Get the most out of your learning exchanges
What are learning exchanges, and why should organizations do them?
Learning exchanges provide an opportunity for people to see what others in their line of work are doing and how to share their own knowledge and expertise. When done well, learning exchanges can help organizations get inspired and think differently about their work, ultimately improving their approach and greater long-term impact.
So how can you, as an organization, benefit and organize successful learning exchanges?
In this Reader, Anna Davis, our Director of Leadership Programs, Karine Nuulimba, our Southern Africa Portfolio Director, and the team from Blue Ventures, an organization that excels at running exchanges, present a collection of insightful ideas to help inspire your next trip.
1. The planning
First, articulate the purpose and objectives →
Before embarking on a learning exchange, you must define the purpose. The trip you are planning should address a need - a challenge you're facing in the way you do your work or a new program you’re considering starting. Defining your learning goals will help align expectations and ensure the exchange is productive and meaningful. Think about the people, organizations, and communities involved. According to this guide developed by Blue Ventures and the Food and Agriculture Organization, learning exchanges often work best when the organizations participating share some basic similarities. So strive to engage communities and organizations with comparable culture, language and background.
Top tips:
Start by asking questions to get to your purpose. What do you want to know and learn? What information are you missing and need? Etc. Connect with potential hosts or visitors in advance to discuss ideas, agree on focus areas, and determine how the exchange can best contribute to each organization’s respective goals. This collaborative approach sets the foundation for a successful learning experience and will help everyone get the most out of your time together.
Have individuals set their own objectives and goals for participating in the trip.
Budget appropriately, and think about how to cover the costs →
Traveling to or hosting a learning exchange is often expensive, especially if across landscapes and countries.
Here are some costs to consider:
Travel costs - vehicle running costs, plane tickets, visas, airport taxis and transfers, buying forex etc.
Visas
Food and meals - including snacks, possibly holding at least one meal with the hosting group, water, and more.
Accommodation
Per diems or allowances (e.g. for laundry and other incidentals)
Sim cards, airtime and data bundles
Park or conservancy entrance fees
Medicine
Medical emergency insurance
Gifts for hosts and people you may visit
Contingency - some buffer to cover unanticipated expenses
Top tip:
If you’re the host, don’t be afraid to calculate the cost of your time, transport, communications, etc. involved in hosting a group. You should share this with your visitors ahead of time and request a cost-recovery fee to pay for your services.
Assemble your team →
Doing this requires careful thinking about who will get and offer the most value for this specific trip. Because there will be team members who won’t have the opportunity to join, it’s important to be clear and transparent about why some are selected over others.
You’ll want to consider the size of your group, as too many people can make travel and facilitation difficult. It is normally recommended to have a maximum of 20 participants, which includes those you will be visiting with.
Make sure to appoint a lead person and who can help to coordinate the exchange with your partner organization.
Top tip:
Don’t just send senior staff. Instead, consider having participants who offer diversity to your delegation. Younger people (or junior staff), in particular, can benefit greatly from exposure to new ideas, best practices, and experiences shared by peers and experts in the field. Additionally, sending teams of all levels ensures the development of a pipeline of future leaders within the organization. Middle managers who participate in learning exchanges gain valuable knowledge, skills, and networks that can prepare them for leadership roles in the future.
Plan well in advance →
Participants will fully engage if logistical disruptions don’t get in the way. Thus, whether you are the host or the visitor, organize all necessary details well in advance, including transportation, accommodation, and venues for meetings, workshops, or field visits.
Don’t forget!
Check people’s dietary requirements or special needs.
Consider safety and security measures, and emergency plans.
Calculate all travel time carefully - this almost always takes longer than you think.
Make sure water and food is available.
And, of course, don’t forget to take a good camera with you and take pictures to document the experience and moments!
2. Design a program to achieve your goals
These trips are valuable and also resource-heavy. So you’ll need to think about every aspect of the visit carefully. What activities should happen when? Who should you meet? Where do you go?
For the host organization →
Don't overfill your program. Meetings and visits to the field can take several hours, and you don't want participants to be rushing from one place to the next without having had time to ask questions and learn at each location. Make sure you build a good buffer for driving time - it takes time to move a group of people, and you don't want to be late, or have hosting groups waiting for you.
Prepare and brief the participants and facilitators. This should happen at the beginning and end of the trip - and each day if possible. This is a good time to build shared understanding and expectations, for participants to ask questions and raise concerns and establish ground rules for how the group will work together.
Develop a high-quality slide presentation or talk (that you can tweak if needed) outlining your organization's work, and ensure it has some great visuals and maps. You'll be using it often when groups visit or when you visit others!
For the visiting organization →
Invite the local organization or community-based organization hosting you to select someone to be your local 'trip facilitator' - they have local knowledge. They will enrich your meetings and ensure a learning flow throughout your visit.
Research on and be aware of the cultural norms of the places you are visiting. Dress appropriately, and ensure that your actions or behaviors are respectful of the way of life of the people you’re visiting.
Build a balance of meeting and getting to see and experience the work in action - both are valuable and bring in a range of voices and experience.
Share roles in advance and agree on a range of people to introduce your team, present on various topics, and do 'thank-yous' at the end of each meeting.
Plan a facilitated reflection session at the end of each day. If that is not possible, consider giving participants cards or stickies upon which to document their main learnings and collect the cards each day. If you wait until the end of the week to document learnings, you'll lose out on many important points.
Build in time for relaxation and fun. Learning exchanges can be very intense sessions and people need time to unwind and attend to personal matters (a call home, an urgent work email etc). It's also important to build in time for fun - both as a group and with the hosts. Get to know each other, learn more about the culture and place you are visiting beyond the structured sessions.
As always, remember to assign a note-taker!
Plan time and space to facilitate a final reflection and planning session on the learnings and any next steps while you still have everyone together. Make sure to do this before heading home.
3. The post-exchange follow through
After the trip, things to follow through:
Make a plan to thank everyone who made your exchange a success. Send a ‘thank you’ to your host especially, and any other organizations or leaders you might have met during the learning exchange.
When you’re back in your country or office, take time to reflect on the purpose and objectives of the trip and to plan how learning and ideas will be put into action going forward. Be specific (who, what, when) and plan the follow-up.
Enlist support to make sure that the wrap-up activities such as writing the trip report, finalizing the financial accounting, writing thank you letters etc, are planned for and organized.
Remember to thank any donors who made the learning experience possible. Send a report, including photos and key moments that show the value of the trip for your organization.
Brief the rest of your team after the learning exchange. This is important for several reasons. It facilitates knowledge sharing, ensuring that team members benefit from gained insights, perspectives, and skills and can apply them to their work. Having a briefing and presentation also increases the likelihood of successfully implementing the new ideas across the organization, and aligns the team's understanding.
Maintain open lines of communication to ensure continuous learning and sharing beyond the exchange. Regular communication also fosters the ongoing development and nurturing of relationships formed during the exchange, enhancing the potential for future collaborations.
Begin implementing! As the visiting team, conducting a thorough debriefing session and discussing the knowledge acquired during the exchange is essential. Evaluate what can realistically be implemented and identify the resources necessary to put the new ideas into practice. Additionally, consider how these ideas can be customized to suit your organization's and work's specific needs and context.
Though specific to fisher communities, this guide developed by Blue Ventures and FAO is an excellent resource for all types of learning exchanges. Download it HERE.
For more content like this, sign up to the Maliasili Reader HERE.