility. The legal notion of undue hardship has explicitly been used by many schools and school districts to circumvent legislation on inclusion and human rights provisions which normally guarantee accessibility to learning.
This session will first examine the various concerns regarding inclusion and accessibility which have arisen during the pandemic in relation to digital learning. The presentation will then analyze the inherent risks that are present in relation to social justice and inclusion, as educational organizations transition back to face-to-face instruction and seek to retain the digital flavour that has blossomed over the last two years. The third section of this paper is a call for action which delineates the safeguards that must be in place as digital transformation of teaching and learning gains momentum in the post-pandemic landscape.
Project Cycle and Causal Hypothesis _ Theory of Change.pptxGeorgeKabongah2
The project life cycle is the order of processes and phases used in delivering projects. It describes the high-level workflow of delivering a project and the steps you take to make things happen.
Presented by Peter Gubbels, Director Action Learning and Advocacy (Groundswell International) & Senior Fellow Global Evergreening Alliance. During Groundswell International: Restoring Sahelian Drylands: Practice, evidence, lessons and scaling session of GLF Africa
A webinar exploring potential synergies and collaboration between European national, regional and transnational climate adaptation (knowledge) platforms (CAPs), EC-funded projects, and the Mission on Adaptation.
A number of European Commission (EC)-funded projects and the EU Mission Adaptation Community of Practice include as part of their respective work programmes, engaging with European national and regional/transnational climate adaptation (knowledge) platforms (CAPs).
IMC2022_Wikipedia for Science_for weADAPT.pptxweADAPT
This presentation for developed for a special session on why and how to use Wikipedia for science communication, given at the International Mountain Conference in Innsbruck, in September 2022.
Sida LEAP Training Lectures #7 and #8: Linking LEAP and WEAP and other advanc...weADAPT
Eight lectures were delivered in 2021 as a series of webinars organized by SEI, with support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation agency (Sida). Delivered by Jason Veysey and Charlotte Wagner of SEI.
This presentation is for lectures #7 and #8: Linking LEAP and WEAP and other advanced topics
Find out more about this course here: https://www.weadapt.org/knowledge-base/synergies-between-adaptation-and-mitigation/introductory-low-emissions-analysis-platform-leap-training-course-2021
Sida LEAP Training Lectures #5 and #6: Cost-benefit analysis and optimization...weADAPT
Eight lectures were delivered in 2021 as a series of webinars organized by SEI, with support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation agency (Sida). Delivered by Jason Veysey and Charlotte Wagner of SEI.
This presentation is for lectures #5 and #6: Cost-benefit analysis and optimization modelling with LEAP and NEMO.
Find out more about this course here: https://www.weadapt.org/knowledge-base/synergies-between-adaptation-and-mitigation/introductory-low-emissions-analysis-platform-leap-training-course-2021
Sida LEAP Training Lecture #3 and #4: Energy Supply and Emissions ModelingweADAPT
Eight lectures were delivered in 2021 as a series of webinars organized by SEI, with support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation agency (Sida). Delivered by Jason Veysey and Charlotte Wagner of SEI.
This presentation is for lectures #3 and 4: Energy Supply and Emissions Modeling.
Find out more about this course here: https://www.weadapt.org/knowledge-base/synergies-between-adaptation-and-mitigation/introductory-low-emissions-analysis-platform-leap-training-course-2021
Sida LEAP Training Lectures #1 and #2: Introduction to LEAPweADAPT
Eight lectures were delivered in 2021 as a series of webinars organized by SEI, with support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation agency (Sida). Delivered by Jason Veysey and Charlotte Wagner of SEI.
This presentation is for lectures #1 and #2: An introduction to LEAP, including its key features, history, structure, user interface, and terminology, and modelling energy demand with LEAP, including definitions, concepts, and methods.
Find out more about this course here: https://www.weadapt.org/knowledge-base/synergies-between-adaptation-and-mitigation/introductory-low-emissions-analysis-platform-leap-training-course-2021
Climate change and Mountains in East Africa The Adaptation at Altitude programmeweADAPT
This presentation was given on 30-03-2022 at the East Africa Mountains Regional Dialogue Event in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, by Essey Daniel, Sabine McCallum, and Ansgar Fellendorf.
Adaptation at Altitude Programme in the South Caucasus (2021)weADAPT
This presentation by Sabine McCallum, Matthias Jurek, and Ansgar Fellendorf was delivered during the Adaptation at Altitude Regional Meeting: Taking Action Together for Resilient Mountain Communities in the South Caucasus, held on 14th December 2021.
Details of the event and its outcomes can be found here:
The global distribution of mountain adaptation projects by Simon AllenweADAPT
This presentation was delivered during the session "Upscaling adaptation solutions for vulnerable mountain regions through international cooperation" hosted by the Geneva Cryosphere Hub as part of a series of events held during COP26.
Find more about the event and watch the recording here: https://adaptationataltitude.org/knowledge-base/adaptation-in-mountains/upscaling-adaptation-solutions-for-vulnerable-mountain-regions-through-international-cooperation
Identifying adaptation solutions with upscaling potential within and beyond m...weADAPT
This presentation was delivered during the session "Upscaling adaptation solutions for vulnerable mountain regions through international cooperation" hosted by the Geneva Cryosphere Hub as part of a series of events held during COP26.
Find more about the event and watch the recording here: https://adaptationataltitude.org/knowledge-base/adaptation-in-mountains/upscaling-adaptation-solutions-for-vulnerable-mountain-regions-through-international-cooperation
Closing the Adaptation Gap in Mountains by Graham McDowell (2021)weADAPT
This presentation was delivered during the session "Upscaling adaptation solutions for vulnerable mountain regions through international cooperation" hosted by the Geneva Cryosphere Hub as part of a series of events held during COP26.
Find more about the event and watch the recording here: https://adaptationataltitude.org/knowledge-base/adaptation-in-mountains/upscaling-adaptation-solutions-for-vulnerable-mountain-regions-through-international-cooperation
Read the journal article on which this presentation is based here: https://bioone.org/journals/mountain-research-and-development/volume-41/issue-3/MRD-JOURNAL-D-21-00033.1/Closing-the-Adaptation-Gap-in-Mountains/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-21-00033.1.full
A whistle-stop tour of lessons learned through KE4CAPweADAPT
Presentation for the KE4CAP Synthesis Workshop: https://www.weadapt.org/knowledge-base/climate-change-adaptation-knowledge-platforms/final-ke4cap-synthesis-workshop
The Indian economy is classified into different sectors to simplify the analysis and understanding of economic activities. For Class 10, it's essential to grasp the sectors of the Indian economy, understand their characteristics, and recognize their importance. This guide will provide detailed notes on the Sectors of the Indian Economy Class 10, using specific long-tail keywords to enhance comprehension.
For more information, visit-www.vavaclasses.com
Students, digital devices and success - Andreas Schleicher - 27 May 2024..pptxEduSkills OECD
Andreas Schleicher presents at the OECD webinar ‘Digital devices in schools: detrimental distraction or secret to success?’ on 27 May 2024. The presentation was based on findings from PISA 2022 results and the webinar helped launch the PISA in Focus ‘Managing screen time: How to protect and equip students against distraction’ https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/managing-screen-time_7c225af4-en and the OECD Education Policy Perspective ‘Students, digital devices and success’ can be found here - https://oe.cd/il/5yV
Welcome to TechSoup New Member Orientation and Q&A (May 2024).pdfTechSoup
In this webinar you will learn how your organization can access TechSoup's wide variety of product discount and donation programs. From hardware to software, we'll give you a tour of the tools available to help your nonprofit with productivity, collaboration, financial management, donor tracking, security, and more.
Synthetic Fiber Construction in lab .pptxPavel ( NSTU)
Synthetic fiber production is a fascinating and complex field that blends chemistry, engineering, and environmental science. By understanding these aspects, students can gain a comprehensive view of synthetic fiber production, its impact on society and the environment, and the potential for future innovations. Synthetic fibers play a crucial role in modern society, impacting various aspects of daily life, industry, and the environment. ynthetic fibers are integral to modern life, offering a range of benefits from cost-effectiveness and versatility to innovative applications and performance characteristics. While they pose environmental challenges, ongoing research and development aim to create more sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives. Understanding the importance of synthetic fibers helps in appreciating their role in the economy, industry, and daily life, while also emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and innovation.
This is a presentation by Dada Robert in a Your Skill Boost masterclass organised by the Excellence Foundation for South Sudan (EFSS) on Saturday, the 25th and Sunday, the 26th of May 2024.
He discussed the concept of quality improvement, emphasizing its applicability to various aspects of life, including personal, project, and program improvements. He defined quality as doing the right thing at the right time in the right way to achieve the best possible results and discussed the concept of the "gap" between what we know and what we do, and how this gap represents the areas we need to improve. He explained the scientific approach to quality improvement, which involves systematic performance analysis, testing and learning, and implementing change ideas. He also highlighted the importance of client focus and a team approach to quality improvement.
Model Attribute Check Company Auto PropertyCeline George
In Odoo, the multi-company feature allows you to manage multiple companies within a single Odoo database instance. Each company can have its own configurations while still sharing common resources such as products, customers, and suppliers.
The French Revolution, which began in 1789, was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France. It marked the decline of absolute monarchies, the rise of secular and democratic republics, and the eventual rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. This revolutionary period is crucial in understanding the transition from feudalism to modernity in Europe.
For more information, visit-www.vavaclasses.com
Overview on Edible Vaccine: Pros & Cons with Mechanism
Social learning for collective action on climate change
1. Social learning for collective action on
climate change
A critical assessment
Blane Harvey, International Development Research Centre
2. Overview
• Tackling "wicked" problems under global
environmental change
• What is social learning?
• Social learning in practice - 3 cases from Africa
• Critiques of SL in theory and practice
• Where next?
5. Tackling "wicked" problems
• Wicked problems are characterized by:
a) uncertainty;
b) inconsistency of needs, preferences and values;
c) an unclear sense of all consequences and/or
cumulative impact of collective action;
d) fluid, heterogeneous, pluralist participation in
problem definition and solving
Turnpenny et al (2009)
6. adapted from Funtowicz & Ravetz 2003
Technical uncertainty
Epistemological uncertainty:
(Reduced by use of societal and community
synergy, and community review)
Methodological uncertainty
“Not only must science concede some of its
governance to wider society, it must also
concede some ground to other ways of
knowing. (Hulme 2009: 81)
“Facts are
uncertain, values in
dispute, stakes high
and decisions
urgent”
7. Climate change adaptation is
one such 'wicked’
problem, and social learning is
seen as an important avenue
for responding.
8. The learning paradox
“Our existing methodological toolbox
is sparsely equipped to facilitate and sustain
[...] adaptive and anticipatory learning in
the face of complex risks and uncertainties.”
Tschakert & Dietrich 2010
And yet
We recognise the paramount
importance of learning in addressing
complex environmental challenges....
“deficit models”
Banking models
Knowledge
hierarchies
10. Social Learning: Toward a definition
Social learning brings together stakeholders
with diverse perspectives to learn together and
form an understanding of a shared challenge.
It involves taking learning and behaviour change
beyond the individual to networks and systems.
Through an iterative process of working and
reflecting together new shared ways of knowing
emerge that lead to changes in practice.
See Reed et al. 2010 “What is Social Learning?”
11. Social learning - a closer look
• Roots:
– Learning and behavioural psychology (Bandura)
– Collective learning (Argyris and Schon, Wenger)
– Transformative learning (Mezirow)
– Emancipatory learning (Freire)
• Participation?
• As performance? Governance? Collective
action? Many flavours of SL.
12. 3 Cases from Africa
Participatory
scenario
development
(Ghana, Senegal)
Consensus seasonal
forecasts
(GHA)
Systemic research
through community
radio (Ghana)
14. Participatory scenario development
Approach Model of SL Key outcomes Key lessons
Learning dialogue
through facilitated
workshops with
joint learning
around timely
seasonal weather
forecasts and
information on
agricultural
management
options to
capitalize on that
learning.
SL as concerted
action and mode of
governance that
effects changes in
communities,
networks and
systems.
Involves rethinking
the assumptions
and principles that
underlie practices
and designing new
governance norms.
Communities and
local governments
create new
institutions that
help link different
timelines, for
example the
immediacy of
farmer priorities
and responses with
longer-term
understanding and
capacity to plan
and respond to
climate change.
Champions at
different levels and
creating a level
playing field are
crucial.
Need for culturally
sensitive
communication ,
create room for
reflection, trust,
inclusion, and to
recognize and
accommodating
different
timeframes and
purposes.
16. Systemic action research
Approach Model of SL Key outcomes Key lessons
Action-reflection
learning process
led by community
broadcasters,
engaging with
community
members, duty
bearers, and
outside partners
on the social
impacts
SL as concerted
action that effects
changes in
communities and
networks.
Involves testing
and improving
existing practices,
as well as
rethinking the
assumptions and
principles that
underlie these
practices.
Radio broadcasters
take on an
advocacy role for
political action on
local climate
impacts.
District
government
support for
communities
impacted by
flooding.
Strengthened
networks for future
action.
Additional support
for women needed
to become active
contributors.
Facilitated policy
dialogues and
learning events
to build a network
of actors.
Language and
vocabulary barriers
a key challenge.
Long-term vision
needed.
20. Analysis of 29
cases looking at:
• Lessons and
Principles
• Tools and
approaches
• Evaluation
• Impacts
21. Reflecting critically on SL
• Power and consensus - strange bedfellows
– Is a change of views always a good thing?
• Recognition of problem w/o power to change
leads to frustration
– Challenge of entrenched marginalisation
• Sustainability of change?
• Scale and institutionalisation major challenges
• Evidence of impact and outcomes?
– How to evaluate them?
See also Muro & Jeffrey 2008
23. A gut instinct tells us that social learning
inherently makes sense, but making that
leap forward into practicing the
principles of good social learning and
overturning the more top-down models
of information delivery needs more
concrete evidence.
Transforming institutions
Transforming research
25. Transforming the evidence base
• Hypothesis A: Social learning improves
institutional processes and
performance/effectiveness in the context of
climate change.
Hypothesis B: Social learning processes lead
to improved development outcomes/results in
the context of climate change.
27. Want to know more?
Mark Reed Derek Armitage
Claudia Pahl-Wostl Ray Ison
Georgina Cundill Romina Rodela
Arjen Wals Bernd Siebenhüner
Thank you!
http://ccsl.wikispaces.com/
Editor's Notes
Introduce myself, my job, and my interest in this area.Specify focus on adaptation in the South, particularly Africa (define mitigation and adaptation)
No one person has the whole answer, we all have a piece of the truth and there is a pressing need to come up with imaginative solutions (Lonsdale 2010)
Applied science – Atmospheric lifetime of methaneProfessional consultancy - Effectiveness of “clean coal”Post-normal – is 2oC a safe “limit” to for global warming and what level of emissions reduction will achieve it?
Social learning processes have a long history in the areas of agriculture and natural resource management and within institutions working these areas, particularly in the global South. Often linked to more widely-referenced processes such as participation and participatory action research, these approaches have successfully helped communities rethink their natural resource management strategies, and address complex challenges with intertwined social, political, and environmental dimensions. Climate change adaptation is one such 'wicked‘ problem characterised by difficulty in its definition and attribution, uncertainty, and unclearsolutions, and social learning is seen as an important avenue for responding. Lonsdale et al. (2010) note that “as social learning for change requires shifts in understanding either as individuals or as groups this type of learning seems to have great potential for exploring the process of adaptation to climate change. No one person has the whole answer, we all have a piece of the truth and there is a pressing need to come up with imaginative solutions.”
Participation alone, however, is not enough to constitute social learning. While participatory processes ‘may stimulate social learning’, participation is a narrower concept that defines a role in decision making and does not necessarily lead to social learningIson et al. (2013) note that the language through which social learning is framed (as performance, governance, action, etc.) both reveals and conceals the assumptions and epistemic positions of those wishing to apply the concept. This, they argue, calls upon practitioners to clearly articulate the ways in which they choose to use the term. In articulating a collective theory of change around social learning, these assumptions can be brought to the fore.
Explain the critique around the current production and use of climate information for farmers.