Improving Learning – Five Recommendations

Herta Tödtling-Schönhofer, Metis

Shaping the Future of the ESFWorkshop 1: Learning

Brussels, 23rd and 24th June

Social systems and tools to trigger learning and change

Communicationactors

MS social system for employment + social

inclusion

ESF programmes

Learning

European policy system

No causal chain

Policy objectives

funds and rules

Recommendation 1: Clearly distinguish evaluation from learning

MS social system for employment + social

inclusion

Policy objectivesfunds and rules

ESF programmes

Learning

European policy system

Learning Evaluation

Self-observation Accountability

Optimisation

M&E are useful and necessary

– To monitor progress in programme and manage the funds

– To demonstrate output and results

– To assess effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, Community Added Value of European and national funds

– To support policy learning about programme management and use of public funds (avoiding risks, failures, de-committment....governance)

As M&E needs to be linked to accountability (fear to fail!) there is an intrinsic contradiction with learning processes

Monitoring and evaluation ….

M&E support single-loop learning and first order change

Problem

Strategy and activities

Success

Failure

Strategy and activities

Success

Failure

For improving the tool „programme“Trial and errorChange within a given framework and paradigmSetting of standards and the investigation of deviations

ARE WE DOING THINGS IN THE RIGHT WAY?

Double loop learning supports second-order change

Problem

Success

Failure

Definition of the problem

Strategy and activitiesStrategy and

activitiesStrategy and activitiesStrategy and

activities

Options

Self-observation and reflection of actions Revision of structures, processes, methods

ARE WE DOING THE RIGHT THINGS?

Second order change refers to transformation, discontinuity and a change in paradigm

context

Double loop learning

Meta Learning = „Learning of learning“

HOW TO WE DECIDE WHAT IS RIGHT?

Recommendation 2: EC should provide a platform for social innovation

MS social system for employment + social

inclusion

Policy objectivesfunds and rules

ESF programmes

Learning

European policy system

Platform for learning on

social innovation

At European level

– Capacities for exploring social innovation

– Initiate learning within the EC (e.g. a learning group on social innovation involving other DGs)

– Mutual learning/peer review on social innovation, policy learning, organisational change within public administration

– Support learning culture and provide a counterweight to accountability culture

At national level

– Capitalisation of previous ESF programmes (EQUAL, Art 6!)

– Inventory of social innovation (who, what, ....) and exchange of experiences needs bottlenecks....

– Vision and strategy development for ESF 2014+

Create learning systems for social innovation

How can we ensure that learning takes place and that social innovations/experiments/pilots are not constantly repeated as experiments but taken over and implemented?

How can we ensure transferability of innovation at reasonable level?

Which tools would be appropriate for the evaluation of the innovation in the social field and – by extension – social innovation?

In which instruments can we include experimental design for innovations (exploring whether or how they work) – at a small scale, for specific types of social innovation

Questions for learning systems

R 3: EC should provide separate instruments for experimentation

MS social system for employment + social

inclusion

Learning

European policy system

ExperimentationInnovation

Mainstream programmes have to show success, i.e., produce visible results, avoid de-commitment minimize risk

Innovation, learning and testing of new solutions need the possibility to fail

Difficult to integrate both paradigms into one programme framework

Specific instruments (separate from mainstream) are more appropriate to provide impulses (against the mainstream) for including new themes, new actors, new processes

A plea for specific European instruments

R 4: MS and MA need to build learning mechanism into their programmes

MS social system for employment + social

inclusion

Learning

European policy system

ESF programmes

MS…Member StatesMA…Managing Authorities

Partnerships are an important tool for

– Learning and innovation

– Dissemination and transfer of results

– Sustainability and mainstreaming

Further mechanism

– Self-evaluation in projects (with guidance and support)

– Invest in methods for transfering experiences

– Create a learning culture in ESF programmes (needs leadership and courage) organisational learning

Learning mechanism

R 5: Mainstreaming innovation needs more attention and support

MS social system for employment + social

inclusion

Learning

European policy system

ESF programmes

Mainstreaming is highly relevant to transform experimental design and experiences into standard practices

Requirements for successful mainstreaming

– Incorporation of key stakeholders in the partnerships

– Commitment and ownership by political stakeholders

– Leadership

– Clear identification of the kind of information needed

– Consideration of the link between a project (development partnership) and the national policy structures

– Mainstreaming plans developed early in the project lifecycle

– Support of TA with regard to operational aspects of mainstreaming

– National platforms (thematic working groups)

Mainstreaming innovation + learning

Thank you for your attention!

DI. Herta Tödtling-SchönhoferMetis Gmbh Donau-City-Strasse 6A-1220 Viennaschoenhofer@metis-vienna.eu+43 1 997 1570 13