Kmc4CRP2 201312

Addis Ababa, 4-6 December 2013, ILRI Campus Co-organized by IWMI/Water, Land & Ecosystems, CCAFS/Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security and ILRI/Livestock & Fish See agenda and list of participants

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kmc4CRP#2 Workshop documentation

• Read this summary blog post on the ILRI Maarifa blog
• Read discussion notes on the agenda page
• Find some pictures of the event by Miuru Jayaweera [https:drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BzKLLmCtbycrOURhOS1ZVUlNY1U&usp=sharing| here] and by Ewen Le Borgne [http:www.flickr.com/photos/7907304@N04/sets/72157639505569415/| here]

Why another workshop on KM and Comms?

The move towards multi-partner CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs) provides opportunities for CGIAR centers and others to work together – to co-create, share and communicate knowledge in new ways. It also poses challenges to information, knowledge and communication systems traditionally built around centers. Over the past year, the CGIAR has been collectively undertaking a process to develop a standard set of Strategic Level Outcomes (SLOs) as well as introduce impact pathways and other outcome-oriented processes to ensure research outputs are moving towards outcomes. As CRPs better define their Intermediate Development Outcomes (IDOs), it will be essential that the whole suite of Knowledge Management (KM) related activities (including communication, uptake, comm4dev, knowledge sharing, ICT4dev, M&E, etc.) are supporting CRPs’ Theories of Change and outcome pathways. Communication and KM across the CRPs faces a number of challenges that are best addressed by sharing and leveraging experiences. All CRPs work through collaborative mechanisms among staff based in different centers and institutions around the world. We are embedded in different institutional cultures, which makes effective communication and KM an even bigger challenge. Here is our chance to meet face to face, learn, and plan together, to strengthen and amplify quality research that contributes to real development change.

What do we want to achieve?

At the first KM4CRPs workshop we explored the specific 'architecture' for knowledge management within CRPs and shared lessons and experiences. This workshop builds upon that experience and moves it forward to explore practical ways that knowledge management and communication can be used to support research, particularly to move along the impact pathways. #h.gjdgxsThe purpose of this workshop is two-fold. First, we would like to sensitize knowledge management and communication people to the impact pathway process and share experiences in how we can embed communication and knowledge management within the outcome pathways. Second, each of the CRPs sponsoring this workshop would like to use this opportunity to plan with key staff across the centers activities within the specific CRPs for 2014.

Workshop objectives:

• Provide a framework for how comms/KM activities can support IDO and outcomes pathways for these three CRPs, with potential lessons and ideas for other CRPs
• Develop an understanding of how the different functions of KM/Comms are conceived and organized in each CRP/centre and to identify synergies between people involved in these different teams across CRPs and centres, in support of IDOs and SLOs.
• Develop plans and actions for specific CRPs (CCAFS, L&F, WLE) on linking KM to outcomes as well as (potentially) guidelines to assist other CRPs

Outputs:

• Clear framework and some guidelines for how KM and communications activities support ideas (a short guide)
• Documentation that can be shared on specific approaches, tools and experiences of using KM and communications to get to outcomes.
• Specific plans and actions for CCAFS, L&F and WLE
• Participants have gained new knowledge and ideas for how to apply approaches back in their own work
• Clear process to engage this group of people and other related CG folks in a community of interest or practice, to continue the conversation

Agenda Elements and Framework

The Agenda will be built upon the four areas outlined below. As in the last workshop, participants will be asked to initiate and develop their own sessions with the provided framework. The agenda will have four types of sessions: 1) Plenary bringing all together focused on concepts and approaches 2) Participants experience with tools 3) Gallery of experiences with different areas of work 4) CRP focused sessions (around 30%)

1. Our theory of change and IDOs ∙ How do we understand this? ∙ How KM/Comms (as specialised units/people) contributes to this ∙ Where are our allies (how other colleagues & parts work towards this) and how to link with them ∙ Influencing IDO and ToC i.e. the higher circles of CGIAR and CRP management + influencing new proposals	2. Our implementation strategy ∙ What our CRPs should cover/include in comms/KM? ∙ How do we support research, what we should be doing more and/or less of? ∙ Where we anticipate we’ll have to adjust because we already see some limitations? ∙ At what levels do we work (perhaps we could structure that part according to the levels at which we work?)
3. Our assessment and learning ∙ How we document our Comms/KM work and to do what? ∙ How can learning be embedded? ∙ How we convey our results and processes to our colleagues and partners? ∙ How we monitor our channels and processes to get more efficient? ∙ How we evaluate our overall comms/KM work to get more effective?	4. Our collective approach ∙ How do we sharpen our skills as comms/KM professionals? ∙ How do we help each other across CRPs and what we could do to change this? ∙ How do we sharpen our comms/KM-supported research? ∙ (for all) how do we bring these conversations to our daily working life, beyond this kind of events

Who is involved?

Workshop will be no more than 50 participants. Primary Participants will be communication and KM people from centers who work with, or on part time basis for, WLE, CCAFS and Livestock & Fish. People from other CRPs and external people (such as donors, NGOs, etc) will be invited on a selected basis.

Logistics

Participants