Creative communications campaign fostering social learning loops

Harvey B, Ensor J, Garside B, Woodend J, Naess LO, Carlile L. 2013. Social learning in practice: A review of lessons, impacts and tools for climate change. CCAFS Working Paper No. 38. Copenhagen, Denmark: CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).

Kabarole Research Centre (KRC, an NGO) started a radio food security awareness raising campaign for farmer groups in Western Uganda. More than 144 radio drama series on the topic of food security were performed and aired on radio as an entertaining means of discussing the topic. Listener demand shaped the shows through on-air phone-ins that led to the formation of local listeners clubs. The topic of granary stores was a key demand and more active listeners clubs such as that in Mugusu Kyagwamwoha invited KRC to facilitate a social learning process that led to granary stores suited to their community, in particular using local building materials. Wider community learning on the issue was fostered by the listeners club themselves performing radio dramas to their own community, building demonstration granaries, and building institutional support for learning processes on granaries and food security at the community level. The NGO has also learned much in terms of its potential to foster social learning processes by adapting its own approaches to research.

Key factors here for social learning that led to impacts are: (1) generating initial interest through an engaging mechanism and adapting that mechanism to support differing demand and encourage organic development of learning spaces. Noted here is the Uganda food crisis of 2011 was also a rallying factor of purpose (2) the role of the facilitator was important – in building confidence and in legitimisation of the group to the wider community. Over time facilitators changed and as the success of listeners clubs became more widely known, facilitators self-nominated or were invited from other clubs rather than the need for the NGO to assist. (3) Power and institutional barriers were explicitly tackled –the listeners club identified key institutional people to target for buy-in to the process and developed strategies to target them, facilitated by the NGO to help “legitimise” the group.