home>how>dissemination

DIFFUSION, SHARING, DISSEMINATION

If one of the aims of a documentation process is to share the lessons learnt, then we have to find a way to reach others with what we have learnt. This is easier if we have a short article that can then be given to others to read. But making this final product available also demands a special effort.

My documentation "product" is ready. Who should get to know about it, and how can I reach these people?

A dissemination strategy
Vincent Darlong, NERCORMP-IFAD, Shillong, India
atthe ENRAP online discussion
The biggest challenge we have faced in a systematization process is foundin the use of the final reports and when thinking of a dissemination strategy. How to the final reports help us (as projects, partners, government line departments, communities, etc.)? Have we been able to take corrective measures of the limitations found through the studies? Have we been able to upscale those good practices identified through the studies? If not, have we been able to produce communication products out of these studies? What has been our strategy or plan? These are the major challenges we have faced, for which we need time, investments, and perhaps additional expert hands. We can only repeat here that in spite of these limitations and challenges, we have inmensely benefitted from the studies that came out of our work, and we have been able to make use of them...

Make sure that the new insights reach others
Esteban Tapella, October 2009
Action Aid's document, "Advocacy for change" also highlights the importance of sharing the findings of a systematisation process with people external to the project or process. According to the author of the first chapter of this booklet, Esteban Tapella, those in charge of a systematization process need to ensure that the lessons are comprehensible to others (including a short description of the context in which these lessons were learned). It is also necessary to identify a clear audience, defining clearly who is to benefit from these lessons or knowledge, and how. Finally, it is important to design a communication strategy, tryin to answer questions such as "with whom do we want to share which findings?" "What are the best formats and channels to reach those audiences?" This strategy is to consider tools such as newsletters, books, articles, websites, videos, etc.

Start with those who provided information
Spate Irrigation Network, June 2008
The Spate Irrigation Network supported the work of an extension agent working for the Eritrean Ministry of Agriculture. He made a film about sorghum throughout a whole season. At the end, he organised a village workshop, inviting all those who were filmed during the previous month. Sixty-five farmers attended this meeting, having a chance to see, discuss and give feedback. All the footage had been made with the help of some farmers, so this session served for verification and authentication purposes. "Through this method we all came to a common understanding of the various agronomic practices involved... In fact, every time I went recording I learnt new things on sorghum."

Go global!
DURAS, BDEKO, Arte Natura, and LEISA
Different organisations decided to share their results through the LEISA magazines, reaching a very large readership. Subscribers were then able to read about the work which Arte Natura did as part of a Latin America pilot project on documentation (vol. 22.1), the organisation of Dutch biodynamic and organic farmers BDEKO (vol. 23.1, and also published in the magazine Ekoland), and about the joint work of researchers, extension agents and farmers in Vietnam (vol. 24.2). Not only did this help them reach readers all over the world, it also helped then get in contact with several of them. The only requisite needed was having an article which fitted with the theme of the magazine.