Insights into Operationalizing Communities of Practice from SSM-Based Inquiry Processes

Ison, Ray; Blackmore, Chris; Collins, Kevin; Holwell, Sue; Iaquinto, Benjamin Lucca

doi:10.1007/s11213-012-9275-3

Cited by 23 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Creating a learning community around a jointly negotiated topic is, as Ison et al () suggested, difficult to engineer. Ideally, both should emerge together.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, the positioning of the CoP concept within the learning theory is similar to the positioning of the AIS approach within innovation theory—as opposed to a linear model of transfer. In a CoP, knowledge is an emergent property of social interaction and not a commodity that can be ‘transferred' (Ison et al ., ). Learning through a CoP is seen as a process of social construction of knowledge (Morgan, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…CoPs are promoted as effective tools to support learning in organizations, and while their use in agricultural contexts is not widespread, their potential to be mobilized as tools in intervention is generally recognized. At the same time, Ison et al () remain sceptical about the possibility to design or engineer them, but they stay open for the possibility of creating conditions for CoPs to emerge.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Engaging Farmers in a Research Project. Lessons Learned from Implementing the Community of Practice Concept in Innovation Platforms in Irrigated Schemes in Tunisia, Mozambique and Ethiopia

Dolinska

Oates

Ludi

et al. 2018

Irrigation and Drainage

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The role of smallholder farmers in multi‐stakeholder innovation platforms and thus in the innovation process that these platforms facilitate is typically limited. The EAU4Food project, aimed at increasing food production in irrigation schemes in Africa through improved farming strategies, used a platform design inspired by the community of practice (CoP) concept, which opened up space for farmers' interactive learning and enabled their active participation in the innovation process. In this article we present examples of how this approach has been implemented in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Tunisia. We analyse the level of farmers' participation that was achieved at different stages of the implementation process, namely: deciding how to set up the CoP, identifying innovation needs and conducting the experiment. Among different strategies deployed by EAU4Food researchers, working with dialogue groups, engaging farmers in data interpretation and passing the responsibility over elements of the research process to farmers, proved to be the most effective in strengthening farmers' involvement. The use of a simulation game to test innovations also showed promising results and should be explored further. The attitude of researchers proved to be an important factor in achieving a high level of farmers' engagement in the project. Copyright © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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“…Creating a learning community around a jointly negotiated topic is, as Ison et al () suggested, difficult to engineer. Ideally, both should emerge together.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Engaging Farmers in a Research Project. Lessons Learned from Implementing the Community of Practice Concept in Innovation Platforms in Irrigated Schemes in Tunisia, Mozambique and Ethiopia

Dolinska

Oates

Ludi

et al. 2018

Irrigation and Drainage

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Such strategies, in which development goals are conceptualized as emergent properties of networks, are beginning to appear widely in agricultural extension work (Ison et al, 2012; Schneider et al, 2012) that is addressing transformation in agriculture. Examples of such emergent properties include resilience in Tasmanian sheep production (Hunt et al, 2011), diffusion of farmer innovation in winter greenhouse horticulture in China (Wu and Zhang, 2013), and coordinated innovation in tillage systems in Switzerland (Schneider et al 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling the effect of social networks on adoption of multifunctional agriculture

Manson

Jordan

Nelson

et al. 2016

Environmental Modelling & Software

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Rotational grazing (RG) has attracted much attention as a cornerstone of multifunctional agriculture (MFA) in animal systems, potentially capable of producing a range of goods and services of value to diverse stakeholders in agricultural landscapes and rural communities, as well as broader societal benefits. Despite these benefits, global adoption of MFA has been uneven, with some places seeing active participation, while others have seen limited growth. Recent conceptual models of MFA emphasize the potential for bottom-up processes and linkages among social and environmental systems to promote multifunctionality. Social networks are critical to these explanations but how and why these networks matter is unclear. We investigated fifty-three farms in three states in the United States (New York, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania) and developed a stylized model of social networks and systemic change in the dairy farming system. We found that social networks are important to RG adoption but their impact is contingent on social and spatial factors. Effects of networks on farmer decision making differ according to whether they comprise weak-tie relationships, which bridge across disparate people and organizations, or strong-tie relationships, which are shared by groups in which members are well known to one another. RG adoption is also dependent on features of the social landscape including the number of dairy households, the probability of neighboring farmers sharing strong ties, and the role of space in how networks are formed. The model replicates features of real-world adoption of RG practices in the Eastern US and illustrates pathways toward greater multifunctionality in the dairy landscape. Such models are likely to be of heuristic value in network-focused strategies for agricultural development.

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“…[4]. There are also important questions that emerge in policy circles between the ways in which a 'discourse coalition' is now understood (Hajer, 1995;2009) and how a CoP might be understood in Wengerian terms (Wenger, 1998;Blackmore, 2010;Ison et al, 2014b). If the Anthropocene is used as the most appropriate framing choice for our current circumstances then an imperative follows -a critically reflexive praxis is needed that can make contemporary modes of enacting democracy and/or authoritarian governance (as in China) effective.…”

Section: The Emerging Anthropocene: Taking Responsibility In Doing Cymentioning

confidence: 99%

Navigating through an “ecological desert and a sociological hell”

Ison

Schlindwein

2015

Kybernetes

Self Cite

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Purpose -The governance of the relationship between humans and the biophysical world has been based on a paradigm characterized by dualistic thinking and scientism. This has led us to the Anthropocene. The purpose of this paper is to reframe human-biosphere governance in terms of "cyber-systemics", a neologism that is useful, we argue, not only for breaking out of this dualistic paradigm in human-environmental governance but also of the dualism associated with the use of systems and cybernetics. Design/methodology/approach -In this paper we draw on our own research praxis to exemplify how the intellectual lineages of cybernetics and systems have been mutually influencing our doings, and how new forms of governance practices that explore different framing choices might contribute to building innovative governance approaches attuned to the problematique of the Anthropocene, for instance through institutional designs for cybersystemic governance. Findings -The growing popularity of the Anthropocene as a particular framing for our circumstances, if it is to transformative and thus relevant demands critique if it is to help change the trajectory of human-life on Earth. We offer arguments and a rationale for adopting a cyber-systemic perspective as a means to avoid the dangers in pursuing the current trajectory of our relationship with the biophysical world, as for example climate change. The essay frames an invitation for a systemic inquiry into forms of governance more suited to the contemporary circumstances of humans in their relationships with the biophysical world. Research limitations/implications -The research essay challenges many taken-for-granted epistemological assumptions within the cybernetics and systems intellectual communities. A case for radical change is mounted; the means to effect this change, other than through changes in discourse remain unclear though it is apparent that changes to praxis and institutional forms and arrangements will be central. Practical implications -Cybersystemic capabilities need to be developed; this requires investment and new institutions that are conducive to cybersystemic understandings and praxis. Social implications -The lack of thriving communities of practice of cybersystemics significantly reduces the choices we humans have in shaping our future. Originality/value -Understanding the global environmental crisis as an emergent outcome of current commitments to dualistic governance choices demands a reframing of much of what humans have done, Re-investment in cybersystemics offers a moral and practical response.

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Insights into Operationalizing Communities of Practice from SSM-Based Inquiry Processes

Cited by 23 publications

References 28 publications

Engaging Farmers in a Research Project. Lessons Learned from Implementing the Community of Practice Concept in Innovation Platforms in Irrigated Schemes in Tunisia, Mozambique and Ethiopia

Engaging Farmers in a Research Project. Lessons Learned from Implementing the Community of Practice Concept in Innovation Platforms in Irrigated Schemes in Tunisia, Mozambique and Ethiopia

Modeling the effect of social networks on adoption of multifunctional agriculture

Navigating through an “ecological desert and a sociological hell”

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