Doing, documenting and assessing social learning with the CCSL framework and toolkit

Social learning, the work form of the network era (image credit: Harold Jarche)

There has been much talk about social learning in CGIAR over the past decade. In recent years we have seen additional actions driven by a small team of CGIAR staff and  partners.

So why do many people roll their eyes when they hear about ‘social learning’? Why do others open them full with curiosity or surprise? Why do others frown, trying to understand what social learning is?

Something simple and practical is needed to help everyone do, document and assess social learning.

That is now becoming a reality with the climate change communication and social learning framework and toolkit.

Through the ‘climate change communication and social learning’ (CCSL) initiative, practical information is finally available about social learning: what it is, why it matters, how to do it, how to understand and assess it, and how to connect with others working on social learning initiatives.

The CCSL framework and toolkit is structured around six major blocks that relate to some questions that the users might be asking themselves:

• Where am I? How do I know if social learning is a useful for me?
• What can I do? Where can I get  guidance and inspiration on social learning?
• How do I get it moving? What tools and approaches can I use to implement a social learning initiative?
• How do I gather evidence? What tells me that social learning is working?
• What can I do with that evidence? How do I use data, insights and lessons to inform better decisions and help catalyze change?
• How do I share my social learning? Where can I share lessons and help others draw on my social learning experiences.

One of the six blocks

Each block introduces a toolkit, some case studies and zooms iin on specific questions and answers.

The framework and toolkit was developed using a social learning approach, crowdsourcing various iterations with a broad group from the CCSL sandbox and eventually refined by a smaller team of CCSL partners.

One objective of the framework and toolkit is to be a useful starting (ongoing) and ending point for people wanting to implement, document and analyze social learning in their climate change, agriculture and food security projects. It is a social learning and capacity development space for people and organisations  interested in further exploring this field.

In the upcoming workshop on evidence gathering – based on the CCSL project ‘Social learning and transformative change: building the evidence together‘, this framework and toolkit will be front and centre, and used to collect insights and information from the meeting. Hopefully this will happen with a very strong social learning approach at the core…