to be derived from assembling people into groups and how this should be achieved,
along with a lack of focus and a lack of preparation and experience amongst project
personnel, were all important constraining factors.
11.4.4.3 Finding a Balance Between Leadership and Supporting
Collective Responsibility
More than just initiating and setting up groups, the challenge is to support actors in
understanding the opportunities arising from an initiative. This can only be
achieved through sound concepts that integrate group members at the very early
planning stage, backed with administrative support and – in the Vietnamese case – a
strong role of OE. Moreover, advisory staff well-versed in group moderation
techniques and participatory approaches are key to the success of such programs.
In contrast, concentrating group tasks in the hands of a few village officials will put
members off the group idea and undermine group cohesion, as the blame for
failures in group functioning are likely to be attributed elsewhere. Improving
group performance by assigning monitoring and evaluation tasks to group members
themselves, can provide well-proven instruments for engaging people more
actively and supporting self-management of the group.
11.4.4.4 The Need for Long-Term Strategies and Overall Coordination
Notably, in the three cases studied that had limited durations, no desire to continue
was expressed during the interviews. This resonates with a study on enabling
learning circles carried out by Cristo ´va ˜o et al. (2009: 200), who found that a
relatively long time was needed for group approaches “to evolve from potential
to transformation” and that these kinds of groups were not compatible with the
short-term projects dominant in the field of rural development.
A final issue concerns the weak ties between the different groups and between
groups of the same type. Although we found a great deal of experimentation with
group approaches within a small geographical area, there were no institutionalized
learning channels developed between the groups in order to share their experiences,
nor was there much informal communication between the groups, with no noticeable initiatives introduced in order to improve this situation. What was needed was
the creation and maintenance of platforms for exchange, involving the maximum
number of actors applying group-based approaches in the area. Establishing an
overall coordination body to monitor extension groups and at the same time act as a
broker in putting groups in contact with each other, and if necessary acting as a
moderator, might help enhance group performance and foster the sustainability of
future group-based extension approaches.
452
I. Schad et al.
along with a lack of focus and a lack of preparation and experience amongst project
personnel, were all important constraining factors.
11.4.4.3 Finding a Balance Between Leadership and Supporting
Collective Responsibility
More than just initiating and setting up groups, the challenge is to support actors in
understanding the opportunities arising from an initiative. This can only be
achieved through sound concepts that integrate group members at the very early
planning stage, backed with administrative support and – in the Vietnamese case – a
strong role of OE. Moreover, advisory staff well-versed in group moderation
techniques and participatory approaches are key to the success of such programs.
In contrast, concentrating group tasks in the hands of a few village officials will put
members off the group idea and undermine group cohesion, as the blame for
failures in group functioning are likely to be attributed elsewhere. Improving
group performance by assigning monitoring and evaluation tasks to group members
themselves, can provide well-proven instruments for engaging people more
actively and supporting self-management of the group.
11.4.4.4 The Need for Long-Term Strategies and Overall Coordination
Notably, in the three cases studied that had limited durations, no desire to continue
was expressed during the interviews. This resonates with a study on enabling
learning circles carried out by Cristo ´va ˜o et al. (2009: 200), who found that a
relatively long time was needed for group approaches “to evolve from potential
to transformation” and that these kinds of groups were not compatible with the
short-term projects dominant in the field of rural development.
A final issue concerns the weak ties between the different groups and between
groups of the same type. Although we found a great deal of experimentation with
group approaches within a small geographical area, there were no institutionalized
learning channels developed between the groups in order to share their experiences,
nor was there much informal communication between the groups, with no noticeable initiatives introduced in order to improve this situation. What was needed was
the creation and maintenance of platforms for exchange, involving the maximum
number of actors applying group-based approaches in the area. Establishing an
overall coordination body to monitor extension groups and at the same time act as a
broker in putting groups in contact with each other, and if necessary acting as a
moderator, might help enhance group performance and foster the sustainability of
future group-based extension approaches.
452
I. Schad et al.