CCSL+checklist+of+questions

=** Social Learning Checklist **= toc (This social learning checklist was originally developed on the CCSL sandbox on this page [restricted to sandbox members]). It was updated last on 20 March 2014 to incorporate latest comments and better reflect the structure of CCSL Framework & Toolkit (from earlier draft by Ewen Le Borgne, Marc Schut, Alison Shaw and Carl Jackson).

Introduction This checklist of questions/pointers can help those already using social learning approaches to assess whether initiatives are addressing social learning as meaningfully and completely as they could/should. For help in answering the prior question - Is Social Learning Right for Me? - there is an SL Decision Tree.

=Intent = This is about realising whether social learning is intended, recognised, embraced, characterised or not. 1. To what degree is facilitated learning and reflection a central component of your plan? 2. Did it change and become (more) obvious and (if not done before) did you then include this in your conceptual approach over time? 3. How were institutional obstacles to social learning identified and addressed during the design of the initiative to create an enabling environment?
 * Did you explicitly conceptualise social learning or not?
 * To what degree did it cover the 'thematic' elements below (social differentiation, looped learning, power, monitoring, evaluating, capacity development)?
 * Has it been recognised by other initiative members, partners, beneficiaries?

=Looped Learning = This is about double and triple loops for learning to reflect on what activities would be more effective and what behaviours need to change - rather than just correcting errors in an existing practice: 4. To what extent is the initiative designed around an exploratory process, reflecting on, learning about and incorporating contextual factors that emerge, rather than goal-driven? 5. What strategies are in place for encouraging iterative, trust-building processes of engagement?
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: inherit; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-size: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">What measures are in place to enable the initiative to flexibly deviate from a given goal if the need is felt by the stakeholder group?
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: inherit; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-size: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">Is a process for adaptive action towards a good enough outcome central to the design, rather than bolting on adjustment when a pre-defined solution fails under implementation?

=<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">Social Differentiation = <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">This is about recognising that any community is made up of different groups of people who represent both collective and individual interests (i.e. biological, physiological and socio cultural factors as sex, age, race, nationality etc): <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">6. What measures (processes, criteria, incentives, interfaces, etc) have been put in place to ensure that an extended range of different social groups are engaged by the initiative? <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">7. How does the objective of social learning reflect the objectives of other actors/stakeholders?
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: inherit; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-size: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">How were diverse perspectives accounted for and collective cognition supported?
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: inherit; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-size: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">How was selective stakeholder engagement justified when necessary?
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: inherit; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-size: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">What measures (mechanisms, approaches, etc) have been put in place to ensure that different social groups are sharing, learning, reflecting and transforming their knowledge and practice together?
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: inherit; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-size: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">How are characteristics of the different social groups who are involved and not involved in the initiative recorded?

=<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">Power = <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">This is about whose knowledge counts and the ways to reveal and moderate power inequalities: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">8. What is the potential for initiative to result in social transformation that goes beyond the individual to effect the broader community, systemic or social change (e.g. in terms of changes to systems, practices, or ways of knowing)? <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">9. How are power dynamics in the field and within research being facilitated? <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">10. How was an enabling environment for transdisciplinary approaches and recognition of multiple sources of knowledge supported?
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: inherit; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-size: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">To what extent is the initiative, in its intentions and consequences, instrumental or emancipatory?
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: inherit; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-size: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">Who initiates social learning activities and with what objective?
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: inherit; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-size: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">Is participation informed and voluntary or compliant / bureaucratic?
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: inherit; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-size: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">How are a range of lower-profile / less powerful actors involved in the problem definition (as well as senior internal and external champions)?
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: inherit; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-size: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">What process is in place to build a synthesis of all stakeholders expectations of the initiative and to sustain that understanding through subsequent conflicts and changes?

=<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">Capacity development for social learning = <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">This is about the skills and knowledge that enable beneficiaries participation <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">11. How are beneficiaries’ capacities for social learning assessed to determine whether they can participate meaningfully or require capacity development as part of the initiative? <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">12. To what extent have the capacity development efforts effectively led to improvement in the way the social learning approach is being implemented?
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: inherit; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-size: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">Are there activities to address these needs (which ones?) and integrate them into the social learning approach?
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: inherit; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-size: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">How are beneficiaries’ own learning, adaptation, innovation, research, negotiation and management methods indentified and integrated?

=<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">Monitoring Change = <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">This is about who decides what evidence is gathered and how: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">13. What measures are being used to engage beneficiaries in monitoring? <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">14. What indicators are being used to determine whether the initiative is achieving transformational learning? <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">15. How will change be monitored and accounted for in an iterative manner? <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">16. What is the theory of change behind the outcome that is hoped for? <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">17. What indicators are being used to determine whether the initiative is socially and ecologically beneficial?
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: inherit; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-size: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;"> How are beneficiaries defining their own indicators for successful change
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: inherit; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-size: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">To what extent are those with responsibility held accountable for initiating real world change?

=<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">Evaluating Extent of Change = <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">This is to understand what parts of a given initiative were affected by social learning - to get a sense of scope and possible impact, geographically, thematically etc. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">18. Who did the social learning approach initially affect <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">19. Did the social learning approach eventually expand
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: inherit; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-size: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">One or more distinct geographic area (with no easy possibility to interact face-to-face)?
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: inherit; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-size: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">One or more team (as part of the people originally involved in this approach)?
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: inherit; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-size: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">A homogeneous or heterogeneous group of people (e.g. single discipline/type, multi-disciplinary, transdisciplinary?)
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: inherit; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-size: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">Scale up in time (affecting more people in the same area[s])?
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #343a41; font-family: inherit; font-family: Segoe,'Segoe UI Emoji',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-size: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">Scale out in space (affecting more areas)?