learningforsustainability.netAbout this site
This site aims to provide a practical resource for those who work with communities (in the wider sense of the term) to help them identify and adopt more sustainable practices. This site was initiated in 1998 as part of my PhD studies (see my thesis Ch 10), and has developed over the past years as the NRM-changelinks site. During 2007 the NRM-changelinks was discontinued, and has been superceded by this Learning for Sustainability site. The latest addition to the site is the sparksforchange blog which has been created as a way to educate myself, and hopefully others, about the many ideas and people out there that are making a positive difference for social change.
The structure of this site has developed through the course of my work (both paid and unpaid) with organisations, communities and groups. It enables me to make sense of the different pieces of information that I come across on the Internet, and set them out within a framework that makes sense to me. The fact that I can then share my structured Internet "bookmarks" with my colleagues is something I count as an added (and extremely valuable) benefit. This site provides an annotated guide to a range of on-line resources providing papers, handbooks, tips, theory and techniques in a number of related, skill fields. It also shows how the application of these different skills are interlinked in practice to contribute towards social learning and constructive practice change. More information on what I do, and therefore an indication of why I see the world the way I do, can be accessed via my home page.This site aims to provide a practical resource for proponents of multi-stakeholder learning processes. It recognises that social learning is an ongoing process, rather than an outcome to be achieved. Moreover, the process occurs as a result of many well-managed relationships and the provision of a range of interactive opportunities between different stakeholder groups. Social learning and empowerment are based on each other. In this sense empowerment is the process of enhancing the capacity of individuals or groups to make choices and to transform those choices into desired actions and outcomes.
The new Learning for Sustainability website is designed to provide you with improved layout and easier navigation. The change is not just cosmetic - you will find significantly new content, and a new structure guides the site content and navigation. The page design is new too, and no longer relies on the old web idiom of using tables for layout and using font tags to control the typeface and point size of the text. I have moved the site to use Cascading Style Sheets and drop-down menus to improve the presentation. I have also introduced advertisements on some pages. This was not an easy decison to make, but I also hope that the targetted nature of the ads will provide benefits to some of you. The reality is that it takes many hours to maintain these sites, and as the site delivery improves so the costs of hosting and software to manage the various functions that are required increase.
However, if you have found the material on this site useful and wish to contribute towards the site upkeep then please do so by contributing to some worthwhile cause that furthers the cause of sustainability. I have linked here to Students Partnerships Worldwide (SPW) and the Fred Hollows Foundation as suggestions. I have also included other worthy initiatives on this donate ideas page to provide you with alternative ideas.
The following thoughts set the context for the development of this site, outlines how its structure has evolved through the application of community-based approaches in practice, and provides a brief guide to its use for those unfamiliar with the Internet. Your ideas and comments are welcomed in order to improve this on-line resource.
Site context
Everything has been said about development, but almost everything remains to be said and therefore to be explored or rediscovered, because incontestably, almost everything remains to be done. (Cosmao. 1984 p. 81)
It is easy to say that successful development can only be achieved by a truly collaborative effort between local community groups, agencies, scientists and policy makers. However, despite ongoing improvements in this area over recent years, we also know that we still have a long way to go in achieving such collaboration - and effectively sharing the required perspectives, information and ideas. While social scientists and change management practitioners have long sought to inform and improve the practices of those seeking to bring about such constructive societal change, too little of that research seems to have found its way into practice. Yet the volume of participatory-oriented research continues to expand. The resulting information overload causes researchers and practitioners alike to simply miss much useful material which they have neither the means to identify nor the time to read. Often too, while initiatives in this area have been improved by the efforts of individuals (be they local environmental managers, community leaders, NGOs, agency staff or other end-users) as part of their efforts to address a particular problem, the lessons learnt have not always been documented for others to use.
Another major problem facing the would-be "change agent" is the breadth of disciplines and areas of expertise that are needed. The practice of involving people and building constructive partnerships requires not only a specialist knowledge of the particular area (agriculture, biodiversity, etc.), but also skills in a diverse range of areas from information management through to conflict resolution. Although the emphasis of the original NRM-changelinks site was on improving community participation and engagment within natural resource management (biodiversity enhancement, conservation, riparian management, agriculture, etc), this emphasis is broadening in the new Learning for Sustainability version. The approaches outlined here are useful for those working in a diverse range of development areas such as rural development, health, housing, etc.
Looking back
Here you can visit one of the earliest versions (January 1999) of the nrm-changelinks site ... hosted on the Massey University server http://nrm.massey.ac.nz/changelinks/.
Several years ago this site was rated five stars by Argus Clearinghouse in the sustainable development category. A nice bit of history ... and archived here by The Wayback Machine - the Internet archive.
... and here is one of the last versions (April 2006) of the nrm-changelinks site .... hosted on its own server http://nrm-changelinks.net
Disclaimer
The material here is all freely available for use, please acknowledge the source where appropriate. Thanks to all those of you whose whose comments and suggestions have helped improve this site as an Internet resource. The views expressed in this site are my own, and are not necessarily those of any supporting organisations, groups, or individuals.
The Learning for sustainability website manager and contributors endeavour to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information contained on this website, but this information should not be regarded as formal advice. The information contained on this website is provided for information only, is general in nature and does not constitute any form of advice for a particular organisation, individual or situation. Content on this website is not appropriate for the purposes of making a decision to undertake a specific project or action.
Neither Learning for Sustainability website, nor its manager, employees, agents or third party content providers will be responsible for any loss, however arising, from the use of or reliance on this information. These parties will not be liable for any special, incidental, indirect or consequential loss of any kind.
By providing links to other sites, the site manager and authors do not guarantee, approve or endorse the information or advice available at those sites, nor does a link necessarily indicate any association with or endorsement of that site by the site manager and authors.The Internet is vast, it is continually growing and changing, accordingly this guide represents only a sample of what is available. Moreover, because people tend to move their sites around the Internet periodically the actual address at any given time may be different from that shown here. Thanks in advance for e-mailing any corrections or suggestions for additions and improvement.
Acknowledgements
I'd like to acknowledge the support I have received from a number of sources at different periods during this past ten years - particularly from Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research NZ, the Institute of Development Studies and Natural Resource Management Programme at Massey University, my family, and colleagues. Thanks to Karen Scott for the latest site design and CSS development .... very cool colours!
The material here is all freely available for use, please acknowledge the source where appropriate. Thanks to all those of you whose whose comments and suggestions have helped improve this site as an Internet resource. The views expressed in this site are my own, and are not necessarily those of any supporting organisations, groups, or individuals. For more about the background to this site you may also wish to visit my home page.
1. Vincent Cosmao : Un monde en développement - guide de réflexion, Paris, Éditions Ouvrières 1984.
highlighting people and ideas that encourage constructive change 