Social learning in multi-actor innovation networks is increasingly considered an important precondition for addressing sustainability in regional development contexts. Social learning is seen as a means for enabling stakeholders to take advantage of the diversity in perspectives, interests and values for generating more sustainable practices and policies. Although more and more research is done on the meaning and manifestations of social learning, particularly in the context of natural resource management, little is known about the social dynamics in the process of social learning. In this contribution an integrated hypothetical framework that provides a better understanding of social learning as a generative process with outcomes is presented. This hypothetical framework is grounded theoretically in emergent social learning theory and empirically in a retrospective case study around multi-stakeholder sustainability- oriented regional learning in the North of The Netherlands. Our findings indicate that trust, commitment and reframing are interrelated aspects and emergent properties of interaction in the process of social learning. Hence, the framework presented reflects social learning as a dynamic process, in which trust, commitment and reframing are continuously produced and reproduced through the (inter)actions of the individual actors.
African agriculture is currently at a crossroads, at which persistent food shortages are compounded by threats from climate change. But, as this book argues, Africa can feed itself in a generation and help contribute to global food security. To achieve...
Les Champs-Ecoles des Producteurs (CEP) sont une approche d’apprentissage participatif utilisée dans de nombreux différents contextes à travers le monde. Un CEP rassemble un groupe d'agriculteurs, d'éleveurs ou de pêcheurs, dans le but d’apprendre à s'orienter vers des pratiques de...
The paper takes a critical look at two key interventions identified to deliver the PAEPARD capacity strengthening strategy. Firstly, the training of a pool of agricultural innovation facilitators (AIF) to broker relations between relevant stakeholders for the consolidation of effective...
We are facing complex societal problems such as climate change, human conflict, poverty and inequality, and need innovative solutions. Multi-stakeholder processes (MSPs) are more and more seen as a critical way of coming to such innovative solutions. It is thought...
Agricultural education, research, and extension can contribute substantially to reducing rural poverty in the developing world. However, evidence suggests that their contributions are falling short in Sub-Saharan Africa. The entry of new actors, technologies, and market forces, when combined with...