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  • Social learning
      • Social learning
        Social (or collaborative) learning refers to learning processes among a group of people who seek to improve a common situation and take action collectively. It is useful to think of five main strands that support the process.
          • Social learning – overview
          • Strand 1: Systems thinking
              • Systemic co-design
              • Design thinking and co-design
              • Methods and tools
              • Conceptual modelling
          • Strand 2: Building networks
              • Team building, CoPs and learning groups
              • Cross-sector partnerships and collaborations
          • Strand 3: Supporting deliberation and dialogue
              • Values and behaviours
              • Managing conflict
          • Strand 4: Knowledge management
              • Conceptual modelling
              • Participatory model building
              • Co-production of knowledge
              • Through indigenous lenses
              • Organisational learning and knowledge management
          • Strand 5: Reflective and reflexive practice
          • Creating an environment that supports learning
              • Capacity building, social capital and empowerment
  • PM&E
      • PM&E
        Planning, monitoring and evaluation form a natural structure for social learning. They need to be linked together, and when seen in this way can naturally underpin a collaborative and outcome-oriented approach to management.
          • Planning, monitoring & evaluation – closing the loop
          • Theory of change
          • Managing for outcomes: using logic modeling
          • Selecting evaluation questions and types
          • Rubrics – as a learning and assessment tool for project planning and evaluation
          • Complexity-aware monitoring, evaluation and learning
          • Developing indicators for sustainable and performance-based management
          • Related evaluation topics
              • PM&E – a range of approaches
              • Planning & evaluation: scope and scale
              • Evaluation-based methods and approaches
              • Evaluating public engagement
  • Collaboration/Engagement
      • Collaboration/Engagement
        A growing challenge for managers in our complex world is to step beyond a narrow operational focus that deals with individual technical aspects, and engage more meaningfully with a range of partners and key stakeholders through improved communication and engagement activities.
          • Stakeholder mapping and analysis
          • Designing collaborative processes – systemic design
              • Is the system complicated or complex?
              • Systems thinking
              • Design thinking and co-design
              • Methods and tools
              • Conceptual modelling
              • Participatory model building
          • Cross-sector partnerships and collaborations
          • Managing participation – including more marginalized voices
          • Risk communication and engagement
          • Social license to operate
          • Related collaboration/engagement topics
              • Developing and evaluating an engagement plan
              • Working across cultures
              • Integrated & interdisciplinary R&D
  • Supporting change
      • Supporting change
        The basic principles underpinning successful change are universal and there are a wide range of guides developed in many different contexts that can help us. However, to achieve change policy makers and others need to be aware of the characteristics of complex social systems, and what these mean for the design of constructive interventions. It is also important to involving the right people in the co-design of interventions that recognise when to use synergistic links across both individual and wider practice change initiatives.
          • Systemic co-design
              • Design thinking and co-design
          • Adaptive management – “learning by doing”
              • Managing adaptation in a changing world
              • Governance and good governance (incl. equity & social justice)
          • Behaviour change – guides to approaches and theories
              • Practice change
              • Communicating for change
              • Values and behaviours
              • Older guides and literature
          • Guides to help initiate and manage multi-stakeholder processes
          • Co-innovation systems
          • Related change management topics
              • Social marketing
              • Scenarios and visioning – as strategic thinking
              • Strategic planning and reviews
  • Social research
      • Social research
        Participatory action research that operates within the area of practice, and works with the different stakeholders and partners involved, can accelerate learning and actions that lead to the wider system transformations that we want.
          • Expanding the role for the social sciences
          • Participatory action research
          • Managing integration: trans- & inter-disciplinary R&D
          • Managing ethics – considerations and protocols
          • Through indigenous lenses
          • Links to social science resource sites
          • Related social research topics
              • Using narrative and stories
              • Citizen science
              • Integrating impact assessement
              • Checklists for social processes
              • Postgrad research – ideas and tips
  • Practical links
      • Practical links
        This section provides links to guides and tips for facilitation and ways of collaborating in on-line meetings and events. And it hosts some more miscellaneous resource topics that I follow from time to to time.
          • Facilitation guides, tools & techniques
          • Managing virtual teams
          • Guides to managing virtual meetings
          • Global reports – acknowledging sustainable development challenges
          • Community resilience and adaptation
          • Using the Internet
              • Useful Internet-based tools
              • Building an online prescence
              • The growing role of the Internet
              • On-line games about sustainability
          • Jobs & volunteering opportunities
              • Job opportunities in environment and development
              • Volunteering: ethics & opportunities
          • Other things
              • Starting a social enterprise
              • DPSIR (Drivers, Pressures, States, Impacts, Responses)
              • The impacts of climate variability on the world’s global aquifers
  • Blog
  • About
      • About
        Here is where you can see the range of work that I get involved in (managing this website is just a way of sharing some lessons from that work), and meet a few of the people that I work with on a regular basis. You can also find out more about the Learning for Sustainability site's 20 year history.
          • Subscribe to LfS site update email
          • Will Allen & Associates – Consultancy and research
              • My publications (journals & book chapters)
              • My publications (reviewed reports)
              • Associates – people that I regularly work with
          • About this site – aims, structure and development history
          • Disclaimer and Privacy policy
          • Contact
          • Archived pages

Archived pages

  • Sustainable development – as a people-centered concept
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Learning for Sustainability services

The LfS site highlights on-line resources for those working with complex issues. It showcases the wide range of activities, skills and processes that collectively support constructive engagement, co-design, adaptation, and reflective practice.

The site framework has been developed through the course of my work and indicated resources are open access and freely available. If you would like further support to explore the implementation of these approaches then Will Allen & Associates can help link you with experienced practitioners.

Popular site resources

  • Systems thinking – gaining more holistic and relational views
  • Behaviour change interventions – guides to approaches and theories
  • Theory of change – improving program understanding
  • Complicated or complex – knowing the difference is important
  • Systemic design – linking systems and design thinking
  • Managing cross-sector partnerships and collaborations
  • Facilitation guides, tools & techniques
  • After action reviews – and how they can be linked with ToCs to support strategic thinking
  • Planning, monitoring & evaluation – closing the loop
  • Selecting evaluation questions and types

Recent Posts

  • Why reflection and reflexivity matter in a complex world
  • Participatory action research: tackling today’s complex challenges
  • A guide to just transitions
  • Co-design and facilitation: keys to sustainable change
  • The growing role of facilitation in driving sustainable transformations
  • What topics are popular on the site
  • Using a DPSIR framework to support good natural resource management and policy
  • Skills and capacities that support collective action
  • Using mixed methods to support planning, evaluation and learning
  • Managing participation in Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) initiatives
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About this site

This site is compiled and maintained by Will Allen (PhD) For more information you can visit the site background page. (c) 2005-2024 Learning for Sustainability [Formerly NRM-changelinks (1998-2006)]

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Newsletter postings advise of major changes and additions to this site, and will be sent out as an occasional LfS site update e-mail to those of you who wish – 2 to 3 times/year. You can subscribe here.

Contact

Thanks in advance for your comments, ideas or feedback. Its good to make contact with others interested in this area, Feel free to suggest additional content to link to. Just use the site contact form.

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