Knowledge Management for Development Journal
Vol 11, No 1 (2015)
http://journal.km4dev.org/journal/index.php/km4dj/index

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The Facilitator Role within Learning Networks at USAID
Ashleigh Mullinax, Cydney Gumann
Abstract
How can facilitation help to drive meaningful peer-to-peer learning in a formalized learning network? This article will explore the core role that facilitators play in implementing a learning network, as defined by USAID. USAID’s model of learning networks differs from other peer-to-peer learning opportunities, such as communities of practice or networks of practice, in a number of ways including selection of grantees through a competitive process, dedicated funding of learning network partners, and creation of deliverables within a designated timeline. This paper outlines three core differences that make facilitating learning networks at USAID distinctive: 1) The organization of the learning network around evolving learning agendas that facilitate learning on multiple levels; 2) The time and process involved in the development and implementation of a learning network; and 3) The unique intra- and inter-personal dynamics of the learning network through the involvement of both the funded (network members) and the funder (the donor). In this article, the role of a learning network facilitator will be overlaid primarily with lessons learned generated from implementation of the Growing Organizational Value Chain Excellence (GROOVE) Learning Network.

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Group facilitation in CGIAR: experiences and lessons from international agricultural research organizations
Simone Staiger, Ewen Le Borgne, Michael Victor, Juergen Hagmann, Cristina Sette, Petr Kosina
Abstract
This article describes CGIAR’s experience with group facilitation over 10 years. CGIAR is a global partnership that unites organizations engaged in research for a food-secure future. Including 15 research centers with a total of nearly 9,000 staff, CGIAR embarked a decade ago on an effort to improve how teams meet, think collectively, and make decisions. Inspired by participatory approaches, which had been used since the 1980s to involve farmers in research, the leaders of this effort aimed to tackle challenges faced by research teams and partnerships, and since then, the need for more effective stakeholder engagement and the consequent demand for group facilitation have steadily increased. Based on the experiences of the co-authors, a survey, complemented by follow-up conversations with CGIAR in-house facilitators and researchers, as well as professional consultant-facilitators and partners, this case study analyzes the evolution of facilitation, its added value, and current trends. In addition, the authors discuss the different ways and contexts in which facilitators have worked in CGIAR and some of the facilitation essentials that emerge from the author’s enquiry. This article should be of particular interest to knowledge management practitioners working in research and development, as it offers hints on how to position facilitation as an essential tool for stakeholder engagement and participatory decision-making in research-for-development organizations.
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