Workplace and organisational learning in development aid: a case study of a Belgian development agency

This thesis investigates workplace and organisational learning over the period 2000-2010 in a Belgian development agency (VVOB), involved in the implementation of educational development projects. It explores some of the structural causes of the perceived learning deficit at the project and the agency-wide level, and links it with similar findings in other development agencies. For the project level, two case studies in Zimbabwe (ZimPATH and St2eep) were selected in which the project’s management invested significantly in team learning. These practices were put against the learning support activities that the head office was catering for. The study follows a qualitative case-study design inspired by phronetic-based research (Flyvbjerg, 2001), and utilises a mixed method approach to data collection involving a variety of research instruments. The author of the thesis worked in different positions in the field and in the head office (1997-2007). An improved version of the concept of learning patterns (Sterck, 2004) is introduced to gain insights in the tenacity of learning practices. It is derived from an in-depth analysis of the underlying characteristics of the formal and informal learning activities. Important drivers of the observed learning patterns are argued to be axiological in nature. These result in strongly diverging views about why learning should happen, what should be learned, and how learning should be organised. These views are captured and analysed through a newly constructed concept, the learning support framework. The findings for project level learning are multiple and point at the importance of both intra-organisational and external factors. The working environment of the two case study projects was characterised by internal (micro-political) and external (institutional and socio-economic) sources of pressure that seriously complicated learning processes. However, evidence is provided that both project teams managed to develop powerful learning processes. The ‘situated’ learning patterns of ZimPATH and St2eep shared a view of learning as a strategy to deal with the complexity of work. Knowledge was regarded as a process, with a focus on knowledge creation and the use of local knowledge. Both projects integrated learning in their daily practice via the extensive use of social learning practices and by creating conducive conditions for implicit learning. The bulk of these practices was going under the radar in the head office. It treated implicit learning rather passively and it hardly addressed the structural factors hindering such learning. As a consequence, teams without skills and insights into workplace learning were largely left on their own. The analysis of agency-wide learning in VVOB confirms research that indicates that ‘tacit knowledge does not travel easily’ (Gertler, 2003, p.84). The strong bias towards vertical learning processes, ICT-solutions and the codification of knowledge created a bureaucratic learning pattern. It did not stop VVOB from entering into a profound crisis. A severe institutional emergency, triggered by external pressure of back donors and institutional partners in the years 2005 and 2006, together with changes in the management brought the momentum for change. The resulting improvements in learning at the field level were, however, not replicated for agency-wide learning. This is linked in the thesis with a lack of ‘institutional proximity’ (Gertler, 2003). Initiatives introducing changes in existing learning practices are deemed to face fierce resistance unless they take into account crucial internal factors (such as the configuration of views, interests and history with regard to knowledge and learning), and various external causes of pressure. An alternative 3 step approach is proposed. In conclusion, unless development agencies and back-donors become more responsive towards the challenges of sharing tacit knowledge across organisational, institutional, cultural and power divides, projects like ZimPATH and St2eep are likely to remain pockets of innovation

The Belgian NGO landscape and the challenges of the New Aid Approach: dealing with fragmentation and emerging complexities

Belgium's Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO)-sector embodies some of the country's most distinctive characteristics. Two of its main features are the affiliation of many organisations to one of the societal pillars and the divergence of the NGO-landscape on the different sides of the language border. A high degree of fragmentation is the result of these traits, which manifests itself internally in a scattering of small organisations and externally in a dispersion of NGOs' aid in the south. Past attempts of the bilateral aid agency to alleviate this ineffective situation have only been partially succesful. Currently however the aid effectiveness debate is increasingly putting pressure on official and private aid actors to rethink the current practices of the non-governmental channel. Conflicting tendencies influence this debate, and in this chapter we aim to identify the elements that push the advance for a more effective Belgian NGO-sector, and those that possess the potential to obstruct it.

Citizen science on speed? Realising the triple objective of scientific rigour, policy influence and deep citizen engagement in a large-scale citizen science project on ambient air quality in Antwerp

Citizen science projects are increasingly recognised as catalyst for triggering behaviour change and building social capital around environmental issues. However, overview studies observe recurrent challenges in many citizen science projects in terms of combining high levels of data quality with deep citizen engagement and policy influence. This paper reports on the findings of the CurieuzeNeuzen project (www.CurieuzeNeuzen.eu), a large-scale citizen science project on air quality in Antwerp, delivering results in the three areas described above. Through CurieuzeNeuzen, 2,000 citizens studied the air quality levels in and around Antwerp in 2016 and were intensively deliberating on possible causes and solutions. Surveys were conducted at the start and towards the end of the project, with participants stating that their participation resulted in changed views and behaviour towards air pollution, mobility solutions, and city planning. The findings were picked-up academically and contributed to policy debates on air quality at city and regional level

Chinese Foundations and the Challenge of ‘Going International’

China’s international cooperation strategies are gradually changing due to evolving views about the limits of its internationalisation approach, which has traditionally mainly focused on building governmental and business relationships. Intensified interactions with low-income countries in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative are perceived to benefit from an increased role for its domestic non-governmental organisations (NGOs). This article explores China’s initial steps in enabling the domestic NGO landscape to internationalise by looking at this development from an organisational capacity perspective. By assessing five key organisational characteristics of 36 Chinese foundations engaging in international cooperation, we find that the average organisational capacity for international cooperation is still limited but shows gradual improvement. While they all comply with government regulations in governance and several foundations have large budgets and capacity for domestic operations, our findings suggest that only a few currently mobilise substantial human and financial resources for their international activities.Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Offic

Sharing ‘Open Science’ Experiences: A Conversation on Citizen Science

In this panel session, citizen science practitioners, researchers, and facilitators share their unique responses to the question What is good citizen science, for whom, and why?, with the aim of informing and developing citizen science theory and practice

Apprentissage en évolution : la cartographie des incidences, outil d'adaptation du processus de planification, de suivi et d'évaluation de St2eep

Version anglaise disponible dans la Bibliothèque numérique du CRDI: Learning the way forward : adapting St2eep’s planning, monitoring and evaluation process through Outcome MappingVersion espagnole disponible dans la Bibliothèque numérique du CRDI: Aprendiendo el camino a seguir : adaptación del proceso de planificación, seguimiento y evaluación de St2eep mediante el mapeo de alcance

Learning the way forward : adapting St2eep’s planning, monitoring and evaluation process through Outcome Mapping

French version available in IDRC Digital Library: Apprentissage en évolution : la cartographie des incidences, outil d'adaptation du processus de planification, de suivi et d'évaluation de St2eepSpanish version available in IDRC Digital Library: Aprendiendo el camino a seguir : adaptación del proceso de planificación, seguimiento y evaluación de St2eep mediante el mapeo de alcancesPlanning, monitoring and evaluation (PM&E) within the Secondary Teacher Training Environmental Education Programme (St2eep) evolved from being an accountability exercise to a structured, participatory and learning-oriented process. Through the adoption and adaptation of Outcome Mapping (OM), the PM&E process has become embedded in the program management cycles and informs future planning. A monitoring and evaluation process facilitates opportunities to allow incorporation of emerging lessons, new responses to the environment, examination of intended and unintended results, and actively refining implementation strategies of the program. Using OM, St2eep developed a two-way monitoring system

Aprendiendo el camino a seguir : adaptación del proceso de planificación, seguimiento y evaluación de St2eep mediante el mapeo de alcances

Versión en inglés disponible en la Biblioteca Digital del IDRC: Learning the way forward : adapting St2eep’s planning, monitoring and evaluation process through Outcome MappingVersión francés en la biblioteca: Apprentissage en évolution : la cartographie des incidences, outil d’adaptation du processus de planification, de suivi et d’évaluation de St2ee

Bedrijven en mensenrechten: België hinkt achterop

status: publishe

Belgian Support to Basic Education: Mapping the Way Forward

This report, commissioned by Plan Belgium,is an input to the international conference Basic Education for Change, organised by Plan Belgium in collaboration with HIVA-KU Leuven, UNICEF Belgium and VVOB in Brussels on 14 May 2013. The report examines the broad trends in the support of Belgium to the education sector in developing countries over the last 25 years, and then looks at how Belgium has engaged with basic education as an important sub-sector. This analysis is used to ‘map the way forward’, resulting in recommendations for the future principles and modalities, and the proposition of three possible scenarios for the future Belgian support to basic education. It is a constructive contribution to the Belgian post-2015 dialogue, with the aim of stimulating the debate and adding focus to the collective effort of Belgian development actors in education.status: publishe