Plenary_discussion

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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?