Practical examples
The experiences of the Right 2 Grow and Fair for All programmes were presented by our speakers:
- Stephanie Stern – Senior learning advisor at Action Against Hunger and Linking and Learning Global lead for the Right2Grow Programme
- Sucharita Iyer, Learning Coordinator at Fair for All
- Maxime Boumans, Knowledge Specialist at Fair for All
- Nayya Salsabiyla, Knowledge and Learning Intern at Oxfam Novib.
Stephanie Stern outlined the Right2Grow learning trajectory, from its core principles to the eventual development of the learning catalogue. She explained how and why learning was organised in a bottom-up approach. A key takeaway was that for the learnings to be valuable to all partners, it was important for them to collaboratively identify their learning topics and establish a local learning focal point.
Afterwards, the Oxfam Novib team outlined the learning briefs they developed, which present the track record and learning on key themes of the Fair4All programme and are used for both fundraising and adaptive programme design.
These documents were developed based on available documentation and unstructured interviews with key informants. During the question round, the team explained that the benefits of doing unstructured interviews are twofold: participants don’t have to prepare but can talk based on their memory and their own experience. Secondly, they could uncover more information using this method because interviewees were more open to sharing.
Key takeaways
After the presentations and question round, the group split up into break-out groups. Here, participants could share strategies and recommendations for capturing and sharing lessons learned. Based on the outcomes of these break-out groups, some key takeaways can be defined:
- Include learning from the beginning of the programme: specify how it should be integrated from the start
- Adapt your messages to your audience. For example, make them engaging, short, fast and fun, or use a form of storytelling
- Connect more with other PMEL professionals to share strategies and lessons learned
- Ensure the PMEL process design is participatory, for example, by including non-PMEL stakeholders within and outside of the organisation.