Learning Networks
Over recent decades, international donors and NGOs alike have taken an increasingly networked approach to development policy and practice. This approach has emerged from a heightened awareness of the complexity of issues facing developing countries — HIV/AIDS, food security, trafficking in persons, etc — each of which necessitates a multisectoral and society-wide response. As a way of tackling these multifaceted issues, connecting people for knowledge sharing and learning has been shown to have a tremendous positive impact, leading to improved service quality, increased outreach, greater efficiency, and rapid dissemination of best practices.
In practice, however, the quality of interactions in networks for development varies widely, with significant impacts upon overall network performance. Pact's Capacity Building Services Group (CBSG) retains a firm belief in the power of networked approaches to development. We have experienced first hand the growth of powerful networks of interaction around HIV/AIDS in Zambia, natural resource management in Ecuador, and global capacity building on the Impact Alliance. As the dialogue on networking for development intensifies and reaches deeper levels of understanding, Pact CBSG and our peer-colleagues are seeking tools that can help to identify opportunities and improve network effectiveness.
To this end, Pact's Learning Networks action research agenda, seeks to assist both practitioners and funders in leveraging the power of networking to improve organizational performance and achieve cross-cutting goals. Activities focus on:
- Identifying and operationalizing characteristics that drive high performance in learning networks.
- Identifying and field-testing powerful tools and for network strengthening and coalition building.
- Identifying ways to monitor and benchmark the successes of high performing networks
The long-term aim of this approach is to develop user-friendly tools and methodologies that foster deeper understanding of how to implement and sustain high performing learning networks for development.
For more information read Pact's 2006 publication Learning Networks: How Organizations Linked for Enhanced Learning Achieve Extraordinary Results.
Return to CBSG Lab>>
