Online Peer Assist Experiments

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We are experimenting with doing online Peer Assists for KM4Dev in this group. We will run a couple of experiments, then debrief our learnings. We decided to use the NING group and then report out on the full KM4Dev list. Everyone is welcome to join!

Members: 22
Latest Activity: Dec 14, 2020

Introduction to Our First Peer Assist

Our first peer assist will be with Yennenga. Our guest peer assist facilitators will be Alejandro, Bonnie, Catherine, Ednah, Johannes and Nancy. Our goal is to both offer Yennenga a peer assist, and to consider how to do peer assists online. For more about peer assists, check out this entry in the KS Toolkit: Peer Assists.

We think we will start addressing one question at a time, using the comment wall. So we'll post each question, then ask everyone to ask any clarifying questions on that first question. Then we will offer ideas and experiences on that question. Following, Yennega will post what she learned and will do next. Then we'll move on to the next question. At least that is the plan. Here is Yennenga's situation and questions:

To sum up the situation :

Imagine 6,000 illiterate women living in villages across west Africa (Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal). Some grow crops, others transform agriculture product, others are craftmakers or small sellers. Although they work really hard, they earn very little wage from those activities.

Three years ago, those women gathered into a network; the aim is to strengthen and share their experiences in three main areas : microfinance, environment, and women's empowerment. A team of local facilitators help them. But their facilitation capacities have to be strengthened.

Three months ago, I joined that rural women network, in order to help them better manage the knowledge production and sharing. I would like to start with five actions.

1. To capitalise, map and profile the job of "local facilitator" and then Produce a toolkit for the facilitators (what and how?) Facilitated by: Catherine

2. Identify and train some of the women in KM (success stories recording and telling for example). Facilitated by: Alejandro

3. Identify and train local trainers in agriculture products conservation and transformation techniques. Facilitated by: Bonnie.

4. To set up a monitoring and evaluation tool that will help assess the evolution of the members of the network. Facilitated by:

Can KM4Dev change the lives of those 6, 000 women? How do I help do all that, in a sustainable and profitable way for the network? I have a voice recorder, a digital camera, a laptop and a skype account. How do I do that, to be able to develop their autonomy in KM4dev and make my presence unnecessary after two years?

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Comment by Catherine Fisher on April 23, 2013 at 12:04pm: Thanks Alejandro! I'd like to revisit Nancy's suggestion of a write shop. This could serve both to map and profile the job and generate a list of topic areas for the toolkit, some case studies, and (depending on how long the workshop was) even write the content for it.

Do you think that would be an option Yennenga?

Comment by ALEJANDRO BALANZO on April 19, 2013 at 9:35pm: Now Catherine, about culture we can frame it: I think it adds to the question about assets: is there a musical or story telling culture? Those are literacy forms.. among others: drawings, handicrafts.. All those can be knowledge building/sharing vehicles.. What about those, Yennenga?

Comment by ALEJANDRO BALANZO on April 19, 2013 at 9:20pm: Haha Catherine! I think we do are in different time zones and I enjoy it a lot!

Comment by Catherine Fisher on April 19, 2013 at 4:49pm: am I in a different time zone to you guys? seems like it all gets interesting when I am reading my toddler bedtime stories!

I just wanted to clarify my point on considering gender identity and power issues.

These this was to pick up on the point that Yennenga made about gender factors affecting how people engage with the facilitators and the knowledge sharing process..this might equally apply to other power dynamics such as relative wealth, ethnicity etc. Practical stuff for facilitators will be simple ideas around organising groups and activities in ways that help to counter balance inequities. There's loads of stuff around on this (Robert Chambers my personal go to..) and of course facilitators will have their own ideas!

The question of cultural factors (including religon) is slightly different as it may determine what is ok to discuss but will also shape lenses or frames through which people take info and turn it into knowledge or meaning for themselves. Feel a bit out of my depth here but practically it might be about ways of relating new info to existing belief systems or ways of knowing. At its most simple this might be about using effective metaphors (Chiku Malungu has written about this) or examples. At another level, it might be about facilitators being able to help people to reflect on how they learn, how they assess info, who they trust and why - I think there is a lot of this kind of work happening around climate change adaptation that might be useful to tap into. Am on verge of deleting this as it might be heading in the wrong direction... but will leave you to ignore if you think so!

Look forward to hearing from you all!

Comment by J. Yennenga KOMPAORE on April 19, 2013 at 12:41pm: Facilitation assets

Hi Alejandro !

Your question is really innovating in our framework. Thank you ! Aliniha local facilitator don't have such assets but in the rural organization where they are supposed to facilitate session, we can find gardens owned by women. Some Aliniha women groups have a space called "case aliniha" where women meet. In those "case aliniha" we can find a space for selling, a space for meeting, a space for credit making. There is one "case aliniha" in each of the three countries.

Comment by Catherine Fisher on April 19, 2013 at 11:44am: THanks Yennenga for answering our questions, I think now it is time to start sharing ideas!! ( Nancy already has!)

So to recap - the area we are looking at is:

1. To capitalise, map and profile the job of "local facilitator" and then Produce a toolkit for the facilitators (what and how?)

Some themes that have emerged so far are:

- inspiring sense confidence,trust and autonomy among the facilitators

- understanding the physical assets they have to work with

- supporting faciltators' work to be about knowledge flow and sense making not info sharing

- learning from the really exciting sounding methodologies the facilitators are already using (eg theatre performances)

- considering gender (and other identity and power issues) in their work

So lets hear those ideas!

Comment by ALEJANDRO BALANZO on April 17, 2013 at 10:37pm: I have another question! This is great! :)

Yennenga: Could you think of an inventory of "facilitation assets" this facilitators might easily get ? I am thinking from infraestructure (such as a backyard, some land they can borrow for demonstrations, chairs and/or tables), supplies (such as boards, office suplies, notebooks..), we already know they have some information... and well, whatever you might think of as material devices at a hand.. I ask so we can imagine while still on earth...

Comment by Nancy White on April 17, 2013 at 5:38pm: hah, I want a "LIKE" button so I can "like" your last comment!

Comment by J. Yennenga KOMPAORE on April 17, 2013 at 5:36pm: Definitely ! it's no just content ! It's sense, confidence, trust and autonomy.

Comment by Nancy White on April 17, 2013 at 5:29pm: One more question. You mention that the leaders have not developed their own materials -- that might be a great opportunity to do a write shop and build both locally owned content, a process that can continue to do that AND some home grown identity for the group. (Uh oh, already slipping into ideas. It is so easy... see, I fall into the trap all the time!)