Summary of Project Activities & Methodology


Summary:
  1. Analysis of agricultural research and extension relations in Africa
  2. Needs assessment for research, extension and radio partnerships
  3. Training needs and organizational constraints assessed
  4. Learning material development and workshops
  5. Resource Kit developed and disseminated
  6. Team action plans developed and backstopped with support from ISNAR and existing and new partners (e.g. COL, OPEC)

Some Project Outcomes to Date
  1. Analyzed capacity building needs and organizational constraints on research and extension partnerships with media organizations.
  2. Teams of researchers, extension workers, rural radio broadcasters and farmer organizations are working together in Cameroon, Ghana and Uganda involving various agricultural technologies.
  3. Developed and tested a methodology for knowledge-based action research for research/radio linkages.
  4. UoG and national teams network for information sharing and organizational support for research and rural radio linkages in Africa.

Buddu Station, Masaka Team.     photo: M. Leggett

The major project activities seek to reinforce capacity building for improved collaboration between agricultural scientists, extension workers and radio broadcasters. The project started off with two activities: 1) a review of relevant work among international and national organizations on research/radio linkages, and 2) a thorough assessment of needs and organizational constraints for linking agricultural researchers and rural radio broadcasters.

The results of the initial project Training Needs Assessment (TNA) are developed into a thorough plan for team capacity building. This plan is a guide for current knowledge, attitude and skills development and is published as a training module. The module is organized in two interrelated sets of content: (1) facilitating partnership between researchers and broadcasters, and (2) mobilizing financial resources for research/radio collaboration. The module was initially tested in a week long field workshop in Kumasi, Ghana 15-20 July, 2002. Click here for the learning module and resource kit. The module has been adapted and translated into French and tested June 6-10, 2005 in Dakar, Senegal. (Click here for the link to the workshop brochure and schedule).


Masaka Team.     photo: M. Leggett

The capacity building workshops begin with a competitive process of "team applications" from researchers, broadcasters, extension workers and/or farmers. This process builds consensus and raises awareness about potential disconnects between science and society.

The Process of "Learning to Link"

How members of the research, extension and radio teams learn from their own individual experience ('experiential learning') as well as the experience gained by interacting with other individuals is of central importance to the project. Learning is happening all the time, it exists at the stage of analyzing needs for improved research/radio partnership as well as a process that is goes on long after the end of a training event.