Focused dialogue is the collaborative construction of powerful ideas. These ideas are essentially simple, generic and fundamental concepts which, once developed between people, can serve to build the shared understanding essential for effective communication and successful integration. Developing focused dialogue involves a number of discrete steps: 1. Identifying “the terms that will play a key […]

Purpose: To provide an introduction to creating powerful messages, also known as ‘framing.’  Description: Key elements of framing are highlighted. The characteristics of a good frame are: It is ‘sticky’ – in other words the message is powerful and simple The person hearing or seeing it intuitively agrees with it There is a ‘villain’, i.e., […]

In this classic introduction to framing, Lakoff argues that: “Frames are mental structures that shape the way we see the world. As a result they shape the goals we seek, the plans we make, the way we act, and what counts as a good or bad outcome of our actions. In politics our frames shape […]

A useful analytical framework for assessing knowledge co-production consists of the following elements: “typology of actor roles, research phases, objectives and forms of actor integration, and types of knowledge” (see figure below). The framework was used to analyse “what types of actors contributed what kind of knowledge in which research phase” in four transdisciplinary studies […]

The methods in the td-net toolbox for co-producing knowledge are useful for bringing together different perspectives on a problem, recognising that not only individuals but also social groups have different ways of thinking about issues. One method (soft systems methodology) covers the whole process, while the others cover specific aspects. The aim is to provide […]

Purpose: To provide those helping communities "identify and adopt more sustainable practices" with a range of on-line resources that support "social learning and constructive action in multi-stakeholder settings." Description: The resources are organised under the following categories: Social learning, including systems thinking, building networks and knowledge management; Planning, monitoring and evaluation (PM and E); Collaboration/engagement, including stakeholder mapping and analysis and working across cultures; Supporting change; Research, including participatory action research and managing integration; Sustainable development.

“This toolkit describes a range of tools that CSOs [Civil Society Organisations] might use to understand and map political context, in order to engage more effectively in policy processes. This guide introduces a series of tools that have been designed to map various dimensions of political context. The tools have been selected because they cover […]

Metaphors help people “understand the unfamiliar” and “make someone realise they’ve only been looking at one side of a thing.” Metaphors assist in closing “the gap in people’s ability to grasp something, or speed up what they’re already on track to see.” Designing metaphors involves generating multiple possible comparisons to find those that work well. […]

The RAPID Outcome Mapping Approach (ROMA), “comprises a suite of tools that any organisation can use at any stage in their policy engagement process to improve how they diagnose the problem, understand the types of impact their work could have on policy-making, set realistic objectives for policy influence, develop a plan to achieve those objectives, […]

“The report includes strategic guidance and practical approaches regarding how CSOs [civil society organisations] can ensure their policy engagement is more effective, influential and sustained.” It is designed for use in developing countries to have a pro-poor impact. The following issues and topics are discussed in Policy Engagement: How Civil Society can be More Effective: […]