Toolkit+-+iterative+design

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This section can help you to refine your approach as you move into implementation. It contains resources that can help you share your work as it progresses, gather feedback and get help where you need it. toc

1. Facilitation and Engagement Helpdesk
As well as being a place for peer to peer discussions, sharing and learning, the CCSL Sandbox has facilitators who have some capacity to provide facilitation and engagement support to  those working on social learning in climate change, agriculture and food security. The CCSL Sandbox was set up by CCAFS as a community of practice on social learning and it publicly shares ressources on this wiki your are currently readng. The kinds of support available include:
 * Organising peer assists for your project where you can draw on the expertise held by the CCSL Sandbox members
 * Creating online collaboration spaces for your project to share and engage with your team, CCSL Sandbox members, or on a public wiki
 * Tips on how to use the CCSL Framework and Toolkit
 * Tips on communication and engagement approaches
 * Feedback on new ideas and proposals

Existing members of the CCSL Sandbox or those wishing to join can visit the group space at: []  to raise their support requests. For any queries please feel free to email the CCSL Sandbox facilitators Pete Cranston (pete.euforic@gmail.com) and Carl Jackson (carl.jackson@wkg.uk.net)

2. Asking for feedback from networks and communities of practice
Connecting with networks and communities of practice who are learning about methods and actions that contribute to a social learning approach is a good place to gather feedback on your ideas that will help you to move forward. Social Learning is different from but builds on the rich sets of experience from participation, collective action and informal learning processes. In this spirit the list below is not restricted to social learning networks and communities, as the wider family of approaches will be likely to have valuable insights on your proposal. ** ProLinnova Group ** Prolinnova is an international network that fosters local innovativeness and joint processes of innovation development. It focuses on the dynamics of indigenous knowledge and learning how to enhance innovation capacities of local resource users so that they can adjust better to changing conditions, developing and adapting their own site appropriate systems and institutions of NRM for food security, sustainable livelihoods and a sound environment. In the international network, representatives from the country networks share and learn from each other's experiences, and plan and implement joint initiatives. To participate in the discussion group join via Yahoo Groups at: @https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Prolinnova/info **Participatory Innovation Development Group** This is the forum, where practitioners in Participatory Innovation Development (PID) / Participatory Technology Development (PTD) discuss and exchange ideas, experiences and plans for furthering the application of PID. This group grew out of the St Ulrich Group and is associated with the Prolinnova Program. The group focuses on meeting face-to-face in Europe once a year. To participate in the discussion group join via Yahoo Groups at: @https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/PTD-forum/info Contact person: Ann Waters-Bayer (ann.waters-bayer@etcnl.nl) **KM4Dev** Knowledge Management for Development (KM4Dev) is a community of international development practitioners who are interested in knowledge management and knowledge sharing issues and approaches. The main place to post questions and share resources is the KM4Dev email group. To join the discussion group send a blank email to: join.km4dev-l@dgroups.org ** Platform for Evidence Based Learning and Communication for Social Change - PELICAN Initiative ** This email based discussion group was originally associated with the European Centre for Development Policy Management in 2005 and continues today. Although the email discussion is often largely made of announcements of consulting opportunities, vacancies and events in monitoring and evaluation, it also includes updates of experience and questions. To participate in the email discussion group first send a blank email to join.pelican@dgroups.org

This service is established and run by Rick Davies following earlier support between 1997 and 2004 by a group of mainly UK based NGOs. The service on focuses on diverse methods of monitoring and evaluating the progress and outcomes of development aid programs. The mailing list exchanges information from the service and other email subscribers. To participate in the email discussion group join via Yahoo Groups at: __ [] __
 * Monitoring and Evaluation News **

3. Guidance on engagement tools

 * Tools and Tips (duplicate of section in main CCSL wiki)**
 * ~ **Name of Resource** ||~ **Description and Additional Notes** ||
 * InsightShare || Participatory Video approach, including a Handbook for the Field in English, Spanish, French and Russian ||
 * KSToolkit || An updated online library of knowledge sharing tools and methods ||
 * Managing for Impact || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Managing for Impact (M4I) focuses on Participatory Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PPME). The portal is managed by Centre for Development Innovation (CDI), Wageningen University and Research centre. It provides access to key publications and internet resources on planning, monitoring and evaluation. Special reference is made to Managing for Impact, an integrated approach to managing for results with attention to engaging people in a learning oriented process. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) Notes || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">PLA Notes is a free informal journal on participatory methods and approaches ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Participatory Methods || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Participatory Methods from IDS provides resources on a range of methods for inclusive social development. It explains what participatory methods are, where and how they have been used, their problems and potentials and the debates about them. The focus is on participatory approaches to strategic analysis and programme design, monitoring and evaluation. It also includes resources on participatory learning, research and communication in organisations, networks and communities. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Photovoice || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Participatory visual methods (photovoice and drawing) manual from FemStep project at McGill University ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">RAAKS || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Rapid Appraisal for Agricultural Knowledge Systems resources from KIT (Royal Tropical Institute) ||

These questions/pointers from the Social Learning Checklist can help those already using social learning approaches to assess whether initiatives are addressing social learning as meaningfully and completely as they could/should.

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): Q. 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? Q. How does the objective of social learning reflect the objectives of other actors/stakeholders?
 * Social Differentiation**
 * How were diverse perspectives accounted for and collective cognition supported?
 * How was selective stakeholder engagement justified when necessary?
 * 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?
 * How are characteristics of the different social groups who are involved and not involved in the initiative recorded?

This is about whose knowledge counts and the ways to reveal and moderate power inequalities: Q. 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)? Q. How are power dynamics in the field and within research being facilitated? Q. How was an enabling environment for transdisciplinary approaches and recognition of multiple sources of knowledge supported?
 * Power**
 * To what extent is the initiative, in its intentions and consequences, instrumental or emancipatory?
 * Who initiates social learning activities and with what objective?
 * Is participation informed and voluntary or compliant / bureaucratic?
 * How are a range of lower-profile / less powerful actors involved in the problem definition (as well as senior internal and external champions)?
 * 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?

This is about the skills and knowledge that enable beneficiaries participation Q. How are beneficiaries’ capacities for social learning assessed to determine whether they can participate meaningfully or require capacity development as part of the initiative? Q. To what extent have the capacity development efforts effectively led to improvement in the way the social learning approach is being implemented?
 * Capacity development for social learning**
 * Are there activities to address these needs (which ones?) and integrate them into the social learning approach?
 * How are beneficiaries’ own learning, adaptation, innovation, research, negotiation and management methods indentified and integrated?

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