Learning for Change:Principles and Practices of Learning Organisations

The enormous resources invested in development work generate an imperative for learning. Yet, major studies commissioned by donors concerning the effectiveness of humanitarian relief have called into question the ability of agencies to learn from their experience and avoid repetition of disastrous interventions such as in Rwanda and the Balkans1 . With donors increasingly question the value added by Northern Civil Society Organisations in the aid chain, the stakes for demonstrating the use of learning to improve organisational performance have never been higher. However, it also seems that over the past few years development organisations have taken serious notice to this ‘wake up call’ from donors.