Features
Writeshop Methodology Review
(Silang, Cavite, Philippines – July 21, 2010) – The Regional Center for Asia conducted the “Writeshop Methodology Review” on July 7-9, 2010. This workshop was co-organized with International Potato Center-Users’ Perspectives with Agricultural Research and Development (CIP-UPWARD) and sponsored by ENRAP (Knowledge Networking for Rural Development in Asia-Pacific Region). Twenty participants from IDRC-ENRAP, IFAD, FAO, Learning Institute (LI), Helvetas, China Agricultural University, CIP-UPWARD and IIRR attended the workshop. The workshop aimed to undertake a review of experiences in using writeshop methodology to document development learning, collect and share lessons from practitioners and experts in this field.
The participants presented cases illustrating the various ways writeshops have been used for various purposes. The cases were divided into four clusters: a) Capturing Lessons from the Field, b) Sourcebooks, c) Policy Briefs and d) Curriculum Development, Training Materials and Textbook Development. A small group discussion and plenary followed each cluster presentations. Poster and knowledge market viewing provided a platform to showcase the various products of the writeshop process as experienced by the participants. One of the main highlights during the workshop was the formulation of guidelines on how to run a successful writeshop.
The following are the outputs: (1.) selected cases (papers) illustrating a range of writeshop approaches; (2.) summary sheets on poster presentations and (3.) a set of guidelines for wide use in promoting writeshop methods/ approaches. These are currently finalized by a team responsible to develop the publication.
The following are significant comments from the participants derived from the workshop evaluation:
• “Healthful balance between the ‘experts’ and ‘novices’ in writeshop methodology; willingness/openness of experts to listen to novices and vice versa; very rich collection of published works; the network that has been established.”
• “Opportunity to learn how others have used the writeshop approach – I learned some new techniques. I was encouraged by the common understanding of writeshops among the participants.”
