What does community to community transfer entail according to you?/Qu'implique, selon vous, le transfert de communauté àcommunauté?

[Boaz]

Translation in French below English query courtesy Marie Lamboray

Hi friends,

We are three students from the Netherlands about to conduct research for the Constellation (see attached photo of us =D ). During the meeting in Brussels (17 February) with some members of Global Support Team we had a fruitful dialogue on the subject of community to community transfer. 

During the Brussel meeting last week (17-02-2016) we opened a dialogue on the topic of Community to Community transfer (CtC) and the definition of both CtC transfer and the concept of sharing. Together with the Constellation Support team we came to some interesting insights and views. A short summary of these findings will be presented below.

The definition of sharing = sharing information or an experience with an individual or a community which does not necessarily result in recipient action.

The definition of (successful) community to community transfer = ’when a community or an individual is able to take action due to be being encouraged by the experience of another community or individual’. As such the action of one community can be backtracked to a source community.

Important elements of community to community transfer are:

• Ownership: CtC transfer can be seen as a criteria of ownership. Consequently, one can conclude that the community has not taken full ownership if transfer has not yet taken place.
• Deliberate vs. non-deliberate sharing: CtC transfer can occur as a result of either deliberate or non-deliberate sharing of information or an experience. By this is meant that the sender of the information is not always necessarily seeking to evoke recipient action.

• Excitement, energy and passion: The excitement, energy and passion with which sharing occurs will contribute to a higher level of successful sharing. The experiences shared will show the benefits of the intervention and will create the belief that the community can pursue the same opportunities.

In light of this, we were wondering what you consider to be community to community transfer?

1. Also, is there a difference between sharing and transfer? Can transfer occur without deliberately sharing experience? And when will sharing lead to successful transfer?
2. What are your experiences in community to community transfer? In which community and on which issue?
   
3. What factors enable community to community transfer
   
4. Who transfers? Why do people transfer? What do they tend to transfer?
   
5. What can external facilitators do to encourage transfer? 

We wish you all well, greetings from,

Boaz, Kasper and Tom

_____________________

Salut les amis,

 

Nous sommes trois étudiants des Pays-Bas sur le point de mener des recherches pour la Constellation (voir photo de nous ci-jointe = D). Au cours de la réunion du 17 février à Bruxelles avec quelques membres de l'équipe mondiale de soutien, nous avons eu un dialogue fructueux au sujet du transfert de communauté à communauté (CtC).

 

Nous avons réfléchi à la définition du CtC et à la notion de partage, et nous avons échangé nos idées et points de vue dont voici un bref résumé.

 

La définition du partage = partage d'information ou d’une expérience avec un individu ou une communauté, qui ne se traduit pas nécessairement en action de la part durécepteur.

 

La définition d’un transfert de communauté à communauté (réussi)  = « quand une communauté ou un individu est en mesure d’agir encouragé par l'expérience d'une autre communauté ou individu ». Dans ce cas, l'action d'une communauté peut être associée à une communauté source.

 

Éléments importants de la CtC :

• Appropriation: leCtC peut être considéré comme un critère d’appropriation. On peut conclure que la communauté ne s’est pas pleinement approprié l’approche si aucun transfert n'a eu lieu.
• Partage volontaire ou non: leCtC peut se produire à la suite de l'un partage volontaire ou non volontaire d'information ou d’expérience. Autrement ditl’émetteur de l'information ne cherche pas nécessairement à stimuler l'action du récepteur.
• Excitation, énergie et passion: L'excitation, l'énergie et la passion avec laquelle le partage se produit contribuera au niveau de succès du partage. L’émetteur présente les avantages de l’expérience et donnera à la communauté la conviction qu’elle est capable d’obtenir les mêmes résultats.

 

À la lumière de cela, nous nous demandons ce que vous considérez être letransfert de communauté à communauté ?

 

Aussi, y a-t-il une différence entre le partage et le transfert ? Le transfert peut-il se produireinvolontairement? Et quand le partager conduira-t-il à un transfert réussi ?

 

Nous vous souhaitons le meilleur, salutations de

 

Boaz, Kasper et Tom

[NAMARA ARTHUR ARAALI]

Thank you Boaz, Kasper and Tom,

According to our experience here in Uganda, Community to community transfer involves LEARNING. Members of one community learn from the way of doing things from members of another community and they transfer what thy have learnt to their own communities. Without learning and appreciating practices, transfer may not take place. Learning and appreciating practices makes transfer more easy and successful.

[NAMARA ARTHUR ARAALI]

Community to community transfer can also be deliberate where you find members from one community visiting others in another community to share their experience on the way they do things. However, still to be a successful transfer it depends on the members of the recipient community learning and appreciating the practices.

[Kasper Moes]

Hello Namara,

Thank you for your reply! We agree with your insight that learning and appreciation are important in transfer. Also, its interesting how you mention that succesful transfer depends for a large part on the recipient community, reminding us not to focus only on the community member that are sharing their experience but also on those receiving.

Warm regards

[Rituu B. Nanda]

Hi Namara, thanks for your responses and the opportunity to learn from your experience in Uganda. Why do communities intentionally transfer? and why do they transfer?

Thanks

Rituu

[Rituu B. Nanda]

Please find response in French from Taha Maatoug in French http://aidscompetence.ning.com/profiles/blogs/transf-rer-l-approche...

[Bobby Zachariah]

Hello Friends,

Inspiration is a key to transfer.  Individuals and communities that are inspired, find it difficult to keep quiet.

The relational connections of the communities provide pathways and a reason for sharing their vision and approaches with others who could benefit from their experience.

Several layers of transfer can happen.  In one of the communities in India, Mizoram, in North East India, 4 layers of transfer was documented.  i.e. the inspiration has spread from one community to the other, who then shared it with the third community and the third community shared to the fourth.  In the fourth layer, the person had heard about life competence only a week ago and he was yet to transfer.  The intervention in the first community happened for a period of approximately 10 years.  The direct intervention stopped approximately 10 years ago, but the transfer is still happening.

Jean Louis Lamboray visited VU, Amsterdam to speak to the Bachelor's students 2 years ago regarding Community to Community transfer.  Please see the attached video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky-KbNIkOv8&feature=em-upload_o...

Regards.

Bobby

[Ian Campbell]

Hi friends,

Thank you for the critical reflection on the most fundamental of building blocks for generation of movements for health and life fulfilment.

I agree with the observations already posted in terms of definitions.

Some suggestions:

• sharing and learning are precursers to transfer
• community is a relational paradigm for which structures are ideally supportive, often suppressive, and destined to change or fade away. Relationships of family friendship and often group remain and are sustained despite everything that might dilute. 
• invitation is the foundation for local respect and authenticity of response
• transfer of initiative, of vision, of optimism, grounded in valuing human strengths eg care, community, change, hope. Capacity for response, is the key-practices follow and are contextually shaped 
• transfer between neighbourhood communities happens often, yet is not tracked or noticed
• neighbourhood to neighbourhood transfer happens better with intentional facilitation by a invited facilitation entity or team 
• examples abound eg Kithithuni, Troy NY, Geng Ma in Yunnan China, Mizoram India. Some have been well documented, most are not. Claire Campbell's (PAR)research of the early 2000's is the most definative assembly of evidence. Transfer maps collected then are illuminating

There is more to share and a huge amount to distill from growing experience. Your efforts will help

[Rituu B. Nanda]

In development sector, we talk about going to scale. Can the NGOs do this on their own with limited funding and small staff? What if the community takes on the responsibility to share their vision, strategies and actions on issues they have taken action? What would happen? Here is an example from Mumbai area in India where we explored transfer in our work with cross-border migrants http://aidscompetence.ning.com/profiles/blogs/transfer-w 

[Rituu B. Nanda]

Email response

Robin Rader, Affirm Associates, USA

The GLoCon updates that are sent out periodically by e-mail newsletter are archived under Stories of response on the GLoCon Website http://www.affirmfacilitators.org  . Here you will find experiences on transfer.