Connecting to peers, being exposed to new thinking and exchanging experiences are most valuable to members of the Democratization, Decentralization and Local Governance network (DLGN). Storytelling on knowledge sharing and learning within the DLGN network suggests that this networking translates into concrete innovations in the field. (more…)
Dynamic Facilitation is a facilitation approach addressing difficult or even complex issues. By taking notes on 4 flip charts the moderator supports the conversation and helps the group to make the shift towards a solution. (more…)
How to prepare memorable presentations? Simplify it and make it visual. Inspiring and memorable presentations are simple, clear and meaningful. While preparing have your audience in mind and make it visual and easy for them to follow. (more…)
We were blogging from the Workshop on Rural Development organized by the SDC Eastern & Southern Africa Division in Lilongwe Malawi. (more…)
Are you planning a face-face meeting to explore key issues and design action plans? The Open Space methodology would definitively be an option.
Read how the key elements of Open Space – the circle, the joint agenda setting, and the free discussion space – could create momentum to advance important issues. (more…)
Social reporting can be a powerful instrument. 
Make your face-to-face meetings more learner-centered to foster stronger commitment and greater learning. Networks’ face-to-face meetings are a great opportunities for learning. What does it need to make it a learning happening? How do adults learn? What are the key ingredients to be taken into account already at the planning stage? (more…)
Are you at the point to start planning for your next face-to-face workshop, seminar or learning event of your network? Kick-start your planning with a short checklist to gear up your learning event. (more…)
The next week’s NeuroLeadership Summet in New-York. A brain friendly f2f meeting. (more…)
Social Reporting is not new to SDC. In order to render their face-to-face events more participatory, immediate, relevant and accessible several thematic networks made use of the methodology. Yet, implementation practices differ, some networks delegate the realization to external partners, others have mixed teams with reporting professionals and thematic experts. At the face to face of SDC’s Gender Equality Network the whole reporting process has been delegated exclusively to internal resource persons. In this blog post members of the social reporting and the network’s core group present their lessons learnt. (more…)
How many topics should a face-to-face meeting put on the agenda? The participants of the SDC Health network explored during their 2nd face-to-face meeting one topic: Health Promotion. With this decision for one key discussion topic the meeting had a clear focus; this allowed for in-depth discussions.
The Agriculture and Food Security Network recently organized its face to face meeting. Planning such an event in a network surrounding poses particular challenges. The face to face not only entails the exchange of content but should also foster community building and give participants a chance to share their personal expertise. In today’s blog contribution the network’s core group takes stock of the planning process of their event and its realisation. How is the preparation work best organised and coordinated? How can methodological and thematic coherence be assured? How can quality of inputs be guaranteed?
By Core Group Agriculture and Food Security Network
During the 2nd day of its face to face the SDC network Migration and Development left the meeting room to visit activities in relation to migration in Dhaka. This blog post outlines why and how the “dive” into the context and confrontation with different perspectives can accelerate and nurture the network’s conversation (deliberations, dialogue). (more…)
From Cochabamba to Zollikofen… What has happened in the short life of the Agriculture and Rural Development (A+RD) Network so far, in particular between the two intense periods of activities linked to the Face-to-face events. (more…)
When working with partners there often comes up the need to work together and simultaneously on one single document. Exchanging the document by e-mail frequently ends up in a chaotic flip-flopping of dateless versions. Updating the different new contents is a tedious and time-consuming task. Collaboration software like SharePoint or DMS and web solutions such as Google Docs help to avoid such pitfalls. Watch the video below to learn more about this established collaboration tool. (more…)
As with many things knowledge management starts with ourselves. Today’s interviewee Enkh-Amgalan Tseelei talks about her personal strategies, about knowledge sources and networks supporting her in daily work. As National Programme Officer (NPO) she has been working in the Swiss Cooperation Office (SCO) in Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia, from April 2005 to September 2010. Since September 2010 she is manager of the Green Gold Project of SDC Mongolia. (more…)
By Tobias Sommer
From March 7 – 11, SDC’s Decentralization & Local Governance Network (DLGN) held a face-to-face event in Sarajevo, with more than 70 network members from all around the world participating to share experiences, learn from each other, discuss and elaborate new recommendations and foster the social cohesion within the network. The event was documented on a social reporting live blog, with a strong emphasis on video as the primary reporting medium. This article is the first of two where we want to share with you the experiences we made with social reporting. I will focus on the video aspect in this post, whereas the next one will be a more general analysis of the concept and economics of social reporting.
From a knowledge management perspective, video is a very promising medium whose full potential we are only slowly starting to fully appreciate and utilize. This reluctant development is mainly due to the fact that most people still think of video as something that only professionals can produce with professional equipment. But since even mobile phones can record high definition movies, and user-friendly and affordable video software is available for every major operating system, most people have all the necessary tools at hand and only need to start learning to use them.
By Michèle Marin
By now, a series of the SDC networks have come up with their first international f2f meetings. Their experiences reveal a few recurrent lessons to be learned, and trigger questions on how to best manage an f2f event. The SDC Learning & Networking team reflects upon them in a loose series of blog posts. This third post looks into a number of questions with logistical implications, such as country and venue, translation modalities, presence of participants and side events. (more…)
An Interview with Simon Zbinden and Marylaure Crettaz
Interview: Manuel Flury
The SDC Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD) Network held its first face-to-face event in mid July 2010 in Cochabamba, Bolivia. 19 network participants from five continents participated in this workshop that has been organised with the support from the regional knowledge-sharing platform ASOCAM.
In addition to conventional presentations, Storytelling, Open Spaces, Knowledge Fairs and World Café made the exchange particularly fruitful. The event is entirely documented on the web.
Simon Zbinden, the Focal Point of the ARD Network and Marylaure Crettaz, a member of the core group talk about lessons to be learnt for others that are planning face-to-face events. (more…)
By Michèle Marin
By now, a series of the SDC networks have come up with their first international f2f meetings. Their experiences reveal a few recurrent lessons to be learned, and trigger questions on how to best manage a f2f event. The SDC Learning & Networking team reflects upon them in a loose series of blog posts. This second post considers implications of the 1/3 principle (cf. post I, Sept.8) on planning a f2f, and explores concepts suitable to meet upcoming participants’ needs during a meeting. (more…)
Why should you bother for participatory methodologies in f2f meetings of networks, if frontal plenary sessions seem to be so much easier to organise? The value added does not only concern the atmosphere and output of a f2f meeting itself, but also the way network-members will collaborate virtually beyond the meeting.
Riff Fullan, knowledge coordinator at Helvetas, shares with us his reflections on the Helvetas experience in network facilitation. (more…)
An Interview
with Katharina Conradin, regiosuisse
Manuel Flury: Katharina, you are one of the moderators of the regiosuisse knowledge communities. What is regiosuisse?
Katharina Conradin: regiosuisse is the network unit for regional development in Switzerland. It supports people involved in regional development with practice-oriented knowledge management. regiosuisse offers various concerted services so that the knowledge about regional development can be developed, acquired and exchanged – the knowledge communities are one of those. (more…)
By Adrian Gnägi
This is the first post in a series focusing on network face-to-face events.
In October 2008 SDC changed its organizational structure: the former geographical/thematic matrix structure was changed into a single line operational structure. Thematic networks were created to exchange and capitalize experience. Until May 2010, 4 of the new networks had held their first face-to-face (f2f) meeting. This post sketches 6 issues which merit reflection when preparing and planning for future f2f events:
