Small Grant Recipients
From HarambeeWiki
Contents |
Learning with and from the Activities of the Small Grant Recipients
Capturing Information
Harambee contact ensures that the information is captured in the SGF's wiki page. A Documentation template has been created as a guide only.
An Overview of the Action Review Cycle
An Action Review Cycle is proposed to learn with and from the activities of the focus networks.
... plan → act → review → theorise → plan …
As part of the ‘plan’ cycle, the SGF network coordinator is invited to share his/her thoughts on three aspects of the work being undertaken – the situation, the outcomes and the actions:
- The salient features of the situation faced by the coordinator (and why they are salient)
- The outcomes that are desirable (and why they are desirable)
- The actions that are expected to lead to the outcomes in the situation (and why they will lead to those outcomes).
In addition, the SGF coordinators are also encouraged to develop a core set of indicators in consultation with their members. The set of indicators are intended to not only help them to see how they are doing with respect to their anticipated outcomes but also to report out to others on progress.
The review stage will take place on a pre-arranged date and will focus on the development of a detailed reconstruction of what happened allowing for the emergence of local theories. Information gathered in the action review cycle will be capture in a wiki that has been set up for each SGF Coordinator and viewable by all coordinators. The responsibility for learning and reflection lies jointly in the hands of both the network coordinator and the CC member liaising with the network.
The proposed approach serves many purposes. It will help to:
- Identify what can be, and is being, learned from the implementation of the focus networks' activities by the focus networks themselves
- Support the development of local theories related to network strengthening
- Contribute information and resources in the development of network related
- Identify areas in which additional support is needed and can be provided by the Harambee initiative
- Strengthen the relationship between members of the coordination committee and the focus network coordinators
In addition, this approach is expected to:
- Facilitate the process of documentation and evaluation on the part of the focus networks
- Demonstrate the use and effectiveness of ICTs in support of learning
The Planning Stage
The following steps are outlined for the planning stage:
Arrange Reflection Meeting
- Coordinator and Harambee contact arrange meeting to discuss the reflection questions.
- Reflection questions shared with coordinator prior to the meeting.
- Coordinator and Harambee contact agree on the process of documentation ie. how the information will be captured in the coordinator's wiki page
Conduct Reflection Meeting
The following questions address three aspects of the planning stage - the situation, the outcomes and the action. The "a" questions lead to practice. The "b" questions lead to theory:
Question 1 - Situation:
1a. What do I think are the salient features of the situation that I face?
1b. Why do I think those are the salient features?
Question 2 - Outcomes:
2a. What outcomes do I think are desirable in this situation?
2b. Why do I think those outcomes are desirable in this situation?
Question 3 - Actions:
3a. What actions do I expect to lead to those outcomes in that situation?
3b. Why do I think those actions will lead to those outcomes in that situation?
(Note: The Harambee Coordinator may want to first ask for general information on the network with the following questions..."Tell me about your network. What does it work to do? Who are the members? What is your role?". The purpose of the questions are twofold - to 'relax' the interviewee by getting them to talk about something that they are likely to feel comfortable about and for the interviewer to develop a deeper understanding of the network.
Developing Indicators in Consultation with the Network Members
Network Coordinators are also invited to think about creating a core set of indicators that would not only help them to see how they are doing with respect to their anticipated outcomes, but also report out to others on progress. Coordinators may want to consider having a quick online consultation with their members to develop them. This is a suggestion for a possible online network member consultation process for developing indicators:
- Validate the vision of the network and its engagement with Harambee: Describe the situation, outcomes and actions of your activity and how you think Harambee will benefit the network, inviting other members to provide their own comments/suggestions.
- Summarize people's comments into one set of expected/desired outcomes for the group and suggest how they might be monitored (e.g., if you are hoping to have stronger use of email and online dialogues, you might try to do a quick and *short* survey of how network members are using email right away and then repeating that survey 6 or 8 months later to see if indeed people's behaviour has changed. Remember that you don't have to have a numeric measurement (such as: network members now send an average of 50 emails a month to each other whereas 6 months ago they only sent 30). It is equally valid to discover that members are now in touch with each other on a weekly basis by email whereas previously they would communicate mostly when face-to-face meetings occurred). If it is something about the environment the network is trying to influence, suggest a way to measure *that* change [e.g., members are finding they are much better prepared for meetings with partners, and therefore feel they are having greater influence on those partners, as a result of the network's improved knowledge sharing practices such as our 'monthly issue updates'].
Follow-up
- Agree on a tentative date for a review of actions
The Review Stage
The review stage will take place on a date agreed during the planning stage. During the "review" stage, the Harambee contact will encourage:
- A detailed reconstruction of what happened (Note: we need to think about how perceptions are contributed)
- Reaching agreement on what happened before trying to make sense of it
- Treating disagreement not as a trigger for debate, but as a sign that we don't yet understand what really happened (It is often the disagreements, well handled, which lead to the important insights.)
Theorising: "In situation S, if you intend consequence C, do A, given assumptions a(1) ... a(n)" -- Argyris, C., and Schon, D.A. (1974) Theory in practice: increasing professional effectiveness. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
1. Arrange Reviewing and Theorising Meeting
- Coordinator and Harambee contact arrange meeting to discuss the theorising questions
- Theorising questions shared with coordinator prior to the meeting.
- Coordinator and Harambee contact agree on the process of documentation ie. how the information will be captured in the coordinator's wiki page
2. Conduct Reflection Meeting
Question 1 - Situation:
1a. In what ways was I mistaken about the situation?
1b. Which of my assumptions about the situation misled me?
1c. What have I learned? What different conclusions will I reach about similar situations in future?
Question 2 - Outcomes:
2a. In what ways was I mistaken about the desirability of the pursued outcomes?
2b. Which of my reasons for favouring those outcomes misled me?
2c. What have I learned? What outcomes will I try to pursue when next I'm in such a situation?
Question 3 - Actions:
And notice that 3a takes a somewhat different tack:
3a. Did I succeed in carrying out the planned actions? If not, what prevented or discouraged me? What have I learned about myself, my skills, my attitudes, and so on?
3b. If I did carry out the actions, in what ways was I mistaken about the effect they would have? Which of my assumptions about the actions misled me?
3c. What have I learned? What actions will I try next time I am pursuing similar outcomes in a similar situation.
Learning Utilisation: One final question used to support learning utilisation... "When will be your next opportunity to make use of your new insights? What will you do to make use of them?"
Evaluation Process
The Focus Networks should be included as part of a larger evaluation that looks at the Harambee's approach ie. funding activities that are initiated and driven by the networks themselves.
