How Land O’ Lakes International Development Organized Learning Exchanges to Deepen Knowledge Sharing

In November 2013, Greg Grothe, Practice Area Manager for Land O’Lakes International Development, led 14 dairy cooperative business leaders from Kenya and Uganda on a week-long, peer-to-peer experiential learning visit to India. Funded by the USAID Cooperative Development Program (CDP) and co-hosted by Land O’Lakes International Development and the Institute of Rural Management Anand the trip combined site visits with interactive workshop discussions on case studies, cooperative development topics, and shared learning experiences. In this interview, Grothe shares his personal experience in organizing a learning exchange as well as the benefits this kind of activity can bring to project staff and more importantly, the local beneficiaries.

1. What was the primary goal of the learning event?

The trip confirmed what I’ve learned about cooperatives through the years: Regardless of type, geography, size or level of development, cooperatives worldwide face similar challenges. For instance, given the evolving goals, aspirations, and composition of each cooperative’s membership over time, our businesses must manage friction among members. Another common feature of cooperatives is their commitment to the principle, "cooperation among cooperatives." This commitment in many ways provides more opportunities for cooperatives to share their learning and best practices. Peer-to-peer learning also helps stimulate problem solving, which is crucial to resolving membership issues like free riding.

This particular learning exchange was designed to create an experience that helps cooperative leaders visualize possibilities as well as share learning and best practices. I wanted the exchange to challenge each participant’s perceptions of the status quo. The exchange created an environment where leaders could envision change through exposure to different technologies and organizational structures. I also wanted the exchange to incorporate plenty of time for participants to hear from experts and to discuss challenges and share solutions with one other. This interaction helped cooperative leaders contextualize the experiences and develop actionable next steps.

2. What are some lessons learned in organizing a learning event in the field?

In India, we leveraged an integrated approach that combined experiential learning, including site visits and interactive discussions, with a hands-on workshop that used case studies, cooperative development topics, and shared learning experiences to flesh out ideas. We also learned that cultural differences may cause some participants discomfort. It’s helpful to prepare participants for these differences well in advance and, when planning the event, to consider everything from what food will be served to what types of social activities you’ll use to bring people together. We discovered that a strong working relationship with a local partner, such as the Institute Rural Management Anand, was essential to executing a learning event in a community where we had minimal field-based experience—that is no current program activities.

In preparation for the workshop itself, we learned not to overload the participants with too much information or to be too rigid with the agenda. It helps to build in flexibility so you can go with the mood of the audience, and where possible, change topics and activities based on what you’re observing and how the group is interacting. It’s also important to remember to create an experience for participants, as opposed to lecturing them on a topic, so everyone can learn from each other.

3. What kind of resources are needed to organize an event like this?

Organizing this event required significant financial resources and people time. Considerable time was needed to develop relationships with implementing partners and to plan/coordinate event activities. Flying participants to the event and arranging for local transport was also a significant cost, but we also mandated cost sharing with the participants. For instance, for one participating cooperative, the program paid for two leaders and the cooperative paid for the travel costs of two additional leaders. We also carefully selected meeting spaces and hosted events at a University that could host a large group for a relatively lower cost and provide a great learning environment for the participants.

4. What did the participants gain from this experience?

The rich learning experience allowed participants to walk away with a greater understanding of issues across three broad themes: gender empowerment, technology integration, and problem-solving. For example, female board members and cooperative leaders from Kenya and Uganda interacted with leaders from the more than 12,000 members of the all-female cooperative in Mulukanoor, India. In these discussions, they were able to discuss new possibilities for women’s involvement in cooperatives.

We also discovered that thousands of Indian cooperative farmer-members use biometric identification, smart cards, and milk quality detectors to more effectively manage the supply chain.

Finally, we learned how the milk processors we visited make daily payments based on quality. They also accept quantities as small as 0.5 liters for processing, in contrast to the practice of providing members with payments once or twice a month. Within our delegation, the chairman of a Ugandan cooperative lauded this approach, which created a great sense of loyalty and pride from members of the Indian cooperative – from the smallest farmers to the highest income earners

These examples demonstrate what can be accomplished through a combination of in-person experiences and exchange of learning and ideas with peers. Visualizing the possibility of an all-female cooperative or how quality-based management technology can impact member loyalty and increase negotiating power in the supply chain were particularly impactful experiences for the participants. The event reminded me how important it can be to see something in person as opposed to reading or hearing about it. The outcomes of the event also illustrated the importance of interactions between cooperative leaders from India and East Africa. Some of this happened naturally at tea breaks or during lunches and dinners. At other times this was structured during scheduled Q&A or small group break-out sessions.

5. How will this learning event connect to future project work?

To leverage the participants’ interest in gender empowerment, I am sharing Land O’Lakes International Development's gender toolkit, which provides comprehensive guidance on how to ensure gender issues are thoughtfully addressed throughout the project lifecycle.

The CDP program has also partnered with the Eastern and Southern Africa Dairy Association (ESADA) to design a web portal that will serve as a platform to facilitate further exchange of information and ideas between cooperative leaders and farmer-members. The program already has several learning events planned for Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda in 2014. I would like to build off of the experiences from the India learning event and continue to promote peer-to-peer learning and interaction into future development efforts.

Read more about how feedback loops have been established at ACDI/VOCA to ensure knowledge from USAID’s Cooperative Development Program flows back to headquarters here.

CLA in Action articles are intended to paint a more detailed picture of what collaborating, learning, and adapting (CLA) looks like in practice. Unlike other disciplines, CLA is not a technical "fix;" it looks different in different contexts. This series will showcase examples of intentional collaboration, systematic learning, and resourced adaptation, some of which you may find applicable to your own work. The case studies, blogs, and resources represented in this series document the real-world experiences of development practitioners experimenting with these approaches for the benefit of sharing what's possible.