Agriculture Technology for Development Workshop
Workshop on Agriculture Technology for Development
Date: 10 September 2013
Venue: Staff Development Center, Wayamba University of Sri Lanka, Makandura, Gonawila.
Time: 9.30 am - 4.30 pm
Workshop Agenda
09:30 Opening remarks and greetings
09:45 Canada/Sri Lanka Partnership Development Project Overview
10:00 Workshop A: Identifying Knowledge Mobilization Practices for Sustainable Agriculture
Facilitators: Dr. Mary Beckie, Dr. Naomi Krogman, University of Alberta
11:30 Tea Break
12:00 Workshop B: Communicating Knowledge Mobilization Practices through Participatory Storyboards
Facilitator: Dr. Helen Hambly
13:30 Lunch Break
14:30 Workshop C: Enhancing Knowledge Mobilization Practices through low cost ICTS
Facilitators: Dr. Gordon Gow, University of Alberta; Nuwan Waidyanatha, LIRNEasia
16:00 Plenary discussion
Facilitator: Professor Udith Jayasinghe, Wayamba University of Sri Lanka
16:30 End of workshop
Session Details
Workshop A: Identifying Knowledge Mobilization Practices for Sustainable Agriculture through the lens of Social Practices Theory
Feeding a growing world population within the context of climate change and other environmental and demographic changes has been identified as the most significant challenge of this century. In response, a number of innovative approaches to ecologically sustainable and socially just food production and distribution are being developed and utilized. We seek to understand how farmers and others involved in sustainable agriculture in Sri Lanka access, create, and share knowledge among a wider community of practice.
How can we conceptualize, observe, and report on these knowledge mobilization practices? What approaches, tools and techniques can be used to understand and improve knowledge mobilization practices among these communities? How can communities benefit from learning how other communities mobilize knowledge among themselves and from other sources?
In this workshop, we will begin with a brief introduction to the role of knowledge and KM in sustainable agriculture, then turn to an overview of social practices theory as a foundation for understanding how knowledge mobilization takes place in everyday activities. Much of the workshop will be devoted to teaching participants some of the tools and techniques useful for doing assessments of knowledge mobilization practices within a community.
By understanding knowledge mobilization practices more clearly we can identify opportunities to enhance and improve them through selective, appropriate introduction of low cost, ICTs that fit into those practices without too much disruption to daily routines. The techniques you will learn in this workshop are will be useful to help identify opportunities for enhancing knowledge mobilization with low cost ICTs.
Workshop B: Communicating Knowledge Mobilization Practices through Participatory Storyboards: Applications for Radio+ Programming
In this presentation we will discuss the technique known as “participatory storyboarding.” Around the world, participatory story workshops have supported knowledge mobilization through the use of mass media, particularly radio programming.
Participatory storyboarding is useful technique for developing creative and beneficial interactions with audiences and the communities within which radio stations operate. Moreover, it provides a useful method for communicating knowledge mobilization practices that can be applied to other kinds of planning outside the domain of radio.
The session will involve a brief introduction to the topic of participatory storyboarding and its use in Radio+ as well as other kinds of activities. We will then break into small groups to try our hand at designing a participatory storyboard for an imagined farm radio programme.
The exercise ends with each group brainstorming answers on one of two questions. First, how could information obtained from the techniques you learned in Workshop A be communicated through participatory storyboarding as a way to reflect on and improve those practices?
Second, how could participatory storyboarding be used to help identify opportunities for using low cost ICTs to enhance knowledge mobilization practices within a community?
The session will conclude with brief highlights of the main lessons learned in the session.
Workshop C: Enhancing Knowledge Mobilization Practices through Low Cost ICTs: Introducing the Rapid Prototyping Method
In this workshop, participants will be introduced to the Rapid Prototyping method being developed and tested by members of the research team. It draws from the user-centred and participatory design literature with the primary objective of rapidly developing and pilot testing low cost ICT applications that respond to community priorities for enhancing knowledge mobilization practices.
This workshop will begin with a brief overview of the principles and objectives of Rapid Prototyping, highlighting some of our achievements so far. We will then provide participants with a hands-on introduction to the free, open source software (FOSS) we are using for our project. Participants will become familiar with three platforms that are being used in countries around the world: FrontlineSMS for text messaging, Freedom Fone for creating small scale interactive voice response systems with telephones, and Ushahidi for creating and curating interactive maps with geo-located reports from mobile devices (i.e., crowdmapping).
For the final portion of the workshop we will facilitate a prototyping exercise with participants. This exercise will involve identifying an opportunity for enhanced knowledge mobilization based on social practices identified earlier the day, then create a storyboard to communicate the idea, and finally implement the idea using one of the software platforms.
The workshop concludes with participants sharing results, asking questions, and discussing their experience.
