Tutorial:

IEEE CSI Business Development Workshop

“Education from, with, and for the whole”and

“Multinational NGOs as partners of praxis”

Daniel Wessner, JD, PhD, MDivRegis University, iDE, CTIR, and Future

Generations

Inter-related challenges and communities

1. How may we “strengthen the weak ties” of communities in the throes of change, penetrating their “grass ceilings and grass floors?”

2. How may we “strengthen even weaker ties” among the middle-out-actors of the global north and global south, piercing their “glass ceilings and glass floors?”

Community graffiti in Curtis Park – historic neighborhood of the 1893 City of Denver Horse Barn being refurbished for 31 international NGOs working on just + sustainable development.

Strengthen the weak ties with “ide” 21st C educational tools and existing assets + relations local + global cohorts of student-practitioners (AAs, MAs) of just and sustainable

development

1. Incubate testable methods of urban, rural + international development

2. Demonstrate NGO collaboration, best practices, and universal learning

3. Educate diverse populations in real time with new ontology (relations), epistemology (care/love), pedagogy (community-based), and learning ethic (reciprocity, trust and human capabilities empowerment)

1893 city stable just two miles north of state-wide NGO Alliance Center for Sustainable Colorado (another 36 NGOs) 67 organizations overall

Just how distant or broken are these relations?1. Product design and development (90% for the 10% or D-90?)

2. Traditional education of teacher’s knowledge, academe silos (or UOW?)

3. Urban/rural, scholar/practitioner, professional/farmer “alphabetism” to function for another’s system (or pluralism?)

4. Modernist theories (or ABCD, PRA, local supply and value chains?)

5. Political + cultural clash … e.g., McNamara & Thach - On the basis of In Retrospect and post-war doi moi, RSM posits, “We need not repeat a century of needless loss” so let us learn from one another … - Framing (seating, time, political ideology, power) - “Nothing personal” (3.5 M dead)

“We needed to understand you better” (Herring) “You had a duty to be more transparent” (silence) “How much attrition were you willing to sustain?” (n/a) “This place makes no goddam sense!” (stranded)

“To steal from the French is not to steal” … (insert World Vision, UN)

Vietnamese are pleased to “steal” from anyone pitching modernist constructs, discursive power (whether via education, religion, language, and politics), imperial purse strings, social engineering, and alphabetism (even via well-intentioned luminaries such as Eifel … architecture of Hanoi and Saigon) that ignore their own “everyday politics” + strategies (de Tray versus Kerkvliet … Borton … Buehler … Xuan) … investigate passionately what people seek and know already!

Annapurna wants someone to clear up her garden, which has suffered from past neglect, and three unemployed laborers – Dinu, Bishanno and Rogini – all very much want the job: Dinu is the poorest of the three; Bishanno has recently been impoverished and is psychologically most depressed; and Rogini is debilitated from a chronic ailment that she bears stoically.

Whom should Annapurna hire?

Amartya Sen’s thesis +Annapurna parable …

Sen’s “development = freedom”

•Role of freedom– Freedom as “end” (intrinsic, lasting, constitutive) – Freedom as “means” (free agency re all 5 freedoms)

•Instrumental freedoms– Political freedom (speak, critique, associate)– Economic role (X∆ of ideas, goods, services, jobs)– Social opportunities (health, literacy, education)– Transparency (clarity, disclosure, data)– Protective security (not afraid to speak/act/be)

“I don’t give a fig for simplicity this side of complexity, but will give my life for simplicity on the far side of complexity.” - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Individual Freedom + State-societal Freedom• “The bonded laborer born into semislavery, the subjugated girl child

stifled by a repressive society, the helpless landless laborer without substantial means of earning an income are all deprived not only in terms of well-being, but also in terms of the ability to lead responsible lives, which are contingent on having certain basic freedoms. Responsibility requires freedom.” (Sen, D as F, 284)

• “[An] approach to justice and development that concentrates on substantive freedoms inescapably focuses on the agency and judgment of individuals … Responsible adults must be in charge of their own well-being; it is for them to decide how to use their capabilities. But the capabilities that a person does actually have … depend on the nature of social arrangements, which can be crucial for individual freedoms. And there the state and the society cannot escape responsibility.” (p 288)

• Context of “poverty traps” – civil war, curse of natural resources, endemic corruption, and landlocked or volatile regions (Collier, TBB)

• Furthermore, the starting point for different groups is terribly contextual – from endemic suffering, to crisis and triage, to post-disaster/war rebuilding, to longer-term development, to “justpeace” (dreams of any people).

Education w/ communities and NGOs4 Principles: community asset-based (ABCD, PRA, positive deviation), 3-way partnerships, behavioral ∆, data-based7 Tasks: LCC, entry point (Sen), education, context (EEC), partner (web), 6-month work plans, and mid-course corrections 5 Criteria: equity, sustainability, holism, interdependence, and iterative process3 Scalabilities: SCALE₁ SCALE₂ SCALE₃

Dr. Carl Taylor, founder of the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins … and co-founder of its organizational opposite – Future Generations; taught passionately and effectively to age 93

Underlying concepts for growing human energy (thus growing community empowerment) … apps to IDP?

• 4 principles– Build on success– Data-based inquiry– Behavioral change– Three-way partnerships

• 7 iterative tasks– Develop local leadership council– Select starting point – Educate > mere alphabetism– Contextualize (ecology,

economy, cultural values)– Set partnerships/compass– Set 6-month work plans– Keep momentum on track with

mid-course corrections to the community’s work plan

• 5 criteria + “key indicator” of progress

– Equity (are all benefiting?)– Sustainability (on economic,

cultural, and environmental fronts)

– Holism (is the community advancing on interrelated aspects of development … recall Sen)

– Interdependence (are relations improving; are wronged relations being set right; restorative justice)

– Iteration (“get the job done” and then do it again, but better)

• 3 degrees of scalability– SCALE¹ community training– SCALE² regional +virtual training– SCALE³ government in

policyaking

Comparing traditional vs. integrative approaches

Traditional Integrative (iDE, T³)Resource

MindsetPlanningPartiesImplementingAccountabilityApproachDecision-makingDesired outcomesEvaluative criteriaMode of learningMode of mgmtTimeframe

MoneyConstruct, engineeringBudget Agenda PlanProfessionals, TNEConsultants, project unitsTo donor, granting agencyFix problem, address needPower, opinions, habitualMeasurable results per planBudget/time complianceDone right per existing stdsControlled, explainedPer donor’s budget cycle

Energy, hope, innovationEvolves per local contextAgenda Plan BudgetPartnerships (BOP, global, pol)Local supply/value chain + LCCCommunity and local marketsListen, ABCD, iterative successData, consumer responseNorm ∆, ↑ life, reciprocal trustPrinciples; right value; ↑ salesExperimental, iterativeMentoring, modeling, hopingContextual

Paul Polak, Out of Poverty

Polak rebuts the three great poverty myths of modernity:

Myth 1. Donate our way out of poverty (top-to-bottom, donor-driven, IOs directing NGOs + CBOs, which direct people), so just say no to Sachs + MDGs

Myth 2. ↑ GNP will end poverty whether via the “high modernist” ideology of Modernization Theory or radical Marxist derivatives, so relate to people and local approaches > theory (cf. Scott’s 4-pt thesis: control > nature; techne ideology; authoritarianism; prostrate civil society = disastrous consequences)

Myth 3. Big business and laissez faire will trickle down to end poverty, so (impact) invest in local supply and value chains

Polak’s 12 Steps for Practical Problem Solving1. Go to where the action is (D-90)2. Talk with those in the throes of ∆3. Study context of challenge (Venn)4. Think big, act big (strategize scalability)5. Think like a child (simplicity/complexity)6. See and do the obvious (often metis is your guide)7. If what you need exists, use it!8. Ask “Will ‘x’ positively affect one million people?”9. Cost/price targets = radical affordability10. Follow 3-year plans (Taylor³)11. Always listen/learn from customers (web)12. Stay positive (say no to skeptics; Polak’s 110+)

Treadle pump ↑s SunBlazer projections

☯ Pumps could affect 1 B ∆ $1-2/day to $5-10/day☯ Whole spectrum of supply + value change agents☯ Vendors at rural kiosk sell pump, parts, milk, drip, Nokero bulbs, filtered (fortified) water, and services to recharge cells, phones and laptops … and to drill wells … and to provide parts for self-installed toilets (compostable) capacity

Regime change … locally and globally

How does this approach and perspective resonate with the BOP and global north praxis?

Locally … loud speakers, troupes, puppetry, soap operas, music, neighbors, entrepreneursGlobally … ideals + conventions among IOs and NGOs adopt, implement, police regimesScalability … markets and education (both plugged into media) aspirations Politically … state and organization behavior lustration

Educationally … several models to consider - TED – popularizing ideas - MDP – elite interdisciplinary - UOW – response to MDP - Denver NGOs – 68 thus far - Peter’s Scot-Malawi project - Open source modules

New ontology, epistemology, pedagogy, andragogy, ethics

Think of the stages of Haiti “building back better” … from pre-quake history of colonialism, slavery, civil war, and the “republic of NGOs” to the immediate post-quake triage, media blitz, short-term aid, elections, reconstruction projects, donor conferences, design of longer-term development, … and eventually something that might be termed “justpeace.” This later stage means near- and longer-term "human security" for conflicted, jeopardized, threatened, and traumatized people and communities. Their security rests not in managing conflict or disaster (the job of first-responders, and sometimes militaries and UN troops), nor in resolving conflict or vulnerability (getting back to a point in time pre-crisis), but rather in transforming direct and structural wrongs and various forms of vulnerability and violence.

This identifies more stakeholders. It expands the sense of community. It means reciprocal duties to not harm, to stand in the way of harm, and to undo systemic perpetuation of harm (R2P). Quality + dignity of life a "holistic human security" of integrated physical + material well-being, spiritual + artistic empowerment, ethical engagement + praxis, and genuine relations.

From triage to justpeace

Leymah Gbowee Wangari Maathai Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Analytical – historical, socio-psychological, economic, and political. It concerns structural violence that has created long-lasting disparity, disability, damage, and death. These leave people prone to continued cycles of victimization and death. Secondary violence ensues: self-destruction (depression and abusive behavior), community destruction (crime, domestic violence), and national unrest that spills across boundaries. Relational approaches are dialogical, negotiating, mediative, diplomatic, self-reflective Value-driven – what are the big questions, the underlying and interdependent needs/desires of humans let this drive material, social, and cultural needs and rights

JustpeaceProcess

Justpeace process (Lisa Schirch’s Strategic Peacebuilding Mindful of the IMMEDIATE triage and humanitarian assistance that is needed in crisis, this justpeace approach then asks how to chart the successive holistic interdependent services, skills, and disciplines noted above. Mapping this medium- to longer-term process:

Knowing one’s context and relations

Waging conflict nonviolently

Building capacity (Sen)

Transforming relationships

(considerable trauma work)

Reducing direct violence (and

structural)

Adam Curle’s power and knowledge dynamic:

PowerBalance

Power Imbalance

Increasing knowledge

University of the World AA and MA tracks

• Skills– Community-based approach of SEED-

SCALE VHA + family bond is the basis of development assets, data, and project implementation

– NGO project-driven platform as students are all full-time NGO employees and community leaders

– Associates study in a 2-year community-worker model

– Masters study to become a 3-year supervisor of SEED-SCALE, supervising and mentoring the Associates

– Online (2/6), in field together (1/6), and community work (3/6) practicum work with mentor

– Mentorship scalability– Cost ~ $1,500/yr/AA and

$2,600/yr/MA

• NGO-driven– Change and conservation

(Tibet)– Peacebuilding (USIP)– Global health (Johns

Hopkins)– Maternal and child health

(Peru)– Food and water security– Ecotourism (Nepal)– Micro-finance/credit (Nepal)

– Adding new courses as NGOs and partners offer new capability

MacArthur Foundation MDP

• Cohort attributes– Shared research sites– Millennium Villages– BRAC (cradle to grave

providers of services, goods, and education)

– MDG focus + metrics– 6-months field work– Repository library– Elite institutions –

graduate education– Train global IO leaders– Cost ~ $60,000/yr/student

• Interdisciplinary– Policymaking– Health science– Business

management– Environmental

science– Social sciences

Denver-based international + domestic work & education

• Synergy (not by accident)

– Horse Barn (1893 2013 rebuild)– Alliance Center (2007 new LEED)– 68 NGOs (four anchors – EWB, iDE,

DUG, and AC … and iCATIS), government (policy, white papers), K-12 (CISCO), universities (RU, DU, CU, UCD), community colleges, donors, and organizations (service, professional) networks (400+)

– Incubate – Demonstrate– Educate Reciprocal community-vetted

research, publication, teaching, and relationship-rich CO and global service and teaching

And shared costs of operation Working on all levels of costs

• Integrative (just coming to learn)

– Market-based “ide” for goods/services– Educationally linked reciprocity and

co-vetting– Full spectrum of learning communities– Cross-sector: equity (gender),

economics, water, agriculture, ecology, health, cultural integrity, waste, recycling, conservation and engineering

– Growing the capabilities of personnel, projects, policy … people (“do development as well as the world prepares health professionals)

– Modeling for other NGO and non-profit networks

– Modeling for K-12 and universities– Relating to communities of learning

and other development networks

In- process curricula for AC and HB

• Skill-based applied – Monitoring and evaluation– Accounting and statistics– Grant writing– GPS/GIS– Project proposals– Leadership and organizational

management broad relations and personnel

– Cross-culturalism– Empowerment– Applied research and community-

vetting … up to four years– Costs of education ~ sliding scale of

workshops, continuing education units, degree earning, and non-degree courses (zoomer boomers) price this out so as to grow the spectrum of communities of learning from kids to seniors

• Substantive courses– Change and conservation– Market leveraging (supply/value

chain and impact investment)– Rural and urban agriculture– Food and water security (WaSH)– Community-based health – Global and gendered health– Human ecology– Human rights, dignity, and duties– International systems– Local/state politics/policymaking– From triage to justpeace– Conflict transformation– Corruption and integrity– Corporate social responsibility– Synthesis and integration– Faith and ethics – why care?

“None of us … can continue to marginalize all those who have opposed us or disappointed us. The human cost is simply too high. [People] of all political persuasions and all generations and all walks of life must work to expand the sense of ‘we’ and to diminish the sense of ‘they.’ If we cannot humanize those whose destinies have impinged upon our own, if we cannot increase empathy and vanquish self-righteousness, if we cannot expand our moral imaginations to discern and accept the pattern that connects us all in a common human condition, then we shall all continue to have lost the war in Vietnam, to perpetuate a struggle in which there are no winners.” - Neil Jamieson, Understanding Vietnam

Vo Tong Xuan (“Dr. Rice”) taught integrated systems for rice growing and grain banks, fish ponds, fruit production, bio-fuel, and animal husbandry – for 60¢/day post-war (six in a row) farmers

- Second track diplomacy – mot tho kenh thu hai – weak ties ↑ - “The king’s law is subservient to the village” – phep vua thua le lang

- Magsaysay and Nikkei Awards – policymaking and success

- National Assembly Member – village-government ties ↑

- “When riding the tail of a tiger, don’t let go.” (Xuan … and Ray Larsen)