Learning communities

European Commission re-thinks its capacity development approach, post-Busan

18/04/12

The European Commission is exploring ways to reorient its technical cooperation approach in line with the outcome of the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, which underscored the links between capacity development and development effectiveness. Building on the principles of the Technical Cooperation Reform (backbone strategy) and the lessons which have been learnt after two years of implementation, the Commission is currently updating its guidance on capacity development to integrate it into its overall Project and Programme Cycle Management guidance (PPCM).

Global Program Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Advisor, Oxfam America

12/04/12

Contracting organization: Oxfam America
Location: Boston, MA, United States
Application Deadline: Open,but applications submitted by 23 March will be given priority
Type/duration of assignment: Staff position
More information: http://www.oxfamamerica.org/whoweare/jobs/pages/open-positions

Oxfam America is currently seeking a skilled and inspired MEL practitioner to join their Learning, Evaluation and Accountability Department (LEAD). The organization has a small, home office team (based in Boston) which guides our MEL practice globally. This position would be focused on collaborating with senior MEL colleagues in our regional offices to build robust MEL systems at the field level, and ensuring that we maintain our overall quality standards for Program-level, as well as project-level MEL.

This is a great opportunity to join a very dedicated team of MEL practitioners committed to evidenced-based learning.

Consultancy: Plan UK Independent Progress Review

05/04/12

Contracting organization: Plan UK
Location: Unspecified
Application Deadline: 23 April 2012
Type/duration of assignment: Short-term consultancy
More information: http://www.plan-uk.org/jobs-and-volunteers/consultancy-plan-uk-dfid-ppa-independent-progress-review/

Plan UK is looking for an experienced evaluator/s to conduct an Independent Progress Review of the DFID PPA funded programme: Building Skills for Life: Empowering Adolescent Girls through Education. The programme is focused around 4 thematic areas of programming: Education; Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights; Economic Empowerment; Protection from Violence. PPA projects are being implemented in 9 Plan countries offices: Pakistan, Cambodia, El Salvador, Mali, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Kenya.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Accountability Co-ordinator

05/04/12

Contracting organization: Oxfam GB - UK
Location: Juba, South Sudan
Application Deadline: 18 April 2012
Type/duration of assignment: Fixed Term 1 year, Unaccompanied
More information: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/jobs (ref: INT5330)

Reporting to the Country Director, and working very closely with Programme Managers, Programme teams and with other Oxfam Affiliates,  the MEAL Coordinator will lead the development of monitoring and evaluation framework across the programme.

Learning for sustainable development at Rio+20 (vote for your favourite courses!)

28/03/12

At the June 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) - commonly referred to as the Rio+20 conference - there will be a parallel Sustainable Development (SD) Learning event taking place, consisting of multiple training courses on crucial aspects of sustainable development. 70 courses grouped under 12 broad SD themes will be offered. The courses aim at providing participants with practical knowledge and hands-on training from experts around the world.

In preparation for the event, the UNCSD Secretariat invites interested parties around the world to review the proposed courses and vote on their favourites! The voting deadline is 13 April 2012.

More jobs and consultancy opportunities on the LenCD website

25/03/12

The Learning Network on Capacity Development (LenCD) provides regular updates of job opportunities in the capacity development sector. For more information, please visit http://www.lencd.org/jobs

From awareness-raising to community capacity development: Learning from participatory radio campaigns

21/03/12

Farm Radio International has released three reports - available in English and French - of practical experience so far in applying a participatory radio campaigns (PRCs) methodology developed by the African Farm Radio Research Initiative (AFRRI). The first report provides an overview of the PRC methodology. The second report examines the effectiveness of radio-based market information services (MIS) for smallholder agriculture. The last report presents results from integrating newer information and communication technologies with radio to create more effective farm radio programmes.

Best Practices, Lessons Learned, and Effective Tools in Knowledge Sharing for Food Security and Agriculture Programmes

16/03/12

Date: 20-22 April 2012
Type of event: Online discussion
Location: Online, global
Organization: USAID Bureau for Food Security
More information: http://agrilinks.kdid.org/groups/agexchange-knowledge-sharing

Capturing, sharing, and applying knowledge is inherent in everything we do. From recognizing an approach that worked well in the field to sharing that approach with a colleague, effective knowledge management enables practitioners to learn from one another to implement more efficient and sustainable programs. This online discussion will bring together a diverse group of donors, food security technical experts, and knowledge management professionals for a three-day online discussion. Good practice, learning, and areas for future collaboration raised during the discussion will be synthesized into a resource document available to the Agrilinks community.

Sustaining multi-stakeholder processes in Africa: Understanding and promoting systemic social change

09/03/12

Date: 24-25 April 2012
Type of event: Networking event
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Organization: Change Alliance and the Southern Africa Trust
More information (pdf): FlyerSouthAfricaMSPEventApril2012

The aim of this event is to create a space for Africans working with multi-stakeholder process (MSP) change strategies to learn from each other by sharing methods and experiences; and to continue the development a Network of Practice in Africa for sustainable MSPs.

The promises and perils of supporting network formation and development

07/02/12

Date: 15 February 2012 (12-1pm PST / 7-8pm GMT )
Type of event: Webinar (free registration)
Location: Online
Organization: Leadership Learning Community

Drawing on the experiences and examples of three leadership and network evaluators, this session will explore a number of questions, including: What are the promises and perils of investing in network formation? What evaluation questions are important to ask? What are critical practices for supporting and nurturing the emergence and development of networks over time? What are promising practices for evaluating network behavior and network effects in the early stages of network formation?

This session will provide useful advice about how to fund, support, and evaluate network potential and sustainability in the earliest phases of network formation.

 

Theory of change training workshop

30/01/12

Dates: 5 - 7 March 2010
Type of event: Training workshop (Please note that this is a paid course)
Location: Oxford, UK
Organization: International NGO Training and Research Centre (INTRAC)

This new course provides an opportunity to understand and explore what Theories of Change are; how they complement other planning processes; how they can be applied to organisations and to programmes. The course enables participants to consider the steps they need to take in developing a ToC for their own organisation/programme; and offers an opportunity to experiment with developing elements of a ToC on the course.

How to design, manage and conduct impact evaluations

23/01/12

Planet under pressure: new knowledge

19/01/12

Dates: 26-29 March 2012
Type of event: International conference
Location: London, UK
Organization: International Council for Science (ICSU) and diverse partners

The research community has a responsibility to provide the knowledge needed to move society towards effective stewardship of the planet and to communicate the urgency of this challenge to society. But science alone is not enough. This conference is intended to be a major opportunity to link global-change science in a two-way engagement with the wide range of other stakeholders working towards global sustainability. It is organised as part of the lead up to the forthcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development taking place in Brazil in June, commonly known as Rio+20.

Using case studies in development evaluation: Validity, Generalisation and Learning

28/12/11

Dates: 21-23 May, 2012
Type of event: International workshop
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Organization: Centre for Social Science Development Research University of Copenhagen and the Evaluation Department of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Abstracts are invited for this international workshop, which will focus on methodological and practical considerations when using case studies in evaluations of development. The workshop will be organised in collaboration with the journal Evaluation:the international journal of theory, research and practice. The deadline for submitting abstracts is 15 December 2011 .

6th international conference on community-based adaptation

09/12/11

Dates: 16-22 April 2012
Type of event: International conference
Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
Organization: Disaster Management Centre (DMC), Vietnam and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)

This conference will  discuss knowledge of community-based adaptation (CBA) planning and practices from different parts of the developing world and capture the latest learning and good practices in CBA from developing countries. The conference includes three days of field visits to projects to see how communities living in different ecosystems have adapted to climate change.

Coaching as a leadership development strategy

25/11/11

Dates: 14 December 2011
Type of event: Webinar
Location: Online, global
Organization: Leadership Learning Center/CompassPoint

Leadership development is on the forefront of grantmaker and capacity builders' minds, particularly as organizations navigate the current realities they face. This webinar is for experienced capacity builders who are interested in exploring coaching as a leadership development strategy.

Panel discussion on "Capacity Development: Lessons Learned and Ways Forward" at the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness

14/11/11

Dates: 29 November to 1 December 2011
Type of event: High Level Forum and Side Events
Location: Busan, Korea
Organization: Learning Network on Capacity Development (LenCD)

This session will identify key actions to strengthen the practice of and knowledge on country-led capacity development, building on lessons learned. It will examine two areas that are critical to the forward-looking agenda on capacity development: putting country-driven, results-focused capacity development into practice; and creating and exchanging knowledge on what works.

ECB interactive learning series

13/10/11

Dates: Various, November 2011 to February 2012
Type of event: Online conference series
Location: Global
Organization: Emergency Capacity Building Project (ECB)

ECB inter-active is a series of five regional events in Africa, Asia and South America that will share ECB Project learning for the first time across the humanitarian sector. The aim is to share experiences of capacity building and understand more about the ECB Project's innovative approaches for successful collaboration and joint action. Participants will be drawn from government, UN, humanitarian networks, NGOs, donors, and inter-governmental agencies. Each event will include a series of inter-active learning opportunities focused on the core themes of National Staff Capacity Building, Disaster Risk Reduction, and Accountability to beneficiaries.

Free webinars on equity-focused evaluations

06/10/11

Dates: Various, October to December 2011
Type of event: Webinar
Location: Online
Organization: My M&E portal

My M&E, an open learning portal that supports knowledge-sharing on country-led M&E systems worldwide, is convening a series of free webinars on equity-focused evaluations by respected experts in this field.

Upcoming sessions in October and November will cover, respectively: case study and equity in evaluation (Saville Kushner); programme theories and logframes to evaluate pro-poor and equity programmes (Patricia Rogers and Richard Hummelbrunner); and systems thinking for equity-focused evaluations (Bob Williams and Martin Reynolds).

Training course in health systems research

26/08/11

Dates: 16th January to 1st February 2012
Type of event: Training course
Location:  KIT Training Centre, Amsterdam
Organization: Royal Tropical Institute (KIT)

Health care programme managers need to be able to use a range of research approaches and methods to solve the problems they face while working in the health system. This course looks at the strengths and weaknesses of different research approaches and methods and discusses which research methods should be used to answer certain health system research questions. The course specifically focuses on qualitative and participatory research methods.

INTRAC 20th anniversary conference: Civil Society at a New Frontier

24/08/11

Dates: 5-6 December 2011
Type of event: Conference
Location: St Anne's College, Oxford, UK
Organization: International NGO Training and Research Centre (INTRAC)

This two day international development conference will focus on civil society, economic growth and the post-aid environment.

Learning from South-South and triangular cooperation

17/08/11

Dates: 26-28 September, 2011
Type of event: Network event
Location: Bogotá, Colombia
Organization: Learning Network on Capacity Development (LenCD)
 

The main purpose of this meeting, organized by the Learning Network on Capacity Development (LenCD) is to promote discussion on Capacity Development and South-South Cooperation in Latin America, with a particular focus on rural poverty reduction and food security.

Impact Evaluation Conference 2011: Follow live conference updates

08/06/11

Dates: 15-17 June 2011
Type of event: Conference
Location: Cuernavaca, Mexico
Organization: 3iE

The 2011 impact evaluation conference 'Mind the gap: From evidence to policy impact'  will bring together over 400 policymakers, practitioners and researchers from Latin America, Africa and Asia, to take stock of what we have learned from evaluations and the way forward for adopting new approaches.The conference will highlight cases from across the world where impact evaluations have provided evidence to scale up or modify existing development programmes. The conference offers a unique learning space to share ideas and be part of current debates on impact evaluations. All are welcome to participate by following live updates and commenting on the live blogs.
 

Invitation to participate in country and regional CD dialogue

06/06/11

Dates: Open-ended
Type of event: Dialogue
Organizer: LenCD/UNDP

The Learning Network on Capacity Development (LenCD) has issued a call for a series of one-day events to engage country stakeholders and development partners in a dialogue on their capacity-development priorities. Supported by UNDP, the dialogues will build on the Cairo Consensus on Capacity Development that was adopted in March 2011 as a contribution towards an agenda for action for the Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness.

CDRA spring immersion course

27/05/11

Dates: 12-23 September, 2011
Type of event: Training (Please note that this is a paid course)
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Organization: Community Development Resource Association (CDRA)

This unique new 3 week immersion course provides an exploratory and experiential space for learning and sharing that will take participants "on a journey to reignite and infuse passion, inspire and generate creativity, bringing renewed energy to thinking, feeling and doing". The course will provide an “off the map experience” which will encourage you to find and chart your own paths. Participants will draw energy, inspiration and a new impetus to respond appropriately and proactively to the challenges of our times.

Open courses on relational approaches to change and learning

29/04/11

Dates: Various

Type of event: Training (Please note that these are paid courses although limited EU funding is available)

Location: Copenhagen (Denmark) and Gouda (Netherlands) 

Organization: In Dialogue

In Dialogue offers four different open international courses in 2011. All of them are based on positive relational approaches to change and learning. These courses are open to anyone who has an interest in the subjects and are open to some funding options (to cover board, lodging, course fees and travel) of the European Commission; Comenius programme for secondary education staff and the Grundtvig programme for adult education staff.