Report to ENRAP

This presentation, drafted by Allison Hewlitt and Lucie Lamoureux, attempts to document the rich conversations and feedback generated

during the meeting of KFs related to the development of KS Curriculum.

Benvenuto!!

KS Curriculum MeetingRome, Italy

Feb 7 & 8, 2010

Introductions

• Who are you?

• Which KS workshop did you attend and/or APR?

• What one memory of the workshop stands out for you the most?

The Spectrogram Exercise

Strongly Agree - Strongly Dis-Agree

Statement #1

I have been to Rome so many times, I no longer feel like a

tourist.

Observations: There was a range across the spectrum but Chase was clearly the

official Rome “go to” person.

Statement #2:

Since the KS Training Workshop, I have applied KS

tools and methods on numerous occasions

Observations: Ankita strongly agreed - saying that she has applied methods and tools on every occasion. The scales were definitely tipped in the

direction of ‘Strongly Agree’ with only a couple of people disagreeing.

Statement #3

I need the KS Workshop curriculum since I am planning to lead a KS Workshop in the near

future.

Observations: Surprisingly, the ones who has originally requested the curriculum

(Lando, Sun, Anura) answered neutral. The rest ‘Agreed’ or ‘Strongly Agreed’. The few who didn’t agree that they needed them for a workshop said that they wanted the curriculum so they could introduce just the method and/or tool ie in a workshop or meeting -

not a training.

Statement #4:

I feel that I can make a major contribution to the

development of the KS Workshop curriculum

Observations: Most agreed or strongly agreed with this statement. Those who

were more neutral thought that ‘major’ was too strong of a commitment

Statement #5

Italian food is the best in the world.

ObservationsMost didn’t agreed and were either neutral, disagreed or

strongly disagreed.

Meeting Objectives

Enhance and further the development of the KS Workshop Curriculum by:

1. Soliciting feedback on the work done to date2. Ensuring its relevance by drawing out and

incorporating KFs ideas, experiences and realities

3. Identifying ways in which the KFs could continue to contribute post-meeting (and the kinds of support these require)

4. Clarifying who is interested in doing what going forward

Agenda - Sunday Aft

• Welcome

• Meeting Overview

• Introduction to the KS Workshop curriculum

• Overview of the curriculum

• KS Entry Points

KS Workshop Curriculum Introduction

• Who is the KS Workshop guide for

• Purpose and assumptions for the KS curriculum

• Design of the guide

• How to use the guide

Group Discussions

What questions, concerns or new ideas do you have related to the

content?

Any specific and concrete recommendations for improvement?

What happened?

• People were asked to have read the Introduction ahead of time

• Each small group exchanged their views and reported back in plenary

• A summary of the 6 key points emerging from the discussions is provided in the following slides

Introduction - Key Point #1

• We are developing KS curriculum that can serve two purposes (that we are aware of): – As a facilitator's guide to deliver a KS Training workshop;

and – a "how-to" guide for introducing KS methods and/or tools an

unrelated work process ie. gender workshop.

• The title needs to better reflect its dual purpose:– A KS facilitator's guide– A KS Workshop Curriculum– KS Curriculum– Other??

Introduction - Key Point #2

• Related to key point #1, the curriculum has been developed for:– facilitators who have responsibility for developing

KS capacities– KFs and others interested in introducing a tool or

methods as an alternative way to expose colleagues, peers etc. to KS.

• The considerations section of the Overview needs to make this more explicit.

Introduction - Key Point #3

• We assume that a facilitator might be challenged to effectively use the curriculum unless he or she has participated in a KS Training workshop.

• Exposure to a method or tool as well as its application would appear to be a necessary condition (though we would be happy if someone could prove otherwise).

Introduction - Key Point #4

• We need to include more context into the introduction to situate the curriculum within IFAD's and ENRAP's broader KM and KS strategies

• Chase agreed to include the IFAD context

Introduction - Key Point #5

• We should include who will benefit from the curriculum ie. what are potential benefits at each level (village, project staff, CPMT).

• Might want to consider scenarios or curriculum user archetypes

Introduction - Key Point #6

• Train-the-trainers guide: Lucie and Allison avoided calling this curriculum a train the trainers guide. We believe that most people wouldn’t feel comfortable in ‘training’ others in KS tools and methods if they have only been exposed to the tools and methods in a 3 or 4 day workshop.

• For most, we expect that facilitating the developing KS capacities would require some real-life application - outside the scope of a workshop.

Agenda - Day Two

• Review key points emerging from the discussion on the curriculum’s Introduction

• Feedback on the “Overview”• Entry Points

– Presentation of Pilot– Walk through of session– Further development of scenarios

• What’s next• Expressions of interest

Overview of the KS Workshop curriculum

• Training Considerations• Training Needs Assessment• Training Design• Training Preparation• Training Delivery

It was noted that the KS curriculum was modeled on Gender curriculum

Group Discussions

• What do you like?

• What needs to be modified?

• What’s missing?

Feedback on: Overview Paragraph

• Needs to explain that the curriculum is being developed for 2 types of “typical” users: (1) Facilitators of KS Training Workshops and (2) Individuals who want to apply a tool or method

• Need to make explicit that the application of a tool or a method may result in future applications by those exposed to the tool or method but it can’t be assumed even with the existence of a resource like Curriculum. More support would likely be required. ** What kind of support should be outlined in the curriculum**

• Create a new title for this section to reflect that its sections are really only relevant for facilitators who are using the curriculum to deliver a KS Workshop

Feedback on: Training Considerations

• No changes suggested

Feedback on:Training Needs Assessment

• Section is ok as is• Could include some tips ie. what to do if only one or

two people respond to the assessment. Suggest that the agenda be distributed for comments, include an expectations session at beginning of the workshop etc.

• The needs assessment questions are critical. Using the term KS could be problematic so one might consider including a brief description and orient any questions or feedback from participants to concretely reflect the processes they want to do better

Feedback on: Training Design• Timing: For Seth, ideal time for running workshop is in June. Incorporate in

annual workplan, use outcome of the workshop. In December, people are very busy so not an ideal time

• Mix of Activities: Ankita’s experience suggests a need for balance within an India workshop context. For example, if participants find things too light, they won’t show up on 2nd day. There is a felt need to go deep fairly quickly. Also, could include the suggestion that field visits are not only useful to promote learning but they also keep people interested - especially when they are scheduled at the end of a workshop

• Training Venue: A campus area works best as it keeps people together• Mix of people: Need to acknowledge the power differentials in various contexts

that require creative strategies to mix participants. For example, in India, according to Ankita, Junior POs in India, won’t talk if Senior people are present so need to find ways to include them ie. small discussion groups organised according to hiearchies?

• Who should come: Suggest ways to discourage participation because of a good venue or travel opportunity ie. Apu’s suggestion of changing a workshop venue from an urban to a rural location meant that Senior people who weren’t the target audience for the workshop but had control over who would attend, weren’t as interested. As suggested later by Shalini, this could also be linked to submitting training assessments or workshop preparation stuff

Feedback on: Training Preparation• Need to give more alternatives when technology is not an option ie usually

in the field/country-side. It would be good to work at a place which realistically resembles people’s work-places. As Shalini notes, it may also be important to find technology-enabled venues to ensure maximum benefit.

• Documentation strategy or plan– Suggest that a plan is needed highlighting the important issues to document– Options for documentation should take into consideration access to the internet and

other technologies and provide options ie.. If online is not available, this is what you can do…

– Documentation should capture: (1) the method; and, (2) the content of the discussion

• Approaches for engaging participants: When preparing the list of participants, think about access to technologies in the context of how they will be engaged ie. if not online, pictures, paintings, film etc could be used as well as coconut wireless (Vikash’s example) or long drums (Vincent’s example).

• Include information about when preparations should start ie. 5-6 months beforethe workshop

• As suggested in the ‘Training Delivery’ chapter, include a section that discusses culture/power differentials and how they could be addressed ie. in Svetlana’s case, they had a women only workshop so women would feel more comfortable participation

Feedback on: Training Delivery

• Should include a section that addresses modifications to the delivery of training depending on the kind of audience ie. senior vs junior, diverse groups etc.

• Facilitator’s Roles: – Should include summarizing, paraphrasing etc– Working in teams, one facilitator should act as the observer,

following the process when not facilitating ie. an in action review. This might be helpful for learning purposes

Feedback: Other

• Add links to other KS resources and discussion groups/communities of practice in the resource section

• Include pictures in the curriculum to liven it up a bit

• KFs shared stories and experiences related to these sections. The individuals and their stories were tracked here: KF Stories and Experiences

KS Entry Points: How can we…

• Strengthen relationships and networks• Capture and disseminating lessons learned, case

studies and best practices• Generate lessons learned, case studies and best

practices• Design and facilitate better meetings and workshops

–Session 1: Effective meetings: World Cafe conversations–Session 2: Meeting facilitation–Session 3: Meeting design: Generating ideas using the

Peer Assist  

• Improving IFAD Business Processes and Operations

Feedback on the KS Entry Points

• KFs validated the 4 of the 5 entry points. We didn’t get the chance to discuss the 5th - “Improving IFAD Business Processes and Operations”

• KFs suggested the addition of an entry point on “Planning effective field visits or learning exchanges”. Need to consider if it should be a separate module or part of an existing one ie. “Designing and Facilitating better meetings and workshops”

• Additions were made directly to the wiki and included:– Other reasons why each entry point is relevant to the KFs works– Challenges related to the entry points– Questions that can help direct facilitators to appropriate tools and

methods depending on their context (as opposed to those using the curriculum to deliver a KS Workshop)

• Identification of individuals who could contribute a story related to the entry point to help contextualise the curriculum. These were added to the wiki here: KF Stories and Experiences

What’s next?

• Summary of notes emerging from the meeting compiled and shared

• Information session with Chase on the KSSP• Incorporate suggestions into current curriculum and

continue its development• Update the KFs on the progress of the work and

continue to solicit input, ideas and stories from KFs based on expressions of interest

• Support the design and delivery of an in-country pilot workshop based on the curriculum (June/July)

• Modify the curriculum based on the pilot workshop

Expressions of interestI am interested in…Providing advice and stories Ankita, Apu, Bashu, Miriam,

Seth, Sun, Tung

Piloting the curriculum Ankita, Apu, Lando, Seth Soulivanh, Svetlana (maybe)

Being a section editor Bashu, Chase (on the intro), Sun

Providing feedback to improve the curriculum based on the application of tools and methods

Anura, Lando, Uyanga

Thinking more before making a decision Vikash