Plenary_discussion

=CCAFS-ILRI Workshop on Communications and Social Learning in Climate Change = 8-10 May 2012 ILRI Campus, Addis Ababa

=Key questions about CCAFS and boundaries of this workshop (plenary and group work)=

In this introductory session participants simply reacted to the presentations about a) the CCAFS program and b) the discussion paper on social learning and communication in climate change.

** Some reflections **

 * Q: When did CCAFS start operating?
 * A: In a concept note in 2009; as a CG program we started operating in 2010.
 * Q: You were referring in your presentation to livestock issues, do you work in pastoralist areas?
 * A: CCAFS activities range from aquatic to livestock systems, we are therefore also involved in pastoralist activities. We are trying to diversify our activities.
 * Right now we don’t have a designed strategic framework that we are evaluated about, that is why we met today to develop our strategy but we took a set of baseline surveys. We have about 15 CCAFS sites, we took multi-level baseline surveys, at household level, community level and institutional level; we have survey elements, indicators and we can assess ourselves.
 * Q: Where do communication and social learning fit?
 * Q: Could you please give us the exact numbers on your graph linear vs. loop?
 * A: Take a look at the wiki, all the data are there.

**Group discussion issues and comments**

 * '//Local decision making//' should look into local government ideas;
 * We have to support the local initiatives, we have to communicate, we have to concentrate on the government system, this is not getting enough attention;
 * One of the issues which we have discussed is social differentiation. Adaptation is not an information gap, it is not a function of technology but it is a social process for social decisions.
 * The necessity of considering national and regional policy makers;
 * What do we mean when we say //scale and scope//?
 * We got the impression that there is (in CCAFS) a lot about communicating research, about planning and using the many skills available but engagement with local people and partners seems to be missing.
 * Where do you see yourself, what you are better at and bad at?
 * It is about scaling up: if CCAFS is looking at a global scaling up agenda, you have to define where you are going to work locally, whether it is too broad an area and where you work locally?
 * The need of really defining the scope of CCAFS: are we targeting the community level? Who are we focus on? Where are the leverage points you are referring to and where do they fit?
 * We need to be careful, not only to be talking about tools but also looking at power and politics. Why does CCAFS sit with CGIAR?
 * We have to really focus on climate change communication, communication risks;
 * To whom we communicate what? How do we expect the end user will perceive our message?
 * Taking it up to community level, what are the initiatives of the CG centers? What is the role of working with national agricultural centers?
 * Where and how far is CCAFS willing to go, when talking about local decision makers? Is CCAFS willing to go further or willing to talk with religious leaders?