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71. Action Learning for Frontline Humanitarians: a resource pack

Author:
Jennifer Doherty, Amelie Sundberg, and Alice Obrecht
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Course Pack
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
The knowledge of frontline staff – those directly involved in programme implementation and monitoring – is fundamental to good humanitarian action. These individuals make decisions and solve problems every day in their work with crisis-affected populations. The interactions they have with communities produce important information on how to implement projects most effectively to meet local needs. Decisions stemming from this experiential knowledge can be as valuable as decisions reached through more formal, explicit evidence. The pack is for programme staff who are implementing projects, staff in monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) roles who are collecting data and evaluating projects, and for team leaders or managers who work with them. Individuals, project teams or cross-organisational and inter-agency groups can all use this approach.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, Decision-Making, and Organizational Learning
Political Geography:
Global Focus

72. Learning to change: The case for systemic learning strategies in the humanitarian sector

Author:
John Mitchell and Ben Ramalingam
Publication Date:
12-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
This paper presents the case for systemic organisational change in the humanitarian system. The paper firstly shows that that organisational learning has tended to reinforce existing ways of working and has not been able to shift a culture that values action over reflection. As a result, the rest of the paper asks about the most significant changes in the humanitarian sector and the contribution of learning. The paper explores four case studies on learning using a systems lens, which enables a more dynamic and holistic view of how learning actually works in the sector. The findings show that learning has indeed played a critical role in many key change efforts but has often not been part of wider organisational learning efforts. The paper’s conclusion suggests that the humanitarian sector needs to rethink its rationale and approach to learning; and that the research and explorations in the paper can underpin this approach. A number of steps are then proposed for how this may be taken forward.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid and Organizational Learning
Political Geography:
Global Focus