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Developing citizen leaders throughaction learningDolores Foley aa University of Hawaii , Manoa, USAPublished online: 18 Jan 2007.

To cite this article: Dolores Foley (2006) Developing citizen leaders through action learning, ActionLearning: Research and Practice, 3:01, 79-87, DOI: 10.1080/14767330600574672

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ACCOUNTS OF PRACTICE

Developing citizen leaders through

action learning

Dolores Foley�

University of Hawaii at Manoa

This is an account of a programme utilizing the application of action learning to the development of

capacities of citizens. The Citizen Leadership for Democratic Governance is designed to equip

citizens with the skills to get involved and handle the difficult tasks of governance in their

communities in South Africa. After a history of apartheid there is recognition of the need to

equip citizens to more effectively respond to the challenges of creating and sustaining democracy.

The programme has proven to be highly successful in achieving the aims. The programme design

involved an emphasis on reflection, experimental learning, problem solving and action through

learning sets.

Introduction

The value of action learning in organizational contexts has been well established.

There are multiple case studies demonstrating its value in equipping individuals

and teams to respond to organizational change (Pedler, 1997; Dotlich & Noel,

1998; Boshyk, 2002). One of the greatest challenges facing many societies today is

the development and sustainability of civil society in newly formed democracies

and as well in established democracies. There is less evidence that there are similar

programmes for citizens that utilize action learning and which will equip them with

the problem solving abilities that will enable them to deal with the uncertainties

and challenges facing communities today. The Citizen Leadership for Democratic

Governance Programme is accomplishing this. The programme is one of the projects

within the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa). My exposure to this

program was during a sabbatical to research different approaches to promoting

civic engagement, deliberation and action on public issues. I became interested in

studying Idasa’s programmes through public policy workshops I attended sponsored

by the Kettering Foundation that bring participants together from around the world

Action Learning: Research and Practice

Vol. 3, No. 1, April 2006, pp. 79–87

�Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Hawaii, 2424 Maile Way #107,

Honolulu, Hawaii 96822. Email: Dolores@hawaii.edu

ISSN 1476-7333 (print); ISSN 1476-7341 (online)=06=010079-9 # 2006 Taylor & FrancisDOI: 10.1080/14767330600574672

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to share their experiences in promoting democratization. Through this research I

became convinced that the Citizen Leadership programme is one of the most innova-

tive and successful programmes in promoting the development of citizen leaders that I

have observed in my own experience and in observing programs in the USA and other

countries.

The programme is not like other leadership programmes or community develop-

ment programmes that are trying to develop leaders through well organized but

heavily programmed training modules. This programme uses action learning to

develop citizen leaders. The goal of the Citizen Leadership Programme is to

develop leadership capacity of emerging leaders in civic organizations in South

Africa with the aim of strengthening civil society in South Africa.

The programme recruits individuals where the potential for action learning and the

participants’ potential role in community change is the greatest. The individuals that

come to this programme are individuals who see themselves as ordinary citizens. Most

emerge with greater self-confidence and self awareness and feeling empowered to

make a difference. As O’Hara et al. (1997) state:

Action Learning is appropriate for people and organizations where change is sought.

Action learning seems most appropriate in circumstances and contexts of unclear

futures and choices of action. Where the path ahead is preordained or obvious or

clear, there is little room in the process for action learning. Where times or individuals

are undergoing change and uncertainty then action learning can be a powerful tool.

(p. 95)

With the end of apartheid and the formation of a new government South Africa has

gone through a dramatic transition over the last decade and the future of its civil

society is more uncertain than facing most societies. The action learning orientation

of the Citizen Leadership Programme is producing some phenomenal changes in

individuals and communities in an environment where it is sorely needed. Citizen

leaders are developed through a multifaceted effort involving an emphasis on

reflection, experimental learning, problem solving and action through learning sets.

Purpose

Willis (2004) raised the question why so many things that are called action learning

are indiscriminately called by that name. Willis analyzed ten case histories of action

learning and found that there were significant departures from Revans’ theory in

almost all of the cases. In contrast, I believe that the Citizen Leadership Programme

does fit what Willis describes as Revans ‘gold standard’ of action learning. In the

hypothesized continuum of action learning proposed by Willis this programme

clearly falls more on the end of self-organizing form of action learning. The history

of Idasa as a pro-democracy organization has permeated this programme and is

realized in democratizing, self-organizing principles that are apparent throughout

the course. The programmed knowledge portions of the course are carefully designed

and minimized so that the participants can learn problem solving through their own

shared experiences. The spirit of the programme is to empower citizens to get involved

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and believe that they will make important contributions to their group, organization

and community. In contrast to those settings where action learning is proposed to

be the theory in use but is actually heavily programmed and embeds a specific objec-

tive this programme is truly based on self-organizing and participants are ‘trusted to

be on their own’ in their attempts to problem solve and design interventions.

The context

It is important to understand the context in which this programme was developed.

The loss of leadership, mission and international funding in the NGO sector in the

years immediately after 1994 has weakened South Africa’s civil society. South

Africa’s civil society was the most vibrant during the mass democratic movement in

the country. The demand that people wanted change and a role in governance was

demonstrated in a dynamic broad based movement of people’s organizations

ranging from religious organizations, youth and students, professional organizations,

trade unions, civic associations, professional bodies, social movements, NGOs and

a range of others. South Africa’s civic associations have been undergoing a post-

apartheid crisis. The reasons for this include a loss of leaders to political parties

and the bureaucracy, decline in international funding, and difficulty in defining a

role in relation to new South Africa (Gyimah-Boadi, 1996).

Idasa in response to this need developed a programme geared towards promoting

citizen participation through the empowerment and development of community lea-

dership. With the support of partnerships with SIDA, Irish AID and Studieforbundet

Vuxenskolan(SV)2 Idasa has embarked on training programmes and study circles to

reverse the decline in community action by developing and empowering local

leaders through an action learning programme.

Programme framework

The Participants learn skills such as to organise, analyse interests in communities,

power- mapping, one-on-one interviews, interfacing with government, campaign

planning, dealing with conflict and public speaking. Participants have to identify an

issue of concern in learning sets in the first two weeks of the programme. Out of

these issues identified, participants were then divided into groups according to the

areas they come from, mostly in their own local municipalities. They then self

organize around an issue, research the issue and then design a project with an

appropriate intervention to build public awareness on the issue.

There are also ways to help ensure that the action learning process continues after

the course ends. The participants are encouraged to set up study circles in their

communities to share their learnings with other community members and to

help develop leadership capacity in other community members. The Leadership

Unit also launched an alumni association where participants return to share their

reflections on what is working and what isn’t working.

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Course content

Courses are designed to build the capacity of citizens to make an impact by equipping

a group of citizens with necessary skills. Participants learn community organizing

skills, strategies for interfacing with government and increasing the impact of their

organization, develop their leadership strengths, and skills to develop civic responsi-

bility and leadership in others. Since training alone will not do this, the programme

is designed to be intensive and concentrates on involving a relatively small number

of participants over an extended training period. In addition to comprehensive

training, the program is comprised of linking the participants with mentors and coun-

cilors and working on community projects. The initiative also links the alumni

through study circles and other programs in order that they continue to work on

issues of concern and network with others.

Action learning sets

The structure of the course comprised 20 training days and of four 5-day work-

shops, spread over four months. Thirty participants were selected per course.

The participants are young and middle-level leaders in the 25–40 age group.

They are volunteers and non-professionals based in civil society organizations

(ward committees, resident associations, civic associations, squatter committees,

HIV/AIDS groups, youth groups, women’s groups, religious organizations,

environmental groups, etc.).

Idasa uses participatory training methodologies, and the course makes extensive

use of group work and other experiential learning techniques. The course is residen-

tial, and all participants were required to stay at the same venue during training to

facilitate the completion of group homework assignments. Between each training

block, participants are also expected to complete an assignment. Those who attended

the full course and completed all required assignments were awarded a certificate of

attendance. Workshops were also held for mentors and for Municipal elected

Councilors. These workshops are intended to help government leaders work more

effectively with citizens and to promote understanding and networking opportunities

between citizens and government officials. The course was residential, and all

participants are required to stay at the same venue during training to facilitate the

completion of group homework assignments.

Course framework

The model of action learning provided by Revans (1983) that L ¼ P þQ where ‘L’ is

learning, ‘P’ is programmed and ‘Q’ is insights from inquiry includes assertions that

most efforts have usually put too much emphasis on the programmed. In contrast this

programme includes short modules on the specific topics or skills followed by

experiential learning or projects. The emphasis is on participants working through

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problems and reflecting with others while they are in residence and between sessions.

Programmed topics include:

. problem framing

. deliberation

. policy analysis

. interfacing with government

. community consultation

. communication skills

. negotiation

. conflict management

. consensus-building

. getting and sharing power

. alliance-building

. facilitating collaboration

. lobbying and advocacy

. campaign planning/implementation

. mobilising resources

The program was put together over a number of years in consultation with

participants and others on the topics. Participants self-organize around these topics

and on the community projects. The community projects are a central feature of

the programme. They organize around an issue as well as the topics (i.e. consensus

building, lobbying, and policy analysis) for the community project they will be

working on over the course of the programme).

Another key feature is the emphasis on reflection during the course and once they

return home, they are paired with peer mentors in their communities to facilitate

participants’ reflection and learning. There are also workshops for the mentors and

local government officials on the framework followed by combined learning

opportunities.

When the course ends participants are encouraged to continue their involvement

through study circles. Participants are encouraged to initiate study circles in their

communities at the conclusion of the training. The study circles are self organized

learning sets. They use the Swedish model of study circles (Oliver, 1987) that is pre-

dicated on participants making decisions about what content they will study and the

choice of method. Many of the participants have set up these study circles and have

expressed amazement at the enthusiasm of community members. One participant

has organized over ten community groups to study and develop action plans on

issues in their community. Nomthi established a study circle focused on developing

personal leadership skills and a manual The Leader in You which she and others

have used to train other citizens. She credits the citizen leadership program with

giving her the skills and capacities to organize citizens. The study circles she organized

focused on developing leadership skills of others in her community, with the group

deciding to focus on the problems of the water delivery system in their community.

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Community projects

Key to the training is the requirement that participants develop community projects

with other participants. Out of these community projects, interventions were planned

to address a specific problem issue that the participants had identified. The results

were outstanding, with participants taking action on issues ranging from Crime

against women, alcohol abuse, domestic violence, crime, etc. One group for ‘the

Friends of the Disabled’ researched the treatment of the disabled in public transport.

They launched a project to promote awareness and developed informational

campaigns aimed at institutions and the general public. The flaw noted by Conger

and Toegel (2003) as an aspect of other leadership development programmes is not

evident here;

. . .often when action learning-projects end, they quite literally end. There is an assump-

tion that sufficient learning has taken place during the programme itself and that it will be

self-sustaining. Nothing could be further from the truth. (p. 338)

Alumni program

One of the distinctive features of the program is the effort to provide continuing lin-

kages and support to the participants. Participants stay involved through an alumni

program where they can share their experiences and learn from each other. The

alumni elect a committee that organizes meetings and opportunities for alumni to

share their experiences and learn from each other. Interviews with alumni revealed

continued involvement and enthusiasm for the projects they had begun as part of

the course. In fact an interesting outcome is that participants often form new commu-

nity based organizations to solve the problem they decided to address. It is clear that

they continue in some way with the projects and learning sets that they began as part

of the learning process.

Impact: the stories of emerging leaders

There are many stories of how the participants have gone on to have major impact in

their communities:

Viriginia Mashigo credits the programme with giving her the skills with the capacity

to expand and improve the Luvuyo Orphanage which now is able to cater for 220

children when previously they could only serve 80 children. Virginia also decided

to empower women in her community by providing them with marketable skills

and has trained over 250 women in detergent manufacturing, bread making or

flower-aranging and has motivated them to become leaders in their communities.

Themba Sibeko, was one of the founding members of the Congress of South

African Students and he helped make the country ‘ungovernable’. With a liberated

South Africa he vowed to use his skills to make a difference once he was released

from prison. He says ‘We must be involved in the government. This government

must be accountable to the people’. His organization has helped people obtain

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identity documents and runs awareness campaigns that help people understand the

laws of the country. Sibeko is setting up a business referral and information

network, Walk for Democracy. In December a group of 10 alumni wanted to mark

10 years of democracy by making a 1402 km journey to Cape Town. They arrived

in Cape Town the end of January, stopping in towns along the way to meet with

students, public officials and communities. The group formed the Open-up with

Democracy Institute to advocate self-empowerment in a democracy country. ‘We

believe that, as South Africans, we cannot sit and wait for government policies to

become magic wands and solve the diverse problems we are faced with in our daily

lives’, explains democracy ambassador Ntebogeng ‘Tebogo’ Kau. ‘The walk is to

signify that democracy is just an idea, it only comes to life when we do it. It aims

to build the capacity of citizens through study circles to stop beyond the ideological

and partisan barriers which frames political and social debates and work to address

these issues together as partners with a common stake in the community’, he added.

Mary Choma, a leader of a group of informal traders, was concerned about how

they were being exploited and was so inspired by the programme that she decided to

bring attention to their plight. She tried first the local mayor and others in the com-

munity when that failed she approached the President of South Africa. She was

determined to see him and she did get a meeting and said that ‘doors started to

open’. As result things of her actions things have started to improve for the informal

traders. She has gone on to be become an activist in other areas and is becoming

known as a leader in other communities and areas. Mary credits the learning that

she received through the programme for the self-confidence and the ability to

make changes. These are only a few of the many inspiring stories of the participants

of the leadership programme.

The responses have been overwhelmingly positive from the participants, mentors

and councilors—and the trainers. A common response is how inspired those that

come in contact with the programme are by the commitment and learning of the

participants. Meleney Tembo, one of the trainers says she is motivated by the devel-

opment she sees in the participants, ‘they are empowered to do things they weren’t

before’. The benefits of the programme can be heard in the voices of the

participants:

The advocacy helped me. Now I know how to approach and to talk to government

officials if we need them to help us. We make sure that our foundation is strong and

then they want to help us. The training played a big role.

I have learned how to be a good organiser. To listen and give feedback and most

importantly to implement what I have planned.

I see myself as a co-creator working in partnership with government.

The course made me realize that I am a very important player in the nation.

I see myself as a citizen leader that can do more for my community and who can now

teach others to become good leaders.

Developing citizen leaders 85

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Conclusion

Involvement with this program has reinforced the importance of action learning for

me. The capacities of emerging leaders can’t be developed with just short training

modules. Many of the leadership programmes I’ve participated in rely heavily on

programmed learning. They are usually carefully choreographed and afford little

opportunity for self-organizing or the spontaneity that is essential in an action learning

system. In contrast, this programme is a model for those that are working to help

develop citizen leaders and civil society. If the goal is to create grass roots leaders

that will lead other citizens in building and sustaining their democracy, we must

develop citizen leadership programmes that incorporate the principles of action

learning.

Notes

1. The Kettering Foundation is a research foundation that sponsors workshops and seminars

that bring representatives from national and international organizations that are promoting

citizen participation to share their experiences and research. The programmes of these

organizations range from trainings, sustained dialogues on public policy, deliberative

democracy and citizen leadership programmes.

2. Studieforbundet Vuxenskolan(SV) is one of the leading non-formal adult education

associations in Sweden, and the largest in terms of territorial coverage with 25 000 study

circle leaders. They have supported the development of study circles in South Africa.

Notes on contributor

Dolores Foley is an Associate Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Uni-

versity of Hawai at Manoa. Her research and consulting areas focus on community planning,

leadership development, citizen participation, and governance of non-profit and community

organizations. She has developed and conducted leadership, facilitation and communication

workshops. She teaches courses on community planning, social policy, and collaborative

problem solving. She has worked with governmental and community organizations in devel-

oping organizational and individual capacities. She has published articles on organization

change, collaboration and social issues in the International Journal of Organization Theory

and Behavior, the International Journal of Drug Policy, and the Journal of Administrative

Theory and Practice.

References

Boshyk, Y. (2002) Action learning worldwide: experiences of leadership and organizational development

(Hampshire, UK, Palgrave).

Conger, J. & Toegel, G. (2003) Action learning and multi-rater feedback as leadership development

interventions: popular but poorly developed, Journal of Change Management, 3, 332–348.

Donnenberg, O. & De Loo, I. (2004) Facilitating organizational development through action

learning—some practical and theoretical considerations, Action Learning: Research and

Practice, 1, 167–184.

Dotlich, D. & Noel, J. (1998) Action learning (San Francisco, Jossey Bass).

Gyimah-Boadi, E. (1996) Civil society in Africa, Journal of Democracy, 7(2), 118–131.

O’Hara, S., Beaty, L., Lawson, J. & Bourner, T. (1997) Action learning comes of age—part 2: action

learning for whom? Education and Training, 39, 91–95.

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