2013 Book LifelongActionLearningForCommu 2013

Front Cover Photograph
The circle of friendship
Many indigenous cultures maintain a tradition with roots in the idea of ‘the circle
of friendship’. In this understanding, by treating our friendship as a gift to people
who are special to us, our friendship with them will last forever. Community
members therefore meet regularly around an open fire to share ideas and celebrate
the peace, friendship and care among them.
Lifelong Action Learning (LAL) has its roots in a similar understanding. As this
book explains, people learn with and from each other through collaborative first-
hand experience and reflecting upon it. They pass on their learning to others to
cascade the knowledge they have created and their understanding of how to learn
continuously – through LAL. The solidarity, enlightenment and sharing of ideas
depicted on the cover of this book are true to the philosophy of LAL for community
development and ultimately a better world for all.
Lifelong Action Learning for
Community Development
Learning and Development for a Better World
By
Ortrun Zuber-Skerritt
Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
and
Richard Teare
Global University for Lifelong Learning, California, USA
SENSE PUBLISHERS
ROTTERDAM / BOSTON / TAIPEI
A C.I.P. record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-94-6209-387-4 (paperback)

ISBN 978-94-6209-388-1 (hardback)
ISBN 978-94-6209-389-8 (e-book)
Published by: Sense Publishers,

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of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword vii
Sir Paulias Matane
Acknowledgements xi
Reviewers’ Comments xiii
About the Authors xix
List of Tables xxi
List of Figures xxiii
List of Appendices xxv
List of Acronyms xxvii
Part I: Introduction to Lifelong Action Learning (LAL)

in Theory and Practice 1
Chapter 1. A New Conceptual Framework for Learning and Development in

the Twenty-first Century 3
Chapter 2. How to Develop Lifelong Action Learning 29

Part II: Mobilizing Rural Communities 65
Chapter 3. Building a Case for Evidence-Based Learning 67

Richard Teare
Chapter 4. Personal Viability – The Journey to Self-Reliance and

Financial Independence 99
Richard Teare
Chapter 5. Church and Community Mobilization – A Process for

Transformational Development 133
Richard Teare
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Part III: Reflections and Conclusions 167
Chapter 6. Reflections and Insights on the GULL System through

Video Technology 169
Ortrun Zuber-Skerritt and Richard Teare
Chapter 7. Reflections and Conclusions on Learning and Development

for a Better World 221
Name Index 239
Subject Index 243
vi
SIR PAULIAS MATANE
FOREWORD
My Lifelong Learning Journey
Why is this book about lifelong action learning so important? I would like to begin
with an illustration from my own life. I was born in 1931 in a remote subsistence
community in East New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea. As both my parents
died when I was a young boy, I was raised by my elderly grandparents. My
grandfather told me that if I wanted to succeed in life, I had to be focused, have a
vision, set an objective, plan for it, and with total honesty, commitment and
perseverance, I would reach my goal. I took up my grandfather’s challenge and at
the age of over sixteen, I had the opportunity to go to school for the first time. I
later became a Teacher, Headmaster, Schools Inspector and then National
Superintendent of Teacher Education. After that, I served my country as a
Permanent Secretary, an Ambassador, a High Commissioner, and as a Vice
President of the United Nations General Assembly. On 26 May, 2004 I was elected
as the Eighth Governor-General of Papua New Guinea.
Although my formal learning journey only began when I was a teenager, my
dream was to achieve more than my limited educational opportunity would
normally permit. The dream became a reality when I discovered for myself the
power of lifelong action learning. At the age of 81, my life is still full of action,
reflection and learning and my learning journals have been the fruitful resource for
the books I have written about many aspects of life. I am currently working on my
forty-ninth book.
ENABLING YOU TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN OUR WORLD
The story of this book about lifelong action learning and the role of the Global
University for Lifelong Learning (GULL) began in August 2004 when I first met
co-author, Professor Richard Teare in London. I had travelled from Papua New
Guinea with my wife for a meeting with Her Majesty the Queen. At that meeting,
Richard shared his vision for a practical and inclusive system that would enable the
poor and the marginalized (the world’s majority) to experience for themselves, the
life-changing potential of action learning. I had previously written on this subject
(drawing on my own experience) and so we began a dialogue by email. We
explored over a period of several years the ways and means that might be used to
enable those without money and qualifications to participate in a new kind of
global learning initiative. Richard knew from his own prior experience of academia
that we would need a credible alternative to ‘validated’ or ‘accredited’ learning and
our solution was to develop a Statement of Recognition that Grand Chief
vii
FOREWORD
Sir Michael Somare, the Founding Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, and I
could sign and support on behalf of the Nation of Papua New Guinea. Our aim was
to provide GULL with a mandate by recognizing its professional award system in
perpetuity and you can view the Statement that we signed on 10 April, 2007 in the
‘Recognition’ section at the GULL website. After that, things moved quickly –
Richard left paid employment to lead GULL and on Friday, 5 October, 2007, the
formal launch of GULL took place in the State Function Room at National
Parliament House in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea. I am
delighted that since then, GULL has been introduced to many countries and in
most parts of the world. Now, thousands of people – year on year – use GULL to
achieve remarkable outcomes for themselves, their families and communities.
GULL’s process deliberately avoids the need for expensive resources so that
anyone can participate. GULL uses the term ‘pathway’ to reflect the fact that
lifelong learning is a continuing journey of the human spirit. Above all, we wanted
to offer a process that would enable participants to help themselves and then to
help others – that is why we adopted the motto ‘Enabling YOU to make a
difference in OUR world’. Among the many government ministers and
organizational leaders around the world that have endorsed GULL, Sir Howard
Cooke, former Governor-General of Jamaica used the most memorable phrase to
describe GULL’s work. Richard met Sir Howard at his home in Jamaica in
February 2008 and after explaining the concept of GULL, Sir Howard said that he
believes that there is a ‘Genius of God’ in each and every person and that GULL’s
approach to lifelong action learning would enable every GULL participant to
discover and use their own unique ‘genius’ to help themselves and others. This is a
concise and powerful summary of GULL’s mission. You can view Richard’s
discussion with Sir Howard in the Media section at the GULL website.
LIFELONG ACTION LEARNING FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
This book documents GULL’s dynamic journey since its inception and it draws on
rural community applications in developing nations to illustrate the rich diversity
of action learning that is enabling economically poor communities to attain self-
reliance and financial independence. The theoretical framework is provided by
Ortrun Zuber-Skerritt, one of the world’s most respected and experienced writers
on action learning. Ortrun and Richard explain and demonstrate how indigenous
systems – founded on traditional knowledge and cultures can be integrated with
GULL’s pathways. This helps to systemize and professionalize holistic
development and by linking outcomes to recognition and certification, large
numbers of people – previously excluded from the opportunity to learn – are now
able to participate and be recognized for their efforts. This truly is a dream come
true!
This book is the first in what I hope will become a series of books that explain
and illustrate the endless ways of engaging with communities. Its focus on
engaging with rural communities in developing nations draws on GULL’s work in
Papua New Guinea with the highly regarded ‘Personal Viability’ system and from
viii
FOREWORD
a multi-country application in East Africa. A second case study illustrates how a

process called ‘Church and community mobilization’ is enabling hundreds of
economically poor communities in East Africa to become self-reliant. A novel
feature of the book is the wide range of accompanying resources that are freely
available from the GULL website. They include eight videos – recorded
specifically to support this book – featuring the voices and stories of GULL
participants, indigenous system developers and analysts.
I am personally thrilled by GULL’s progress – a non-profit network movement
that is principally designed for, and is being embraced by, the poor and
marginalized people that share our fragile and interconnected planet. The reader
should know that all proceeds from this book will be used to develop GULL’s
work at grassroots level. I am also proud of the fact that GULL’s mandate
originates in Papua New Guinea – this is our gift to the world.
I know that you will be encouraged, challenged and motivated by this book and
after you have read it, I urge you to consider how you might collaborate with
GULL and deploy its lifelong action learning methodology in support of the
communities that you serve. This would be a very effective way of enabling YOU
to make a difference in OUR world.
His Excellency Grand Chief Sir Paulias Matane

Eighth Governor-General of Papua New Guinea (2004–2010),
Founding Chancellor of the Global University for Lifelong Learning, USA
Kokopo, East New Britain, Papua New Guinea
December, 2012
ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Ortrun and Richard would like to thank critical friends who provided useful
feedback on earlier drafts of the chapters and enhanced the quality of the book
publication. In alphabetical order these are: Mary Brydon-Miller, Phil Crane, Bob
Dick, Pip Bruce Ferguson, Margaret Fletcher, Judith Kearney, Ron Passfield, Chad
Perry, Jo Anne Pomfrett, Wendy Rowe, Frank Thompson and Lesley Wood.
Richard Teare would like to thank the friends, colleagues, system developers,
leaders and Global University for Lifelong Learning (GULL) participants who
assisted in the preparation of the Part II chapters and videos. In alphabetical order
they are:
Jane Achaloi, Elinor Alexander, Pianilee Samuel Alibe, Girma Begashaw, Michael
Botuo, Magarett Dardar, The District Commissioner of Kajo Keji in South Sudan,
Mark Egelan, Simon Peter Emiau, Marla Grassi, Patricia Hartasanchez, Alison
Hitu, Emmanuel Isaya, Mary Gideon Jagu, Martin Jennings, Francis Loku, Paulias
Matane, Anna Miwewbi, Joseph Mgomi, Wudu Ezbon Moggson, Amy Montalvo,
Mike Naija, Jonas Njelango, Francis Njoroge, John Nkola, Justin Nyamoga, Micael
Olsson, Evans Osumba, Anthony Poggo, Wolfgang Riedner, Cathy Rumints,
Henry Mawa Samuel, Jackson ole Sapit, Josephine Sempele, Sarone ole Sena,
Speaker of the Council of Kajo Keji, South Sudan, Samuel Tam, Vincent Tang,
Norma Taylor, Rachel Teare, Grace Tselam and Paul Wiau.
Special thanks are due to Maureen Todhunter as copy editor, Matthew Teare as
video editor and GULL website manager, and Jo Anne Pomfrett as proof reader.
This book is dedicated to Paulias Matane, Edward Mooney and Michael Somare
for their vision and support for GULL, and to everyone who will take up the vision
and benefit from putting it into practice within their communities and then
cascading their learning to others.
xi
REVIEWERS’ COMMENTS
‘Lifelong Action Learning (LAL) for Community Development: Learning and

Development for a Better World’ manages to accomplish an almost impossible
goal – to be both deeply inspirational and highly practical all at the same time. The
authors make a strong case for the vital importance of lifelong action learning as a
strategy for addressing global inequality and for encouraging community
development that is respectful of local culture and conditions. This book provides a
clear framework to guide this process of individual and community development,
along with a wealth of useful methods that can be used to implement the approach,
and case studies that illustrate how the basic principles of lifelong action learning
can be applied in very different cultural and political contexts. One way of
understanding the impact of any strategy for achieving positive change is in terms
of what the authors here identify as cascading effects – the extent to which the
work inspires others to action. Readers will find here an engaging invitation to
become a part of this cascade of projects and partnerships committed to
international community development focused on human well-being and positive
social change.
Professor Mary Brydon-Miller, PhD, Director, Action Research Centre, and
Professor, Educational Studies and Urban Educational Leadership, College of
Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services, University of Cincinnati, USA
(Mary.Brydon-Miller@uc.edu)
I was sold on this book from the foreword – the need to rethink how we think about
and ‘do’ education is emerging as a ‘hot topic’ among academics. Visionary
scholars, such as the authors of this book, accept that our current approach to
education is elitist, exclusive and denies the value of locally created knowledge,
and by implication, those who created it. The dominant western epistemology
continues to dictate ideas of what forms of knowledge are valid, who can create
such knowledge and what should be done with it. This book shows how we can
begin to challenge this knowledge hegemony by taking the university to the people.
Zuber-Skerritt offers a wonderfully clear conceptual framework for lifelong action
learning as a methodology to help community members to systematize and
professionalize indigenous knowledge through taking action to improve their
quality of life. Through convincing case studies Teare shows how this form of
knowledge generation engages people in solving the ‘wicked’ problems of this
world through following a systemic and validated process of action learning,
guided by the Global University of Lifelong Learning programs. Certainly, this
approach yields more positive benefits for community members than formal
education that tends to “educate to earn a living” rather than educate for sustainable
improvement in quality of life. This book will stimulate the ongoing discussion
around community engagement and show that universities can work with
communities without losing any of their credibility or power – in fact the opposite
xiii
is true as this type of work spawns vast amounts of data for research purposes.
More importantly, it shows that the academy can partner with communities to
increase and enhance the self-respect and dignity of those who have been
historically marginalized by the epistemological hegemony of the academy.
Professor Lesley Wood, PhD, Research Professor, North-West University,
Potchefstroom, South Africa (lesley.wood@nwu.ac.za)
I have worked as a development consultant in Africa and know first hand the
difficulties involved. I therefore warmly recommend this book to all the people
involved in community development within developing countries. It provides a
conceptual foundation for its approach in ‘lifelong action learning for community
engagement’, linking established ideas from many sources into a new way of
thinking about development. It then provides a step-by-step process for
implementing that new way of thinking. I especially like the case studies of how
the approach has actually worked to develop successful business in informal
economies in several countries. The two authors have an enormous depth
of experience in the fields that they are writing about, and that adds to
the credibility of what they are describing. All development practitioners and
students should study this book carefully, as should aid bureaucrats and aid
donors.
Chad Perry, PhD, Emeritus Professor, Australian Institute of Business, Adelaide,
Australia (ninaeau@yahoo.com)
In this new book, Ortrun Zuber-Skerritt and Richard Teare present challenging and
original models for encouraging community and social development work.
Drawing on a Lifelong Action Learning (LAL) approach, they challenge Western-
dominated approaches to learning, encouraging the development of local solutions
for local needs. The book presents the philosophical underpinning and models of
LAL for individual, organization and community development, then a range of
case studies demonstrating original work done in a variety of countries (Papua
New Guinea, and East African countries). The volunteers who worked in those
contexts have been encouraged in their endeavours to provide extensive evidence-
based descriptions that meet the assessment criteria for GULL, and have achieved
certification at Certificate, Diploma, Masters or Doctoral level through GULL. The
book addresses readers in the first person, and besides including URLs to resources
and videos of case study participants and their work, contains both transcripts and
appendices to support readers who may not have online access, but who want to
learn from the examples.
Pip Bruce Ferguson, PhD, Teaching Developer, Teaching Development Unit,
University of Waikato, New Zealand (pip@waikato.ac.nz or ferguson@xtra.co.nz)
‘Lifelong Action Learning (LAL) for Community Development: Learning and

Development for a Better World’ was a fascinating and thought provoking read of
alternative education techniques and community development goals. The authors
weave together basic lifelong learning principles, with that of action inquiry and
xiv
community development projects; reinforcing at every stage the importance of

engagement and professional recognition of local volunteers in efforts to improve
their personal and community quality of life. This book will be useful to
international community developers, educators and researchers – especially if they
are looking for alternative ways of successfully improving living conditions for
disadvantaged and subsistence communities. This book will be a necessary read for
students in the MA Global Leadership program at Royal Roads University,
Victoria, Canada.
Wendy Rowe, PhD, Associate Professor and Program Head, School of Leadership,
Royal Roads University, Victoria, Canada (wendy.rowe@royalroads.ca)
In this book Ortrun Zuber-Skerritt and Richard Teare invite us to re-think, re-
evaluate and re-create our views of learning. They introduce Lifelong Action
Learning (LAL) as an effective approach to sustainable community development
so that by working collaboratively and mindfully we can transcend current
educational paradigms to help improve human life, especially among those in
greatest need. They describe, explain and illustrate how LAL values, such as
authentic solidarity, respect, self-respect, and appreciation of the richness of
diverse ways of thinking and doing, can be put into action within communities to
help unlock and empower human potential. The authors’ insights lead us to also re-
think the constraints of dominant economic assistance models aimed at promoting
the empowerment of poor and disadvantaged communities both in developed and
not so developed societies. For the English-speaking world here is an inspiring
book whose principles of action and learning coincide broadly with Latin
American ways of approaching community empowerment, inspired by Paulo Freire
and Orlando Fals Borda.
Doris Santos, PhD, Associate Professor, Universidad Nacional de Colombia,
Bogota DC, Colombia (dasantosc@unal.edu.co)
The authors, Ortrun Zuber-Skerritt and Richard Teare, are highly credentialed in
the formal academic world by virtue of their qualifications and experience. They
use their resultant profound knowledge to reconceptualize accredited learning as
lifelong action learning within the context of communities within developing
countries. As with any new paradigm, their writing and work on the ground
reinvigorates the established concept of accredited learning and extends its
meaning to incorporate learning within organizations and community that achieves
verifiable personal and organizational/community outcomes. In this way, they are
able to give access to accredited learning to the great majority of people who are
unable to access the formal education system. By bringing education to the people,
rather than people to education, they create the possibility for real personal,
organizational and community learning on-the-ground in developing countries. At
the same time, they challenge each of us to embrace the new paradigm of lifelong
xv
action learning within our own context and to support their efforts to bring
education to the many millions of people in developing countries.
Ron Passfield, PhD, Organizational Consultant and Freelance Social Media
Manager, Merit Solutions Pty Ltd (rpassfield@optusnet.com.au)
As a development practitioner, I have found myself in the middle of training

courses thinking ‘I understand what I’m being taught – but I have no idea how I’ll
be able to apply it back in the office – or out in the field’. I have observed this
situation continually in the cross-cultural training context. I have struggled to work
out where to start to implement training courses in many complex development
situations. When working in a community that is at war with itself – where does
one begin? Now I have an answer. The genius of this book is its simplicity. It
provides a sound approach to addressing the holes in our mainstream approaches to
education, training, development and in living together in communities, through
providing a new understanding of ‘lifelong action learning’ and how to achieve it
through proactively cultivating and passing on local knowledge. By effectively
bringing together proven methodologies/approaches – action learning and action
research, community development, cross-cultural theories and lifelong learning –
this work provides a clear way forward for development that has two distinctive
strengths. It is self sustaining – enabling real progress that will not fall over once
interventions stop – and it is self developing – unlocking human potential to deal
with the complex and turbulent C21.
Frank Thompson, PhD in management of international development programs, has
worked in development for more than 15 years in government, NGOs and as a
consultant. He currently delivers programs in Africa
(frank_thompson@ausaid.gov.au or fthompsonassociates@yahoo.com.au)
This book presents an enlightening account of the use of action learning in

developing countries. It is characterized by the integration of concepts, theory,
practice and detailed easy-to-use processes, all in the service of empowerment for
the often disadvantaged and neglected in the third world.
Bob Dick, DLitt, Adjunct Professor, Southern Cross University, Australia
(bd@bigpond.net.au or bobdick@mac.com)
As a critical reader and having responded to the content in each of these chapters, I
believe this book has the potential to transform the century old teaching and
learning paradigm that is failing many countries to one that is futures oriented and
transformational in nature. The coming together of organizations and communities
described here demonstrates how people power is enabled through a paradigm shift
that centres the learner and community in a process-oriented approach to managing
change. The partnerships that create these learning opportunities recognize the
inherent value of self-directed, facilitated learning. The challenge now is for the
entrenched education paradigm to recognize these partnerships as alternative and
xvi
valid education providers. This is a book that all educators need to read and to
consider within their own learning context.
Margaret Fletcher, PhD, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Griffith University, Australia
(m.fletcher@griffith.edu.au or margaretfletcher.01@gmail.com)
I read this book without prior knowledge of the subject matter. Despite this, I found
the book engaging and easy to read and understand. I particularly appreciated the
inclusion of diagrams and flow charts, which helped elucidate the concepts in a
simple visual way. The concepts and their realization as described in the book
present a very persuasive argument for their implementation and utilization. The
multiple aims of personal growth and community enhancement are admirable and
the book demonstrates the benefits and advantages that adoption of these systems
can provide. The reflections of the participants make clear the very positive effects
of Lifelong Action Learning. One commented that ‘when I studied and graduated, I
thought that learning was just in the four corners of the room, but through this
process, I really come to know – learning is everywhere’. Dr Ortrun Zuber-Skerritt
and Dr Richard Teare and their colleagues in GULL are doing commendable work,
not only through providing people with the means for improving their subsistence,
but by giving them ways to enrich their life experience through these lifelong
learning methods which in turn enables them to pass their knowledge on to others.
As Dr Zuber-Skerritt states the book is future-oriented and I hope it can go on to
help many more people.
Jo Anne Pomfrett, BA (Hons), GradDip Museum Studies, Consultant Museum
Curator, Writer and Researcher, Queensland, Australia (pomfrettja@hotmail.com)
xvii
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Ortrun Zuber-Skerritt is Director of OZI (Ortrun Zuber International P/L),

specializing in action learning and action research, leadership development
programs and postgraduate research training and supervision, including qualitative
research methods. She is also Adjunct Professor at Griffith University (Brisbane,
Australia); Professor Extraordinaire at Tshwane University of Technology
(Pretoria, South Africa); and Regional President Australasia, Global University for
Lifelong Learning (GULL). After her under- and postgraduate studies in Germany,
she obtained four doctoral degrees since living in Australia: PhD in Literature
(University of Queensland), PhD in Higher Education (Deakin University), DLitt
in Management Education (International Management Centres Association), and an
Honorary Doctor of Professional Studies (GULL). Ortrun has published 35 books,
45 book chapters, over 100 articles and papers, and 45 video programs related to
postgraduate education, action learning and action research. She has been awarded
over $1million in R&D grants and led projects on ways of improving learning,
teaching and management in all the universities in Queensland and in other
Australian states, as well as in institutions in New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore,
Japan, Fiji, Sweden, Holland, Austria, Germany, England, South America and
South Africa.
Richard Teare, PhD, DLitt, KNSB is President, Global University for Lifelong
Learning (GULL) which he co-founded in 2007. Richard has been committed to
work and community-based learning since the mid-1990s and he has helped to
create learning and development applications for a wide variety of organizations in
different parts of the world. Prior to his current role, he held professorships at four
UK universities and his academic publications include 20 co-authored and edited
text books on aspects of service management, marketing and organizational
learning. In 2010, Richard was initiated as an honorary Chief by the Masi sub-
Clan, Lihir Islands, Papua New Guinea, received the Royal Award of the King of
Surakata, Indonesia and was awarded the honorary Title of Gaurawacharya
(Teacher of Honour) by the South Asian Academy for Good Governance in Sri
Lanka. In 2012, he received a Knighthood from the Royal Order of the Noor of
Buayan, Sultanate of Buayan, Philippines, in recognition of GULL’s work with
communities around the world. Full details of GULL’s work can be found at the
website: www.gullonline.org
xix
LIST OF TABLES
1.1 Comparison between LAL and traditional education 17

3.1 Education and life skills: A transition to evidence-based learning 79
3.2 GULL forms to gather and track individual learning outcomes 86
3.3 Annual TRACA cycle steps 89
3.4 Level 2: Personal skills development – indicative outcomes 93
3.5 Level 2: Technical skills development – indicative outcomes 93
3.6 Level 5: Personal skills development – indicative outcomes 94
3.7 Level 5: Technical skills development – indicative outcomes 94
4.1 Calculating the individual FABP (in Kina) 113
4.2 Level 4: Calculating the family FABP (in Kina) 114
4.3 Lihir PV participants’ financial results: June–December 2011
(in Kina) 123
5.1 Key outcomes: Stages 1–6 inclusive 149
5.2 CCMP participants in East African nations (Kenya, South
Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda) 2001–2012 150
5.3 CCMP project outcomes in East African nations (Kenya,
South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda) 2001–2012 151
6.1 Summary of issues arising in videos 1–8 and Chapters 3–5 181
7.1 Principles/values and activities for developing lifelong learning
action 224
xxi
LIST OF FIGURES
1.1 Lifelong action learning: the synthesis of lifelong learning and

action learning 16
1.2 A model of lifelong action learning for unlocking human
potential 18
1.3 Mind map of this book 24
2.1 Model of a systematic reflection diary process 32
2.2 A student’s snake diagram 35
2.3 Figure eight: the process of project design and management 48
2.4 Principles and activities for developing lifelong action learning 52
3.1 Developing professionalism in context 69
3.2 Does the organizational culture facilitate learning? 70
3.3 Is the concept of personal professionalism valued? 72
3.4 Is the philosophy of self-directed learning accepted? 73
3.5 Is evidence-based learning prioritized? 75
3.6 Evidence of learning and ROI 76
3.7 The benefits of a self-directed action learning process combined
with evidence-based professional certification 77
3.8 Life skills action learning 79
3.9 Facilitating wider community engagement in active learning 80
3.10 Progressive holistic development and professional certification 82
3.11 Capacity building cascade design 85
3.12 Capacity building pathway for community volunteers 86
3.13 Community-led ROI impact tracking 87
4.1 PV’s approach to developing competence and character 105
4.2 Attaining personal alignment 107
4.3 Scheme of self-reliance and financial independence:
PV–GULL levels 1–7 inclusive 109
4.4 PV’s approach to developing thinking skills 111
4.5 The EDTC sustainable development model 112
4.6 Calculating family needs 115
4.7 PV’s equation for sustainable development 117
5.1 Implementing CCMP with GULL 141
5.2 CCMP–GULL cascade 143
5.3 Linking CCMP outcomes to GULL professional certification 145
5.4 Tracking and verifying CCMP outcomes 148
7.1 A model of learning and development for a better world 228
7.2 A model of facilitating and cascading individual and social
change 232
xxiii
LIST OF APPENDICES
2.1 Daily Summary 55

2.2 Weekly Summary 56
2.3 Monthly Summary 59
2.4 “Turning Point Exercise”: An Activity for Building Relationships
in Small Groups 62
3.1 GULL’s Approach to Outcomes Mapping 92
3.2 The GULL Code of Practice 96
4.1 A Profile of Samuel Tam and the Entrepreneurial Development
Training Centre (EDTC) Ltd 125
4.2 Are You Viable? 127
4.3 PV–GULL Levels of Certification, Related Outcome
Requirements and the Means of Verification 128
4.4 Weekly Praxis Report 130
4.5 The Balance Sheet of Life: Reconciling Human Assets and
Liabilities 131
5.1 Profiles of Jonas Njelango and Francis Njoroge 154
5.2 Stage-related CCMP Outcome Indicators 156
5.3 Indicators for Monitoring and Evaluating Change 159
5.4 Stage-related CCMP–GULL Recognition and Certification 161
5.5 CCMP East Africa: Tracking and Reporting 163
5.6 CCMP East Africa: Objectives, Indicators and Tracking 164
6.1 Transcripts of Videos 186
6.2 Outline of the GULL Website 210
xxv
LIST OF ACRONYMS
AAR Annual Administrator Report

ADP Area Development Program
AL Action Learning
ALAR Action Learning and Action Research
ALD Action Leadership Development
APEC Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, including the US, Japan,
China, Australia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Thailand.
AR Action Research
CCMP Church and Community Mobilization Process
CCRePs Church and Community Resource Persons
CDC Community Development Committee
CEO Chief Executive Officer
CM Community Mobilization
CoP Code of Practice
DF Diary Format
DRC Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
ECO Environmental Children’s Organization
EDTC Entrepreneurial Development Training Centre
FABP Financial Asset Break Point
FGM Female Genital Mutilation
GNI Gross National Income
GULL Global University for Lifelong Learning
ICT Information and Communication Technologies
IGT Information Gathering Team
INA Papua New Guinea Institute of National Affairs
IPPR Institute for Public Policy Research
K Kina (Papua New Guinea monetary unit)
LAL Lifelong Action Learning
LCG Local Coordinating Group
LL Lifelong Learning
LPAL Lifelong Performance and Action Learning
LSDL Lihir Sustainable Development Ltd
MOOC Massive Open Online Course
MoV Means of Verification
NESB People from Non-English Speaking Backgrounds
NGO Non-Government Organization
NGT Nominal Group Technique
OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
PAG Pentecostal Assemblies of God churches
PALAR Participatory Action Learning and Action Research
PD Professional Development
xxvii
LIST OF ACRONYMS
PEP Participatory Evaluation Process

PLS Personal Learning Statement
PNG Papua New Guinea
PV Personal Viability
QA Quality Assurance
QABP Quantity Asset Break Point
QAR Quarterly Administrator Report
QFR Quarterly Facilitator Report
QUAL Queensland University Action Learning
R&D Research and Development
RO Return on (Learning) Outputs
ROI Return on Investment
SMC School Management Committee
SOSF Scheme of Self-Reliance and Financial Independence
SROI Social Return on Investment
SWOT Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
TRACA Tracking, Review and Corrective Action
TED Technology, Education, Design
UNEP United Nations Environment Program
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization
WCED United Nations World Commission on Environment and
Development
WV World Vision (NGO)
WVI World Vision International
WVK World Vision Kenya
xxviii
PART I: INTRODUCTION TO LIFELONG ACTION
LEARNING (LAL) IN THEORY AND PRACTICE
To all those of every age, every country, and every creed committed to
making lifelong learning a reality for all in the confidence that “this world
one day will be the type of world we all deserve”.
(Nelson Mandela, anti-apartheid revolutionary and first black President of

South Africa, 1994–1999)
This first part consists of two chapters, a theoretical (Chapter 1) and a practical
(Chapter 2).
Chapter 1 provides a theoretical framework for the integration of the main
concepts of action learning and lifelong learning, an explanation of a new paradigm
of learning and development as an alternative to (but not in competition with) the
formal educational system: a paradigm that is self-directed, empowering,
sustainable and urgently needed in this complex and turbulent world in the twenty-
first century. It builds on and continues discussion from Ortrun’s previous work on
Action Research for Sustainable Development in a Turbulent World (Emerald
Books, UK, 2012).
Chapter 2 is practical in its approach to developing lifelong action learning by
including guidelines, processes and exercises that can be used for action and
reflection by individuals and then shared in small groups or ‘action learning sets’.
It helps readers to understand and learn how to design, conduct and continuously
evaluate an action learning program or project.
1
CHAPTER 1
A NEW CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR

LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE
TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
Education is the most powerful weapon, which you can use to change the
world.
(Nelson Mandela, anti-apartheid revolutionary and first black President of
South Africa, 1994–1999)
Learning does not mean to fill a barrel, but to ignite a flame.
(Heraclitus, pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, sixth century BC)
OUTLINE
Chapter 1 provides a theoretical framework for integrating the main concepts of

action learning and lifelong learning into Lifelong Action Learning (LAL). After
introducing the authors’ backgrounds and the book’s rationale, aims and approach,
this chapter explains LAL as a new paradigm of learning and development at work,
as an alternative to, but not in competition with, the formal educational system.
This paradigm appreciates the true worth of indigenous knowledge, which is self-
directed, empowering, sustainable, and urgently needed in our complex and
turbulent world in the twenty-first century. Through this paradigm, the chapter
focuses on new ways of developing creative learning and thinking ‘outside the
box’ that are appropriate for poorer communities and as alternatives or
complements to, or thought-provoking change from, formal education. As the
twenty-first century evolves with increasing globalization, complexity and
turbulence, we need this new paradigm of learning and development to address
totally new and complex problems collaboratively and effectively. In particular, we
need to work with the deeply poor and disadvantaged – the majority of people on
this earth – to enable these people to help themselves. Through LAL they can
develop confidence, capability and character, as well as understanding of learning,
for sustainable personal and community development.
3
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
This book explains Lifelong Action Learning (LAL) for community development,
particularly in poor communities, on the principles of self-help and sustainability.
It is written for those familiar with, or new to, the field of community development.
It is for users of action learning and for practitioners, educators, facilitators,
consultants, community workers and leaders in government and business. It is for
communities, and for people responsible for staff and management development in
organizations and/or interested in developing lifelong action learning principles in
their own practices and in communities of need.
The concepts of lifelong learning and action learning have very long histories,
with origins in the works of Aristotle and Plato (about 400–300 BC). These
concepts have been rediscovered and developed in a growing literature over the
past 60 or 70 years, starting with thinkers such as John Dewey (1938), Paolo Freire
(1972), Orlando Fals Borda (1991, 1998), Reg Revans (1971, 1982, 1998, 2006)
and Kurt Lewin (1926, 1948). The time for lifelong learning and action learning
has now surely come. Yet, these concepts, independently and as a synthesis, need
to be re-evaluated and re-conceptualized for the twenty-first century. We are now
in a time of increasing complexity, ambiguity, turbulence, and tension among
different values and beliefs – a time when the concepts of lifelong learning, action
learning and LAL can make a valuable contribution to human life, learning and
sustainability of the environments in which we live.
Through the final decades of the twentieth century it became increasingly
important to cope with rapid changes in industry, commerce and consequently
society. These changes were wrought largely through what is commonly termed
‘globalization’ and the growth, extension and application of knowledge through
information technology. The Fauré Report (1972) was true to this time. It called for
a new philosophy and re-conceptualization of education as a lifelong process, thus
requiring constant reorganization or reconstruction of experience and knowledge.
Inside the twenty-first century, this call is even more urgent. The acceleration
and increasing complexity of problems associated with disasters – human-induced
such as through climate change, nuclear calamity, military incursion and racial
conflicts; and natural such as through droughts, floods, tornados, volcanic
eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis and bushfires – inflict great destruction upon
people and places. Despite great advancements in scientific knowledge and global
economic partnerships, most people in the world are still exploited and trapped in
extreme poverty, as wealth concentrates in the hands of a tiny circle. This book
therefore addresses an extremely important question: how can people of great need,
who have been denied opportunities for formal education, be helped to unlock their
human potential so they can contribute to a better world – for themselves and for
all of us? The book is helpful to all educators who work with people from
ethnically and linguistically diverse communities, especially those with indigenous
backgrounds.
We acknowledge that political and economic structures have been used to
produce, sustain and intensify unequal distribution of wealth and opportunity
across the globe. These structures are associated with the distribution of power by
4
FRAMEWORK FOR LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT IN 21ST CENTURY
and among nations, people and the groups in which they live or work together.
This book does not offer political-economic analysis or suggest a political-
economic remedy. Rather, it offers ways for enabling people who are
disadvantaged by these inequalities to learn about their circumstances and address
their problems collectively themselves. In this more indirect way it serves to
address complex problems in the contemporary world through action learning and
lifelong learning that people can practise at any time or place within their economic
and political circumstances. We call this lifelong action learning.
This chapter first explains the authors’ backgrounds and the rationale, aims and
approach of the book. It then gives working definitions of the often vague concepts
of lifelong learning (LL), action learning (AL) and sustainable community
development, and introduces the new concept of lifelong action learning (LAL)
and a model of LAL for unlocking human potential. Finally, the chapter outlines
the structure and content of the book.
BACKGROUND
Until now, my co-author, Richard Teare, and I have published separately.

However, we have known each other, worked together at times, and used action
learning principles for over 30 years in higher education, management education,
leadership development, organization development and community development.
We share the philosophical assumptions underpinning our methodology and
practical work, that is, we are located in the same paradigm of learning and
development and in a community of practice, i.e., a group of people who share
professional knowledge and experiences with one another. Wenger (1998)
maintains that learning is central to human identity that can be constructed through
active participation in the practices of social communities. He succinctly defines
communities of practice on his website as: “groups of people who share a concern
or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact
regularly” (http://www.ewenger.com/theory/index.htm).
Having together identified that our reflections on our shared and independent
experiences on lifelong action learning have much to offer others, Richard and I
decided to co-author this book and to divide the tasks between us according to our
interests and strengths. I focus on the general conceptual framework of learning
and development – the what and why in this chapter – and on the development of
lifelong action learning (LAL) – the how and when in Chapter 2 – generally in
organizations such as businesses, corporations, government departments,
communities and educational institutions. Richard links these theoretical principles
and practical strategies of learning and development from organization
development to community development in Chapter 3 on evidence-based learning
and from the general to the specific applications and processes of self-directed,
collaborative, creative and innovative learning: in Papua New Guinea in Chapter 4,
and in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan and South Sudan in Chapter 5. The video
interviews in Chapter 6 were conducted and recorded by Richard in the specific
contexts of Chapters 3–5 and then summarized, reflected upon, evaluated and
5
CHAPTER 1
generalized by me. In the concluding Chapter 7, I have taken those same steps
across all chapters in the book in an attempt to harvest its conceptual and practical
lessons. In other words, in this book I contribute as the generalist in higher
education and organization development. Richard contributes as the specialist in
community development through the system of GULL – the Global University for
Lifelong Learning – that he originally designed and founded.
GULL is a non-profit public benefit corporation registered in California (USA)
and recognized in perpetuity by the Government of Papua New Guinea and
endorsed by other national governments, leaders and institutions. GULL confers
awards at the Certificate, Diploma, Bachelor, Master and Doctor levels. However,
like other universities that operate outside the traditional higher education system,
GULL qualifications are not automatically recognized within that system. This has
consequences for GULL graduates seeking employment in countries where the
GULL system is not recognized. However, in the tight, competitive labor market
nowadays, employers in all sectors require verifiable evidence of job applicant
achievements. The evidence-based learning approach of GULL, with its extensive
documentation, certainly meets this need of employers and actually places GULL
applicants in a position of advantage over other applicants who often cannot
provide such evidence of this type of practical learning and capacity building.
GULL works with local, national and global non-government agencies and other
organizations, including churches, to provide its practical, professional
development system to communities that would not otherwise have access to
further and higher education. We also work with companies that are seeking to
create a sustainable future for their workforce. GULL currently has a presence in
more than 40 countries and this is set to increase in future years as new affiliations
with global organizations take root. GULL’s work in many places is relatively new
and small-scale but in regions like East Africa, the number of participants has
grown from a small group in 2009 to large numbers of participants in 2013.
The diverse range of activity can be illustrated with reference to some of the
current initiatives. For example, in Malaysia and in China, GULL has numerous
corporate partnerships in the services sector (e.g., health and beauty care and real
estate) and elsewhere the collaboration with World Vision embraces parts of
Africa, South Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. In these and in many other
places, GULL is deliberately seeking to create a global network movement with
very low central operating costs so as to ensure that GULL can achieve its mission
to the low paid, the marginalized and the world’s economically poorest people. The
mission reads: “GULL is dedicated to enabling YOU to make a difference in OUR
world. GULL’s practical approach to personal and professional development uses
self-directed action learning to help individuals, communities and organizations to
sustain learning and apply the outcomes” (www.gullonline.org).
In moving through this book, readers may notice differences between the two
authors’ writing styles, mine in Chapters 1, 2, 6 and 7, and Richard’s in Chapters
3–5. We first considered this as potentially a shortcoming and discussed using a
professional editor to make language use consistent throughout the book. In more
advanced thought we decided against this since in the tradition of action learning
6
and action research (ALAR) we value difference and personal autonomy and
respect all authors’ individual voices. We have therefore distinguished and
identified the author of each chapter in the respectful spirit of ALAR. The next
section outlines the rationale, aims and approach of the book.
RATIONALE, AIMS AND APPROACH
This book on developing Lifelong Action Learning (LAL) is about encouraging

and helping to enable all people, especially in the poorest and most disadvantaged
communities in our world, to develop their learning potential by discovering their
special gifts, cascading their learning, and developing these gifts together with
other like-minded people. This is the means to become self-confident, self-directed
and then to help others on the same learning journey. Exploring holistic
development, capacity building and community development or mobilization, the
book uses the vehicle of LAL to address these questions that are vital for the
wellbeing of the world’s poor:
– How can the world’s poorest communities become self-sufficient and thriving?
– How can they learn from multiple sources, including ones that are not
recognized as formal educational institutions, such as successful corporations
and their own communities?
– How can they best take control of their own livelihood, destiny and natural
endowment to contribute to sustainable development of their communities and
by extension to global wellbeing?
There are many handbooks, textbooks, monographs, and edited and authored books
dealing discretely with community development or action learning or action
research or lifelong learning. This book is the first to integrate these concepts in a
unique, coherent and holistic approach to unlocking human potential in individuals,
groups, communities and organizations, so they can individually and collectively
contribute to identifying and solving problems. We discuss relevant aspects of the
literature on these subjects and then take readers beyond as we further develop the
paradigm to help address human needs as the twenty-first century unfolds. Our
conceptual and practical discussions explain new educational pathways from
exclusion to inclusion; unknowing to self-directed learning and knowledge
creation; dependence and oppression to independence and freedom; self-
consciousness to self-confidence; individualism to collectivism; self-centredness to
other-centredness; and so forth. The following books (by order of publication year)
on learning and development might be regarded as competitors but we consider
them as complementary to this present book: Teare, Davies and Sandelands (1998),
Reason and Bradbury (2001, 2006, 2008), Longworth (2003), McGill and
Brockbank (2004), Burns (2007), Raelin (2008), Trilling and Fadel (2009),
Dilworth and Boshyk (2010), Bellanca and Brandt (2010), Jackson (2011),
Ledwith (2011), Jarvis (2011), Robinson (2010, 2011), Taylor (2011), Wagner
(2012), Zuber-Skerritt (2009, 2011, 2012) and Berryman, SooHoo and Nevin
(2013). We discuss these throughout the book.
7
CHAPTER 1
Our book ranges widely and comprehensively. To some extent it represents an

evolution of our own lifelong thinking, action and learning and recent reflection
upon all three. Here we have directed our learning through action and reflection
particularly to address what is a primary concern to people living in poverty: how
can they better meet their needs through their own action and learning – that is,
through lifelong action learning? We identify and illustrate how lifelong action
learning can be used most effectively to suit the needs and wherewithal of those
who have had little opportunity to learn through formal education systems and who
have much need for the practical and other positive outcomes they can achieve
themselves through this new approach to learning.
We therefore seek to complement other learning/reading and reflection on
alternative paths to community development by including features that we believe
enhance this book’s utility in applying lifelong action learning for community
development and further developing it conceptually. This book:
1. integrates the concepts of ‘lifelong learning’ and ‘action learning’ into Lifelong
Action Learning (LAL) as an enabling framework for sustainable community
development;
2. explains the paradigm and philosophical assumptions underpinning work-based
LAL in an accessible language;
3. provides a step-by-step guide on how to unlock human potential through LAL,
especially in groups of people who have not had opportunities for a solid
education, or who cannot afford higher education expenses, or who by
nature/culture prefer natural learning by doing, trial and error, reflection on
action and discussion/collaboration with others, rather than individual academic
study and classroom instruction;
4. has case studies with examples and anecdotes from poor communities in several
developing countries, illustrating the diverse ways in which LAL has been
applied and can be adapted; and
5. develops insights into development, mobilization and transformation in these
communities and how they track and evaluate the change they have induced
through lifelong action learning.
Like the work of Berryman et al. (2013), which uses culturally responsive and
socially responsible methodologies, the present book challenges traditional
research notions of the distant, neutral and ‘objective’ observer. Instead it offers an
alternative characterized by relationships, subjectivity, collaborative research,
participatory action research, co-construction of knowledge and pursuit of mutual
good. We believe this alternative methodology makes the relationships, research
and development outcomes of LAL more engaged, more ethical and more effective
than those of other methodologies. It requires the researcher/developer’s ability to
listen to and communicate with participants about their problems and concerns
within their own context, to establish mutually respectful relationships of
reciprocity and to encourage and facilitate participants’ vision building and agency
for positive change.
The March 2013 IPPR (Institute for Public Policy Research) Report by Barber,
Donnelly and Rizvi (2013) entitled An Avalanche is Coming: Higher Education
8
and the Revolution Ahead, argues for a deep, rapid and urgent transformation that
is required in this twenty-first century in higher education as much as in school
systems globally. But it does not offer learning strategies as alternatives to the
mainstream institutions such as universities and colleges, as this book does. In the
concluding Chapter 7 we address the key issue of rapid and radical change raised
in the IPPR report.
The present book is future-oriented. The needs it addresses through learning
processes are increasing worldwide – not just among the poorest people, who are
by far the majority on earth, and other disadvantaged communities. Today a
growing spread of people are afflicted by job/income loss and consequent disabling
circumstances as wealth is transferred and concentrated in the hands of an ever
smaller cohort across and within mostly developed, but to a minimal extent also
developing, countries. There is a growing awareness among some educators and
leaders globally that social justice, collaboration, inclusion and equity of peoples
on this planet are vital to helping solve economic, social and political problems in
this twenty-first century, from the consequences of global climate instability to
terrorism, dictatorial regimes, racial/religious tensions and so forth. These natural
and human-induced disasters parallel and magnify the consequences of neoliberal
policies by national governments and international institutions that feed profit-
hungry corporations and expand the gap in wealth distribution. Hence, today in
countries worldwide growing grassroots movements and some communities are
rejecting the economic models that fuel big business at the expense of the poor, and
are working together to produce their own food, downsize their consumption and
simplify their lifestyles – buying locally, reducing their greenhouse footprint,
managing resources mindfully and taking other steps towards achieving the
common good.
As I have argued in my recent book (Zuber-Skerritt, 2012), traditional research
and development strategies alone are not sufficient for worldwide problem-solving
and sustainable development. These strategies need to be supplemented with
creative initiatives, innovations and prompt on-the-ground action, all based on
values grounded in pursuit of the common good through principles upholding non-
hierarchical and democratic processes, personal courage, and a shared commitment
to helping others – other-centredness instead of self-centredness. The strategies
need to proceed from recognition that people on the ground are invaluable sources
of local knowledge, wisdom and insight, who should be called upon for problem-
solving and new knowledge creation. This requires flexibility and creativity. As
Ken Robinson (2010) explains: “schools kill creativity”. We need to reawaken in
adults the creative minds (Robinson, 2011) and capacity for initiative ‘by doing’
that they were encouraged to relinquish in childhood. Doing entails trial and error,
taking risks, working collaboratively and being ‘creative innovators’ (Wagner,
2009) inventing new ways of doing, knowing and being. This requires self-directed
lifelong learning and situational decision-making and action, rather than rote
learning and adhering to strict rules that often impede progress and rapid positive
change. What do we mean by lifelong learning?
9
CHAPTER 1
LIFELONG LEARNING (LL)
As the two words indicate, lifelong learning entails learning throughout one’s life
course, ‘from cradle to grave’ or ‘from birth to death’. We take lifelong learning as
an approach to life and to learning – one that upholds the need to consciously
pursue learning and make use of these lessons continuously along life’s journey. In
this way, learning evolves. One of the best and most comprehensive
understandings of lifelong learning has been offered by Peter Sheehan (2001) in his
Foreword to the Kluwer International Handbook of Lifelong Learning:
Lifelong Learning is a concept that is critically important to all educators, for
it expresses the importance and relevance of learning at every stage of our
development. The concept is equally relevant to members of our society at all
stages of their life-span – as young children, maturing youth, adults and as
older persons. Further, it affects national governments, industry, information
agencies and nearly every kind of institution of learning.
So important is the concept, it should be seen by all of us as representing a

new philosophy of education and training, one that aims to facilitate a
coherent set of links and pathways between work, school and education, and
[to] recognize the necessity for government to give incentives to industry and
their employees so they can truly “invest” in lifelong learning. It is also a
concept that is premised on the understanding of a learning society in which
everyone, independent of race, creed or gender, is entitled to quality learning
that is truly excellent. (p. xi)
This philosophy of learning requires new models and strategies not just of learning
but also of teaching, with a focus on learning rather than teaching, and recognition
that learners have to take responsibility for their own learning. This means they
have to learn how to think critically and solve problems, how to discover and
construct knowledge for themselves, and become members of ‘communities of
learning’. The term is a metaphor for understanding how people work through and
with each other, in a group or organization, to address latent and emergent needs.
Together they develop collaborative and interdependent processes that enable them
to solve new, complex problems and adapt effectively to our turbulent and
uncertain world. Crucially this learning process requires that all people be given
opportunities to learn how to learn, individually and collectively.
Aspin et al. (2001) in their Introduction to the Kluwer Handbook mentioned
above consider lifelong learning as a multi-faceted process and a complex
relationship between three major elements or outcomes of lifelong learning that can
be comprehensively summarized as follows.
1. Education for a more highly skilled workforce as an economic justification for

lifelong learning, instrumental to achieving an extrinsic goal and a declared
policy of international bodies (e.g., OECD, UNESCO, APEC, European
10
Parliament, the Nordic Council of Ministers and many national governments

such as those in Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the UK).
2. Education for personal development leading to a more rewarding life as an
intrinsically valuable activity for living with a worldview that is outside
mainstream. This view has been adopted by a variety of community groups,
especially indigenous groups in developing countries and in many other national
contexts.
3. Education for creating a stronger and more inclusive society, based on the view
that education is a public good, a prerequisite for effective participation in
society by all citizens, and a process that begins at home and in pre-school,
continues through compulsory and post-compulsory formal education, and is
carried on through the rest of the lifespan.
We, the authors of this book, are concerned about all of these outcomes. Like
Bagnall (2004), we are also concerned about the ethical impact of lifelong learning
ideology and advocacy on education in the contemporary context. Bagnall defines
the ethical or ethics as pertaining to “cultural imperatives to act in one way or
another for the common good” (p. 9). Reviewing the literature published over the
last four or five decades, Bagnall (2004) identifies the origins of lifelong learning
in three particular progressive sentiments:
1. The individual progressive sentiment seeking individual growth and
development, and liberation from ignorance through empowerment;
2. The democratic progressive sentiment committed to “social justice, equity and
social development through participative democratic involvement, … directed
particularly to the liberation of oppressed, marginalized and exploited sectors of
society” (p. 2); and
3. The adaptive progressive sentiment defined by its programmatic responsiveness
to cultural change, seeking liberation from poverty and from dependence on
welfare or on others, through a process of lifelong adaptation to the changing
cultural context.
The present book addresses all three sentiments. It aims to develop (1) individual,
self-directed learning and growth; (2) social justice, equity and transformation
through helping the poorest, most marginalized and most exploited communities to
help themselves by addressing their own problems and learning how to learn; and
thus (3) liberation from poverty and dependence on others, including foreign aid,
through sustainable and transformational community development, and through a
process of lifelong adaptation to the changing cultural context. Here we adopt
Bagnall’s (2004) definition of ‘cultural context’ as follows:
The notion of a ‘cultural context’ is that of the values, beliefs and
assumptions that constrain human perception, commitment and action.
It embraces not just the epistemic, normative and metaphysical realities of
the human condition, but also the consequential artefacts of those realities –
the ways in which we relate to each other, the works of art that we produce
and value, the social infrastructure that we develop, preserve or destroy,
the ends to which we direct our energies, what we do with our time and
other resources, and so on. The concern here is not so much with particular
11
CHAPTER 1
values, beliefs or assumptions, as it is with their combined or cumulative

nature. (p. 6)
The contemporary cultural context does not offer a singular or dominant notion
of what is good, true or beautiful, nor does it offer a singular or dominant notion of
how to recognize goodness, truth or beauty. Therefore, we agree with Bagnall’s
(2004) conclusion: “From a sociological perspective, individual, collective and
organizational realities are framed, as never before, by tensional ambiguity” (p. 7).
He identifies 21 trends in educational policy and management that flow from
this ideology and that are exemplified by his ‘fables’. As remedies, he recommends
six principles for lifelong learning policy. These can be summarized as follows
(pp. 162–164):
1. Contextualize educational reforms (tailoring education to participating cultures
and to those who are affected by the reforms);
2. Minimize the prior specification of standards (and optimize specifications that
are developmental and organic, rather than predetermined);
3. Enrich educational and training engagements (focusing on the intentions of
lifelong learning ideology and advocacy to liberate, rather than on their
technical features);
4. Cultivate the interpersonal (encouraging different interests and viewpoints that
are relevant and seeking inclusive and pluralistic educational outcomes);
5. Promote the value of education (raising the public profile and understanding of
education, with a commitment to honesty in labelling, marketing and advancing
educational interests); and
6. Encourage critical reflexivity (of all persons involved in education –
policymakers, managers, teachers, programmers, learners and others – to engage
with all aspects of the educative process in a critically reflexive manner and to
live ethically within the framework of ethical tensions in which they are
inevitably immersed).
The present book shows how these six principles, among others, can be applied
in community development through lifelong action learning. This learning is
(1) contextual; (2) developmental and organic or natural (rather than standardized
and predetermined); (3) practical and emancipatory (rather than technical);
(4) interpersonal, collaborative, inclusive and pluralistic; (5) ethical – and ethically
aware; and (6) critically reflexive.
The 1996 OECD Ministers meeting (OECD, 1997) confirmed that lifelong
learning has become government policy and a feature of life for a privileged group
in many countries around the globe, but that the challenge is to make it a reality for
all. Our book takes up this challenge, helping to build the momentum for this new
reality for all through integrating the concepts of ‘lifelong learning’ and ‘action
learning’ as an enabling framework for sustainable community development
worldwide, particularly in communities where learning opportunities through
formal education are very limited.
There is some confusion in the literature around lifelong learning from writers
who frequently use ‘lifelong education’ as a synonym for ‘lifelong learning’. As
Wain (2001) points out, these writers aim “to recast schooling as a mere
12
constituent phase of education within the broader context of a learning society”

(p. 183). Most who have written on lifelong learning do not distinguish between
education, schooling and learning, but Trilling and Fadel (2009) do identify the
salient lifelong learning skills needed in the twenty-first century, mainly for school
teachers, educators, policymakers and people interested in maximizing classroom
effectiveness, mainly in the US national context. They argue in the twenty-first
century we need skills that are (a) different from those in the last century, and
(b) in addition to the basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic. These authors
provide a new framework for twenty-first century skills in three categories:
1. Learning and innovation skills (critical thinking and problem-solving,
communication and collaboration, creativity and innovation);
2. Digital literacy skills (information literacy, media literacy, information and
communication technologies or ICT literacy); and
3. Career and life skills (flexibility and adaptability, initiative and self-direction,
social and cross-cultural interaction, productivity and accountability, leadership
and responsibility).
We agree that these three categories identify the main skills to be developed for
and through lifelong learning in the twenty-first century. But we recognize that to
develop these skills most effectively, our modes of thinking about education and
learning need a paradigm shift. In this book we make a distinction between
education – usually formalized, institutionalized, policy based, teacher centred and
curriculum bound – and learning, which is learner centred, self-directed,
life/work/community based and informal, but is also goal directed, intentional,
strategic, systematic, reflective, collaborative and action oriented. Conceptually
then, this learning can be defined as action learning. But before turning to the
meaning of action learning, let us consider some of the shortfalls and challenges of
lifelong learning.
Jackson (2011) and her associates warn of the position on lifelong learning
currently dominant in policies around the world that ensures a gendered, class-
based and skills-driven agenda expecting learners to become neoliberal subjects
rather than empowered members of communities. They warn that lifelong learning
has increasingly come to mean vocational education and training in a globalized
knowledge economy, and argue for a sharp re-focus to align lifelong learning with
social justice. Jackson (2011) maintains that: “Neoliberalism has led education to
be understood as gaining technical knowledge, training learners in skills which
enable them to adapt to economic globalization” (p. 6) with an interest in
producing an efficient and productive workforce where “opportunities are created
or denied according to class, gender, ethnicity, disability and age” (p. 3). She
agrees with Freire (2004): “Then education becomes pure training, it becomes pure
transfer of content, it is almost like the training of animals, it is a mere exercise in
adaptation to the world” (p. 84). In this book we are concerned with learning
through and for life rather than with education through formal institutional
arrangements. We argue for the need to shift the dominant paradigm from training
to development, from technical to creative thinking, from teaching as transfer of
content to facilitating learning and problem-solving, in particular, to action
13
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learning characterized by social justice, ethical behaviour, collaboration and

sharing knowledge and experience with others.
ACTION LEARNING (AL)
Action learning is learning from and for action. Learning from action means we
learn by doing and reflecting on what went well and what did not, how and why.
Learning for action means we learn for future action by drawing from and adapting
our learning from past experience to create best possible outcomes. So action
learning is an iterative, cyclical process of action–reflection–learning, and
continuing to the next cycle of action–reflection–learning is always new but always
informed by learning from previous cycles. It is especially effective if pursued
collaboratively, while working with others in groups or ‘sets’ on work-based
problems. Action learning sets are important since they provide informal structures
for set members to allocate time and space deliberately and intentionally for
engaging in reflective learning through dialogue and discussion. I have defined
action learning many times previously, for example (Zuber-Skerritt, 2011):
Action learning (AL) means learning from and with each other in small
groups or ‘sets’ from action and concrete experience in the workplace or
community situation. It involves critical reflection on this experience, as well
as taking action as a result of this learning. It is a process by which groups of
people address actual workplace issues or major real-life problems in
complex situations and conditions. (p. 5)
Richard Teare explained in an interview (Zuber-Skerritt, 2009):
Action learning occurs when people learn from each other, create their own
resources, identify their own problems and form their own solutions. This
process works all the world over, in any culture, language and tradition. The
action learning process is so enriching that every learner is able to identify
personal and life transforming outcomes. These commonly include enhanced
self-confidence, self-belief, renewal, enthusiasm for learning, a new sense of
direction and purpose for career and life – along with new skills, insights and
the sense of being equipped for the future. (p. 181)
While action learning is about dialogue and interaction between and among set
members and others involved in the action, reflection on action plays a vital part in
this learning process. Being a ‘reflective practitioner’ or a member of a ‘reflective
practice’ means one engages in a continuous search for knowledge – both
propositional and theoretical (knowing that …) and knowledge derived from
practice (knowing-in-action or knowledge-in-use, i.e., tacit, spontaneous
knowledge and thinking on one’s feet). Action learning as a reflective process is
iterative and continuing – it has no end point. Schön (1983, 1987) distinguishes
between ‘reflection-in-action’ (thinking while in the process of doing something)
and ‘reflection-on-action’ (reflecting after the event on what one did). The latter
14
encourages reflective learning as well as critically reflective learning. Fletcher and

Zuber-Skerritt (2008) distinguish between three levels of reflection:
1. Reflection on action learning activities, grounded in experience and
observation and contextualized in both big picture and small picture
understandings;
2. Reflection on what worked and what did not, and why, evaluating the action
learning processes we used; and
3. Meta-reflection, i.e., reflection on the first and second levels, re-
conceptualizing our previous interpretations and, with increased critical self-
evaluation, arriving at new concepts, understandings and knowledge.
Of these levels, meta-reflection is the highest and deepest level of thinking. Like
McGill and Brockbank (2004) we define meta-reflection in two processes:
Firstly, as a process by which experience is brought into consideration, and

secondly, deriving from the first, the creation of meaning and
conceptualization from experience and the capacity to look at things as
potentially other than they appear, the latter part embodying the idea of
critical reflection and potential paradigm shift. … In terms of reflection as
part of reflective practice and, within this, reflective dialogue, the integration
of mind and body (emotion/feeling and action) means that in the act of
reflection we bring to that act our cognitive and affective experience. (p. 105)
Conceptualizing from experience is an important thinking act for creating new
knowledge and theory. Chapter 2 explains and demonstrates how this reflective
and reflexive thinking can be developed intentionally and systematically in
individuals, in action learning sets, and with a coach. For a fuller understanding of
action learning, we recommend The Action Learning Handbook by McGill and
Brockbank (2004) in English or Action Learning: Ein Handbuch by Donnenberg
(1999) in German, and the books by Dilworth and Boshyk (2010), Pedler (2008),
O’Neil and Marsick (2007), Marquardt (1999), Dotlich and Noel (1998) and the
work of Reg Revans, the ‘father of action learning’ (1971, 1982, 1998, 2006).
Action research shares philosophical assumptions with action learning, but –
like any other approach to research – the former is more rigorous, systematic and
scrutinized than the latter and is always made public. In this book we focus on
action learning more than action research because of the urgency in reaching (1)
the people of great need whom this book seeks to reach indirectly, and (2) the
people who help them to develop action learning ability through learning from this
book directly. Both groups are more interested in learning than research. But as this
book and its stories attest, we as authors are engaged in participatory action
research. The integrated concepts of ALAR (action learning and action research)
and PALAR (participatory action learning and action research) are grounded in the
conceptual framework of both action learning and action research – concepts that I
have discussed in detail in my recent books (Zuber-Skerritt, 2009, 2011, 2012). As
practitioners and advocates of ALAR and more recently of PALAR, we have come
15
CHAPTER 1
to recognize through reflection on our own lifelong experiences that the action
paradigm is not simply an approach to learning and research. We see it as an
approach to living our daily lives, from which we draw continuously throughout
our lives. This is why we have become interested in identifying the similarities,
differences and relationships between lifelong learning and action learning and
inspired to synthesize the two into Lifelong Action Learning (LAL).
LIFELONG ACTION LEARNING (LAL)
Whilst what is usually recognized as lifelong learning (LL) is mainly individual,

and by chance rather than by design, action learning (AL) is mainly collaborative
and developed intentionally and in a systematic way. However, both LL and AL
share the philosophical understanding that knowledge can be created not only by
scientists in laboratories and by specialist researchers/academics in their research
programs/projects, but also by ‘personal scientists’ (Kelly, 1955, 1963) and
‘reflective practitioners’ (Schön, 1983, 1987), that is, by anybody who learns how
to create knowledge through experiential learning and solving real-life problems.
The basic epistemological assumption is that people can create knowledge on the
basis of concrete experience by reflecting on this experience, formulating abstract
generalizations from it, and testing these newly created concepts in new situations,
thus gaining new concrete experience, and starting the next cycle of experiential
learning and knowledge creation (Kolb, 1984).
In this book, we develop a new concept integrating LL and AL into lifelong
action learning (LAL). This concept includes on the one hand the time and space of
LL from birth to death and in participants’ contemporary cultural contexts, and on
the other the system and processes of action learning, as discussed in Chapter 2.
Figure 1.1 visually depicts the overlap, integration and synthesis of LL and AL.
LL LAL AL
Figure 1.1. Lifelong action learning: the synthesis of lifelong learning and action learning
Table 1.1 presents a rough summary of the alternative learning paradigm we

discuss in this book compared with learning in traditional education systems. Some
schools and universities have incorporated characteristics of lifelong action
16
learning in their programs. But juxtaposing contrasting characteristics may help the
reader to understand the different frameworks used in educational institutions
today.
Table 1.1. Comparison between LAL and traditional education
Lifelong Action Learning Traditional Education

Learner centred Teacher centred
Process and project based Content and curriculum based
Interdisciplinary, problem oriented Disciplinary, departmentalized
Located in real-life/work Located in classroom/laboratory
Inclusive, accessible to all, aimed at social Exclusive, elitist, social justice not a
justice conscious priority
Informal, self-directed learning Formal education, policy based
Based on contemporary cultural context Based on dominant western values and
worldviews
Communities of learning, action learning Individualized learning
sets
Collaboration, cooperation Competition (e.g., in assessment system)
We can now develop a model of LAL for unlocking human potential by using
the six interrogatives: who, what, when, where, how and why.
Who plays the main role? Who has the main responsibility for learning
outcomes? Who is in the centre of attention? – It is the learner, not the teacher,
who identifies and decides what needs to be learned. There is no fixed or national
curriculum. Each learner formulates his/her personal learning statement aided by a
personal coach or mentor; and members of the learning set collaboratively define
the focal problem they will address.
What is the content of learning? – It addresses a significant problem, issue or
concern in the learner’s life or workplace, which needs to be understood and solved
collaboratively with others in the set.
When does the learning take place? – Learners apply the principles of lifelong
action learning as needed in daily life so learning is lifelong, active, continuous and
recursive, irrespective of age, experience, and level of formal/institutionalized
education the learner has completed.
Where can LAL be practised? – Wherever it is needed to enable people to
address their difficulties to improve life in a sustainable way, whether in village
communities in rural Kenya, or in disadvantaged communities in suburban
Australia. It does not require established physical infrastructure such as learning
centres, lecture halls or qualified teachers; participants continue to collaborate,
reflect and learn wherever they are in physical space and time.
How does the learner learn? – Through developing an ability to understand and
acquire or create knowledge continuously through experience, reflection on that
experience, critical thinking, conceptualization and innovative action, in other
words through lifelong action learning – not by being told what to do and how to
do it.
17
CHAPTER 1
Why is this kind of learning important in the twenty-first century? – Because

regardless of time and place it is effective in addressing the needs of people
involved and the communities in which they live. It leads to continuing
improvement of life circumstances; sustainable community development; personal
growth, empowerment and confidence; and importantly, then, to the learners’
quality of life: physically, mentally, psychologically and spiritually. It serves us as
holistic human beings who are global citizens.
Figure 1.2 illustrates these six characteristics of lifelong action learning and its
utility for unlocking human potential and for sustainable community development.
Both outcomes have a particular imperative in this time of accelerated change,
turbulence and natural disasters across the globe, when we need to think differently
and collaboratively, with more creativity and innovation and regard for our
common good than ever before.
Figure 1.2. A model of lifelong action learning for unlocking human potential
After finishing my first draft of this chapter I had the opportunity to meet
Marilyn Taylor at the Royal Roads University in Canada, author of the book
Emergent Learning for Wisdom (2011). We had never met before and were amazed
at the similarities in our thinking and writing, developed independently at opposite
sides of the world. Although we have been influenced by many of the same
theorists, such as Dewey (1938), Kelly (1963), Freire (1972), Argyris and Schön
(1974), Schön (1983) and Kolb (1984), we have contributed to different literatures
and used slightly different terminologies. For example, what I call ‘Lifelong Action
18
Learning’ includes Taylor’s ‘Emergent Learning’, for both wisdom and a better
world. Although Marilyn contributes mainly to the literature on ‘Leadership
Development,’ her concept of emergent learning is also relevant and applicable to
‘Transformational Community Learning and Development’. Both fields need new
ideas about the process of creating a shift in ways of thinking, a transformational
consciousness, and a new perspective/approach to action in this twenty-first
century world. As Taylor (2011) defines:
Emergent learning arises from our direct experience of the practical world; it
is triggered by an unpredicted event. The process that follows has the
possibility to create not only knowledge but also wisdom we need to engage
productively and effectively in a world of uncertainty. Learning that leads to
wisdom involves the whole person and new dimensions that have been
banished from public life in the modern era. It requires attention to our right-
brain processes – sensing, feeling, imagination, metaphor, and context – as
well as left-brain processes – analysis, logic, strategy, and application. (p. 3)
In other words, wisdom gained through emergent learning provides both
experiential richness and logical cohesion, as well as conscious and unconscious
processes. Taylor (2011) argues that:
Emergent learning means more than acquiring knowledge over a lifetime; it
means that we create new knowledge continuously as we encounter new
conditions and challenges. This implies two other qualities of the new
learning. Learning emerges in relation to a specific context; so what we come
to know is embedded, and its meaning and value are linked to a particular
time and place. (pp. 31–32, original emphasis)
In this sense, Lifelong Action Learning (LAL) is also emergent, creating new
knowledge continuously, and embedded in a particular context. In addition, LAL is
developed collaboratively with others in groups, communities or organizations, in
an intentional and systematic way, and is then cascaded to others. While our story
in this book applies LAL to community development, we recognize that Taylor’s
generic model of emergent learning can also be applied usefully to community
development, beyond its original application to leadership development. This is
because of its utility for learning through experiences that challenge us with
double- and triple-loop learning, as I discuss later in this chapter.
This book focuses on LAL for adults and youth in organizations and
communities outside the formal education system. We recognize that the concept
can be adopted or adapted for learning in schools and higher education institutions,
but this is not our focus here. Rather, we introduce the LAL concept and
applications of it in poor and disadvantaged communities, mainly in rural settings
in developing countries. Our goal is to prepare leaders and members for
community development that is enabling, transformational and empowering across
the community, and sustainable by the community itself.
19
CHAPTER 1
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Let us begin with ‘community development’, a term that – like lifelong learning
and action learning – is somewhat rubbery and needs to be clarified here.
Community development generally refers to a process and an outcome – bringing
people together to achieve a common goal for improving the quality of life of
community members. Our use of the term in this book is more specific; as Alison
Gilchrist (2009) observes:
Community development is primarily concerned with meeting the needs and
aspirations of community members whose circumstances have left them
poorly provided for, often without adequate services, with limited means to
organize, and excluded from mainstream opportunities to participate in
activities or decision making. Community development seeks to build
collective capacity by improving skills, confidence and knowledge for
individuals and the community as a whole. (p. 36)
In this spirit, the International Centre for Community Development in the United
Kingdom recognizes that the process of community development is to bring about
change founded on social justice, equality and inclusion, enabling people to
organize and work together to identify their own needs and aspirations, and to take
action to influence the decisions that affect their lives. In this way the people
involved improve the quality of their own lives, the communities in which they
live, and the societies of which they are part (http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/
faculties/faculty-of-social-sciences-and-humanities/research/international-centre-
for-community-development/ – accessed 27 July 2013).
In this book we are concerned with community development as a process. While
we acknowledge that there are many paths to effecting the community
development process, we explain lifelong action learning as a particularly effective
and lasting approach to pursuing this process. We recognize that many people of
great need are currently denied the opportunity for community development on the
understanding that this is a process delivered from outside and above them. Our
view of community development is the opposite, as the two views offered above
convey. We recognize the capacity for community development within society
among and by people at society’s grassroots, to achieve positive, empowering and
sustainable outcomes and therefore ongoing community development. A useful
website with key terms and definitions of community development, community
engagement, community change, partnerships, capacity building, competence,
empowerment, action, etc., is the following: http://tamarackcommunity.ca/
g3s118.html (accessed 27 July 2013).
What of sustainability? Of the many definitions of sustainable development,
one that appears to be most frequently quoted is from the so-called
Brundtland Commission Report produced by the United Nations World
Commission on Environment and Development (WCED, 1987): “Sustainable
development is development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”
20
(http://www.worldbank.org/depweb/english/sd.html, accessed 27 July 2013). The

Report calls for greater international cooperation to improve global environmental,
economic and social sustainability, and it stresses that environmental problems are
closely tied to problems of economic and social inequality.
In this turbulent twenty-first century world, ‘sustainability’ is in common
conversation, while the earth’s burgeoning human population draws ever more
heavily from a finite planet; and what many informed observers recognize as
human-induced global warming raises question marks over the earth’s capacity to
sustain human wellbeing far into the future. Sustainability is therefore now widely
recognized as an important concern for the continued wellbeing of ourselves and of
future generations. Achieving outcomes is one thing, but sustainability, i.e., the
capacity to maintain the outcomes without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their needs, is another.
As authors of this book, we conceive sustainable development as the facilitation
of LAL so that individuals, groups and whole communities may develop the
understandings that enable them to analyze and improve their real-life situations.
We aim for learners to take charge of their own lives and work, discussing and
reflecting with others on what has or has not worked, why and why not and how,
and what needs to be done next, how and to what end.
As a result of this approach to problem-solving through trial and error,
discussion, reflection and learning, learners will become able to apply their
learning from one task to other tasks. This means ‘double-loop learning’ or
transformational learning for life; not just for earning a living, but for living.
Single-loop learning means, in brief, that the learner has changed action strategies,
but has not identified or digested the principles of the process for application
elsewhere, whereas double-loop learning involves changes in goals, assumptions,
values and/or standards for performance through mindful appreciation of the
change process. As Argyris and Schön (1974) put it:
In single-loop learning, we learn to maintain the field of constancy by
learning to design actions that satisfy existing governing variables. In
double-loop learning, we learn to change the field of constancy itself. …
Double-loop learning changes the governing variables of one’s programs and
causes ripples of change to fan out over one’s whole system of theories-in-
use. (p. 19)
‘Theory-in-use’ relates to our behaviour – what we actually do – as compared to
‘espoused theory’ that relates to our belief system – what we believe and say we do
(but mostly don’t). Single-loop learning takes a mechanical, technical or surface
approach to learning whereas double-loop learning takes a deeper and
transformational approach that enables positive change. In the context of twenty-
first century accelerated or exponential change, learning must be more than
technical and superficial; it needs to be transformational by registering at a deeper
level. Yet there is an even deeper, third level of learning that we call ‘triple-loop
learning’. Bateson (2000) called it ‘third-order learning’ (Learning III) and Torbert
(1972) spoke of a ‘third level’ of consciousness and learning through triple-loop
21
CHAPTER 1
feedback generating a transformation in one’s awareness of self and life purpose

(‘autobiographical awareness’). How do these three levels or loops work when it
comes to learning for community development?
Through single-loop learning we would use our existing knowledge and
strategies and impose them on the communities we want to help. Community
members would do what they are told, how they are told, without learning how to
learn reflectively and critically, to create knowledge for addressing future
challenges. Through double-loop learning we would try to find out what the
community needs, using cross-cultural communication, dialogue and feedback, and
we would then know what we didn’t know before. Through triple-loop learning,
however, we examine our “taken for granted purposes, principles or paradigm” –
how we see and identify ourselves … who we are (Torbert & Fisher, 1992, p. 195)
– and learn from and with members of the community as equal human beings, co-
learners and collaborative action researchers. This level of learning, research and
development is not given, determined or predetermined, but emergent (Taylor,
2011), transformational and sustainable.
Transformational, sustainable community learning and development through
LAL explicitly rejects passive reliance and dependence on foreign aid and outside
experts. It entails active, self-directed and collaborative problem-solving and
learning by the people themselves together – within their community and without
expensive resources. Some outside help and resources may be needed at the outset
in extreme situations of poverty or natural disasters. Yet it is important for both
human dignity and a satisfying existence that people in need do not become aid-
dependent, relying on handouts for life, but learn to be creatively self-sustaining.
Indeed, this capacity to gain independence and to live as a self-sustainable
community is at the core of the transformation we refer to here. This principle of
transformational and sustainable learning and development was recognized and
practised even in ancient times, as Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu (sixth century
BC) expressed in his well-known aphorism: Give a man a fish and you feed him for
a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
Generally, the many books concerning community development use a
methodology where ‘development’ is designed and directed from outside, and
therefore implemented ‘upon’ the community. But the methodology in this book is
for ‘community improvement and development’ – designed, directed and
implemented from inside the community, by and for the community itself. Through
this methodology, knowledge emerges to best suit what the community’s people
identify as their needs and abilities to satisfy these needs in a sustainable way, for
lasting community wellbeing and a better world at large.
The principle of assets-based community development (Kretzmann &
McKnight, 1993) has been promoted as a process for identifying assets (skills,
resources), strengths and issues in communities, social groups or informal
networks; then building on these strengths and helping to enable members to solve
the issues themselves. Assets-based community development builds capacity and
empowers, rather than providing people in poor, disadvantaged communities with
aid, money and other handouts.
22
Other important principles of transformational and sustainable development

through LAL are collaboration, networking, vision and team building, mutual
respect and trust, critical reflection, communication, coordination, cooperation and
openness to change. Facilitators of a community development program must be
collaborative action leaders who can facilitate the processes of vision and team
building, identify issues, strengths and weaknesses through analysis of SWOT
(strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats), of stakeholders and resources. They
also need to know how to facilitate strategic action planning, project management,
evaluation and reflection on results. We can all become community facilitators
and team leaders who develop other leaders around us, working in teams to achieve
a shared vision. Teamwork is at the heart of great achievement. That is why
President Lyndon Johnson said: “There are no problems we cannot solve together,
and very few that we can solve by ourselves”. Maxwell (2007, p. 47) offers
the quote: “If you want to reach your potential or strive for the seemingly
impossible, you need to become a team player.” Another quote in the same book is
by St Francis of Assisi: “Start doing what is necessary; then do what is possible;
and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” This is true for everyone, but
especially when you work in a team and cascade your learning to others with a
multiplying effect.
Chapter 2 will demonstrate how the above processes can be introduced,
developed and cascaded throughout a community and to other communities. In the
next section I introduce the structure and content of the book as ‘advance
organizers’ for readers’ convenience.
STRUCTURE AND CONTENT OF THE BOOK
This book consists of three main parts. Part I by Ortrun Zuber-Skerritt introduces
the conceptual framework (Chapter 1) and practical guide for unlocking human
potential through LAL (Chapter 2). Part II by Richard Teare presents approaches to
and case studies on unlocking human potential in the poorest and most remote
communities in about 40 developing countries. Part III by both authors presents
reflections and conclusions: Reflections and insights on the GULL system through
video technology (Chapter 6 by both authors) and reflections and conclusions on
learning for transformational development to help create a better world (Chapter 7
by Ortrun Zuber-Skerritt). Each chapter presents a chapter ‘outline’ at the
beginning, and at the end ‘topics for discussion’ and a list of ‘further readings’.
Included are references to accompanying materials, such as online materials and
web/video links, mainly from Richard Teare’s GULL website (gullonline.org), but
also links from other websites.
The layout of this book is illustrated in Figure 1.3.
23
CHAPTER 1
Figure 1.3. Mind map of this book
CONCLUSION
This introductory chapter has argued that we need a new conceptual framework of
learning and development in the twenty-first century. The next chapter presents
practical guidelines for developing this framework of lifelong action learning that
encourages the critical, creative and innovative thinking inherent in human beings
from childhood, but often systematically discouraged at school where children are
taught to conform and comply with the curriculum, with the pace of learning in
large classes, and with teachers’ instructions from primary through high school and
sometimes still even in university. In this book, we show how to rekindle the
flames of learning in a natural, human, work/life based way.
24
Our goal is not to reform the formal education system, but to present an
alternative lifelong action learning (LAL) system for those who have no
opportunity to access school education or higher education because they live in
poor and/or remote or otherwise disadvantaged communities. Certainly, educators
in formal education may also learn from our alternative learning system. This LAL
system has not only proven to be highly effective for learners in the poorest and
most disadvantaged communities, but – based on my experience and the recent
literature on transformational learning and sustainable development – fulfils the
requirements of knowledge and skills required for wisdom in a better world in the
twenty-first century (Bellanca & Brandt, 2010; Longworth, 2003; Taylor, 2011).
Transformational development through LAL means learning and development
from an ‘inside-out’ perspective so that it is sustainable over time. LAL can be
continuously adapted to learner needs as appropriate for time and place. It is not an
end in itself or a product, but rather is a process of emergent learning at the double-
and triple-loop levels. Through LAL we continuously create knowledge and
wisdom as we encounter the complex, unpredicted problems and challenges in this
turbulent twenty-first century world characterized by exponential change.
TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION
1. What were the benefits and challenges for you reading this chapter?
2. What concepts would you like to use in your work: lifelong learning, action
learning, emergent learning and/or lifelong action learning? And what is your
definition of the term(s) you will be using?
3. Can you envisage conducting a community or organization development
program? Who would be the participants you would work with? What would be
your shared thematic concern/issue/problem? What would be your common goal
and expected outcomes?
4. How would you define ‘wisdom for a better world’ in the twenty-first century?
Give an example.
5. Can you draw your own model of your conceptual framework for learning and
development in the twenty-first century? Please, try!
FURTHER READINGS
1. Chapter 4 on ‘PALAR paradigm and methodology’. In O. Zuber-Skerritt (2011).

Action leadership: Towards a participatory paradigm. Dordrecht, The
Netherlands: Springer International, pp. 73–102.
2. Chapter 7 on ‘Community development’. In O. Zuber-Skerritt (2011) Action
leadership: Towards a participatory paradigm. Dordrecht, The Netherlands:
Springer International, pp. 187–219.
3. Taylor, M. M. (2011). Emergent learning for wisdom. New York: Palgrave
Macmillan.
4. Zuber-Skerritt, O. (Ed.). (2012). Action research for sustainable development in
a turbulent world. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
25
CHAPTER 1
5. Jarvis, P. (Ed.) (2011) The Routledge international handbook of lifelong

learning. London: Routledge.
6. Online readings: Bob Dick’s Action research and action learning resources for
community and organizational change: http://www.aral.com.au/ (accessed 27
July 2013).
Papers on action research and action learning and related topics associated with
“AREOL” (Action Research and Evaluation On Line) – a free on-line course
available on the web and/or by email (bd@bigpond.net.au or bobdick@me.com)
or Skype (bobd35).
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Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. New York: Collier Macmillan.
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CHAPTER 1
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Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
28
CHAPTER 2
HOW TO DEVELOP LIFELONG ACTION LEARNING
Inside every person is a unique brilliance.

Unlocking this brilliance opens a world of possibilities.
(http://www.smartwired.org)
OUTLINE
Chapter 2 explains step by step how to develop lifelong action learning (LAL) in a
systematic, collaborative, creative, sustainable and enjoyable manner, as a system
that the authors have used successfully in various settings. It helps readers to
understand and learn how to design, conduct and continuously evaluate an action
learning program or project, by including guidelines, processes and exercises that
individuals can use for action and reflection and then share in small groups or
‘action learning sets’, supported by materials on the GULL website
(www.gullonline.org). Readers become active participants in this process and
system of learning and development.
Among other things, readers learn how to:
– start an action learning project and pathway (relationship building, needs
analysis, defining the thematic concern, etc.);
– design and implement the first stage or cycle in a collaborative action learning
project;
– formulate a ‘Personal Learning Statement’ (PLS);
– reflect on major learning events using the daily, weekly and monthly diary
format (DF);
– identify their ‘Return on Learning Outputs’ (RO) at the individual, group,
organizational or community levels, and provide evidence for this
transformational learning, change or development;
– prepare an oral presentation and a written report on this journey of lifelong
action learning (LAL); and
– proceed to the next cycle in the spiral of further LAL cycles.
INTRODUCTION
This chapter is about developing lifelong action learning (LAL) as a systematic and
collaborative approach to organization and community development generally. It is
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CHAPTER 2
based on my personal experience of using educational principles and processes that

have proven to be most successful with groups in a variety of contexts, such as
academic staff development, postgraduate education, and leadership development
across the education spectrum, in business management and government. This
discussion includes processes, methods and techniques that my co-author Richard
Teare has designed for his action learning system in GULL (Global University for
Lifelong Learning), which he discusses in the following chapters.
Many outside the world of entrenched poverty have generally understood
community development as foreign aid to ‘the poor’ – providing essentials such as
food and medical support to sustain or improve human life. Aid programs for
education usually provide a type of education familiar to the aid providers,
designed for western cultures in formal classroom settings, which is alien and
unsuccessful for effective learning in subsistent communities. In a Technology,
Education, Design (TED) conversation, Aissatu Sila (2013) summed up the foreign
aid dilemma in response to the question: Can donor funding really fix African
challenges, or should we empower African communities to address their own
challenges?
I deeply appreciate individual donations to global causes, but isn't it
convenient to the western governments to keep funding our dependence and
underdevelopment, so they can keep exploiting our resources?
How do we get communities to transform the future? By educating them and

providing a stable economy in which they can prosper. As Deekay
Mgbekemdi said and I agree – it’s a leadership issue. Once we have the right
leaders, we'll follow the right path.
The key issues here are dependence, underdevelopment and exploitation of people
in need, and as remedies to these circumstances, transformational education and
leadership for these people. Since publication of the subversive book by Illich
(1971) on Deschooling Society, laudable attempts by activists have tried to change
education from ‘schooling’ to what we identify as lifelong action learning and
community development, using outsiders’ funding to promote sustainable
community development by self-directed learners and leaders within a community.
Examples of such activists are Freire (1972) and Fals Borda (1991, 1998) in Latin
America, Revans (1982) in the UK, Lewin (1926, 1948) in the USA, and more
recently Rahman (2008) in Bangladesh, Stringer (2008) in East Timor and (2012)
in Australia, Castillo-Burguete et al. (2008) in Mexico, Swantz (2008) in Tanzania,
and Nyoni (1991 and ongoing) in Zimbabwe. Despite these examples, little has
changed in the approaches by NGOs and western governments to supporting
education for aid recipients in the developing world. To address this problem we
need a new generation of people who are willing and able to help communities
solve their own problems and produce action leaders who cascade their own
learning to others in the community. Identifying how this can be achieved is the
challenge and significance of this book.
30
As explained in Chapter 1, this book is about developing lifelong action learning

as an alternative system of learning and community development, particularly for
communities lacking resources and opportunity. The purpose of this chapter is to
demonstrate how to help people in such communities to define their own learning
needs and goals; identify their particular strengths, gifts and ‘unique brilliance’;
develop these talents; sustain their self-directed LAL, and develop action
leadership to help others within the community on their own learning journey.
This chapter explains how to experience, understand and put into practice the
main principles of lifelong action learning (LAL) introduced in Chapter 1.
Participants form a learning set to conduct individual or group LAL projects, and
are aided by a facilitator, coach and each other along their LAL journey. Here is a
brief summary of the main principles of LAL – and how participants in LAL
projects or programs can implement these principles through relevant actions/tasks
explained in more detail later in this chapter.
1. Reflection – daily, weekly and monthly, recorded in a diary format (DF);
2. Communication and collaboration – relationship building, vision and team
building, and the role of a personal learning coach;
3. Self-directed, autonomous learning – supported by preparing one’s personal
learning statement (PLS), and statement of return on outputs (RO);
4. Problem solving: identifying problem and action – needs analysis for
(1) defining the theme of a team project to address a significant concern shared
by all team members and stakeholders, and where appropriate (2) conducting a
LAL program comprising several team projects in accordance with participants’
shared and individual needs; and
5. Presenting and celebrating results achieved – preparing for a public
presentation that demonstrates personal learning, reflective evaluation and
collective outcomes and celebrates these achievements.
These five principles are used as headings in the following discussion. Under these
headings the relevant tasks and processes are explained to enable readers to
understand and develop lifelong action learning and problem-solving skills in their
role as facilitator, coach or set member. We call this professional development.
Some activities can be carried out individually and then discussed with a personal
learning coach and/or others. But for other activities a facilitator may be required
to help participants maximize personal learning and return on learning outputs,
e.g., the ‘turning points’ exercise, vision and team building, needs analysis using
the nominal group technique, conducting a LAL program with team projects, and
organizing the ‘Presentation and Celebration Day’. All these activities are
discussed in more detail later in this chapter. The next section is about reflection
and learning how to reflect in a regular and systematic way.
REFLECTION
Reflection involves thinking analytically about what has happened or what we have
done and learned from the action and recording our reflections in a diary format on
a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Reflection is the most important aspect of LAL.
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CHAPTER 2
It can be mastered through experience, developing reflective skills gradually and

consciously. We need to set aside some reflection time each day (anything from
five to 30 minutes) at a time that suits us best, e.g., first thing in the morning or last
thing at night. In the following, I present a simple explanation and diagram of a
reflection diary, followed by guidelines on the daily, weekly and monthly format.
Keeping a Reflection Diary

Here I offer a brief explanation of what is involved in keeping a reflection diary:
– Identifying the most significant events of the day for you personally and
recording these in your diary;
– Reflecting on these events, trying to make sense of them and how they are inter-
related, and writing down what you have learnt from them; and
– Identifying what action(s) you intend to take as a consequence of this learning.
Figure 2.1. Model of a systematic reflection diary process
Figure 2.1 is a diagram that I designed for participants in LAL programs. It has
been published several times previously. The diagram illustrates the process of
recording significant events daily, reflecting on these events and personal learning,
and planning for subsequent action as a result of this process. The advantage of
strategic action planning is that you may take the planned action and tick it off, or
delete it if it becomes obsolete because of changed circumstances. The daily entries
are followed by a weekly review. This review of recorded events, learning
outcomes and action plans is to trash and relocate unimportant data into a separate
32
folder (to be kept in case these data need to be retrieved later); to check actions
done, to be done, or no longer necessary; and to reduce data to the essentials. Once
a month the data from the weekly reviews are reviewed again to further reduce the
accumulation to only the most essential data, making data analysis more
manageable.
Keeping a reflection diary in such a systematic manner offers us the advantage
of learning from experience (Kolb, 1984), becoming more effective and reflective
practitioners (Schön, 1983), and being able to both develop learning principles and
personal theories or constructs (Kelly, 1955, 1963) and take appropriate action.
The diagram in Figure 2.1 models a systematic diary reflection process. Reflection
diaries or logbooks or research journals are valuable heuristic tools for reflection as
well as for formulating the essence of this reflection in written form.
GULL has designed simple forms for daily, weekly and monthly diary format
(see Appendices 2.1–2.3).
Diary Format
The ‘Daily Summary’ form (DF) asks for:
– Today’s activity list
– What went well and why?
– What didn’t go well and why?
– What could I have done differently and how?
The diary-form reflection cycle requires the learner to prepare a written reflection
every day, with a summary at the end of the week and at the end of the month. The
weekly summary includes the weekly activity list and responses to the above
questions. It also includes a list of discussion points that the learner prepares to
discuss with their personal learning coach, and of discussion outcomes after
discussion with the coach. The monthly summary also addresses a further question:
‘What have I learnt this month and what do I need to learn next month?’ Learners
must discuss their monthly report (of about 750 words) with their learning coach,
who adds his/her written comments on the report with signature and date. The
internal assessor also adds his/her comments with signature and date. The daily,
weekly and monthly forms can be downloaded for free from the GULL website
(www.gullonline.org). For those without Internet access, the forms are included at
the end of this chapter as Appendices 2.1–2.3. The next important aspect of LAL is
the principle of communication and collaboration.
COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION
Much has been written about the need for effective communication within
organizations and communities and for collaboration locally, nationally and
internationally. I think the best approach to effective communication is expressed
in the axiom: think globally, act locally. We can best communicate at the local
level in small groups or teams by developing a spirit and culture of trust, sharing,
networking and collaboration, while keeping an eye to the global context that is the
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CHAPTER 2
ultimate site of our shared interest as citizens of this planet. This way we can
achieve best outcomes at the local level and are better able to become negotiators,
activists and peacemakers at other levels, including in other countries, if we wish to
take that path as a useful contribution to our global community. But how can we
take these vital steps towards effective communication? It is easier said than done.
Here I offer some guidelines on how to start building a firm underlay for effective
communication through relationship building, vision and team building, and
coaching.
Relationship Building
Relationship building is essential for a successful action learning program or action
research project, both of which depend on trusting and mutually supportive
relationships among team members. Without relationship building, team members
are likely to experience all sorts of problems that can arise from competition, envy,
shyness, denial, dominance by some and silence by others, and other personal
qualities that can fuel tensions. Achieving positive team results takes much longer
if people do not trust one another from the beginning of the project. Many
relationship building exercises can be used. I have found the snake (or river)
technique in combination with Bob Dick’s guide on relationship building most
effective and time efficient.
The snake technique is one of many tools to help us to reflect. I first learnt it from
my friend Maureen Pope in the UK (see, e.g., Pope & Denicolo, 1991) and have
since used it with many action learners individually and in groups, to raise their
consciousness of their own and others’ learning. This technique involves you
drawing, in private, a representation of your private or professional life in the form
of a winding snake (or river), with each turn representing a personal
event/experience that influenced the direction your life/career took. Annotate these
turns briefly and then discuss and elaborate them with your coach or in a group to
elicit the significance of these formative experiences for both your career decisions
and personal style as practitioner. Figure 2.2 is an example of a snake produced by
a student; yours, of course, will signal the distinctive landmarks in your own life.
This diagram is not copyright.1
I recommend you go through the following process that takes about 10–15
minutes. It is ideal for a new team on the first or second meeting, for it helps to
build mutual as well as self-understanding, and a supportive network among team
members.
34
Figure 2.2. A student’s snake diagram
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CHAPTER 2
Step 1: Draw a snake (or river) with about six turns and write down at each turning
point what it was in your professional or private life (positive or negative) that was
most significant in turning your life in a different direction.
Step 2: Reflect on why these were turning points in your life and what you learnt
from them. These two steps are especially useful in relationship building with your
coach for your action learning project, and with the members of your action
learning set. In both situations you can proceed with the following two steps.
Step 3: Share your ‘snake’ insights with your coach. In a meeting with your coach
and/or members of your action learning set who have also drawn their snake
diagrams as life maps, ask each other questions about the reasons for isolating a
particular incident to encourage reflection on its effect on your/their practice and
professional identity.
Step 4: Reflect on, and write down, the learning and insights from this exercise and
submit your reflection piece to your coach for further discussion and feedback.
In my experience the value of this exercise is its capacity to increase participants’

awareness of their untapped potential that they could develop and the self
empowerment they achieve by coming to terms with their self, reflecting on their
personal theories in terms of their own lives and opportunities, and being able to do
the same for others. This process fosters their development as lifelong reflective
practitioners who help each other in this process. A similar process I have used and
found to be effective for relationship building with several groups (academics,
postgraduates, managers, executives and community agents) is the exercise
developed by Bob Dick (2012) called “Turning Points”.
The Turning points exercise is an activity for building relationships in small

groups. It can be facilitated by a group leader whose task is to allocate time to each
phase, to ask the questions to the group and to facilitate/monitor the whole
process. You may print out the handout from http://www.aral.com.au/pdfs/
04turningpoints.pdf (accessed 28 July 2013) or copy/print it from Appendix 2.4 in
this chapter.2
In my experience, this exercise always works. When asked for feedback,
participants are often surprised about themselves, saying, for example:
– I never thought I could talk about my personal experiences to a stranger whom
I’ve never met.
– I was astonished how openly we all talked about our most private feelings and
thoughts.
– At first I felt uncomfortable about disclosing and sharing my turning points with
others, but I soon trusted them because they trusted me.
– I came to know the people in my group pretty fast and could respect them for
what they are.
36
What are your reflections after this exercise? What comments by others in your
group did you find most revealing?
Trust, respect and openness to new ideas (i.e., your own ideas and those of
others) are prerequisites for good relationships and team spirit within a group,
organization or community.
Vision and Team Building

Many methods can be used to encourage and facilitate vision and team building. In
action learning projects, I have found the following process most effective, time
efficient and able to nurture participants’ creativity. I encourage you to try it out
with an action learning group (steps 1–2 and 4–5) or in a larger program with
several action learning teams (steps 1–5).
Step 1: Participants individually draw a picture of how they see the results of the
team project at the end of its term (e.g., in one, two or three years’ time), using
different shapes, figures, colours, etc. Usually at the start, most participants are
reluctant to do so. I remember myself having said initially, ‘I can’t draw/paint’. But
we need to overcome this resistance by recognizing and abandoning it, using our
imagination, creativity and dreams (the right side of our brains) expressed in non-
verbal language and pictures, rather than our rational, intellectual thinking
expressed in verbal language and statements (the left side of our brains).
Step 2: Participants work in their teams, each first explaining to their group the
individual vision they have drawn. They then draw their team vision, with each
member contributing something to the picture and commenting on the meaning.
Step 3: A representative of each team presents their project team vision and
explains it to the whole group, because while most pictures become clear to the
teams themselves, they usually have no meaning whatsoever to others. Each team
vision is then questioned and discussed by the whole group.
Step 4: Each team may keep its vision picture on the wall in a certain place, ideally
a room where they meet most often. Whenever in difficulty, a team might revisit or
revise its vision. Team members might revise this vision regularly, because it will
evolve and might change over time. This team/project vision is powerful,
motivating and serves to sustain energy throughout the project; and team members
as action learners build an effective, winning team.
Step 5: Team building based on needs analysis and vision can be strengthened by a
SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) of both the
project and the team. For a step-by-step guide, I recommend the Workbook by
Passfield and Carroll (2013), which is also useful for planning the team project. In
the GULL/LAL system, every learner selects his/her personal coach and both
learner and coach need to understand what is involved in the coaching relationship.
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CHAPTER 2
Personal Learning Coach

In GULL every learner is asked to find a personal learning coach, i.e., someone
whom they respect, trust and can learn from. Coaching is a one-to-one relationship
in which the learners are helped in their lifelong action learning by the coach’s
experience, questions and guidance. The coach’s approach is Socratic, i.e., like that
of Socrates – the ancient Greek philosopher (469–399 BC). A coach engages in
dialogue with the learners by asking questions rather than giving advice, or as
Revans (1982, p. 16) expressed it, by ‘questioning insight’.
The coach’s role is to help learners become more effective reflective
practitioners by building a positive learning environment, using open-ended
questions to probe and analyse needs, listening actively, and providing ongoing,
informal support to help learners achieve their aims and work out their own
solutions. Therefore a coach needs to know about different learning styles and to
practise action learning principles.
Learning styles differ from individual to individual. There is no one best or
perfect style, so coaches need to be aware of the main styles that may best suit an
individual team member. For example, we distinguish between learning styles that
are mainly auditory (learning through listening), visual (through seeing) and
kinaesthetic (mainly through doing, showing, moving, developing, i.e., physical
action). Honey and Mumford (1986) adapted Kolb’s (1984) inventory of learning
styles by using a simpler language: ‘activist’, ‘theorist’, pragmatist’ and ‘reflector’.
Activists learn best by doing first and thinking later, willing to take risks and make
mistakes. Theorists prefer to first think things through logically, analytically and
methodically. Pragmatists generally theorize a little and then prefer to try things
out. They tend to act quickly and confidently. Reflectors do not like to work under
pressure, and prefer to work at their own pace, observing and listening to others,
and reflecting deeply.
Coaches need to appreciate and cater for all learning styles by questioning each
learner about their preferred approach. Visual and kinaesthetic learners (or a
combination) and activists, pragmatists or reflectors (or a combination) are in my
experience more naturally oriented towards lifelong action learning principles.
However auditory learners (preferring to listen to lectures/presentations) or
theorists – the traditional academic type – can adopt this approach through the
guidance of a coach or by working in a supportive, reflective community of
practice.
Action learning principles include the principles of lifelong learning, capacity
building and continual improvement of professional practice, mutual respect, and
commitment to establishing and pursuing goals, and working together to achieve
them. In this book, coaching is conceived as coaching for leadership (Robertson,
2008) through coaching of partnerships. This means that (at least) two partners
help each other to improve their professional practice and leadership so it becomes
an ongoing and sustainable professional development activity (Hargreaves & Fink,
2006) and develops action leadership as discussed in Chapter 1 (Zuber-Skerritt,
38
2011). The following guidelines and activity are designed for two partners –
learner and coach – to learn the process of coaching and being coached.
Establishing a working relationship: Tell each other frankly and openly: what
you expect of each other in your partnering relationship; how you envisage
working together; when, where and how often you will meet; etc. At the end of this
discussion, write down the important points that will serve as ground rules and a
kind of initial contract.
Creating a supportive learning environment: For the coach, tell the learner that
(1) although you might be older and more experienced, you are not expected to be
an expert in any particular area. Rather, you want to help the learner by asking
questions, especially open questions that cannot be answered by ‘yes’ or ‘no’; and
(2) you want to learn as well. You might each talk about your strengths and
weaknesses and how you might build on the former and avoid or positively address
the latter. This discussion is likely to create a more comfortable and informal
learning climate where the learner can be at ease and trusting.
Being effective and professional: For the learner, make a commitment to
becoming effective and professional in your work, prioritizing your activities,
turning up at meetings on time, and submitting your assignments to your coach
when promised/agreed. Do not let anyone down (e.g., coach and learning set)!
Appreciate that they may have many other demands upon their time. So be
considerate, respectful and do not waste their precious time! Then they will respect
you and walk the extra mile to help you. People whose lives move to a different
drum, at a different pace, may find this hard to understand and follow if it is in
their culture to put the extended family first, or ‘to take time out’ when they feel
like it. This book, Chapters 4 and 5 in particular, demonstrate that these cultural
habits can be overcome or adjusted in order to achieve positive results for the
whole community in need.
Learning the questioning (Socratic) approach to coaching: Apart from
rationally understanding the guidelines on the coaching relationship above, it is
important for coaches actually to experience and practise the principles of active
listening and asking open questions. For this purpose, I designed the following
activity that I call the ‘Socratic approach’. I have used it frequently, e.g., with
groups of postgraduates and their supervisors for defining the focal question of a
thesis.
Socratic approach activity: Form a group of three or four members (one being
the time keeper) and agree that each will be in the ‘hot’ seat for 10 or 15 minutes,
while the other ‘critical friends’ ask questions (like coaches). There is one
important ground rule: No-one is allowed to talk in sentences (except the candidate
in the hot seat) and to give advice, but only to ask questions. This Socratic
approach is not easy for the critical friends or for the candidate in the hot seat who
is thus forced – and helped – to come up with the answers and to make his/her
tacit, implicit knowledge more explicit. For example, the following five essential
questions can be asked about designing and learning from an action learning
project:
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1. What do you want to focus on? What is your central question, issue or concern?
– Focus.
2. Why is this important and who will it benefit? – Significance.
3. Why is this new or different from anything done before? – Original value and
contribution to knowledge.
4. How will you solve your focal problem? How will you argue, demonstrate and
provide evidence that you have solved the problem and achieved your goal? –
Method.
5. When will you start and finish your project? What are the milestones in your
timetable? – Timeline.
A prerequisite for effective teamwork is that each member is a self-directed,
autonomous learner.
SELF-DIRECTED, AUTONOMOUS LEARNING
The goal of the Global University for Lifelong Learning (GULL) is to develop self-
directed lifelong learning through action learning. As mentioned in Chapter 1, its
mission is to enable participants “to make a difference in OUR world. GULL’s
practical approach to personal and professional development uses action learning
to help individuals, communities and organizations to sustain learning and apply
the outcomes”.
As GULL operates in a decentralized network style structure with local
leadership, the central operating costs are kept as low as possible. This means that
the central team is not resourced to work with or support individuals or provide
web-based courses. Instead, GULL works directly with and through affiliated
organizations (both community and work-based) and the GULL website provides
an online affiliation process for this purpose at www.gullonline.org/affiliate/. After
completing a web-based affiliate briefing and GULL’s affiliation form (which
concludes with a series of statements relating to the acceptance of GULL’s code of
practice), affiliated organizations can access GULL’s generic ‘getting started’
resources.
GULL’s generic resources consist of a simple but powerful set of forms to
enable participants to begin a personal learning journey and these are accompanied
by briefing resources for the participant’s own web of support. The following
section illustrates this approach with reference to two of the forms.
Personal Learning Statement (PLS)

The designer of these resources, Richard Teare, recommends that learners follow
the questions below, write down their answers and ask their personal learning
coach or critical friend to give feedback and discuss their PLS with them. Learners
can then revise the PLS several times until both learner and coach are satisfied.
Step 1: Consider your current job: What is going well – for you and those involved
in your work? What could you do better?
40
Step 2: Consider the current training or professional development activity you are
undertaking: What would you like to accomplish for yourself? For your team/
colleagues and/or customers? For your department/section/organization?
Step 3: Consider future possibilities: What new/different types of work would you
like to experience? Where do you see yourself in 12 months time? What new skills
will you need to achieve your 12 month goal?
Step 4: Summarize what you need to learn (list the key things arising from steps 1–
3 above).
Step 5: Personal learning statement: Now re-write what you want to learn in
sentence format like an essay in about 750 words. Try to include the timeframe, the
resources or support you will need, and reflect on how you will know whether you
have accomplished this learning. Then submit your PLS to your personal learning
coach and get his/her feedback (orally and) in writing so you can improve and
finalize it. Keep the final version of your PLS for future reference, especially when
writing the ‘Return on Outputs’ (RO) described below.
Return on Outputs (RO)

The purpose of this activity is for the learner to (a) reflect on the previous weeks’
work and development; (b) identify the key learning outcomes in terms of personal,
group and organizational or community development; (c) explain the value of the
outcomes; and (d) make recommendations and action plans based on these learning
outcomes. You can download the ‘Return on Outputs Form’ free from the GULL
website or complete your RO by following the six tasks/steps below and writing
100 to 150 words per section (and 750 words in total):
Step 1: Summarize briefly what you have done in your action learning project or
other development activity.
Step 2: What were the key learning outcomes for you? (Please list them)
Step 3: Describe your personal learning and any other benefits for you arising
from this activity.
Step 4: Describe the group learning for your action learning set, whole organi-
zation and/or community arising from this activity.
Step 5: Explain the value of the outcomes from this activity (e.g., improvements,
cost reductions, positive changes in the organization/community, etc.)
Step 6: List your recommendations for implementing these outcomes and outline
any further action required.
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After you have drafted your responses to the above tasks, ask your personal
learning coach or critical friend to give you feedback and to discuss your RO with
you. You can then revise it several times until you are both satisfied.
PROBLEM SOLVING: IDENTIFYING PROBLEM AND ACTION
The PLS and RO are individual learning activities. To work well in an action
learning set and to solve a particular problem through an action learning/research
project, it is important to identify, negotiate and define the ‘thematic concern’. We
use this term (Lewin, 1948) that encompasses the topic or central issue to be
understood and maybe formulated as a focal question that everyone in the group
shares and that is significant to the stakeholders in the community or organization.
In other words, we must conduct a needs analysis for defining the thematic concern
before designing the project.
Needs Analysis for Defining the Thematic Concern

I have adapted and found the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) most effective and
time efficient for needs analysis (and evaluation) purposes, especially for eliciting,
defining and agreeing upon a group’s needs and wants generally and for defining
the thematic concern in particular. But why is a needs analysis important for
defining mutual goals?
Without a needs analysis that is shared and agreed upon by all participants and
stakeholders and that is significant for the wellbeing of the particular community, it
is likely that some team members will lose interest, commitment and motivation,
they will not turn up to meetings, will not be actively involved in problem-solving,
or worse, they leave the team and thus may jeopardize the whole project by making
it no longer viable. This is the mistake many postgraduate students make when
they want to conduct an action learning or action research project in an
organization and have a preconceived idea of what they want to do in their
fieldwork. But why would busy people in an organization spend their precious time
with a PhD student, unless they are as passionate about finding the solution to the
problem as the student is?
That is why researchers must first conduct a needs analysis in the organization
or community with which they intend to work, to find out ‘where the shoe hurts’
before defining the focal research question for their own research or thesis. Ideally
this question should be the same or very similar to the one for their fieldwork, so
that the collaborative data collection, analysis and interpretation are directly
relevant to the participants and to the student/researcher. The same applies to
community workers who want to help improve something in that particular
community. Rather than hypothesizing and having preconceived ideas, they need
to find out from the people themselves how they see their situation and how they
think it can be improved.
42
There are many methods for conducting a needs analysis, e.g., by face-to-face
interview, telephone/skype, video conference, and many techniques such as open-
ended questionnaire, focus group or nominal group technique. I have found the last
of these, discussed below, to be most effective for a needs analysis (or evaluation)
without influencing the people involved. It is important to note that your role is that
of a facilitator or process manager, not of a consultant or advisor.
The Nominal Group Technique (NGT) is a proven, effective qualitative method
generally for collecting feedback/data from a group of 8–12 people, eliciting their
views on some issues in response to a focal question. This method has been
described before, for example by Dick (1991, pp. 114–117) and Zuber-Skerritt
(2008, pp. 71–75). As these authors indicate, the NGT is appropriate for the
purposes of ‘think tanks’, exploring new ideas, conducting needs analysis and/or
collecting feedback for evaluating action research. However, the group process
needs to be led by an experienced facilitator.
The focal question and its wording are crucial for the success of NGT inquiry
and need to be negotiated with the group. The question is normally fairly general
and exploratory to allow participants to answer in a wide variety of ways. For
example, in one of our community development programs, we agreed on the
following focal question: “For you personally, what are the felt needs of the
Samoan community to improve the educational opportunities for all?” Please, note
that the question always starts with “For you personally …” since it is to elicit the
personal views of each person present. The procedure of the NGT normally
comprises the following eight steps for data collection, analysis and report writing.
Step 1: Participants brainstorm individually and write their responses to the focal
question (about five minutes).
Step 2: The individual participants’ lists are then compiled by the facilitator into a
public list (usually on a board or on flip-chart paper) by a round robin collection of
ideas without any discussion at this stage (about 15–20 minutes). The rule is that
criticism and judgment of any items are forbidden.
Step 3: The facilitator leads the subsequent discussion and clarification of the
public statements, collating any overlapping statements on the board/flip chart and
numbering all collated statements (about 20–30 minutes).
Step 4: This discussion is followed by ranking (about five minutes). Here each
participant is asked to select from the list of public statements three items that
he/she considers most important, to write these on three separate post-it notes
(provided by the facilitator), and then to rank these items (A: most important, C:
least important) (about 5 minutes).
Step 5: Finally, the group results emerge: the facilitator asks participants to display
their ranking notes on a table or board in three rows under A, B and C, showing
first, second and third priorities respectively (about 10 minutes).
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Step 6: Data analysis: Analysis of the data collected in steps 4 and 5 is easy. The
three rows of ranking slips provide (a) instant feedback of results to the group and
(b) the basis for a final prioritized list presented in table form. The
facilitator/researcher (in collaboration with the participants) writes each
item/statement mentioned on the ranking slips in the first column of the table, the
number of mentions for each item under A in column 2, under B in column 3 and
under C in column 4. The weighting given to A is three points, B two points and C
one point – multiplied by the number of mentions for each item. The total number
of points is then calculated in the last column for each item by adding up the points
from A, B and C. Finally, the table can be re-ordered to show the group’s
collective priority list of statements from highest points at the top to lowest at the
bottom of the table.
Analysis of the discussion (tape-recorded) is similar to other data collecting

methods, but I recommend preparing a brief summary rather than a time-
consuming transcription and detailed quantitative analysis, because the purpose is
to produce a quick overview and the essence of the group’s main opinions in
response to the focal research question.
Step 7: Report writing: It is usually (but not necessarily) the facilitator/researcher

who summarizes the process and results (with the attached table of priority) and
distributes the draft report for ‘participant confirmation’ or validation prior to
publication.
Step 8: Project themes and teams: On the basis of this NGT process and report,
participants can identify a number of priority issues that need to be addressed by
project teams; and each participant can choose a topic/team to work with.
This procedure is only nominally a group technique (and so the name nominal
group technique or NGT), because the information is provided by the individual
members in the brainstorming activity at the beginning, and is ranked in the voting
at the end of the session. Face-to-face confrontation and competition are largely
avoided, but there is still opportunity for clarifying and discussing the provided
information, which is essential for participants’ understanding, learning and
development. The advantages of this ‘nominal’ group process include the
following:
– The process ensures balanced participation from all participants: all have the
same amount of time for thinking, generating and ranking ideas. No individual
can dominate the discussion. All contributions and votes have equal weight
regardless of the status of the participant.
– The process is task-oriented, hence makes effective use of resources and avoids
personality clashes.
– It is depersonalized and all contributions become group property to share.
– Group cohesion and purpose are achieved quickly.
– The group stimulus encourages supportive, creative and innovative thinking.
44
– The influence of the facilitator is restricted.

– The structure provides a format for closure and final decision on the project.
– The group motivation and sense of purpose are high.
– Participant satisfaction is higher than in unstructured, open discussions.
There is no doubt that the NGT is a valuable tool for needs analysis, problem
definition and evaluation of action research. However, it is constructive here to
note the disadvantages of this group process, which include the following:
– The success of the session depends largely on the discussion leader’s facilitation
and process management skills. An untrained facilitator might experience
discipline and time problems.
– If the group is too small (say less than five or six), the process works less well
because insufficient variety and richness of ideas/data limits possibilities and
outcomes.
– If the group is too large (say more than 15), the process can be slow and tedious,
especially in the phase of collecting individual statements, one by one, to
produce the collective list (step 2).
– In this phase (step 2), participants may also be frustrated by the rule that forbids
any discussion or criticism.
– The facilitator often needs to interrupt the discussion for time reasons, when
participants are still keen to continue the discussion.
However, an experienced, creative facilitator can adapt the NGT, if and when
necessary, to avoid most of these problems. I believe that the advantages far
outweigh the disadvantages of using the NGT for identifying a group’s needs,
concerns, evaluation and/or innovative, creative ideas in response to a focal
question. The NGT can be used as a snapshot and an initial exploration of people’s
views or needs in a relatively short time collecting data (1–2 hours), analysing data
(half an hour to produce the table and 1–2 hours to summarize the main points of
the discussion) and report writing (another hour). It is a time/resource effective
way of capturing the essential features, identifying problem areas, and giving an
indication of a group’s priority ranking of those quality features and/or problem
areas its members have identified as significant to them. The results can then be
used as a basis for in-depth interviews or larger-scale surveys. The NGT can be
used repeatedly – e.g., at the beginning of a LAL program or project to identify the
needs of participants in a group, organization or community; during the project for
continuing improvement; and at the end of the project to evaluate the overall value,
quality and effectiveness of the teamwork in terms of the original group or
community needs, aims and goals.
At the beginning of a program/project, needs analysis – like vision building – is
important for team building, communication and collaboration. It is normally part
of a ‘start-up workshop’ when participants learn the basics of action learning,
action research, project planning, management and evaluation. I have described
this process in detail elsewhere (e.g., Zuber-Skerritt, 2011, pp. 42–46). Here I
briefly outline how to conduct a LAL program with team projects.
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CHAPTER 2
Conducting LAL Programs and Projects

In a previous book (Zuber-Skerritt, 2011) I distinguish between LAL programs and
LAL projects. A program consists of several projects. It may be an in- or cross-
company or community development program. A project is usually an individual
or team project conducted in an organization or community, using an action
learning team in the workplace. I have been involved in at least three different
kinds of action learning, all of them facilitated and supported by an action learning
group or ‘set’:
1. An AL set with individual projects, where each participant worked on a
different topic/problem (e.g., a group of Master or Doctoral candidates);
2. A collaborative team project, where all members worked on the same
topic/problem of mutual concern (e.g., a community project on potable water);
and
3. An AL program with several AL team projects all related to an overall theme,
but with each team working on a specific issue/concern/problem (e.g., a
program on church mobilization with several projects focusing on different
issues such as youth detention, literacy and numeracy, family violence, access to
higher education, and so forth).
In this book, we assume that in community development all three paths for action
learning are possible. But we see that the third is most useful for effective and
sustainable community development since it enables a more comprehensive and
broader, deeper-reaching approach. An AL program involves more community
members who are able to collaborate and cascade their learning to others in the
community. The main stages in such a program are:
Stage 1: Needs analysis of (1) the community using the NGT discussed above; and
(2) each LAL team using the SWOT analysis discussed later in this chapter.
Stage 2: Start-up workshop – relationship building; vision and team building;

introduction to LAL; project design, management and evaluation; qualitative
research methods for data collection and analysis; and writing and publishing, if
LAL projects are action research projects.
Stage 3: Project work and meeting regularly in teams, with monthly or bi-monthly
program meetings for all teams to monitor their progress (through team reports),
discuss any problems they might have, and identify how groups may best support
each other in their projects towards the shared goals of the program.
Stage 4: Midway specialist workshop, if required, to meet participants’ particular

needs. Otherwise, the individual teams continue to meet regularly, focusing on
solving their team problem, issue or concern.
46
Stage 5: Concluding workshop to finalize project results (in team reports), clarify
any emergent problems/questions, stimulate reflective evaluation, and help teams
with preparing their oral presentations and written reports (or action research
papers for publication).
Stage 6: Presentation and celebration day as the highlight of the program.
In this and the previous chapter we have already discussed stage 1 and stage 2:
relationship building; vision and team building; and introduction to LAL. The other
topics in stage 2 may need in-depth or basic explanation depending on the
participants’ goals and level of experience. For instance, if participants have some
action learning or research experience and want to do action research, they need to
understand clearly how to conduct a program, project and qualitative research and
how to write and publish an action research paper. They are likely to have access to
the literature and to the Internet. Therefore, I refer them to the references under the
‘further readings’ section at the end of this chapter.
Through the following simple questions I try to help people in remote and
disadvantaged communities who are interested in focusing on learning and
development, rather than on research and publication. These people may find the
questions helpful for designing and managing their project as a team.
Project design, management and evaluation (Stage 2):

– Goals: What are your project goals?
– Outcomes and benefits: What are your expected outcomes? Who in the
community will benefit from these outcomes? How will they benefit?
– Evaluation: How will you know whether you have achieved the intended
outcomes, or what outcomes you have achieved?
– Action plan: What action do you plan to be taken to achieve your goals? Why?
How? By whom? By when (timeline)? Do you need to make a budget? If you
do: What resources do you need? What is available and what do you need to
find or develop? For example, people (skills, knowledge, support staff, people
from other communities, networks), financial and physical resources
(equipment, space).
Stage 3 (monthly meetings of all teams), stage 4 (midway workshop), stage 5

(concluding workshop) and stage 6 (presentation and celebration day) need a
facilitator to organize and manage the process of these events with collaboration
from participants. I recommend the useful guide for facilitators ‘Helping groups to
be effective’ by Bob Dick (1991) and the workbook by Ron Passfield and Anne-
Marie Carroll (2013) on ‘strategic project planning’. The latter is based on a model
of strategic planning (Figure 2.3) originally developed by a design team of the
Queensland University Action Learning (QUAL) Program discussed and evaluated
by Passfield (1996). I have frequently used this model in workshops with
practitioners, academics, postgraduates, senior managers and community leaders in
various countries; and it always works well. We call the model ‘figure 8’ because it
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consists of two iterative cycles, the upper one on context analysis and the lower
one on planning for improved practice, joined together by a third component:
vision. The workbook describes each component, cycle and stage and includes
activities for project teams to follow step by step. I have described the process of
designing action learning and action research programs in detail in earlier works
(e.g., Zuber-Skerritt, 2002, 2011, pp. 41–46). Here I reprint the model3 and
recommend that you use it together with the Workbook by Passfield and Carroll
(2013).
Figure 2.3. Figure eight: the process of project design and management
(Zuber-Skerritt, 2002, p. 145)
If you do not have access to the Internet, follow these simple steps:
Step 1: Start with the vision exercise described above.
Step 2: Stakeholder analysis: List all stakeholders (internal and external) who are
interested in or affected by the implementation of your project. Who have high/low
influence and impact on the success of your project? Who will support or oppose
your project? What can you do to get the support of highly influential stakeholders
48
and avoid interference from others? Who is your main sponsor or supporter you
can rely on and must keep informed?
Step 3: SWOT analysis: What are the strengths, weaknesses, threats and
opportunities of (a) the project, and (b) your team members? How can you build on
the strengths and overcome or avoid the weaknesses?
Step 4: Constraint analysis: What are possible constraints and difficulties? How
can they be overcome?
Step 5: Resources analysis: List and discuss what your existing resources are and
what additional resources are necessary for the project. What do you need to do to
obtain them?
Step 6: Vision revisited: After your context analysis (steps 2–5), you might have to
change your vision to make it more realistic in light of the above discussion.
Step 7: Planning for improved practice: You start with an analysis of your situation
in the organization or community and the focal problem you want to solve (see
‘needs analysis for defining the thematic concern’ above). Then discuss your
project and reach agreement on:
– Aims and objectives;
– Desired outcomes;
– How you will know whether you have achieved these outcomes;
– An action plan in matrix form (what has to be done, by whom, how, by when);
and
– Evaluation strategies and methods.
This ‘figure 8’ process of vision building, context analysis, revised vision and
planning for improved practice is repeated several times during the project
implementation.
ACHIEVING AND CELEBRATING RESULTS
It is important to all involved in a LAL program or project – whether as participant,

coach, facilitator or stakeholder – to achieve tangible (and intangible) results by
setting a timeline from the very beginning with an end date when project results
and learning outcomes must be demonstrated and presented to a larger audience,
e.g., the whole community or organization, family, friends, stakeholders, and the
media if possible. If planned well, this is not a stressful experience but is actually
rewarding and enjoyable. That is why the presentation has to be well prepared and
practised in the concluding workshop. Oral and written presentations are vehicles
for individual and team learning, reflection and conceptualization, as well as
evidence of community or organizational development, innovation and
achievement. The presentations are also evidence and demonstration of
participants’ effective communication and collaboration.
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CHAPTER 2
Preparing for Public Presentation

We always schedule time in the Concluding Workshop for discussion with
participants on what findings they are to present and how (often using Power Point
presentations and video, song and dance), and whether and where they intend to
publish their outcomes. In unstructured action learning sessions, opportunities for
skill development in public presentation and accountability procedures are often
missing, so that learning and development become unnoticed, not appreciated and
not duly rewarded. However, if we provide participants with the opportunity to
commit their thoughts and findings to writing and public scrutiny, action learning
becomes action research. The experience of oral and written presentations is of
great value to participants’ professional development and to their organization’s or
community’s reputation or legacy. I am always astonished at the amount of hard
work, effort and enthusiasm that team members contribute to ‘get it right’ and
when they do, the joy and satisfaction they display. So it is worth spending some
time on developing presentation and writing skills and setting aside two or three
hours for a special presentation and celebration day.
Final Presentation and Celebration Day

This well structured and organized event is always the highlight of LAL
programs/projects. Here the project teams present brief reports outlining their aims
and objectives, achievements, improved performance and learning outcomes for
themselves and their community, and their further action plans. The wider
community, including representatives from communities, government, NGOs and
business, as well as stakeholders, colleagues, families, friends, and media are
invited to witness and join the celebration. If time permits – depending on the size
of the program (i.e., number of projects and team members) – individual
participants may have the opportunity to tell the story of their personal
learning/change/growth and professional development and its impact on their
work, community and/or family. All enjoy music, dance and performance and
refreshments or a celebration dinner. For me, these events are unforgettable,
especially in cultures such as in Africa where the participants palpably express the
joy of their action learning experiences and achievements in song and dance. The
spirit of the music, drumming and powerful rhythm acknowledges our fulfilment as
we say, ‘Our shared effort was worth it!’ Most of the videos mentioned in Chapters
3–6 illustrate this joy.
CONCLUSION
In this chapter I have enmeshed the concepts of my approach to, and experience
of, action learning (and action research) over the past 30–40 years with the
learning concepts driving my co-author Richard Teare’s new system of developing
lifelong learning through the Global University for Lifelong Learning (GULL). I
have incorporated the GULL processes of Personal Learning Statement (PLS),
50
Diary Format (DF), Return on Learning Outputs (RO) and Personal Learning
Coach that are now working effectively to promote community development in
poorer parts of the world through GULL’s grassroots approach to local knowledge
creation and learning. To enable readers to activate this synthesis of our approaches
in lifelong action learning (LAL), I have introduced some simple strategies and
methods for developing LAL in individuals, teams and whole communities or
organizations.
While we recognize that there are many approaches to community development,
in the limited space of this chapter I have focused on the activities I have found
most useful and effective for transformational learning and development. My
discussion in this chapter has put some practical flesh on the conceptual bones for
thinking about lifelong action learning introduced in the previous chapter. It
provides scaffolding for the further practical flesh that Richard provides in his
discussion of LAL in practice in the following three chapters. Richard’s discussion
of LAL on the ground – by people in poor rural communities, as they have learned
actively to address their problems with their own local knowledge, resources and
energies – will further develop readers’ understanding of LAL and how it has been,
is being, and can be applied effectively for community development, especially
among those in greatest need.
In summary, I have introduced five of the key principles of LAL:
1. Reflection;
2. Communication and collaboration;
3. Self-directed, autonomous learning;
4. Problem solving: identifying problem and action; and
5. Achieving and celebrating results.
I have matched these principles with processes and activities that you can
undertake yourself and/or facilitate to put these principles into LAL practice among
others:
1. A reflection diary and Diary Format (DF) for daily, weekly and monthly
reflections;
2. Relationship/vision/team building (using the snake technique and turning points
exercise) and using the Socratic approach;
3. Personal learning statement (PLS) and statement of return on outputs (RO);
4. Needs analysis (using the Nominal Group Technique) for defining the thematic
concern; and conducting a LAL program with team projects (using the figure 8
model); and
5. Preparing for presentation; and the final presentation and celebration day.
On the basis of the above principles and processes, I have developed a model of
LAL (Figure 2.4) for unlocking human potential in a practical and systematic way.
I have learned from experience that through these principles and activities of
LAL it is possible to enable everyone who is willing and open to unlock the fullest
scope of their human potential. This is because: Inside every person is a unique
brilliance that needs to be discovered and nurtured. By unlocking this brilliance in
each individual person through LAL, we help to open a world of possibilities that
is a better world for the individual, the group, the community and our global
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society. It can also be a joy as well as deep care and effort for all of us involved in
the process of LAL for community development.
Figure 2.4. Principles and activities for developing lifelong action learning
We all are unique, each one of us with distinctive gifts or talents to contribute to
our shared wellbeing as well as to harness for our own. Appreciating and
understanding how to use our unique gifts can help to alleviate the many pressures
we face and enrich the quality of our lives. For example, the feeling of personal
inadequacy through low self-esteem can be overcome by helping others; the
pressure to perform a task to which we are not well suited or to fulfil too many
roles can be eased by working with others as a team whose members share their
different gifts, rather than struggling on our own. Two quotations are harmonizing
in my mind here: (1) Aung San Suu Kyi’s call to action: If you’re feeling helpless,
help someone! and (2) U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson’s claim: There are no
problems we cannot solve together, and very few that we can solve ourselves.
The key principles and strategies of LAL are significant to making a positive
difference in this world and therefore contributing to a better world. All of these
principles and processes are also reflected in GULL and lead to evidence-based
learning. Richard Teare demonstrates this in Chapter 3 where he explains the
GULL system in more detail, illustrated by an example of professional learning
and development with certification of learning outcomes for NGO staff and
volunteers. I discuss the issue of GULL’s recognition in Chapter 7.
1. Recognizing a need, how would you start a LAL project or program

(relationship building, needs analysis, defining the thematic concern, etc.)?
2. How would you design, implement and evaluate a collaborative LAL project?
52
3. Formulate your ‘Personal Learning Statement’ (PLS) and find a coach for
feedback.
4. Reflect on major learning events in the coming 4–6 weeks, using the daily,
weekly and monthly diary format (DF).
5. At the end of this time, identify your ‘Return on Learning Outputs’ (RO) at the
individual, group, organizational or community levels, and provide evidence for
this transformational learning, change or development.
6. Prepare an oral presentation and a written report of this journey of lifelong
action learning; and
7. Proceed to the next cycle in the spiral of further LAL cycles.
FURTHER READINGS
1. Kearney, J., & Zuber-Skerritt, O. (2011). Actioning change and lifelong learning
in community development. In E. Piggot-Irvine (Ed.), Monograph Series No 1.
Brisbane: Action Learning and Action Research Association. Available free
online at http://www.alara.net.au/files/ALARA%20Monograph%20No%201%
20JKearney%20&%20OZuberSkerritt%20201106s.pdf (accessed 4 August
2013).
2. Passfield, R., & Carroll, A. M. (2013). Strategic project planning: Change
management resources workbook. Available free online at
www.ronpassfield.com/ChangeManagementResources2013.pdf (accessed 28
July 2013), or by email: rpassfield@optusnet.com.au.
3. Zuber-Skerritt, O. (2002). A model for designing action learning and action
research programs. The Learning Organisation, 9(4), pp. 143–149.
4. McGill, I., & Brockbank, A. (Eds.). (2004). The action learning handbook:
Powerful techniques for education, training and professional development.
London: Routledge/Falmer.
5. Dick, B. (1991). Helping groups to be effective (2nd ed.). Brisbane: Interchange.
NOTES
1
Source: Pope and Denicolo (1991, p. 106, out of print) reprinted with permission from the authors
(by emails of 6 and 9 February, 2012) and from the book editor (© Ortrun Zuber-Skerritt).
ADM: Advanced Diploma in Midwifery
Tech.: Technical College (Secondary and pre-degree courses)
FETC: Further Education Teachers’ Certificate (for teaching adults, i.e., over 16 years of age)
PGCEA: Postgraduate Certificate in the Education of Adults (similar to above but a post-degree
certificate for teaching professional groups).
2
Reprinted in Appendix 2.4 with Bob Dick’s permission (email 8 February, 2012).
3
Reprinted with permission of Emerald Insight by right of its authors’ charter that installs the right to:
“Reproduce your own version of your article, including peer review/editorial changes, in another
journal, as content in a book of which you are the author, in a thesis, dissertation or in any other
record of study, in print or electronic format as required by your university or for your own career
development” (www.emeraldinsight.com/authors/writing/charter.htm).
53
CHAPTER 2
REFERENCES
Castillo-Burguete, M. T., Viga de Alva, M. D., & Dickinson, F. (2008). Changing the culture of
dependency to allow for successful outcomes in participatory research: Fourteen years of experience
in Yucatan, Mexico. In P. Reason & H. Bradbury (Eds.), Handbook of action research:
Participatory inquiry and practice (pp. 522–533). London: Sage.
Dick, B. (1991). Helping groups to be effective (2nd ed.). Brisbane: Interchange.
Dick, B. (2012) Turning points: An activity for building relationships in small groups. Available at
http://www.aral.com.au/pdfs/04turningpoints.pdf (accessed 28 July 2013).
Fals Borda, O. (Ed.). (1998). People’s participation: Challenges ahead. Bogota: Tercer Mundo
Editores.
Fals Borda, O., & Rahman, M. A. (Eds.). (1991). Action and knowledge: Breaking the monopoly with
participatory action research. New York: Apex Press.
Freire, P. (1972). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin.
Hargreaves, A., & Fink, D. (2006). Sustainable leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass/Wiley.
Honey, P., & Mumford, A. (1986). Using your learning styles. Maidenhead, UK: Honey.
Illich, I. (1971). Deschooling society. New York: Harper and Row.
Kelly, G. A. (1955). The psychology of personal constructs (Volumes 1 and 2). New York: Norton.
Kelly, G. A. (1963). A theory of personality. New York: Norton.
Lewin, K. (1926). Vorsatz, Wille und Bedürfnis (Intention, will and need). Berlin: Springer.
Lewin, K. (1948). Resolving social conflict: Selected papers on group dynamics. New York: Harper and
Brothers.
McGill, I., & Brockbank, A. (Eds.). (2004). The action learning handbook: Powerful techniques for
education, training and professional development. London: Routledge/Falmer.
Nyoni, S. (1991). People’s power in Zimbabwe. In O. Fals Borda & M. A. Rahman (Eds.), Action and
knowledge: Breaking the monopoly with participatory action research (pp. 109–120). New York:
Apex Press.
Passfield, R. (1996). Action learning for professional and organizational development: An action
research case study in higher education. PhD Thesis, Griffith University, Brisbane.
Passfield, R., & Carroll, A. M. (2013). Strategic project planning: Change management resources
workbook. Available free online at www.ron.com/ChangeManagementResources2013.pdf (accessed
28 July 2013).
Pope, M., & Denicolo, P. (1991). Developing constructive action: Personal construct psychology, action
research and professional development. In O. Zuber-Skerritt (Ed.), Action research for change and
development (2nd edition 1996 ed., pp. 93–111). Aldershot (UK): Avebury.
Rahman, M. A. (2008). Some trends in the praxis of participatory action research. In P. Reason & H.
Bradbury (Eds.), The Sage handbook of action research: Participative inquiry and practice
(pp. 49–62). London: Sage.
Revans, R. (1982). The origins and growth of action learning. Bromley: Chartwell-Bratt.
Robertson, J. (2008). Coaching leadership: Building educational leadership capacity through coaching
partnerships. London: Sage.
Schön, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. London: Temple
Smith.
Sila, A. (2013). Can donor funding really fix African challenges, or should we empower African
communities to address their own challenges? News from TED. http://www.ted.com/conversations/
16001/can_donor_funding_really_fix_a.html (accessed 28 July 2013).
Stringer, E. (2008). ‘This is so democratic!’ Action research and policy development in East Timor. In
P. Reason & H. Bradbury (Eds.), Handbook of action research: Participatory inquiry and practice
(pp. 550–561). London: Sage.
54
Stringer, E., & Beadle, R. (2012). Tjuluru: Action research for indigenous community development. In
O. Zuber-Skerritt (Ed.), Action research for sustainable development in a turbulent world
(pp. 151–166). Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Ltd.
Swantz, M.-L. (2008). Participatory action research as practice. In P. Reason & H. Bradbury (Eds.),
Handbook of action research: Participatory inquiry and practice (pp. 30–48). London: Sage.
Zuber-Skerritt, O. (2002). A model for designing action learning and action research programs. The
Learning Organisation, 9(4), 143–149.
Zuber-Skerritt, O. (2008). The nominal group technique (NGT). In E. Piggot-Irvine & B. Bartlet (Eds.),
Evaluating action research (pp. 71–75). Wellington: New Zealand Council for Educational
Research (NZCER) Press.
Zuber-Skerritt, O. (2011). Action leadership: Towards a participatory paradigm. Dordrecht, The
APPENDIX 2.1
DAILY SUMMARY
Today’s activity list
What went well and why?
55
CHAPTER 2
What didn’t go well and why?
What could I have done differently and how?
APPENDIX 2.2
WEEKLY SUMMARY
The week’s main activity list
56
57
CHAPTER 2
What have I learnt this week?
Discussion points for my learning coach
58
Discussion outcomes
APPENDIX 2.3
MONTHLY SUMMARY
The month’s main activity list
59
CHAPTER 2
60
What have I learnt this month and what do I need to learn next month?
Learning coach written comments
Date completed:
Internal reviewer written comments
Date completed:
61
CHAPTER 2
APPENDIX 2.4
“TURNING POINTS EXERCISE”
AN ACTIVITY FOR BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS IN SMALL GROUPS
Note: Copyright © Bob Dick, 2012. This document may be copied if it is not
included in material sold at a profit, and this notice is shown. (Reprinted here with
permission.)
Form small groups
Form small groups of three (or at most four) people. As far as possible, work with
people you don’t know rather than with people you do. Aim for groups that are as
diverse as you can make them. Exchange people between small groups to improve
the group composition.
Individual work
Think back over your life so far. Begin with your first memories and work towards
the present. As you do so, identify “turning points” – events, or people, or both,
who made a difference. As you identify a turning point, note it down.
When you have six or more turning points, choose three that you are willing to talk
about in your small group. For each of these three turning points, prepare brief
answers to these three questions:
– What happened?
– Why was it a turning point?
– What are the turning point’s present results – what does it say about you, now?
How are you different as a result of that turning point?
It’s best not to write detailed scripts that you have to read. Keyword notes are
enough.
Exchange information in small groups
Reassemble in your small groups. Each person in turn tells of one of their turning
points. When each person has told of one turning point, go around the group for the
second turning point. Repeat for the third turning point.
(In other words don’t relate all three turning points at once. Go around the small
group three times.)
When you’re relating a turning point, look at the other people in your small group.
When someone else is telling you of their turning point, give them 100 per cent of
your attention.
Debrief in small groups
At first individually, and then in discussion, answer these three questions:
62
– Did the exercise make a difference about your feelings towards your group
colleagues?
– If so, what difference did it make?
– If so, what was it about the exercise that led to that difference?
63
PART II: MOBILIZING RURAL COMMUNITIES
Richard Teare
I am a seed that will be planted. I will help to transform my community –

I will not be the same again.
(GULL participant, East Africa)
First time visitors to communities that are characterized by extreme poverty are
often shocked by what they see. Given the backdrop of increasing industrialization
and climate change, the plight of the world’s majority – whether they live in rural
areas or urban slums – is deteriorating. Yet there is a way forward.
This second part consists of three chapters (3–5) presenting approaches and case
studies to unlocking human potential in the poorest and most remote rural
communities in developing countries, where people have little or no access to
formal education and few (if any) alternatives for personal and professional
development.
The first challenge is to help community members to reflect on their situation
and to determine that they can – individually and collectively – bring about
transformation. This begins with mindset change – poverty is a challenging reality,
but GULL participants are encouraged to focus on and begin to use the resources
within them (untapped natural skills and abilities) and the natural resources around
them. Wherever possible, GULL partners with indigenous systems for people
development and interlinks its professional degree pathway framework so as to
encourage participants to sustain their efforts and to recognize the outcomes of
their work.
The chapters in this section aim to illustrate that holistic human development
arises from our paradigm and systematic lifelong action learning approach. This is
typically evidenced by significant advances in character development, self-
confidence, verifiable learning outcomes and greater self-reliance and financial
independence. These advances in what are economically among the poorest rural
communities on earth are being achieved at minimal cost.
65
CHAPTER 3
BUILDING A CASE FOR

EVIDENCE-BASED LEARNING
Richard Teare
Those unable to change themselves cannot change what goes on

around them.
(Reg Revans)
OUTLINE
In the opening chapters, Ortrun Zuber-Skerritt outlined the key features of lifelong
action learning (LAL) and how to get started. The aim here is to explore the scope
afforded by LAL for gathering and evaluating the evidence of learning.
Specifically, this chapter outlines the ways in which community-based and
workplace organizations can systemize action learning to achieve positive changes,
create and sustain an active learning culture, and monitor and evaluate the return
on investment (ROI) in their own organizational learning. I use a series of
questions and summaries from the literature to review the key concepts that
underpin workplace learning and its role in developing professionalism, technical
and personal skills, character and competence. The review informs a checklist
approach that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of organizational learning
in both community and workplace environments. The chapter draws on extensive
prior experience in designing workplace learning initiatives used by large
commercial organizations and considers how non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) might use similar approaches in supporting their own staff and the
economically poor communities that they serve.
This chapter explains how community-based organizations can significantly
improve outcomes by creating an evidence-based learning culture that fosters self-
directed personal and professional development. In so doing, they can more
effectively support their own staff development and equip and empower the
economically poor communities that they serve.
The chapter opens with a review of literature on aspects of organizational
development in the workplace to explore the interplay between human and
organizational performance since commercial organizations are typically expected
to deliver a return on investment (ROI) for their stakeholders. Operational realities
also tend to focus leadership attention on the most effective ways of securing this
outcome.
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CHAPTER 3
A key objective of this chapter is therefore to consider how the principles of

ROI might be applied more effectively to help address the challenges that
community-based organizations face. I argue that although their objectives, mode
of operation and outcomes differ from those of the workplace, subsistence
communities that deploy GULL’s action learning system should be able to
demonstrate that the positive impact of their self-directed development work is
significantly greater than the resources deployed and/or the funding needed to
facilitate this work. I argue that stakeholders in the community development
process (and especially donors) might also reasonably expect to see a non-
monetary ROI, as the impact of financial support is multiplied by self-directed
development. The chapter concludes by outlining how GULL’s systemized
approach to action learning enables GULL’s organizational system users to track
and quantify the impact of evidence-based learning in community development.
WHAT DOES THE LITERATURE SAY ABOUT THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF

EVIDENCE-BASED LEARNING?
To guide the discussion about the potential role of evidence-based learning, I

briefly review the literature. This helps to identify some of the key concepts that
underpin the role that action learning can play in developing professionalism,
technical and personal skills, character and competence. It also provides a hanger
for these four sequential checklist questions that are useful for evaluating the
effectiveness of organizational learning:
1. Does the organizational culture facilitate learning?
2. Is the concept of personal professionalism valued?
3. Is the philosophy of self-development accepted?
4. Is evidence-based learning prioritized?
In the following discussion each checklist question is supported by a summary
diagram with its own evaluation questions that relate key issues from the literature
to the conditions needed to secure a positive outcome to the checklist question.
DOES THE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE FACILITATE LEARNING?
The only way to cope with a changing world is to keep learning … (Dixon,
1998, p. 31)
In his 1998 book Futurewise: Six faces of Global Change, Patrick Dixon predicts
that “either we take hold of the future or the future will take hold of us”. In fact, the
pace of change affects not only an organization as a whole but also the skills that
its employees need to continue working effectively. The problem here is that
conventional training does not necessarily facilitate new learning nor does it
always foster and transfer learning. It may even perpetuate a non-learning culture
as it is normally instructor-led or facilitated and characterized by a predetermined
structure, content and context. Adult learners can draw on a pool of lifelong
learning experience that is not limited by the training situation and context, and by
68
BUILDING A CASE FOR EVIDENCE-BASED LEARNING
encouraging holistic lifelong learning, the workplace is likely to become more

open-minded, responsive and proactive. The implication is clear. Instead of
focusing on the ‘means’ of learning, greater emphasis should be placed on the
‘outcomes’ from learning. It is in this context that evidence-based learning plays a
significant role as it enables both individual participants and the wider organization
to harness the benefits.
Generally, professionalism combines mastery of a body of knowledge and skills
with the appropriate mental framework to make sense of it and apply it effectively
to a variety of circumstances. To develop and sustain professionalism the
individual has to continually adapt, change and learn, and through practice acquire
new skills, experience, knowledge and insight (or wisdom). This ongoing cycle is
depicted in Figure 3.1 and it requires an open mind and a willingness to learn from
work and from others at work.
Figure 3.1. Developing professionalism in context
The term ‘competence’ generally refers to the skills and behaviours that
employees must have or acquire to undertake and manage their work effectively.
Although it is helpful to specify the core competences required for any given job
role, too much emphasis on training for competence can discourage employees
from determining and auditing their own development needs (Cheetham &
Chivers, 1996).
Rod Gerber (1998) drew on a number of studies conducted across a range of
industries, organizations and institutions during the 1990s to compile a list of 11
ways in which employees learn at work. They are: (1) by making mistakes and
learning not to repeat the mistake; (2) through self-education on and off the job;
(3) through practising one’s personal values; (4) by applying theory and practising
skills; (5) through solving problems; (6) through interacting with others;
(7) through open lateral planning; (8) by being an advocate for colleagues;
(9) through offering leadership to others; (10) through formal training; and
(11) through practising quality assurance. This list is not constructed in any special
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order, to emphasize the point that people in workplaces should value all of these
ways of learning and not prize one or two. Given the breadth of opportunity to
learn at work, it is not surprising that most people value the communication of
clear policies about the sorts of learning and development that the organization is
keen to endorse (Smith et al., 2007). Thereafter, it is important to facilitate the
development of the necessary skills to learn in this context (e.g., structured
observation and question-based analysis).
Figure 3.2. Does the organizational culture facilitate learning?
The checklist question in the centre of Figure 3.2 draws on related questions to
evaluate the likelihood of a positive outcome. If lifelong learning and mindset
development are valued, new learning is embraced, mindset thinking is shared, and
control of the learning agenda is used appropriately, the organization is likely to be
more open-minded, responsive and proactive. These characteristics are especially
important in the context of the various kinds of change that organizations must
embrace.
IS THE CONCEPT OF PERSONAL PROFESSIONALISM VALUED?
To recap, the pace of organizational life means that change in its many forms is
never far away. In theory, then, change presents a significant opportunity to learn.
By exploring and capturing the issues that matter, it should be possible to
customize and cascade an agenda for learning that connects individuals to each
other (for shared learning) and in turn, small groups to the challenges that confront
them in the workplace. The concept of personal professionalism, which is an
70
individual responsibility, is therefore important if the potential for individual

learning is to be harnessed in its organizational setting. This cannot be easily
accomplished from outside because the organization itself provides the best place
for learning to occur.
Reg Revans, a pioneer of action learning in the 1970s, advocated learning from
and with others. This way the individual has at least some control and choice over
what and how they learn, and how they share their learning with others. However,
to resolve real problems effectively, considerable practice is needed to develop a
questioning and reflective mindset. To encourage this process, the organization
must also encourage self-discovery by drawing on prior experience, ‘learning from
doing’, and insights from others. People are seldom comfortable about admitting
their own shortcomings and inabilities since this increases their sense of
vulnerability, so a climate of openness, honesty and trust is needed to support this
type of behaviour. Further details about the late Dr Reg Revans, pioneer of action
learning, can be found at the GULL website in ‘Media’ and in ‘Briefings &
Events’. See in particular his video-based explanation of action learning principles
recorded in the USA (14 June 1994) and in Australia (9 March 1991) and see also
‘A profile of Reg Revans’.1
Revans’ approach to open enquiry enables self-directed personal development to
flourish, an environment that must be secured first so that participants know they
are genuinely encouraged to find new ways of working that will also yield
outcomes that build competence, confidence and improved performance. This
approach is supported by the work of David Schön, particularly in his book The
Reflective Practitioner (1983), which focuses on the nature of professional
competence. Schön used the term ‘artistry’ to describe how professionals re-frame
and solve day-to-day problems. In his view, the primary competence required of
any professional is the ability to reflect, as this is the key to acquiring new skills
and maintaining a cycle of personal evaluation and improvement in professional
practice.
evaluate the likelihood of a positive outcome. If prior experience is valued and
used, personal professionalism is understood, competence is valued as much (if not
more than) qualifications, employability is enhanced and professionalism is
corporately monitored, the organization is more likely to achieve its goals.
IS THE PHILOSOPHY OF SELF-DEVELOPMENT ACCEPTED?
McKenna (2004) argues that you cannot develop management skills and
competences away from the workplace. In terms of the implications of this for
developing managers, for example, he cautions against investing in management
education and development that is in any way removed from the messy, real-life
context of the workplace. Many of the skills that managers thought were important
to their job in the late 1980s and early 1990s were somewhat similar in importance
to those of managers in the first decade of the 2000s, particularly skills concerning
communication and decision making (Gentry et al., 2008).
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CHAPTER 3
Figure 3.3. Is the concept of personal professionalism valued?
Interest in the corporate university concept can be traced to the late 1980s when
computing and high technology firms in the USA began using their own products
to craft new style educational initiatives, which they called corporate universities
(Teare et al., 1998). Since there are no external constraints, there is no reason why
a training function shouldn’t reinvent itself as a corporate university. This kind of
development can also help to maintain alignment between learning and corporate
vision. Here, learning is viewed not only as a means of personal and organizational
development, but as a tool for initiating or reinforcing organizational culture during
periods of intense change such as re-organization. Vision is essentially about
crafting and sustaining a picture of the future. It involves creating images of the
future that foster genuine commitment and engagement rather than compliance.
The door to success generally opens when an organization’s leadership manages to
bind people together around a common identity and sense of destiny. For example,
Henry Ford led his company to success in part because he had a clear vision –
providing inexpensive transportation for all. With a genuine vision, people learn
and excel, not because they have to, but because they want to. As noted earlier,
Reg Revans argued that organizations that fail to learn (and change) as rapidly as
their environment are doomed. Keeping abreast is no easy task, but in his view it
can be achieved through forming action learning teams with an emphasis on
questions to generate learning rather than relying heavily on what is already
known. In his wise philosophy, tomorrow is necessarily different from yesterday,
72
and so new things need to be done. Action learning can also be easily customized
and its potential is both elegant and practical. Meister (1998) offers this insight:
Rather than simply sending high potential managers to external executive
education programs, organizations are developing focused large-scale
customized action learning programs with measurable results. These hands-
on, application-driven programs are based on actual business challenges
facing an organization and give participants an opportunity to actively
discuss, diagnose, and recommend solutions to real-life business challenges.
(p. 15)
Figure 3.4. Is the philosophy of self-directed learning accepted?
evaluate the likelihood of a positive outcome. If self-awareness and sense-making
and self-directed development are encouraged and valued and workplace learning
is a priority, the organization will be more confident about achieving its potential.
IS EVIDENCE-BASED LEARNING PRIORITIZED?
Numerous writers observe that deeper-level learning arises from reflecting

critically on one’s own experiences. John Dewey was among the first to write on
the subject in the late 1930s. For Dewey, learning triggers a reflective thought,
beginning with an ambiguous situation that poses some kind of dilemma. From this
‘felt difficulty’, the individual locates and defines the problem. If learning gives
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CHAPTER 3
rise to a change in basic assumptions, it is commonly referred to as ‘double-loop

learning’ in contrast to learning that doesn’t challenge underlying assumptions,
known as ‘single-loop learning’. In essence then, to ‘learn something’ the learner
must consciously experience a cycle of events. The cycle begins when actions (and
their results) become experiences and continues as the learner reflects on the
experiences (what have they learnt?), then develops, plans and implements new or
revised actions taking into account the outcomes of learning from ‘doing’ and
‘reflecting’.
Any initiative that helps to improve the effectiveness of individuals is valuable
but unless the organization itself systematically captures and builds on individual
insight, it may not see and feel the benefits. More to the point, unless personal
learning is related in some way to the needs and strategy of the organization it will
be only marginally valuable. This prompts a question: Is the personal learning of
individual organizational members, or even of teams, sufficient by itself to drive
enhanced corporate performance? We might conclude that it is helpful to nurture
personal competence, but that it is certainly not enough to create and sustain an
effective learning organization.
The majority of employees are good at doing and delivering results, and they
rarely need convincing that action learning respects the ways in which they like to
work. If this more natural process can be coupled with external recognition in the
form of professional certification, it helps to promote, sustain and integrate active
learning. First, it provides an incentive – employees obtain professional
qualifications that are integrated with their work. Second, the award structure
motivates, recognizes and rewards the learner at work. These elements could also
be combined and integrated under the banner of the organization’s own brand for
learning.
Own brand action learning can be: tailored to meet organizational imperatives,
focused on the agenda and workplace challenges; determined by the issues,
realities and best practice today and the likely challenges for the future, a focus that
promotes cultural change and innovation; used to demonstrate an ROI in learning,
increasing employee value to the organization and offering measurable
improvements to the bottom line; facilitated by a blend of approaches (this reduces
the cost base); and integrated with personal career development.
evaluate the likelihood of a positive outcome. If self-development is actively
promoted, participants are viewed as customers who can determine what they
learn, learning outcomes are more important than training inputs, and new skills
are continually developed and used, the organization is well placed to secure
tangible benefits from any investment in people.
SUMMARY: THE BENEFITS OF EVIDENCE-BASED LEARNING WITH

PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION
Here we have drawn on selected literature to examine the benefits from building
and embedding an evidence-based approach to learning. The lessons from this
74
Figure 3.5. Is evidence-based learning prioritized?

review apply not just to organizations and workplaces but also to communities,
which comprise people interacting together in shared space with shared interests
and concerns. Short-term benefits are easy to discern but what about in the longer-
term? A knowledge-based view encourages a community that is skilled at creating,
acquiring and transferring knowledge, and at modifying its behaviour to reflect
new knowledge and insights. This perspective emphasizes the development and use
of organizational capabilities to create higher-value information and knowledge
and to improve bottom-line results. So what benefits might we expect from the new
knowledge that the organization has created? First, the organization most probably
sponsors learning because it hopes to create, acquire and communicate information
and knowledge. Effective training and development generally helps, but because
the focus is input rather than output, the evidence of learning is seldom easy to
assemble. Second, the organization should aspire to learn from what it captures and
behave differently – better – as a result. Finally in doing so, it must hope to achieve
better results. We can summarize this perspective as better knowledge for better
behaviour for better performance.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that organizations that learn the lessons of
experience are more likely to be successful than those that continue to re-invent the
wheel, repeating past mistakes along the way. In this sense, organizational learning
can be viewed as a way of learning from experience, and here, learning is a key
tangible asset, especially when knowledge transfer occurs. Essentially then, it is the
ability to capture learning outcomes from within and from outside the organization
and to learn from prior experience that make the difference. However, from a
team/group perspective, participants may be reluctant to share knowledge if they
75
CHAPTER 3
fear criticism from their peers or recrimination from management. One way to
overcome this is to use an action learning approach as it encourages learners to
share openly with each other in small groups – not sporadically, but continuously.
A simple summary of the benefits is depicted in Figure 3.6. It shows two
parallel strands of ROI from action learning – the learner benefits from their own
customized personal and professional development, and the organization benefits
from the organizational learning that stems from both individual and collective
effort.
Figure 3.6. Evidence of learning and ROI
What distinguishes information from knowledge? Knowledge capital can be

characterized as: (1) valuable; (2) rare; (3) inimitable; and (4) non-substitutable. Its
strategic asset value is determined by the collective and cumulative organizational
knowledge embodied in wisdom, rather than the knowledge of mobile individuals.
Most of the barriers to effective information management involve people, and
knowledge management systems are usually assumed to involve data and
document storage in electronic databases.
From an organizational perspective, the creation and maintenance of knowledge
databases is time-consuming, labour intensive and costly. Keeping track of
discussions, decisions and their rationale is difficult when teams work on short-
term projects. So the gap between what people actually do to perform their jobs
and documentation of it is difficult to bridge. Some believe that the core of any
best practice transfer model is an organization’s value propositions. If so, every
company will have its own set of reasons and priorities for wanting to transfer
knowledge and best practice.
Some of the topical literature on knowledge management advises us to capture
and store it in retrieval systems. But does this really work? Capturing the outcomes
of learning is vital – by encouraging learners to apply their work and connecting
the learner’s experience of doing and applying to an informal knowledge network.
The point is to obviate the need to create and sustain complex and expensive
central databanks of ‘knowledge’. It is better for the knowledge to be applied and
used in the business and for its originator to be available as an internal consultant
on successive projects.
76
Powerful change Encourages

process, directed holistic
by the learner learning
The process yields
(character and
a return on
competence)
investment for
the learning and
the sponsor The benefits of a Encourages
shared learning
self-directed action and knowledge
The process can learning process networking
be systemized, combined with
Wider stakeholders monitored and
evaluated evidence-based Individual and others
professional Builds self-
confidence and
The outcomes
certification professionalism
can be
quantified and Equips the
aggregated learner to help
The outcomes others
can be (coaching and
implemented facilitating)
Figure 3.7. The benefits of a self-directed action learning process combined with evidence-
based professional certification
Figure 3.7 summarizes the benefits of a self-directed action learning process

combined with evidence-based professional certification. The benefits for the
individual are that this approach offers a powerful self-directed change process;
encourages holistic learning, shared learning and knowledge networking; builds
self-confidence and professionalism; and equips the learner to help others. The
benefits for wider stakeholders reflect the fact that outcomes can be implemented,
quantified and aggregated; the process can be systemized, monitored and
evaluated; and the approach yields an ROI for both the sponsor and the learner.
WHAT IS THE POTENTIAL FOR EVIDENCE-BASED LEARNING IN

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT?
There is broad consensus in the international development community that the core
skills of a basic education centre on attaining functional levels of reading, basic
maths and essential life skills. There is also agreement that global initiatives like
the Millennium Development Goals and ‘Education for All’ should be generating
equitable learning outcomes as well as equitable access. Although the primary
school participation gap between high income and low income countries has
narrowed significantly during the last decade, the same cannot be said for the gap
in learning outcomes. These and other indicators are causing national governments,
multilateral agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and donors to
realize that educational reform that is not oriented towards equitable learning leads
to universal schooling opportunities without actual learning or to increased
learning for a privileged few.
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Increasing the percentage of children in a given area who attain functional levels
of core skills is closely related to both improved access and improved learning.
Around the world, model schools have demonstrated the potential impact of
parents, volunteers, and peers in supporting teaching and learning in school, after
school and at home. Parents can and are playing an increasingly significant role,
not just in creating a positive learning environment, but also in directly
contributing to improved learning outcomes in their local schools. To narrow the
gap between high and low income countries, a number of international NGOs are
actively exploring ways of re-aligning their work using an evidence-based learning
approach. Innovative ways of fostering and strengthening learning outcomes and
assessing the related attainments, as and when they occur, are needed to make this
transition.
In the next section we consider an example of this work realignment using an
evidence-based learning approach. This example profiles the collaboration between
the NGO World Vision and the Global University for Lifelong learning. This is set
in the context of World Vision’s education and life skills strategy and in particular,
two objectives: (1) facilitating access to lifelong action learning for community
volunteers, and (2) recognizing the impact of its work as an NGO within
communities. World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy
organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities. As one
of the world’s largest agencies in this field, World Vision works with millions of
people in their struggle against poverty, hunger and injustice, irrespective of their
religious beliefs. Further details about the collaboration between World Vision and
the Global University for Lifelong Learning can be found at the GULL website in
the ‘Case Studies’ section. See ‘World Vision International’ and the video:
‘Recognising the impact of community volunteers’ in Chapter 6 of the online Case
Study.2
EDUCATED FOR LIFE?
The concept of being ‘Educated for Life’ was presented and discussed at World
Vision’s Forum event ‘Partnering for quality education and learning outcomes’
(Nairobi, Kenya, 31 May–2 June, 2011). The Forum’s aim was to explore how
lifelong learning might become an integral component of World Vision’s child
wellbeing approach – especially as it relates to evidence-based learning. To
achieve this, World Vision aspires to gradually transition from a focus on funding
educational infrastructure to facilitating much wider participation in community-
based action learning. The overarching goal is to improve learning outcomes for all
through equitable access and in particular, for children – as measured by both an
increase in the percentage of children who can read by age 11 and improved
wellbeing as expressed by the children themselves.
78
Table 3.1. Education and life skills: A transition to evidence-based learning
Past commitments Future aspirations

Strategy Enrolments, access and infrastructure Learning outcomes with equitable
access
Skills Administrative; monitoring attendance Equipping education support –
Life skills and after school activities Partnering
Early childhood and life skills –
Monitoring reading
Spend Higher expenditure on school fees, Higher expenditure on community
infrastructure and equipment volunteers and on learning resources
Source: Adapted from ‘Partnering for quality education and learning outcomes’, World
Vision Forum, Nairobi, Kenya, May/June 2011.
Figure 3.8. Life skills action learning. Source: Adapted from ‘Partnering for quality
education and learning outcomes’, World Vision Forum, Nairobi, Kenya, May/June 2011
The ‘Educated for Life’ concept is part of a broader focus by World Vision on
developing life skills. It is thought that together with a focus on literacy and
numeracy development, this approach will significantly enhance the life skills of
children. How did this thinking emerge? World Vision’s conversations with
communities had sought to determine ways of improving essential life skills and
the overall attainments of children in particular. Here it is widely accepted that
essential life skills (as categorized in Figure 3.8) are not the responsibility just of
the school, but also of the home, the church and the community as a whole.
Recognizing this, ‘Education for Life’ includes community education for parents
running in parallel with life skills instruction for children. In fact, life skills are not
learned from textbooks; they are acquired through practice in everyday life. As
World Vision is a multi-sector institution, it can structure opportunities for children
to gain real-life experience in planning, thinking ahead, making good judgments,
managing their emotions and expressing themselves effectively. In this context,
health programming, economic development activities, and protection and
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participation programming provide ready-made real-life content around which to

structure genuine learning of life skills.
The relatively new dimension for World Vision is an explicit linkage between
life skills instruction, schooling and formal education. This is important because it
is simply impossible to implement parallel development tracks in poor community
settings.
Parents’ associations and school management committees (SMCs) are now
asked to play a coordinating role to help achieve efficiency gains and maintain
appropriate standards of learning and behaviour, in-school, after-school and in the
context of complementary learning at home. This kind of mutual reinforcement
adds considerable value, not only to life skills instruction but also to improving
literacy and numeracy outcomes.
It is often the case that the most disadvantaged children are taught by the least
trained teachers. Better trained and qualified teachers generally gravitate to urban
areas where salaries are higher and working/living conditions are better. Teacher
shortages therefore impact disproportionately upon rural and settlement schools,
and it is often necessary to find other people who are willing and able to undertake
a classroom role. World Vision’s community-led basic education improvement
plans include additional in-service training for local teachers, but as a community-
based organization its ethos is to engage communities in doing all they can
themselves to ensure that all children in the community attain functional levels of
reading and maths, and essential life skills. Recognizing that reading is best
improved through the integrated combination of school, after-school and home-
based interventions, World Vision’s community-led basic education plans take on
new meaning in the context of its own recently established target for improved
reading outcomes.
Figure 3.9. Facilitating wider community engagement in active learning. Source: Adapted
from ‘Partnering for quality education and learning outcomes’, World Vision Forum,
Nairobi, Kenya, May/June 2011
80
To facilitate a transition to community-led learning and development, the World

Vision Education and Life Skills team sought to provide a number of support
services to its National offices and the organizational units termed Area
Development Programs (ADPs), as illustrated in Figure 3.9. These support services
include a system for building the capacity of local volunteers to improve reading,
maths and life skills outcomes among the children they are helping (in
collaboration with the Global University of Lifelong Learning GULL) and a
system for easily adapting best practice instructional material to local contexts and
cultures (a system called ‘Shellbooks’).
RECOGNIZING THE IMPACT OF COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS
Self-education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is

(Isaac Asimov)
The scale of the challenge involved in facilitating lifelong learning in economically
poor rural communities is vast. In this section I therefore outline the self-directed
approach that GULL is using in collaboration with NGOs and other community-
based organizations. The overarching goal is to professionalize and recognize the
contribution of community volunteers and NGO staff through lifelong action
learning. ‘Capacity building’ is a process that enables people to develop in
contextually appropriate ways and the aim is to encourage self-directed individual
and community development. As the numbers of participants can be very large, it
is essential that action learning and professional certification can be implemented
at very low cost and in a way that ‘cascades’ the learning throughout the
community. An inclusive and affordable approach to developing the full capacity
of local volunteers is central to this strategy because it is the volunteers who work
directly with the children and parents in any given community. Historically this
very large group of people has had limited opportunities for training and
development and though they do receive some recognition for their work, this has
not enhanced their professional development and status.
As noted earlier and depicted in Figure 3.6, the GULL process draws on two
parallel strands of self-directed action and reflection and at the outset participants
develop an outline plan for their own learning as a basis for attaining personal and
role-related learning outcomes. To attain certification at different points (levels 1–
5) on their self-directed journey, participants must demonstrate their personal
contribution to this effort by presenting evidence that is appropriate to their work
or community role and can be independently verified. The process centres on self-
reflection through journaling with the support of a community-based learning
coach, personal and peer support groups, and a facilitator. The objective is to
embed the GULL process within the community and to establish community-led
impact tracking so that all current and future participants can identify and work
towards addressing their own development needs and at the same time sustain the
community’s advance towards self-reliance and financial independence. By
formalizing and professionalizing the community’s own impact tracking system,
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the collective ROI arising from this self-directed effort can be quantified as the
impact of financial support at the outset multiplies through ever wider
participation.
This step-by-step holistic development process is illustrated in Figure 3.10.
Here, each person develops action learning skills initially for self-development and
thereafter to help others to absorb these skills and master the process.
Figure 3.10. Progressive holistic development and professional certification
Compelling evidence from GULL pilot applications indicates that a step-by-step

holistic development approach works effectively and is valued by community
volunteers. It affirms their personal contributions, improves their professional
status and enables participants to secure evidence-based certification from a
recognized global body based on their attainments. Professionalizing and
recognizing the accomplishments of volunteers not only rewards and further
motivates community participants, but it also contributes to the NGO’s overall
performance and its ability to demonstrate a social ROI in community
mobilization.
OUTCOMES MAPPING: GULL’S APPROACH TO FACILITATING EVIDENCE-

BASED LEARNING
The GULL process aims to encourage self-directed action learning to build self-
confidence and independent lifelong learning skills right across the age and life-
stage spectrum. Since GULL’s awards are outcomes-based, certificates can be
issued only when the learner has assembled sufficient evidence of attainment that a
82
facilitator has verified. This is because GULL’s primary role is to certify evidence
of learning and application and it is the responsibility of each participant to capture
their own evidence in an appropriate and/or specified format. If the evidence
assembled by the participant is incomplete, they do not ‘fail’ but must continue the
process until they have sufficient evidence of attainment to merit the award of a
certificate at any given level. On completing each level from 1 to 4, participants
can either pause or progress immediately to the next level. At level 5 (the
professional degree) for all three pathways (professional Bachelor/Master/Doctor),
the participant’s portfolio of work and evidence of learning and application are
approved and signed-off by an experienced facilitator and further verified by an
experienced independent professional. Here, the community verifier discusses the
participant’s output work with the participant in the presence of the facilitator to
ensure that the participant, as a professional degree candidate, is the author of the
work and that the work meets the criteria for ‘sufficiency’. If there is insufficient
evidence of attainment, the candidate must continue until they have addressed any
shortcomings.
To integrate the GULL process with technical inputs (e.g., training delivered by
NGOs) the starting points must necessarily reflect ongoing activities and priorities.
GULL uses a procedure it terms ‘outcomes mapping’ to recognize and certify the
outcomes from training, short courses and other activities. Specifically, it enables
participants to convert inputs (like training) into learning outcomes (or outputs)
that yield evidence as to how training principles have been used and applied in
practice.
The outcomes mapping procedure involves several preparatory steps:
(1) Identify pathway options for linking technical skills input with action learning
The first step is to list the ongoing training and other activities designed to equip
participants with personal and professional skills and then to note the key learning
outcomes that participants should have attained. As GULL pathways and awards
focus on learning outcomes, current and ongoing training can always be integrated
with GULL’s output formats. This helps to maximize the value of training and
development and, via GULL’s award system, to recognize the impact of
participants’ sustained active learning. In fact, any GULL system user can
customize output format specifications to ensure inputs (e.g., training) and outputs
(e.g., documented evidence of learning) are closely aligned.
(2) Align entry criteria with the appropriate pathway

GULL’s generic entry criteria are designed to reflect the relationships between age
and maturity (life, work and/or community experience), since it is difficult to
demonstrate ‘professional Mastery’ in management or a specialist field without
extensive work or community experience as a manager or as a specialist. This is
why, for example, entry to GULL’s professional Master pathway is reserved for
those with life and work experience – typically 26–35 years of age at the time of
entry.
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(3) Identify the most appropriate ways of capturing evidence of learning

GULL’s philosophy is that any learner in any situation or circumstance is capable
of sustaining his or her own active learning journey – with a minimum of
facilitation and specialist support. If the learner is willing to commit to a learning
journey and specifically to the action learning process, then they can accomplish
more than they might imagine for themselves and for others. Typically they work
as a member of a small group of fellow action learners who are travelling together
– at the same pace – and in support of one another. The aim is to demonstrate the
distance travelled on their journey in the form of tangible, trackable learning
outcomes and applications.
Further illustrating the principles of outcomes mapping, Appendix 3.1 outlines the
generic outcome indicators that GULL uses to map the personal and technical
indicative outcomes at level 2 (a foundation step) and level 5 (the end-point) of its
professional Bachelor degree for community volunteers. The same principles apply
to broad-based community development work and for more specialized pathways.
It is important to note that the ‘Means of verification’ can be fully aligned with
ongoing development activity so ‘learning’ and ‘working’ are integrated (as one
activity) as closely as possible.
OPERATIONALIZING THE GULL ACTION LEARNING PROCESS
The GULL system includes generic, customizable formats for individual reflection
and for individual and group projects. These enable GULL participants to forge a
natural form of integration between work and/or other activities and active ongoing
learning. Although most learners provide written evidence of learning and
application in their own language, in some circumstances a written format may not
be the best mechanism. Here, evidence of learning might be presented in visual
format (e.g., a portfolio of photographs depicting the stages of skill acquisition or
project development), video format (using a combined audio-visual approach) or
using other practical methods and combinations that clearly demonstrate evidence
of learning, application and change.
CASCADE DESIGN
There are various options for getting started with GULL. As one example, NGO
staff can opt to support the capacity building process by facilitating an action
learning cascade to community volunteers as modelled in Figure 3.11. To begin, a
lead group of NGO staff start the process themselves, and thereafter they might
recruit and brief an additional small group of colleagues so as to localize the
process and ensure that face-to-face briefing and support is provided to the pilot
cohort of community volunteers.
84
Figure 3.11. Capacity building cascade design
Since the process is self-directed, cascade leaders who work together in small
groups (3–12 people) support each other by peer review and providing feedback.
Thereafter this group uses and shares with their respective community-cascade
cluster teams (each cluster has 3–12 participants) exactly the same introductory
experience to action learning, based on the GULL narrative format (a journaling or
diary-based approach).
A daily period of structured reflection, typically over a ten minute period,
enables participants to integrate their learning journey with ongoing work roles and
responsibilities in a relatively straightforward way.
Cascade leaders are responsible for briefing and supporting their respective
clusters of community volunteers until the pilot group has successfully completed
GULL’s Professional Bachelor pathway (Community Development). Figure 3.12
outlines a capacity building pathway designed to facilitate this. This is typically a
two-year process for the pilot participants, so NGO staff too can opt to follow a
GULL professional degree pathway. In so doing, staff complete stages 1 and 2
themselves before selecting, briefing and supporting their respective volunteer
cluster teams and replicating these stages (3 and 4). The same procedure follows in
year 2 as staff complete stages 5 and 6 prior to replicating these stages with the
volunteers (stages 7 and 8). The initial cascade is especially important because the
pilot cluster group members will, on completion, become the community’s own
cascade leaders. Hence, NGO staff are asked to select the most able and
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enthusiastic volunteers for the cascade pilot so these volunteers can later model the
process as professionally as possible for universal access.
As well as the forms used to support its narrative format reflection cycle, GULL
provides a number of other forms that can be used to gather and track individual
learning outcomes.
Table 3.2. GULL forms to gather and track individual learning outcomes
Form Purpose
Return on Outputs Used by participants to summarize personal and organizational or
community learning outcomes after completing four weekly
summaries and one monthly summary.
[Normally used at Levels 1 and 2]
Project Review Used by participants to reflect on one or more strands of project
work, the process and approach deployed, its relative effectiveness,
alternative courses of action, and steps required to sustain the
project. [Normally used at Levels 3, 4 and 5]
Learning Summary Used by participants to review the learning journey from the outset
(at level 1) to the conclusion (at level 5). [Normally used at Level 5]
Outcomes Review Used by participants to summarize and quantify the outcomes,
impact and benefits of the entire action learning journey. [Normally
used at Level 5]
Figure 3.12. Capacity building pathway for community volunteers
86
The Outcomes review form is especially useful as the basis of an input to a

database of projects. Here the form can be used to enable participants to add details
of the ROI arising from their project work. Prior to database entry, this can be
verified and ‘signed off’ (as accurate) by an appropriate specialist and/or
community leader.
In year 2, the concepts of impact tracking and ROI are a focal point of the pilot
community cascade and Figure 3.13 depicts the stages involved in establishing a
community-led impact tracking system. Here, NGO staff and volunteers work
together to embed the community’s own system for tracking the benefits that arise
from action learning.
Figure 3.13. Community-led ROI impact tracking
TRACKING, REVIEW AND CORRECTIVE ACTION
One of the objectives of this chapter has been to consider how the principles of
ROI might be applied to the challenges faced by community-based organizations.
Although the objectives, mode of operation and outcomes differ from those of the
workplace, I argue here that subsistence communities who deploy GULL’s action
learning system should be able to demonstrate that the impact of their self-directed
development work is significantly greater than the resources deployed and/or the
funding needed to facilitate this. I also argue that stakeholders in the community
development process (and especially donors) might reasonably expect to see a non-
monetary form of ROI, as the impact of financial support is multiplied by self-
directed development. The chapter concludes by outlining how GULL’s
systemized approach to action learning enables GULL system users to track and
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quantify the impact of evidence-based learning in community development. A

detailed example of a community-led ROI impact tracking system that was
developed and implemented in five East African countries is featured in Chapter 5.
As GULL’s action learning system is designed to encourage self-directed
development, it is logical to link this with a self-review impact tracking format.
The purpose here is to enable GULL’s system users to track their own progress and
identify variances for corrective action over an annual cycle concluding each year
with an annual report and review meeting. GULL provides a simple online
tracking, review and corrective action (TRACA) system with reporting formats that
are easy to follow and to use. Impact tracking not only meets the GULL
requirement by enabling user organizations to identify what is going well and
where corrective action might be necessary. It also provides a body of evidence
that links the cost of training and other inputs with the ROI in training, as it relates
to both individual and organizational effort.
Specifically, GULL’s code of practice requires GULL system users to:
1. Check to ensure that all participants have gathered together appropriate evidence
of their learning and its application prior to every level of certification;
2. Track the impact of the GULL system on a longitudinal basis;
3. Prepare an annual report in which the evidence of tracking is documented,
together with details of the corrective action (as needed) taken in response to
variances.
All GULL system users must agree to abide by the terms of GULL’s code of
practice as it specifies the mandatory requirements and expectations relating to the
consistency, integrity and professional quality assurance of GULL’s work with its
affiliated organizations. The GULL code of practice is contained in Appendix 3.2.
GULL’s approach to ROI impact tracking not only meets the GULL
requirement by enabling user organizations to identify what is going well and
where corrective action might be necessary, but it also provides a body of evidence
that links the cost of training and other inputs with the ROI in training and
individual and organizational effort. This makes it possible to track ROI over time
and predict longer term impact as the GULL process cascades more widely.
GULL’s TRACA system for tracking, review and corrective action uses a
quarterly self-review format so users of the GULL system can track their own
progress and identify their own variances for corrective action, over an annual
cycle concluding with an annual report and review meeting. There are three self-
review reporting steps, as follows:
Step 1: Quarterly Facilitator Report (QFR)

Whenever a new action learning group starts, the facilitator uses the QFR to record
what is working well or not so well, and any corrective action needed. QFR reports
are due on the first day of the month – 1 March, 1 June, 1 September and 1
December and so for example, for a new group that starts on 1 November, its first
QFR would be due on 1 December, and thereafter on a quarterly basis until the
group completes.
88
Step 2: Quarterly Administrator Report (QAR)

If there are multiple action learning groups in progress, the GULL user
organization must also prepare a consolidated Quarterly Administrator Report
(QAR). This report is prepared by the GULL user’s administrator and it
summarizes the key issues arising during the past quarter. The QAR should be sent
on the same day each quarter (two weeks after the receipt of QFR reports – e.g., 15
March, 15 June, 15 September and 15 December) to the GULL user’s
representative.
Step 3: The Annual Administrator Report (AAR)

Prepared by the administrator for the GULL user’s representative, the AAR
interprets the QARs and/or other tracking data. It also provides:
1. A strategic overview, with a concise summary of the extent to which the
participant has achieved objectives for the year.
2. Commentary on the QARs and/or other tracking data, highlighting variances,
issues and action the participant has taken or proposed.
3. An operational overview, outlining challenges (e.g., delivery gaps, system or
procedural problems).
4. Plans for the coming year, outlining suggestions for supporting priorities.
5. Action needed for the participant to implement plans for the coming year.
Table 3.3. Annual TRACA cycle steps
Step Action
(1) Quarterly GULL user action learning group facilitator(s) prepare and
Facilitator Report submit to the designated administrator.
(QFR) [Requested on 1 March, 1 June, 1 September and 1 December]
(2) Quarterly When multiple action learning groups are in progress, the
Administrator Report administrator prepares a consolidated quarterly report (QAR) for
(QAR) the GULL user’s representative. [Submitted two weeks after
receiving the QFRs – 15 March, 15 June, 15 September and 15
December]
(3) Annual The administrator prepares and submits the AAR to the GULL
Administrator Report user’s representative and an annual review meeting is scheduled.
(AAR) The administrator, representative, and designated GULL
honorary officer attend this meeting.
As noted above, an example of a community-led ROI impact tracking system is

included in Chapter 5.
CONCLUSION
This chapter has sought to relate the business and management literature on
workplace learning, and in particular evidence-based action learning, to the
considerable challenges involved in providing universal access to lifelong learning
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in economically poor communities around the globe. GULL’s response has been to
develop and pilot a system to facilitate self-directed lifelong action learning so that
participants can gain experience of the process and then cascade the process to
others.
As GULL is concerned to recognize the outcomes of lifelong action learning, it
treats an evidence-based approach to evaluating learning as essential. GULL’s
outcomes mapping approach can be used to interlink any kind of ongoing
development activity with GULL’s pathways to professional awards and GULL
provides its system users and host communities with a simple-to-use online system
called TRACA – tracking, review and corrective action – to embed and sustain the
process. TRACA has two main purposes – to enable GULL’s users to review,
adjust and improve local applications of GULL’s lifelong learning system, and to
systemize and professionalize the ways in which economically poor communities
track their own development and evaluate the non-monetary or social ROI resulting
from lifelong action learning. In the following chapters, example applications of
the GULL system in Papua New Guinea and East Africa illustrate the power and
potential of these components, especially in the context of releasing the full
potential of participants and enabling them to achieve greater self-reliance and
financial independence.
1. What do you think are the key findings from the literature in relation to the
potential role of evidence-based learning?
2. What do you think are the benefits of a self-directed action learning approach
combined with evidence-based professional certification?
3. What do you think are the benefits of deploying an evidence-based learning
approach in support of community development?
4. How do you think GULL’s approach to outcomes mapping help to facilitate
evidence-based learning?
5. What do you think are the benefits arising from a cascade-style design for
community development?
6. How do you think the principles of tracking, review and corrective action
support evidence-based learning?
NOTES
Online resources at the Global University for Lifelong Learning – www.gullonline.org
1
Details about the late Dr Reg Revans, pioneer of action learning, can be found at the GULL website
in the ‘Media’ section and ‘Briefings & Events’. See in particular his video-based explanation of
action learning principles recorded in the USA (14 June, 1994) and in Australia (9 March, 1991) and
the document: ‘A profile of Reg Revans’.
Video briefings:
14-06-1994 | Reg Revans, USA (2 videos)
09-03-1991 | Reg Revans, Australia (11 videos)
90
Resource document:
‘A profile of Reg Revans’
2
Details about the collaboration between World Vision and the Global University for Lifelong
Learning can be found at the GULL website in the ‘Case Studies’ section. See also:
www.gullonline.org/book and video 1: ‘Recognising the impact of community volunteers’.
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Paloniemi, S. (2006). Experience, competence and workplace learning. Journal of Workplace Learning,
18(7/8), 439–450.
Revans, R. See Global University for Lifelong Learning, www.gullonline.org, the ‘Media’ section
and ‘Briefings & Events’. See in particular, his video-based explanation of action learning principles
recorded in the USA (14 June 1994) and in Australia (9 March, 1991).
Schön, D. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. London: Maurice
Temple Smith.
Schön, D. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Sloman, M. (2005). Learning in knowledge-intensive organisations – Moving from training to learning.
Development and Learning in Organizations, 19(6), 9–10.
Smith, P. J., Sadler-Smith, E., Robertson, I., & Wakefield, L. (2007). Leadership and learning:
Facilitating self-directed learning in enterprises. Journal of European Industrial Training, 31(5),
324–335.
Teare, R., Davies, D., & Sandelands, E. (1998). The virtual university: An action paradigm and process
for workplace learning. London: Cassell.
Thomas, M. (2006). Management: A profession in theory. Management Decision, 44(3), 309–315.
West, P. (1994). The learning organization: Losing the luggage in transit? Journal of European
Industrial Training, 18(11), 30–38.
World Vision. (2011). Partnering for quality education and learning outcomes. World Vision Forum,
Nairobi, Kenya, May/June 2011, delegate resource pack.
APPENDIX 3.1
GULL’S APPROACH TO OUTCOMES MAPPING
With certification points at level 2 (Certificate) and level 5 (professional Bachelor

degree)
Overall objectives
Character development (Personal)

Competence – Skills development (Technical)
Contribution to change (Personal and Technical impact)
Holistic development as reflected by the ‘4Rs’: Relationships, Respect,
Reciprocity, Responsibility
Holistic development and the ‘4Rs’: Relationships, Respect, Reciprocity,

Responsibility
The foundation level (Professional Bachelor levels 1 and 2) focuses on

PERSONAL learning and TECHNICAL understanding. Professional Bachelor
levels 3–5 inclusive enable the participant to FURTHER DEVELOP and APPLY
new skills in the context of the 4Rs. For example:
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Relationships – with the participant’s co-group members, personal learning coach

and web of support.
Respect – especially self-respect, self-confidence and respect for others (e.g., the
ability to listen/respond to others).
Reciprocity – readiness to share new skills and ‘cascade’ the action learning
process to others.
Responsibility – especially for personal development and ongoing, self-directed
action learning.
Table 3.4. Level 2: Personal skills development – indicative outcomes
Bachelor level 2: Certificate (Foundation) Means of verification (MoV)

(1) Able to identify and act on own learning (1) Completion of a Personal learning
needs statement
(2) Able to use the cycle of learning (act – (2) Completion of weekly summaries
reflect – review – improve) to acquire the (including evidence of weekly interactions
skills of a reflective practitioner with a learning coach)
(3) Able to enlist and work with a personal (3) Completion of monthly summaries
learning coach and web of support incorporating comments on progress by the
learning coach and feedback comments
from the group facilitator
(4) Able to utilize the cycle of learning to (4) Completion of the Return on Outcomes
achieve behavioural change(s) (e.g., form reporting on the most significant
improved time management) change and other outcomes and impacts
CHECK: Prior to L2 certification, the participant must have demonstrated ‘sufficiency’ of
breadth and depth in the completion of the required elements as follows: A Personal
learning statement, two cycles of diary format reflection (8 weekly and 2 monthly
summaries), and a Return on Outcomes form.
Table 3.5. Level 2: Technical skills development – indicative outcomes
Bachelor level 2: Certificate (Foundation) Means of verification (MoV)

(1) Correctly UNDERSTAND technical (1) Pre and Post testing
content
(2) UNDERSTAND behaviours that ensure (2) Cross-check with personal skills
quality and consistency in service delivery development

breadth and depth in completing the required elements as follows: A Personal Learning
Statement, two cycles of diary format reflection (8 weekly and 2 monthly summaries), and
a Return on Outcomes form.
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Table 3.6. Level 5: Personal skills development – indicative outcomes
Bachelor level 5: Professional degree Means of verification (MoV)

(Practitioner)
(1) Able to sustain self-directed personal (1) Completion of five Project review
development by action learning and all the forms incorporating insights from small
activities cited for L2, in a project and/or group, technical and/or project-based
shared learning context that aims to learning, Outcomes (as appropriate),
demonstrate the correct application of interaction with a learning coach and web
technical content of support
(2) Able to identify own learning outcomes (2) Completion of a Learning Summary
and plans for future learning form
(3) Able to identify personal contribution(s) (3) Completion of an Outcomes review
to change reflected in work and/or form
community-based impacts
breadth and depth in the completion of the required elements as follows: five Project
Review forms, a Learning Summary form and an Outcomes Review form.
Table 3.7. Level 5: Technical skills development – indicative outcomes
Bachelor level 5: Professional degree Means of verification (MoV)

(Practitioner)
(1) Correctly APPLY technical content (1) Review of practitioner performance,
records (as appropriate) and self-review
(2) EXHIBIT attitudes and behaviours that (2) Observed by a technical expert and self-
ensure quality and consistency in service review
sector support
(3) BE ABLE to assist others to correctly (3) Process skills, personal confidence,
understand BL2 technical skills (foundation technical proficiency, readiness to help
level) and demonstrate sufficient confidence others in own technical field or more
and personal expertise to cascade the action widely in the community
learning process to others
(4) Demonstrate role-related impact in the (4) Evidenced by project-related records,
community monitoring tools and ongoing community
projects
(5) ‘Surprise effects’ – un-anticipated (5) L5 participants achieve more than they
growth outcomes – both personal and at the anticipated – reflected in ‘most significant
community level change’ stories
CHECK: Before L5 certification, the participant must have demonstrated ‘sufficiency’ of
breadth and depth in completing the required elements as follows: five Project Review
forms, a Learning Summary form and an Outcomes Review form.
Notes on personal skills development sign-off

Facilitators should check for and sign-off ‘sufficiency’ of the required elements
(breadth and depth as reflected by the recommended word length for each form).
They do not have to mark the required elements, but they must provide feedback
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and guidance as needed. Facilitators should also encourage peer review so that all
participants learn to direct and sustain their own action learning journey.
Notes on technical skills development sign-off

Facilitators should utilize all appropriate means of verification to check for
participants’ correct understanding (L2) and application (L5) of technical content.
They should also check for and sign-off ‘sufficiency’ of the required elements
(breadth and depth as reflected by the recommended word length for each form).
They do not have to mark the required elements but they must provide feedback
and guidance as needed. Facilitators should also encourage peer review so that all
participants learn to direct and sustain their own action learning journey.
In summary
Recognizing professional excellence:

Level 5 professionalism is evidenced by attainments in:
9 The technical domain (correctly APPLY technical content);

9 The behavioural domain (exhibit consistently professional attitudes and
behaviours);
9 An ability to sustain lifelong learning and cascade action learning to others
(personal expertise);
9 Role-related impact(s) (verifiable evidence of impact in the workplace);
9 Personal change and/or changed circumstances (e.g., un-anticipated
outcomes).
Enabling YOU to make a difference:
9 Identify what you want and need to learn

9 Learn how to sustain your own learning
9 Become a lifelong learner
9 Learn how to reflect and improve
9 Learn how to use a learning coach/web of support
9 Learn new skills and behaviours by doing …
9 Learn new skills and behaviours from others …
9 Correct things that need attention
9 Build self-confidence and professionalism
9 Learn how to manage yourself and your career
9 Learn how to use action learning to help others
9 Improve your problem-solving skills
9 Enhance project management and reporting skills
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APPENDIX 3.2
THE GULL CODE OF PRACTICE
The Global University for Lifelong Learning (GULL) aims to build and sustain
network relationships founded upon shared values. To guide entrepreneurship and
innovation and to assure the integrity of its work in every location, GULL’s
officers, affiliated organizations and their representatives must commit and adhere
to GULL’s code of practice (CoP). The purpose of the GULL CoP is to protect the
integrity of GULL in all community and workplace locations. By agreeing to abide
by GULL’s CoP your organization is committing to:
1. The vision: GULL’s statement of recognition in perpetuity is the basis of its

mandate and its core mission is to enable participation by the low paid,
disadvantaged groups and in economic terms, the poorest – as soon as the
basis for cost recovery has been secured in any given location. Note that
GULL does not seek to emulate or compete with academia. Furthermore,
GULL does not claim to ‘educate’; it provides a system for facilitating,
recognizing and certifying practical, professional, holistic learning at work and
in the community on a lifelong basis.
2. Accuracy: Openness, transparency, honesty and integrity to represent GULL in

the best possible way at all times and to uphold its status, source of recognition
and endorsements. In all matters, the key reference source is the GULL
website at www.gullonline.org. The ‘Recognition’ section contains the
original statement of recognition and the array of endorsements offered by
Governments, Leaders and Institutions.
3. Affordable funding: Securing ongoing contributions to meet GULL’s central

operating costs and to funding mutually agreed travel and other expenses (as
appropriate) and/or the payment of fees, linked to each certificate produced
and payable prior to issue. Please note, GULL’s central companies (GULL
Inc. in the USA (the university awarding body is American) and GULL Ltd.
(global support from the UK)) operate on a cost recovery basis.
4. Positioning: The integrity of GULL’s professional award system, its elements

and use of the correct terminology to describe its action learning process and
awards. These are ‘professional’ (not academic) and ‘recognized’ (not
accredited). Note also that GULL pathways and awards are not designed to
articulate with or provide access to academic institutions and there are no
circumstances in which GULL or its representatives will enter into any form of
correspondence on this matter.
5. Professionalism: Compliance with key operating principles of the GULL

system as follows: (1) participant entry levels to professional Bachelor, Master
and Doctor pathways that are aligned with the appropriate level of seniority,
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maturity and experience to secure the expected outcomes – Master and Doctor
level outcomes must be ‘strategic’ in nature; (2) acceptance that certificates
cannot be awarded until GULL participants have gathered sufficient, verifiable
evidence of learning and application to merit any given award.
6. Impact tracking: GULL’s officers and affiliated organizations (as appropriate)

are responsible for tracking the impact of the GULL system on a longitudinal
basis. GULL global support provides (via the website) a simple, recommended
approach to tracking and quality assurance but other approaches are also
valued and welcomed. Additionally, GULL affiliated organizations are asked
to prepare an annual report where the documentary evidence of tracking
together with whatever corrective action is deemed necessary to ensure that
any variances are fully addressed.
7. Clarity: GULL’s officers and affiliated organizations are asked to seek prior
approval (from GULL global support) for all specialist pathways offered (e.g.,
Bachelor of Professional Studies (Community Development)) and make any
necessary arrangements to handle questions and requests from their own
GULL participants. Please explain in start-up sessions that GULL does not
operate a global registry and so ‘transcripts’ cannot be provided. Additionally,
please explain that GULL global support does not have the resources to enter
into any form of correspondence on behalf of individual GULL participants.
All reference requests must be handled locally by the appropriate GULL
representative(s).
8. Representation: Accuracy in the portrayal and replication of the GULL logo

and GULL’s official system documentation (available from the website) and in
providing advance proofs of all brochures, websites, promotional and printed
materials for approval prior to release.
9. Relationships: Consultation and agreement with all third party organizations

prior to using other logos and names of organizations on printed materials
(including certificates) in conjunction with the GULL logo and name.
Additionally, acceptance that GULL’s executive team has the right to refuse
permission to use third party logos, names of organizations and other details
(as appropriate) if it is not deemed to be in GULL’s best interests.
10. Support: GULL’s officers are responsible for ensuring that appropriate
guidance, ongoing support and other assistance (as appropriate) is provided to
GULL-affiliated organizations and their representatives, administrators and
facilitators.
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PERSONAL VIABILITY – THE JOURNEY TO SELF-

RELIANCE AND FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE
Richard Teare
For the best return on your money, pour your purse into your head
(Benjamin Franklin)
OUTLINE
Our concept of lifelong action learning as outlined in the opening section of this
book focuses on self-directed discovery. It concerns learning how to use all the
resources we have available to us in life in a relevant and practical way. The case
studies presented here and in the following chapter build on this concept by
illustrating how greater self-reliance and financial independence can be achieved
through lifelong action learning in challenging economic circumstances.
Ever more subsistence communities now live in the shadow of major
infrastructure and extractive industry developments and yet so many miss out on
the benefits arising from mining, gas and oil exploration on their land. This chapter
profiles the ‘Personal Viability’ (PV) holistic human development system
developed in Papua New Guinea (PNG) specifically for the 80 per cent of the
nation’s people who live in subsistence or ‘grassroots’ communities. I argue here
that a deeper level of change is needed if indigenous people in developing
countries are to achieve economic independence and greater control of their natural
resources. In essence, they need to acquire a business mindset characterized by
business level knowledge and effective execution of that knowledge. In this
context, wealth is not solely measured in terms of the accumulation of capital and
resources but in holistic development too and this is reflected in good health,
wellbeing and happiness of community members.
The main feature of this chapter is a case study that outlines how the author of
PV, Samuel Tam, developed a step-by-step process for preparing and equipping
people at society’s grassroots to succeed in entrepreneurship in the context of their
own culture, language and traditions. Since its launch in 1996, approximately
30,000 people have participated in PV courses in all 20 provinces of PNG and
more widely in the Pacific Islands of Fiji, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands.
Uptake of PV is a function of its effectiveness. PV’s carefully structured approach
incorporates aspects of physical, mental, spiritual, emotional and financial
development. The process is implemented by game-playing – ‘The Game of
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Money’ and the ‘Game of the Rich’ – set in a ‘live’ business development context
that enables grassroots people to progress from the successful operation of small
businesses to medium and in some cases, large enterprises. The chapter concludes
with a glimpse of the future as subsistence communities develop and lead new
sustainable industries drawing on the royalties from mining and other forms of
extraction, with the longer-term objective of managing and controlling more of
their own natural resources and creating a more equitable society for the
indigenous population.
A PROFILE OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Papua New Guinea occupies the eastern part of the world’s second largest island
and linguistically, it is the world’s most diverse country, with more than 700
dialects. Some 80 per cent of PNG's population lives in a non-monetized economy
that is characterized by subsistence agriculture. A small proportion of the land is
able to sustain cash crops such as coffee and cocoa. Abundant rainforests provide
the raw material for a logging industry that is currently dominated by Malaysian-
owned companies. The country also has extensive mineral deposits including gold,
copper and nickel, together with significant reserves of oil and natural gas.
Profile data: The Independent State of Papua New Guinea
Population: 6.9 million (UN, 2010)

Capital: Port Moresby
Area: 462,840 sq. km (178,704 sq. miles)
Major languages: English, Tok Pisin, Hiri Motu
Major religions: Christianity, indigenous beliefs
Life expectancy: 61 years (men), 66 years (women) (UN)
Monetary unit: 1 Kina = 100 toea (approx 45 US cents)
Main exports: Gold, petroleum, copper, coffee, palm oil, logs
GNI (Gross National Income) per capita: US$1,300 (World Bank, 2010)
Source: BBC Papua New Guinea profile http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-

pacific-15436981
CHALLENGES FACING PNG SUBSISTENCE COMMUNITIES
In conversations with me about his life and his work in PNG, Samuel Tam’s stories
provided useful insights into the economic challenges faced by subsistence
communities in this nation’s relatively poorly developed economy. Samuel’s
knowledge and long-standing involvement in community development in PNG
enabled him to design and incrementally improve the ‘Personal Viability’ system
in response to these challenges. (Note A)
Although the majority of the population in PNG is economically active, in
reality most have little opportunity to work in formal employment and earn an
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income that is likely to meet all their family needs. In fact, the majority of people
earn their living from self-employment in either cash farming or in other business
ventures mainly in the informal economy. Since the informal economy does not
have the capacity to absorb a growing population, most of the workforce will need
to be absorbed by micro-enterprise activity.
Given the small size of the formal economy in PNG, it is important to
distinguish between the prospects of the relatively few who work in the formal
sector (with the benefit of an employment contract, pre-defined work conditions
and job responsibilities, and a secure salary) and the majority who subsist through
the informal economy where income is unpredictable, with no fixed hours of work.
Nor is there any kind of social security or benefit system for support in times of
need.
PRIVATE ENTERPRISE
Small private businesses are classified as either ‘micro-enterprises’ or ‘small

enterprises’. Micro-enterprises typically employ five to ten people, often a family
group, with ad hoc arrangements to engage additional workers as required. The
number of micro-enterprises in PNG is not known precisely and is estimated to be
in the range of 100,000 to 150,000. It is estimated that 3,500 to 7,000 new micro-
enterprises would be needed annually to absorb the 35,000 people who increase the
workforce annually. The micro-enterprise segment of the enterprise spectrum
typically has little or no formal interaction with government agencies. Even so,
these businesses can play an indirect role in building and sustaining the national
and local economies by helping to create the conditions in which micro-enterprise
is able to expand in the informal economy. For example, their expansion can be
facilitated by non-government intermediary organizations.
INDUSTRY SECTORS
Capacity to absorb labour across this range of enterprise segments varies by

industrial sector. The agricultural sector offers the greatest potential for labour
absorption in both employed and self-employed work. The nation’s abundance of
natural resources makes a substantial economic contribution, but this sector’s
potential for labour absorption is limited because the extraction industries are
highly mechanized, capital intensive and dominated by large, mostly foreign-
owned companies. The revenues from extraction are, however, generating an
expansion in construction and as this gathers momentum throughout the decade
there is potential for more labour absorption related to both the construction and
maintenance of infrastructure. Manufacturing appears to have limited potential to
absorb labour during the current decade as this sector accounts for a relatively
small proportion of output and employment in the PNG economy. However, small-
scale manufacturing offers some potential for labour absorption and in the short-
term the main potential for job growth relates to the processing and packaging of
agricultural products.
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The rapid growth of the services sector affords substantial enterprise creation
and labour absorption, especially in the rural areas where services like retailing are
almost non-existent. An increased provision of services will in turn increase
consumption opportunities and this is likely to generate incentives for people to
work in order to earn cash income. There is also significant scope for expansion in
the tourism sector which currently employs less than 10,000 people in support of
both domestic and international tourism. Eco-tourism in particular has the potential
to expand significantly, although the potential to absorb labour in the short-term is
hampered by a relatively modest tourism infrastructure and PNG’s poor reputation
for law and order in the major population centres.
‘VISION 2050’: PNG’S PLAN FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
In December 2007, the National Executive Council of PNG guided by the

National Planning Committee, decided to develop a framework for a long-
term strategy: ‘The Papua New Guinea Vision 2050’ (see:
www.treasury.gov.pg/html/publications/.../2011.png.vision.2050.pdf).
This report sets out future directions for economic and human resource
development and aims to reflect the broad array of aspirations of the people of
PNG. It is interesting to note that Vision 2050 aspires to transform both the people
and the nation by changing the collective mindset. The report envisages that this
will provide the impetus needed to enable PNG to become a smart, wise, fair,
healthy and happy society by 2050. Vision 2050 aims to achieve this through more
effective public service delivery, human resource development, wealth creation and
sustainable development of the nation’s natural resources. Vision 2050 also
proposes an eight point improvement plan for: human development, greater
equality among people and areas, greater attention to rural and balanced regional
development, a desired shift in economic activity from primary to manufacturing,
service and knowledge economies, greater self-reliance; and progressive
competitiveness.
Although Vision 2050 establishes an agenda for development, the nation of
PNG and its people must address a number of challenging barriers to economic
growth in the years ahead. The barriers include: high cost structures; difficulties in
accessing land, markets, business, training and finance; restrictive public
regulations; protective policies; and the instability arising from law and order
problems. These challenges present an urgent need for business advice and training
and for a process that that can facilitate innovation in support of micro-enterprise
development in PNG.
PERSONAL VIABILITY: A PATHWAY TO SELF-RELIANCE AND

FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE
So that a larger share of the nation’s population will benefit from economic
development, new micro- and small enterprises are needed in both urban and rural
areas. Micro- and small enterprises are well suited in both areas because the
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infrastructure needed to support larger-scale enterprise is lacking. I argue here that

the concept of ‘Personal Viability’ – a training for life program – is the most
effective way to achieve a development process that encourages and facilitates
micro-enterprise development since it inculcates among its users an approach to
business development that dramatically increases the probability of success among
subsistence community participants.
THE CONCEPT OF PERSONAL VIABILITY
In Chapter 1 my co-author Ortrun Zuber-Skerritt has presented the aphorism from

Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu that sets out clearly our philosophy and rationale for
this book:
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you
feed him for a lifetime.
Why are poverty and many other societal problems so entrenched in PNG? Samuel
Tam, the founder of the Personal Viability system (known simply as ‘PV’),
concluded that a different approach to development was needed so that participants
could learn how to organize and use knowledge and other resources to solve their
own problems. His concept of personal viability encourages participants to
experiment, to make mistakes, to study their mistakes and to learn from them. He
envisioned a process of holistic lifelong action learning that:
– Is a habit of life, a way of thinking about things, a way of growing;
– Is not measured by examinations, but by the personal growth that occurs;
– Requires energy, thought, courage and support (in the form of coaching);
– Encourages participants to be curious, adventurous and to draw on life
experiences;
– Helps participants to solve their own problems for their own purposes, by
questioning, thinking and testing (experimenting) until a solution is found.
In 1994, Samuel Tam (affectionately known by PV participants as ‘Papa Sam’)
founded the Entrepreneurial Development Training Centre (EDTC) as a vehicle for
Personal Viability (PV) training in support of PNG’s majority subsistence or
‘grassroots’ population. The objective was to create a pathway that would lead to
self-reliance and financial independence for the nation’s grassroots people.
Appendix 4.1 contains a profile of Samuel Tam and the work of EDTC.
As a way of addressing poverty and dependence, Samuel Tam’s rationale for
helping to develop viable approaches to life uses the ‘learning how to fish’
analogy:
– It isn’t possible to be self-reliant and financially independent if others catch fish
for us.
– It isn’t possible to learn how to fish if we are deprived of the opportunity to try
and then to practice how to fish.
– If we don’t even try to learn how to fish, then subconsciously we are saying ‘I
cannot be bothered’. It means lifetime poverty in individuals and maybe forever
in families from generation to generation
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– If we give people fish, we are rewarding and entrenching dependence, which is

inappropriate behaviour.
‘Learning how to fish’ at EDTC initially involves learning how to play reality
games that EDTC has devised. These games are application-based stages that
enable grassroots people to acquire, practice and develop a business mindset,
knowledge and skills.
The methods used to achieve these changes together with details of the
collaboration between EDTC and its Personal Viability (PV) system and the Global
University for Lifelong Learning are explained in the video: ‘Personal Viability:
Preparing people to be self-reliant and financially independent’.1
PV’s applied approach is both practical and intellectually challenging and yet in
PNG and beyond it rapidly gained the acceptance of thousands of people, who
coined the term ‘Grassroots University’. An affectionate term, it signifies that these
participants felt they were part of a development process that had been tailored to
their needs and that really worked in terms of addressing their circumstances and
needs.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF PERSONAL VIABILITY
The PV concept is founded on EDTC’s belief that education should equip learners
for life – not just for employment – and to accomplish this objective, people need
to engage in what EDTC terms lifelong performance and action learning (LPAL).
LPAL equips people to set quantifiable goals, develop plans and achieve targets on
time and within budget, and to use all available resources in a relevant and
practical way to improve the learner’s own life and the life of his/her family,
regardless of whether formal employment is available or not. This approach is
especially important in PNG where it is estimated that 90 per cent of the 80,000
young people leaving school every year will not find formal employment. In this
context, educating people for employment is unhelpful as it raises expectations of
paid work when the prospects of employment are so slender. Further, as PNG does
not operate a social welfare system there is no provision for unemployment. When
these young people complete school but remain unemployed and unable to meet
expectations, they can easily drift into crime that contributes to law and order
problems, causes financial hardship and sets their life course on an unfavourable
path. The stark reality is that those who are ill-equipped to sustain themselves
become dependent on others.
In 2002 this problem was identified by the PNG Institute of National Affairs
(INA), a privately funded, non-profit policy research institute that promotes
dialogue between the private sector and government and offers alternative policy
advice to the public service. The INA Forum’s review of educational needs
endorsed EDTC’s approach in an article published in the national newspaper. The
article (Post Courier, 15 March, 2002) concluded:
A new approach to human resources development is needed, one that
prepares the majority for village-based livelihood informal activity and
income generation rather than formal wage employment. One of the major
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PERSONAL VIABILITY
problems of the present education system is that it does not train children to
go back to their villages and take part in either subsistence farming or cash
cropping.
EDTC’s scheme for encouraging and enabling self-reliance and financial
independence is designed specifically to facilitate lifelong action learning in
subsistence communities and to prepare people for village-based micro-enterprise
in their communities. However, the statistics relating to small business failure
reveal that a very high proportion of new businesses fail during the first few years
of trading. EDTC believes that the main reason is not the lack of finance,
knowledge, skills or effort but a lack of personal viability. Appendix 4.2 ‘Are you
viable?’ illustrates the dichotomy between the characteristics of unviable (liability)
and viable (asset) behaviour. The PV process defines true wealth as the ability to
organize and use all resources and to convert these resources into assets. In this
scenario, tangible success such as money and property are merely an indicator of
the participant’s journey towards intangible wealth. These relationships are
depicted in Figure 4.1.
Figure 4.1. PV’s approach to developing competence and character
In conventional terms, a person’s wealth is related to their material possessions.

In accounting terms it is a balance sheet account of tangible assets. However, not
only is every individual unique, each one of us possesses intangible resources that
with effort we can optimize.
EDTC advocates that all people can attain prosperity with our mind and that we
are much more likely to achieve prosperity by establishing a mindset that focuses
on abundance. EDTC refers to this relationship as the ‘balance sheet of life’. As an
enabling step, PV participants are encouraged to adopt and practice EDTC’s
concept of added value. Here participants aim to think and act in such a way that
they add value to every individual they meet and every action they take. This
approach to adding value is based on daily use of what are referred to as the four
disciplines: productivity, economy, law of success, and integrity.
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Productivity discipline: This discipline views time as the most precious

commodity, and assumes that if time is being wasted, money and other resources
are likely being wasted too. EDTC views productivity as a key determinant of
learning simultaneously how to multiply a PV participant’s efforts and harness
other peoples’ time and energy effectively.
Economy discipline: This discipline is related to planning and budgeting
expenditure. EDTC uses the following exercise to reinforce the importance of
planned expenditure. Take a notebook and begin recording your living expenses.
Divide the page with two columns labelled ‘Needs’ and ‘Wants’. As you list your
expenditures in these columns, consider whether you have spent money on
unnecessary things that you wanted but do not need. The point of the exercise is to
encourage participants to develop what EDTC terms ‘rich habits’ by hard work,
perseverance, self-denial, economy and patience.
Law of success discipline: The maxim ‘Give and you will receive’ exemplifies this
discipline. EDTC believes that the foundation of success lies in service to others
and PV participants are encouraged to develop the habit of giving more and better
service, without expecting immediate material rewards. In so doing, this generates
goodwill – an important business principle. To help secure this outcome, EDTC
encourages PV participants to find work that they enjoy doing since those who are
fortunate enough to find or create work that they enjoy tend to find it relatively
easy to work hard and so generate better capacity to give. They are also more likely
to find contentment in their work so that other benefits like good health, happiness
and financial success are also more likely to flow to them.
Integrity discipline: PV teaches that integrity is more precious than money or gold.
It secures for its possessor a peace and joy that cannot be attained without it and
that no amount of money or other wealth can purchase. A person may be
financially poor but if he or she is known to be honest, all the resources of the
community will be at their disposal because those who lend resources can be
confident that they will be returned.
These four disciplines are important because in a demand-driven economic system

sustainable development can occur only if economic decisions are based on
consumer demand for a product/service so that any given project can generate the
income needed to cover its operating expenses. More often than not, development
projects in developing nations are not demand-driven and this is one of the main
reasons why development projects in PNG have often failed. For this reason,
EDTC facilitates development projects only if they are likely to yield a return on
investment – as dividends to business investors or a predetermined social benefit to
the community such as a revolving development fund. EDTC takes the view that if
this objective is not met, project outcomes cannot be sustained and the project will
become a liability rather than an asset.
So that participants can fully embrace the four disciplines, PV encourages them
to undertake a diagnostic self-review, to seek and find personal alignment between
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individual talents, work and service to others as shown in Figure 4.2. EDTC
believes that the majority of people are swimming against a proverbial tide of life;
to swim with the tide we need to engage in work that complements our personal
skills and abilities. Their concept of personal alignment links self-awareness (of
skills, talents and abilities) with aspirations and values relating to wellbeing (like
health and prosperity) with intentions (in the form of actions), spirituality (beliefs)
and finally service to others.
Figure 4.2. Attaining personal alignment
To summarize, in EDTC’s view, sustainable development begins and ends with

what it terms ‘viable’ people who are able to change themselves, their
circumstances and help others. If people’s behaviour is viable, then their
involvement in projects and community endeavours is more likely to succeed. The
PV process encourages people to pursue more viable behaviours by developing
thinking skills, good character, rich habits and competence to enable them to
realize their potential and contribute more fully to their families, community and
nation. Above all, the aim of PV is to enable people to become fully self-reliant
and financially independent in a way that honours the ethos of community in which
people collaborate and work together to satisfy common interests. However,
developing a person’s economic viability is a time-intensive process, in part
because the participant must change their thinking and approach to life – in fact,
their values – from what is characteristically a subsistence mindset to a more
business-oriented mindset. Since each learner is unique, the time and degree of
difficulty involved in this change also varies and so a structured, disciplined and
systemized approach is required to facilitate this significant transition in thinking,
attitudes and behaviour.
IMPLEMENTING PERSONAL VIABILITY
The PV philosophy is so effective that EDTC has systemized the process to enable
PV participants to learn how to establish and successfully operate a micro-
enterprise as a family unit. In many cases, PV participants are able to progressively
build their enterprise, spanning small, medium and even large enterprise categories,
as participants gain confidence and experience.
In November 2008, EDTC further strengthened the PV process by aligning
the criteria for progression with the equivalent Global University for
Lifelong Learning (GULL) award level (1–7). This development also blends well
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with the establishment and construction of EDTC’s Grassroots University of Life

training campus in the Lihir Islands, PNG. An overview of this development is
provided in the video: ‘Grassroots University of Life: Preparing people to be self-
reliant and financially independent’.2 The seven levels of PV–GULL are outlined
in Figure 4.3.
As noted earlier, the main challenge for participants to become economically
viable centres on developing the necessary worldviews and capacity for success in
undertaking sustainable economic activity on their own. By EDTC classification, a
person who has undergone such development is ‘viable’; they can organize and use
all available resources effectively and efficiently and convert them into income-
generating assets. A viable person sets goals, and designs and implements work
plans to achieve these goals within a specified timeframe and budget.
Given these challenges in developing participants’ capacities, EDTC set out to
systematize its philosophy and created a step-by-step process founded on the
principles of personal viability. The overall process is referred to as the scheme for
self-reliance and financial independence (SOSF). The SOSF is underpinned by
simultaneous development of character and competence in the context of a live
project to generate family income or a commercial business. The specific aim is to
enable participants to build progressively on their skills and achievements and
develop their businesses (as appropriate) from micro-, through to small, medium
and in some cases even large enterprises, as participants gain confidence and
experience. Since the process is gradual and progressive, participants move from
one step (or PV level) to the next as they acquire and demonstrate the relevant
skills and knowledge at each step.
PV–GULL levels 1–4 are referred to as ‘holistic’ because they focus on multiple
aspects (e.g., emotional, spiritual, physical and financial) of becoming self-reliant
and financially independent. The development process typically spans a two year
period beginning with three two-week courses, followed by a period of practical
implementation. During the practical phase, the participant must establish their
own micro-enterprise with week by week guidance provided by a PV coach.
Additionally, participants learn how to implement their own family master plan
and apply the knowledge they derive from setting goals and achieving scheduled
targets (on time and within their budget) to developing their own micro-enterprise.
Above all, they must try to ensure that the enterprise yields sufficient income to
meet their family needs. Participants who receive scholarship funds during the two
year period must pay back these funds and set aside a percentage of their gross
profit as savings. After successfully completing PV–GULL levels 1–4, PV–GULL
participants can continue to the entrepreneur development levels 5–7. Both sets of
levels are inclusive. EDTC defines the entrepreneur development levels in terms of
self-reliance and financial independence applicable to a small enterprise (level 5), a
medium-sized enterprise (level 6), and a large enterprise (level 7).
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Figure 4.3. Scheme of self-reliance and financial independence: PV–GULL levels 1–7 inclusive
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CHAPTER 4
The key activities and expected outcomes relating to all seven PV–GULL levels
are outlined below. The explanations of levels 1–3 are more detailed as these levels
provide the basis for attaining self-reliance and financial independence in all
subsistence settings. In this sense, the key principles, activities and outcomes are
relevant to subsistence communities not just in PNG but also in any other
geographical setting.
PV–GULL LEVEL 1 ENTRY
As noted in Chapter 3, GULL’s primary role is to recognize the evidence of

learning in workplace and community settings. In this context, GULL’s
qualification pathways to professional Bachelor, Master and Doctor degrees
are deliberately termed professional awards. This is because they reflect broad-
based holistic attainments and to avoid confusion with the established academic
paradigm and approach. The starting point ‘Game of Life’, equates to the entry
level of the PV–GULL professional Bachelor degree. It involves learning about
the physical, mental, spiritual, emotional and financial factors that affect
holistic human development. It focuses on mindset development to encourage
participants to begin to discover their own potential through self-directed
development and to better organize and use the knowledge and resources readily
available to them.
PV teaches that the human mind has the capacity to develop the participant’s
ability to respond to a wide array of situations and circumstances and
that to achieve this outcome the participant needs to learn how to fully utilize
their innate intellectual capacity. PV explains how to do this by discussing
different ways of learning. Teacher-centred forms of learning tend to rely
more heavily on linear thinking as the process involves the teacher
disseminating information and participants applying and recalling via assignments
and examination. As shown in Figure 4.4, PV places greater emphasis on
lateral thinking (developing questioning insight), parabolic thinking
(the comprehension of different perspectives) and holistic thinking, which PV
describes as ‘learning to see with your mind’ so as to unlock imagination and
creativity.
PV–GULL level 1 also introduces the concept of a ‘balance sheet of life’ so that
participants can self-audit and develop their own personal assets and liabilities. As
noted earlier, EDTC believes that prosperity can be attained with a mindset that
focuses on abundance, so participants are encouraged to think and act in a way that
adds value to every action they take and to their interactions with others. This
approach to adding value is based on daily use of the four disciplines of growth:
productivity, economy, law of success and integrity.
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PERSONAL VIABILITY
Figure 4.4. PV’s approach to developing thinking skills
PV–GULL LEVEL 2 PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE
The level 2 ‘Game of Money’ is a second stage reality game and its primary focus
is to learn about and acquire a business mindset, knowledge and skills. The main
purpose of the reality game is to enable participants to address their own family
needs. In most cases, participants at this level have little or no experience of
‘seeing’ with their mind and so playing and learning from a reality game is both a
practical and useful way to gain experience of the process of action learning and
holistic thinking. The Game of Money also enables participants to gain experiential
knowledge about how to use time more effectively, the use of money, the role of
teamwork, organization and other resources, and the financial realities reflected in
the concepts of a profit and loss statement and balance sheet.
The Game of Money course runs with between 20 and 30 participants and they
are provided with start-up capital of 400 Kina (K400) that they must multiply using
a business application over a period of seven days. The average class result over
this trading period is K3,000. The aim is to enable the group to learn and develop
team-working skills and to gain experience in rolling-over money via micro-
projects that generate a return on investment. These outcomes build confidence in
personal and team-working skills. The Game of Money also exposes PV
participants to the principles of a demand-driven economy and the importance of
developing demand-driven thinking and behaviour.
As noted earlier, development funding from outside sources supplied as official
or unofficial foreign aid through national governments and non-government or
non-profit organizations respectively has tended to focus on technical projects. In
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part, this is because many funding suppliers treat their development assistance as
an investment in the recipient community (national or local) and seek a tangible
return on this ‘investment’. The return on technical projects is relatively easy to
quantify and is practically appropriate for the provider. In contrast, as Figure 4.5
shows, PV focuses on people and the PV process views each and every participant
as an individual project. The central pillar of the PV development model is holistic
human and entrepreneurial development and the aim is to ensure that the other four
pillars are fully synchronized with the human development effort.
Figure 4.5. The EDTC sustainable development model
EDTC believes that sustainable development is not possible unless the

community members leading development projects have themselves undergone
their own development before they are entrusted with managing capital
expenditure projects. For sustainable development (both people and capital
projects), those who are implementing projects must understand and be able to
respond to the pressures of a demand-driven market system. The key features are
as follows. First, participants learn to recognize that the customer is the boss.
Second, participants must first do the important tasks, not the urgent tasks.
Securing ‘money’ is always an urgent task – but more important is the
development of the character and competence of the individual who is
implementing any given project. Third, correct behaviour is to be encouraged,
recognized and rewarded. In a supply-driven environment, incorrect behaviour is
often tolerated (e.g., poor time management) and unless this mentality is addressed,
it is not possible to develop the character and skills needed to succeed in micro-
enterprise. Finally, EDTC requires that every Kina invested (in the form of a loan)
is repaid. These are the key principles of EDTC’s demand-driven system.
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PV–GULL LEVEL 3 PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA
Building on the skills learned in the ‘Game of Life’ (level 1) and the ‘Game of
Money’ (level 2), PV–GULL Level 3 entails the ‘Game of the Rich’. It enables
participants to fully implement their family master plan (established during level 1)
and work towards completing an individual financial goal. At Level 3, participants
set weekly targets over a 12 month period in order to establish a micro-enterprise
that can support individual needs. As they begin to implement their master plan,
the participants work every week with their coach, who from this level onwards
must have been formally trained by EDTC. The coach helps the participant to deal
with personal interferences and distractions (such as family problems) and with
project feasibility. The coach also monitors results and provides feedback and
advice to help ensure that the participant achieves their individual goals. The coach
monitors and grades all weekly targets and if the participant is on target, their grade
for that week is 100 per cent. If the participant exceeds their target, their grade is
greater than 100 per cent and if the participant under-achieves, their grade is less
than 100 per cent, and the coach supports by encouraging the participant to explore
options that might help them to meet the target in the coming week.
At the project planning stage, PV coaches encourage participants to ‘start small’
and focus on predetermined individual financial goals; EDTC uses the term
‘Financial Asset Break Point’ (FABP) to describe this activity. The individual
FABP calculation is shown in Table 4.2. The coach will also help the participant to
calculate his/her Quantity Asset Break Point (QABP) – in essence, the quantity of
goods they need to sell to reach their FABP.
Table 4.1. Calculating the individual FABP (in Kina)
The level 3 micro-projects are normally agriculture-based (fruit and vegetable

farming) or small-scale retail projects (micro-retail). EDTC typically provides a
start-up kit of materials, and technical support to the participant throughout the
practical training period (this includes teaching participants how to treat soil, plant
from seedlings, prepare the garden, look after the plants, reduce pests and insects
and stagger timing of production). A gross profit of 80 per cent from agriculture
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sales is generally possible and the typical timeframe to achieve individual FABP of
K19,900 via a personally owned micro-garden is 12 months. The participant can
accomplish the same outcome in just six months if they establish a demonstration
micro-garden, renting the same amount of land (0.50 hectares) on which they must
plant and harvest fruit and/or vegetables for sale at the local market.
Table 4.2. Level 4: Calculating the family FABP (in Kina)
If participants opt to establish a micro-trade enterprise they will utilize and

expand on skills they learned at level 2 to sell retail items. These skills include how
to talk to customers, establish a customer base, use and invest money wisely, and
sell goods quickly. The gross profit from retail sales is generally 20–30 per cent;
therefore, the timeframe to achieve K19,900 is at least 12 months. So wherever
possible, level 3 participants are, encouraged to establish and operate micro-
gardens (with higher gross profit yields), and later develop their skills in retail
trading. This way successful level 3 participants are able to build up sufficient
capital to acquire their own land in preparation for the level 4 family-based project,
without needing a loan or additional capital. On completing level 3, participants are
presented with a book in which all their achievements are recorded. This is
compiled on an incremental weekly basis by the participant’s learning coach and
the book (called ‘Project Me’) includes photographs of the project outcomes that
reflect progress and evidence of attainments throughout the six month period.
To meet the PV–GULL level 3 Diploma requirements, participants must
demonstrate that they have attained sustainable self-reliance. Given the starting
point, this is a considerable achievement that requires self-discipline and holistic
change over a long period of time. The video ‘Attaining self-reliance’ features
several PV–GULL level 3 graduates’ reflections on their journeys and comments
by those involved in facilitating the process.3
PV–GULL LEVEL 4 ASSOCIATE DEGREE
The level 4 ‘Game of the Rich’ is a group activity for creating a fully-fledged
micro-enterprise. The objective is to enable participants to build on the experiential
knowledge they gained through the level 1–3 reality games and to further develop
their business skills and confidence.
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Level 4 is designed primarily to enable members of a family to work together in

a systematic way to secure the family’s needs over a period of 12 months. Since
this is a commitment made by the family, every member (including children) can
participate providing they have completed levels 1 and 2 and achieved the
individual family member targets, including a contribution to the surplus, which is
the level 3 requirement. The family then uses the surpluses to develop a family
subsistence farm and trade at level 4. For subsistence community participants, the
nature of the challenge and the discipline involved helps to maximize the
opportunities for experiential learning, especially in relation to good business
practice. At level 4, a structured approach with weekly reporting and coaching is
essential to ensure the approach is fully embedded and developed. The nature of
the challenge includes planning for an array of immediate, medium and long-term
family needs (see Figure 4.6) including food, health care, school fees, housing,
transport, customary practices, clothing and church giving (if needed).
Figure 4.6. Calculating family needs
Family needs vary from family to family and so participants are again supported
throughout their work at this level by their EDTC coach. The coach also provides
advice on feasibility studies for family needs projects and with implementing the
project over the 12–24 month implementation period. The coach will also
encourage the family to work on reducing any negative interpersonal impacts that
interfere with or impede progress with the project. It is vitally important for the
family to seek to create a form of synergy by building positive relationships
between family members. In so doing, individual efforts will harmonize with the
collective effort and each member of the family will become a human asset. As
coaching sessions are held weekly, these sessions are used to monitor results and to
provide feedback and advice, to ensure that the family meets its budgeted family
needs and generates the required family surplus of K20,000 over the 12 month
period.
As for level 3, here too weekly targets are monitored and graded by the PV
coach. If the family’s micro-business performance is on target, the participant’s
grade is 100 per cent, and if this performance exceeds the target, the grade is above
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100 per cent accordingly. The coach will also help the family to calculate its
quantity asset break point, which includes the quantity of produce the family needs
to grow and sell. Whatever is spent on the business must be recouped as the
grading system is based on business performance; there are no shortcuts.
The level 4 micro-enterprise projects typically include fruit and vegetable
farming, pig and chicken farming, subsistence fishing, and small-scale retail
projects like setting-up and running a hot food stall.
PV–GULL LEVEL 5 PROFESSIONAL BACHELOR DEGREE
As noted earlier, PV–GULL levels 1–4 provide a foundation in holistic human

development so that individuals and entire families can achieve self-reliance and
financial independence. The objectives for PV–GULL levels 5–7 go beyond this to
focus on creating viable businesses characterized by employed, full-time staff and
facilities like offices and production plants that can enable the business and its
operators to achieve much higher commercial turnover than a family-led micro-
enterprise.
To attain level 5 (Professional Bachelor degree level), participants must
establish and successfully manage their own small enterprise such as a taxi service,
trade store or retail shop employing 11–30 people. To complete level 5, the
participant must meet their family needs and generate a surplus of K50,000 per
annum after meeting all their business expenses. Participants meet with their
EDTC coach on a weekly or monthly basis as needed, for supportive discussion, to
obtain advice where necessary, and to make sure that they are meeting targets and
are likely to generate the required surplus. As experiential business skills cannot be
taught in a conventional classroom environment, level 5 candidates also need to
demonstrate that they have acquired ‘rich habits’ as evidenced by their personal
character and skills development, diligence and self-discipline. Participants are best
able to develop rich habits incrementally since they need to gain experience
through regular practice to secure these outcomes at home and in their business.
PV–GULL LEVEL 6 MASTER DEGREE
To attain level 6 (Professional Master degree level) participants must establish and
successfully manage a medium-sized enterprise that employs 31–100 people, such
as a supermarket (grocery store or wholesale), large restaurant, fuel station or
travel agency. The participant must meet their family needs and all their business
expenses, and generate a surplus of K100,000 per annum. As at level 5,
participants meet with their coach on a monthly basis for supportive discussion and
to obtain advice where necessary on the progress of their business, and to make
sure that both targets are being met and the required surplus is likely to be
generated.
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PV–GULL LEVEL 7 DOCTOR DEGREE
To attain level 7 (Professional Doctor degree level) participants must establish and
successfully manage a large enterprise that employs 100 or more people, such as a
manufacturing plant, plantation or co-operative for natural resource extraction. The
participant must meet their family needs and all their business expenses, and
generate a surplus of K150,000 per annum. As at Levels 5 and 6, participants meet
with their coach on a monthly basis for supportive discussion and to obtain advice
where necessary on the progress of their business, and to make sure that both
targets are being met and required surplus is likely to be generated.
The PV–GULL levels, related outcome requirements, and means of verification
are summarized in Appendix 4.3.
VERIFYING THE OUTCOMES AND BENEFITS OF THE

PERSONAL VIABILITY SYSTEM
As noted earlier, the PV process aims to simultaneously develop participants’

character and competence in the context of an actual business. The outcomes
sought by the PV system are perhaps best summarized by EDTC’s prosperity
equation and the systematic, step-by-step approach that EDTC uses to develop
holistic skills (see Figure 4.7).
Figure 4.7. PV’s equation for sustainable development
STATEMENT OF PV OUTCOMES
The aim of PV is to enable participants to learn to understand and use laws of

nature and of the market economy and to understand and influence the mindset of
others so that participants as individuals and as communities can secure the
resources they need to achieve and sustain self-reliance and community
development. This approach is characterized by a self-directed process that is
closely aligned with the earliest concept of education.
The term to ‘educate’ has its roots in the Latin word educo, which means to
develop from within, to educe, to draw out and to grow through use. In this sense,
true education correlates with holistic development, not merely the gathering and
classifying of information. As PV focuses on development of the mind, participants
are able to discover what they need to learn to fully utilize innate knowledge and
resources and to draw from other sources as they need. The outcome is ‘viable’
people who are characteristically rich and prosperous because they know how to
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acquire and make intelligent use of all resources, both tangible and intangible, to
satisfy needs and to become self-reliant and financially independent.
A viable person also knows how to establish and run a business, add value, and
prepare and organize generally. PV’s step-by-step process facilitates the
participants’ gradual development from subsistence to business mindset and skills,
and they are eligible for the PV–GULL professional Bachelor degree only when
they have demonstrated these understandings and abilities through practical
outcomes. In so doing, the chances of long-term success are much greater than
through more conventional methods of testing. EDTC’s own longitudinal tracking
shows that around 80 per cent of participants who have undertaken the PV process
can successfully run and sustain a business, compared with about 10 per cent of
those who follow conventional business courses who succeed without this form of
systemized preparation and development. Lifelong action learning is central to the
process as it enables participants to learn from the business reality games and ‘live’
business scenarios that form the foundation of what EDTC terms the PV–GULL
business class degree. The inherent value of this learning process contrasts with the
traditional academic process that typically prepares people for employment by
others (what EDTC terms ‘a working class degree’) rather than to function as a
successful entrepreneur (the PV–GULL business class degree). Recognizing a
significant difference in the EDTC approach, how does EDTC monitor and
evaluate its holistic development process?
EDTC can sustain its work only by operating as a commercial business. In fact
this approach is aligned with the philosophy of PV in that fees are very modest at
the level 1 entry point and they rise to reflect the attainment of business outcomes
as noted above. EDTC has been able to broaden its impact by developing a
successful franchise system that ensures exactly the same procedures are followed
in every setting. EDTC’s very detailed verification system for monitoring and
grading progress is therefore commercially sensitive. The overview that follows
illustrates this approach.
THE PV GRADING SYSTEM
Historically, international development has tended to underplay the importance of

preparing communities to take responsibility for their own long-term development.
EDTC’s view is that 20 per cent of overall project funding should be allocated for
holistic human development to ensure that viable people have been fully prepared
to implement viable medium- and long-term projects. As noted earlier, EDTC
believes that the core of the challenge is mindset development and in particular,
preparing grassroots people to succeed, on their own, in developing sustainable
economic activity. Any process of this kind must have an in-built system to
monitor outcomes and the PV grading system is designed to measure incremental
progression. To facilitate this, PV coaches meet weekly with their participants at
coaching clinics to provide support, friendship, encouragement, praise, care and
needed advice. Here EDTC’s coaches are able to review and verify progress
together with their participants using two indices: character development via the
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balance sheet of life (life index) and competence development via a financial
balance sheet (financial index). Monitoring is guided by what EDTC terms a
weekly praxis report that enables PV participants to reflect and comment on their
own performance before meeting their business coach.
During the one-on-one coaching sessions at the weekly clinic, the coach and
participant additionally: (1) prepare a weekly profit and loss statement and
financial balance sheet; (2) deduct the amounts for agreed purchases, savings,
scholarship repayments and personal needs allowance; (3) take digital photographs
of the financial data (which is stored in a computer database); (4) discuss business
and life issues (e.g., results, deficiencies, mistakes, lessons learnt) drawing on the
praxis report; (5) review year-to-date project performance results; and (6) agree on
stock replenishments.
A bookkeeper is also available each week at the coaching clinic to help
participants compile and audit their weekly financial statements (profit and
loss/financial balance sheet) and assets (cash on hand/stock on hand), and review
other records (such as sales and purchases).
As the outcomes relating to each level are attained, GULL’s primary role is to
certify the evidence of learning as verified by the PV grading system. Appendix 4.4
profiles the main headings used in the weekly praxis report and Appendix 4.5
illustrates EDTC’s concept of a balance sheet for life that draws on weekly self-
reporting and coaching to minimize negative and maximize positive attitudes and
behaviours.
Productivity discipline
EDTC measures productivity in relation to the quantity of goods and services
produced for sale or for consumption and PV participants use EDTC’s productivity
record book to document customer orders received or customer transactions made.
The productivity measure equates solely to actual sales in monetary terms because
items produced that remain unsold represent only potential value. A PV
participant’s productivity in the subsistence or informal sector is measured in
relation to the participant and his or her family’s ability to produce and sell enough
to satisfy the family’s needs. This is usually in the range of K10,000–50,000 per
annum, depending on whether the family lives in a rural or an urban environment.
Economy discipline
EDTC’s economy discipline is measured in terms of savings and investments. An
economy record book is provided so that participants can record their daily
savings. All entries are expected to specify the date, amount, type of investment
and the name of the institution where the investment was made. In so doing,
progress in this discipline area can be verified independently.
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Law of success discipline

EDTC’s law of success discipline is monitored and measured in relation to a PV
participant’s progress in developing organizational ability and also in terms of the
volume of repeat customers the business generates. In the informal sector, a
participant’s ability to mobilize and organize family members is a critical success
factor and thereafter, sustainability relies heavily on a strong core of repeat
customers. EDTC’s law of success record book is used to record the activities of
each team member and the record-keeping covers: the rate of progress, daily
quantity of work completed, value of work undertaken and benefits arising from
their efforts. The volume of repeat business is determined from sales records and
from the productivity record book. Additionally, the law of success record book
facilitates documenting customer complaints and how they were rectified, and
commentary on what might best be described as ‘service beyond the call of duty’
to add value for business stakeholders (customers, suppliers and others). PV
participants are encouraged to carefully track the impact of value-added service as
this helps their business to proactively approach corrective action and generates
invaluable goodwill.
Integrity discipline
The integrity discipline relates to the successful completion of business
commitments and ‘success’ equates with completing commitments on time and to
specification. The key implication is that all commitments must have related time
limits to help ensure that when firm commitments are made, they are kept. For
example, loan repayments are commitments that can be measured and the main
commitment categories are personal, family-related, work-related, church,
business, financial and local customary. The EDTC integrity record book is used to
document all commitments. Each record includes all relevant details of the
participant’s commitment such as date and time, details, name of recipient,
start/finish dates and times, associated costs, and whether or not the commitment
was honoured on time.
EDTC’s experience over many years clearly demonstrates the importance of
establishing personal and business discipline in the four areas of productivity,
economy, law of success and integrity. The majority of PV participants begin the
process at the subsistence livelihood or family level and secure their family needs
via micro-enterprise activities. Gradually, participants become more and more
commercially oriented, although the transition from livelihood to commercial level
is almost undetectable. The main difference is reflected in the volume of
production and sales activity. In this context, a participant is deemed to have
successfully made the initial transition from subsistence level when they have
secured a surplus that exceeds the family need requirements.
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SCALING UP THE SOLUTION: THE GRASSROOTS UNIVERSITY OF LIFE
EDTC believes that the challenge of sustainability relates to the nature of the
development process. Historically, outside donors have invested large sums in
preparing and implementing development projects and comparatively little on
preparing the people involved. A related problem is the tendency to look for
solutions in a demand-driven environment from a supply-driven perspective. For
EDTC the key to sustainable development is to view participants as individual
projects, which is why EDTC aims to invest in developing project participants.
Lihir Island is the largest island in the Lihir group of islands in New Ireland
Province in PNG and is home to one of the world’s richest goldmines. This mine is
operated by an international goldmining corporation, which negotiated with the
people of Lihir to provide them five-year integrated benefits packages that include
direct compensation and various programs for community, social and infrastructure
development. In 2008 Lihir Sustainable Development Ltd (LSDL), representing
Lihir indigenous landowners, signed a Partnership Agreement with EDTC to begin
sustainable development of the island community. Lihir’s leaders had witnessed
the rapid decline of many communities as a result of mining elsewhere in PNG.
They saw how local community members had squandered royalties so that after
mines were closed the communities were left with nothing in financial reward and
their people were worse off than before the mining was begun. People in these
communities had allowed extraction of their natural resource and pollution of their
environment, while the majority still lived in simple, subsistence housing.
It is anticipated that by 2030 all mining activities on Lihir will have ended since
much of the high grade ore will have been mined. If no new arrangements are
made to continue mining, the developers will move on. At this point, the local
community will no longer have the jobs and income to sustain the quality of life
that some of its members have enjoyed since the mine opened in the late 1990s. To
prevent this situation, the local resource owners have devised a plan that they hope
will make Lihir Island a model for development in PNG and more widely in the
South Pacific. The plan’s objective is to promote self-reliance and financial
independence among the people of Lihir. The plan was originally developed while
renegotiating the integrated benefits package with the mine developers. Lihiran
leaders resolved to resist material development that impoverishes traditional
landowners. Instead, their plan, known as the ‘Lihir Destiny’ is to enable all 16,000
Lihirans to become self-reliant and financially independent before mine closure.
LSDL is the vehicle used to implement Lihir Destiny and EDTC is managing the
project. A key aspect of the project is construction of the Grassroots University of
Life campus to prepare Lihirans, other people of PNG, and participants from other
nations, to participate in business and economic development using the PV action
learning process in collaboration with GULL.
In February 2011, Lihiran leaders made the decision to convert all Lihiran
institutions, commercial and social, into social businesses that yield benefits for the
whole community as a strategic move to achieve the Lihir Destiny of self-reliance
and financial independence before mine closure. The overarching objective is to
end poverty and to ensure that the Lihir community at large is self-sustaining. The
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social businesses make financial profit, but this is held within the businesses and
the return for owner/investors is restricted to repayment of the sum they originally
invested. In fact, the owners/investors can also be business customers. This
revolving fund is referred to as a Grassroots Bank, which is owned by the people to
serve the people. In essence, the Lihiran challenge is to develop:
– Human capital (of the 16,000 Lihirans);
– An indigenous entrepreneur class – the builders of a domestic economy;
– A K672,000,000 per annum non-mining economy that is sufficient to meet the
needs of the island population;
– Successful businesses owned and managed by members of the Lihir community
operating successfully in an open, demand-driven market.
To achieve these outcomes, Lihiran social businesses must:
– Generate sufficient income to cover expenses;
– Help Lihirans to become self-reliant and financially independent;
– Enable surplus profits to be reinvested to help others in the community at large –
with no provision for dividends to indigenous management or investors unless
dividends of the same value are also paid to grassroots shareholders/customers;
– Enable institutions or individuals to invest in other Lihiran social businesses
where the rule applies that investment amounts can be recovered over time but
no dividends or interest is payable.
In 2011 what were seen to be the necessary foundations were established on Lihir
Island to convert all Lihiran institutions, commercial and social, into this type of
social business. The year began with a workshop conducted by EDTC to establish
the focus, alignment and integration among interested parties needed to advance
the Lihir Destiny objective of self-reliance and financial independence among the
Lihir community. Decisions were made to steer the community in this direction in
both mindset and practice, especially through establishment of an intelligent action
learning campus – The Grassroots University of Life.
Mid-year, the first group of 40 people began the PV–GULL pathway,
progressing from the ‘Game of Life’ (level 1) to the Game of Money (level 2) and
the Game of the Rich (level 3), which prepared them to establish their own micro-
gardens around the island. A nursery was established to supply fruit and vegetable
seedlings to family micro- or subsistence gardens. As the micro-gardens were
being established, the PV team established a weekly Saturday market. Every
Saturday PV participants brought their produce to sell and a PV staff member
helped them as they calculated their weekly financial reports. After completing the
financials, one-on-one coaching sessions were held. The results of this approach
are reflected in the remarkable outcomes achieved in a short space of time by this
initial group of Lihirans. Although most of the participants had had very little
formal education, the business outcomes prove that they quickly achieved personal
viability. For the first time on Lihir Island, project participants not only
accumulated savings (K31,110 collectively in just six months) but they also repaid
an astonishing K30,506 to the LSDL scholarship fund. Furthermore, the majority
secured all their year-to-date goals in just six months. The grassroots Lihirans are
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in no doubt that using the PV process they can achieve self-reliance and financial
independence before the mine closes.
Table 4.3. Lihir PV participants’ financial results: June–December 2011 (in Kina)
A further innovation during 2011 was the introduction of support services via
the newly established Papa Sam Foundation. As external funding is virtually
inaccessible in Lihir due to institutional ‘red tape’, the Papa Sam Foundation was
established to provide bridging finance for buying micro-garden materials such as
pig fencing wire and in 2011 more than 20 participants’ families received this
support. The Foundation also buys trading goods for PV participants to use so that
they can leave their personal savings on deposit, thereby generating more revenue.
By the end of 2012 the Foundation had spent approximately K70,000 supporting
PV participants. This initiative also enables participants to learn about sales,
marketing and how to trade in order to maximize their sales and savings. In this
way, productivity, learning and enjoyment are a reality and the culture of personal
viability is firmly entrenched.
CONCLUSION
This chapter has explained how GULL’s collaborative work with EDTC and its
Personal Viability process is providing a complete, step-by-step development
pathway for a large number of subsistence level participants in PNG. The majority
of the population continues in a subsistence way of life and most face economic
hardship even while the country is laden with valuable natural resources that
overseas mining corporations are extracting and making great financial profits
from. The PV–GULL system provides a key to unlocking the potential of the PNG
people, especially through redirecting financial profits from the extracted resources
back into the local and national economy rather than repatriation in the short-term,
and through taking greater control of their own natural resources in the medium- to
long-term. However, communities must be enabled to prepare themselves for this
economic reorientation that will enable them to achieve sustainable development,
first through mindset change (from a subsistence to a business-oriented way of
thinking) and then through ongoing development of their ability to establish and
operate successfully in their own local market. This preparation provides the
necessary structure, system and support to ensure that any participant – if they
choose and work mindfully to do so – can attain a much higher level of self-
reliance and financial independence.
As PV is an indigenous system, designed by and for the people of PNG, its
holistic human development process is wholly aligned with the culture, the context
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and the aspirations of its people. As a solution for those living on modest means, it
is one of the best possible examples of an action learning approach that builds on
human talents and entrepreneurial skills so that the people can achieve greater
prosperity for themselves and their community in a sustainable way without
damaging their natural environment. It is especially significant that GULL also has
roots in PNG given that its support to PV facilitates the recognition of successful
entrepreneurship. EDTC refers to this outcome and the fact that people are learning
for life as a ‘business class’ development process, in contrast to the traditional
educational approach that prepares people for employment by others (that EDTC
terms a ‘working class’ education). This distinction is well made in the context of
engaging with economically poor communities and releasing the potential in
people so that they are confident, self-disciplined and organized to achieve a more
prosperous and sustainable lifestyle for their families and so that future generations
know how to sustain their community development.
1. Why do you think micro-enterprise can be the main economic development

option for subsistence communities in PNG?
2. How do you think the concept of ‘Personal Viability’ (PV) encourages greater
self-reliance and financial independence?
3. How do you think PV’s approach to developing competence and character helps
or enables participants to attain personal alignment?
4. The PV–GULL level 1 ‘Game of Life’ helps participants to ‘learn to see with
their mind’. Why do you think this is important?
5. How do you think reality games like the ‘Game of Life’ (PV–GULL level 1);
the ‘Game of Money’ (PV–GULL level 2) and the ‘Game of the Rich’
(PV–GULL level 3) help to facilitate sustainable human development?
6. How do you think the PV grading system facilitates and encourages mindset
development? Why is this important?
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author would like to thank Samuel Tam and the EDTC leadership team, Alison
Hitu, Samuel Iain Tam and Paul Wiau for their assistance in preparing this chapter.
NOTES
Note (A) and online resources (1–3) at the Global University for Lifelong Learning –
www.gullonline.org
(A) Several conversations with Samuel Tam provided background information for discussion in this
chapter about the economic challenges that subsistence communities face in PNG. Samuel’s knowledge
and long-standing involvement in community development in PNG have enabled him to design and
incrementally improve the ‘Personal Viability’ system in response to these challenges.
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Further details about the collaboration between EDTC and its Personal Viability (PV) system and the
Global University for Lifelong Learning can be found at the GULL website in the ‘Case Studies’
section. See: ‘Pacific Islands’ and the following videos:
1
‘Personal Viability: Preparing people to be self-reliant and financially independent’
See: www.gullonline.org/book and video 2: ‘Personal Viability: Preparing people to be self-reliant
and financially independent’
See also: ‘Case Studies’, ‘Pacific Islands’ and ‘Voices – 4 Personal Viability’ in chapter 1 of the
online Case Study.
2
‘Grassroots University of Life: Preparing people to be self-reliant and financially independent’
See: www.gullonline.org/book and video 3: ‘The concept of the Grassroots University of Life with
GULL’
See also: ‘Case Studies’, ‘Pacific Islands’ and ‘Voices – 5 Grassroots University of Life’ in chapter
1 of the online Case Study.
3
‘Attaining self-reliance’
See: www.gullonline.org/book and video 4: ‘Attaining self-reliance’
See also: ‘Case Studies’, ‘Pacific Islands’ and ‘Voices – 6 Attaining self-reliance’ in chapter 1 of the
online Case Study.
REFERENCES
BBC Papua New Guinea profile www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15436981

Entrepreneurial Development Training Centre (EDTC) Limited www.edtc.ac.pg
Global University for Lifelong Learning – online resources at: www.gullonline.org
Further details about the collaboration between Personal Viability (PV) and the Global University for
Lifelong Learning can be found at the GULL website in the ‘Case Studies’ section. See: ‘Pacific
Islands’.
Papua New Guinea Vision 2050, The Independent State of Papua New Guinea
www.treasury.gov.pg/html/publications/.../2011.png.vision.2050.pdf
Post Courier. (2002). Educated for Life? National newspaper, Papua New Guinea 15 March, 2002.
APPENDIX 4.1
A PROFILE OF SAMUEL TAM AND THE ENTREPRENEURIAL
DEVELOPMENT TRAINING CENTRE (EDTC) LTD
Dr Samuel Tam MBE, CSI, OL, is affectionately known as ‘Papa Sam’ by

thousands of grassroots people in Papua New Guinea and other countries.
Sam was in born in East New Britain, PNG and he is founder of the Stretpasin
Stoa scheme that for the past 30 years has trained Papua New Guineans to become
trade store owners and managers. It is one of the most successful programs in the
history of the Papua New Guinea Development Bank. Sam has been helping
grassroots people for 40 years and in 1994 he founded the ‘Personal Viability’
(PV) program – an innovative solution for poverty alleviation and alternate
education. The purpose of PV is to encourage participants to develop thinking
skills, good character, rich habits and competence to enable them to realize their
full potential and contribute more fully to family, community and national
economic development. Above all, PV’s aim is to enable the people of PNG and
other nations that adopt the PV program to become fully self-reliant and financially
independent. Since the inception of PV, Sam and his team have trained more than
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25,000 people in all 20 provinces of Papua New Guinea and elsewhere. In Sam’s
view:
Personal viability training prepares people for life and to play a full role in
sustainable economic development by equipping participants with the skills
(character and competence) needed to be self-reliant and financially
independent. This is a relatively unique approach – especially in developing
nations where the short-term quest for food, water, money, shelter and other
resources tends to be the focus. Donor agencies have historically focused
their resources and attention on the development projects; they want to see
something tangible in return for the investments made. This approach is
unlikely to succeed if the individuals with responsibility for the various
development projects have not undergone development themselves
beforehand. The Personal Viability program addresses this need.
Among many other roles, Sam served as a Director of the Papua New Guinea
Development Bank for two consecutive terms from 1982 to 1988. In 1981, Sam
was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) for services to the community
and in 2007 he was awarded the PNG Order of Logohu (OL) and the Cross of
Solomon Islands (CSI), respectively, in further recognition of his services to the
community.
Entrepreneurial Development Training Centre Limited

Entrepreneurial Development Training Centre (EDTC) Limited is a training
institution registered under the Investment Promotion Authority and the National
Training Council of Papua New Guinea. EDTC also franchises the highly
innovative and successful Personal Viability (PV) Training Program. Launched in
1996, PV provides holistic training and enables participants to develop themselves
into valuable human assets in support of their families and communities. The
PV–GULL affiliation currently embraces thousands of participants in the Pacific
Islands of PNG, the Solomon Islands and in parts of South East Asia. PV’s Patron
is Sir Paulias Matane, GULL’s founding Chancellor.
EDTC provides the content, structure and curriculum for grassroots
development, and an EDTC PV Grading system to measure good character and
competence. In November 2008, EDTC affiliated with the Global University of
Lifelong Learning to provide PV members with the opportunity to work towards
professional certificates, diplomas and degrees throughout the Pacific region and
beyond.
Website: www.edtc.ac.pg/
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APPENDIX 4.2
ARE YOU VIABLE?
A human asset is never out of work because the whole world is looking for
such a person. This person is competent, diligent, of good character, wise and
disciplined. A human asset attracts people, opportunities and money and will
always be in demand. (Samuel Tam, Founder, Personal Viability)
Characteristics of unviable (liability) and viable (asset) behaviour

No. POVERTY (LIABILITY) SCORE SCORE TRUE WEALTH (ASSET)
Unviable + IVE - IVE Viable – my very best
1 Always late Always on time – start and
finish on time
2 Tomorrow – procrastinate Today – instant action –
now
3 Spend and waste money Use and multiply money
productively
4 Waste time on unproductive activities Use and multiply time
productively
5 Decrease value – gossip, jealousy etc. Add value – goodwill
6 No goals Daily goals to achieve
7 I am the boss The customer is the boss –
goodwill
8 Individualistic Team worker
9 Supply-driven Demand-driven by market
disciplines
10 Ad hoc, anyhow will do Diligent, prepared and
organized
11 Incompetent Competent
12 Bad character – untrustworthy Good character – integrity
13 Hasty, short-term decisions Wise, sensible decisions that
add value
14 Undisciplined Disciplined
15 Careless Careful
16 Focused on possessing resources Able to organize and use
resources
17 My very worst - My efforts don’t matter My very best, always
– no pride whatsoever
18 Bad housekeeping Good housekeeping – neat
and tidy
19 Output is less than input (income) Output exceeds input
20 Always waiting for instructions from Initiates and does not
others require supervision
Source: Adapted from the ‘Personal Viability’ briefing resources
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APPENDIX 4.3 PV–GULL LEVELS OF CERTIFICATION, RELATED OUTCOME REQUIREMENTS AND THE MEANS OF VERIFICATION CHAPTER 4
PV–GULL PRODUCTIVITY ECONOMY LAW OF SUCCESS Discipline: INTEGRITY

Levels of Discipline: Discipline: Teamwork: Repeat Discipline:
certification: Customers
(RC):
Level 7 Produce sufficient assets to achieve a Keep and invest over A successful business that 91–100% 91–100% on-time completion
Professional surplus of K150,000 (about 4 x family 15% of annual employs 100 or more people RC of commitments over a 12
Doctor degree needs). income Minimum Life Index: score – month period
250
Assignments: (a) PV grading record book; (b) Asset break point (12 months); (c) Monthly (M) profit and loss; (d) M balance sheet; (e) M financial ratios; (f) M
performance graph
Level 6 Produce sufficient assets to achieve a Keep and invest A successful business that 81–90% RC 81–90% on-time completion
Professional surplus of K100,000 (about 3 x family 11–15% of annual employs 31–100 people of commitments over a 6
Master degree needs). income Minimum Life Index score – month period
200
Assignments: (a) PV grading record book; (b) Asset break point (12 months); (c) M profit and loss; (d) M balance sheet; (e) M financial ratios; (f) M performance graph
Level 5 Produce sufficient assets to achieve a Keep and invest A successful business that 71–80% RC 71–80% on-time completion
Professional surplus of K50,000 (about 2 x family 6–10% of annual employs 11–30 people of commitments over a 3
Bachelor degree needs). income Minimum Life Index score – month period
150
Assignments: (a) PV grading record book; (b) Asset break point (12 months); (c) M profit and loss; (d) M balance sheet; (e) M financial ratios; (f) M performance graph
Level 4 Game of the Rich (family-based reality Keep and invest A successful business 61–70% RC 61–70% on-time completion
Professional game) 3–5% of annual employing family members in of commitments over a 2
Associate degree Produce sufficient assets to achieve a income order to meet family needs month period
surplus of K20,000 (over and above Minimum Life Index score –
family needs). 125
Assignments: (a) PV grading record book; (b) Asset break point (12 months); (c) Weekly (W) profit and loss; (d) M balance sheet; (e) W performance graph
Level 3 Game of the Rich (individual reality Keep and invest A successful individual 61–70% RC 61–70% on-time completion
Professional game) the prescribed surplus business that meets a standard of commitments over a 1
Diploma Produce sufficient income to meet or FABP requirement month period
exceed the individual financial asset Minimum Life Index score –
break point (FABP) 100
Assignments: (a) PV grading record book; (b) Asset break point (6 months); (c) W profit and loss; (d) M balance sheet (e) W performance graph
Level 2 Game of Money (reality game)

Professional Minimum Life Index score – 50
Certificate Daily increase of start-up capital for 7 days + final day profit and loss statement and balance sheet.
Assignments: (a) Write-up financial record books; (b) produce a daily profit and loss statement; (c) produce daily financial balance sheet; (d) produce daily financial
ratios;
(e) Calculate the asset break-even point = earned income less the increase in start-up capital by 50% each day for 7 days; (f) prepare a performance graph.
Level 1 Game of Life (reality game)

Entry Minimum Life Index score – 50
Assignments: Family master plan (a) Conduct family stocktake of available family resources; (b) undertake feasibility studies on all proposed family projects; (c)
implement family projects; (d) tutor-led inputs on PV principles and grassroots mathematics
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CHAPTER 4
APPENDIX 4.4
WEEKLY PRAXIS REPORT
‘Praxis’ is the process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, practised,

embodied, or realized.
The praxis report is essentially a daily journal kept by participants and used for
both participant and staff reporting. Participants are asked to journal every day so
they are able to produce a weekly praxis report on their work/project. Participants
also comment on any interferences affecting their work in relation to their
project/work/life. Using the praxis report as a guide, performance is measured by
evaluating:
1. How time was used and where improvements could be made;
2. Whether aspects of daily work and output do not align with the participant’s
plan and/or with the quality expectations for their work, to identify possible
improvements;
3. General expenditure and cash flow against the budget to verify whether the
budget targets are being met and sales performance targets achieved.
Here is the format of the weekly praxis report.
Participant: – Week-ending: – Project: – PV–GULL level: – Coach:
Reflective commentary on weekly realities, external and internal sources of

interference
– Physical: health, transport, market opportunities, lack of supplies (materials) or
demand, competition, weather
– Mental: negativity, fear, other limitations
– Spiritual: not putting others first, lack of love, creating ill-will instead of
goodwill
– Emotional: stress: jealousy, anger, lack of conducive environment
– Family: marital, children, different wave-length, lack teamwork, other
commitments
– Custom: celebrations, marriages, births, deaths, disputes, land, quarrels
– Others: e.g., religion, business, government, politics
Progress review
– Performance vs. goals – self-assessment?
– Year-to-date scoreboard (quantity and percentage) – self-assessment?
– Mistakes – What did I learn? – solutions/options?
– Deficiencies (What can be improved?) — options for improvement?
– Use of time – options for improvement?
– Use of money (surplus and expenditures) – options for improvement?
– Next week’s goals
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PERSONAL VIABILITY
– Other income-generating projects and costings

– Loving service to the needy
Feedback
Comments from the coach with recommendations for the coming week
APPENDIX 4.5
THE BALANCE SHEET OF LIFE: RECONCILING HUMAN
ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
Similar to a financial balance sheet, the balance sheet of life is used to reconcile
human assets and human liabilities. Scores are determined based on use of the asset
or liability. For example, on use of an asset such as talent, value, or positive
attitude, daily use would score a 9–10; weekly use: 7–8; fortnightly use: 5–6;
monthly use: 3–4; sometimes: 1–2. The same is true for liabilities such as negative
attitudes or burdens. The life index score is calculated by summing all of the assets
and subtracting the liabilities.
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ASSETS LIABILITIES
CHAPTER 4
Talents: Values: Positive Negative Burdens:

Beliefs/Attitudes: Beliefs/Attitudes:
SCORE SCORE SCORE SCORE Lack of: SCORE SCORE SCORE
People Health Forgiveness Doer Money Excess Procrastinator
Nature Wealth Tolerance Loyal Education Hypocrisy Irresponsible
Ability Happiness Honesty Sincere Skills Prejudice Inconsiderate
Wisdom Optimism Courageous Experience Envy Judgmental
Others: Virtues: Faith Modest Expertise Gossip Temperamental
Love Imaginative Friendly Market Aggression Quarrelsome
Joy Self-starter Consistent Opportunities Cynical Always late
Peace Punctual Trusting Training Waster Unfaithful
Patience Polite Affectionate Direction Pride Complainer
Kindness Open- Risk-taker Fear of: Arrogance Self-pity
minded death
Faithfulness Cooperative Moderate Old age Fear Impatience
Skills: Goodness Dependable Self-reliant Ill health Insolence Helplessness
1 Humility Enthusiasm Confidence Failure Worry Disobedience
2 Discipline Considerate Honest Unknown Greed Ruthlessness
3 Organized Reliable Ridicule Liar Nepotism
4 Consistent Responsible Pain Hatred Vengeful
5 Generous Ambitious Discomfort Shy Careless
6 Finisher Pleasant Confrontation Anger Jealous
7 Neat and Harmonious Discomfort Boastful Conceited
tidy
8 Committed Focused Safety Insulting Ungrateful
9 Sensible Evil Unkind Merciless
10 Unwanted Adultery Blame
Total: Total: Total: Total: Total: Total: Total:
Life Index score = assets minus liabilities = Net score

CHAPTER 5
CHURCH AND COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION –

A PROCESS FOR TRANSFORMATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
Richard Teare
There will always be poor people in the land, so I command you to give freely
to your neighbours and to the poor and needy in your land
(Deuteronomy 15:11)
OUTLINE
Open any newspaper or view the news on television or the Internet and religious
conflict is likely to feature in the headlines. It is unusual though to find news
reports on reconciliation and collaboration between different religious groups so
that together they can better serve the poorest in society. Yet it is happening, and
one of the most significant advances is taking place in the continent of Africa. Its
roots lie in an indigenous system developed many years ago in Kenya, now used to
diffuse tensions further afield in Nigeria and Sudan among other places. As ethnic
and religious conflict has serious consequences for communities that are caught up
in the ensuing violence, the features of any learning and development system that
helps to address its causes are of great interest. This chapter explains and illustrates
how the church and community mobilization process (CCMP) is enabling large
numbers of people in rural communities in Africa to achieve significant advances.
Here they are using a self-directed development process orchestrated by the local
church in partnership with its community. CCMP is a challenging process because
it focuses on achieving lasting change. Before the CCMP linkage with GULL,
many participants had voiced the hope that one day they might be recognized for
their efforts. In this sense, participants say that GULL is an answer to the prayers
of a large number of CCMP activists in African countries. This affirmation is also
supported by Francis Njoroge, CCMP founder and principal developer, who had
been actively seeking the ‘missing piece’ of CCMP – recognition and certification
– for many years.
The case study featured in this chapter traces the origins of the church and
community mobilization process (CCMP) enabling large numbers of people in
rural communities in five African nations to achieve significant advances towards
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sustainable development. CCMP’s principal system developer, Francis Njoroge,

provided background information in conversation with the author (Note A). The
chapter also explains how the process works with reference to the role that the
Global University for Lifelong Learning (GULL) is playing in recognizing the
achievements of CCMP participants. Church and community mobilization closely
mirrors GULL’s inclusive lifelong mission. Although the Christian church,
spanning many different denominations, serves as the organizational unit for
community mobilization, the overarching aim of CCMP, like GULL, is to be
inclusive. Put simply, CCMP is a service that the Church offers to its community, a
service that invites participation of all – Christians, Muslims, people of other faiths
and non-believers.
Five East African countries are featured in this case study – Kenya, South
Sudan, Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania. Four have predominantly Christian
populations and CCMP is deployed widely. All the participating churches know
that the key objective is to include all who seek to contribute to developing
themselves and their communities, which in turn brings many benefits as local
churches reach out equally to Christian and Muslim groups. In fact, as the process
develops and community members work together towards shared interests and
goals, the tension between these groups diminishes.
There are myriad examples of Christian and Muslim communities – previously
living totally separate lives – gradually joining hands and working together to
secure improvements in living standards for the whole community. This is a
uniquely powerful feature of CCMP; it actually brings together people of different
religious faiths and encourages them to jointly plan, act and implement change for
the benefit of all.
The chapter also draws on this multi-country case study to explain how GULL
has been integrated with ongoing CCMP applications. In particular, GULL’s role is
to recognize the significant contributions made by CCMP practitioners towards
overcoming practical difficulties to develop their communities sustainably.
Although ‘celebration’ is a core component, there had previously been no
provision for certifying these outcomes, which many who are involved now
recognize as an essential part of this sustainable development process. As a long-
established system for community development, CCMP has exceptionally well-
defined progress indicators and outcomes criteria. There is much evidence of
change in mobilized communities, but it is only since the CCMP–GULL
collaboration began in 2009 that regional teams are able to formally gather this
evidence and begin to attribute value to the benefits arising. The collaboration has
also led to the development of a community-based tracking system for
documenting and quantifying the benefits arising from CCMP. The tracking system
development was led by Jonas Njelango in consultation with Francis Njoroge and
CCMP country coordinators and this chapter draws on the final report submitted by
Jonas in partial fulfilment of his GULL Doctor of Professional Studies degree
(Njelango, 2012) to explain it. Personal profiles of Jonas Njelango and Francis
Njoroge are contained in Appendix 5.1.
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CHURCH AND COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION
The key issues raised in this chapter are explored further in four videos recorded
in South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya during January 2012. These videos,
together with further details about how GULL supports CCMP, can be found at the
GULL website in the ‘Case Studies’ section. To view the videos see the: ‘Church
and Community Mobilization’ online case study. For more details, please see the
online resources1–4 section at the end of this chapter.
Each of the four videos addresses a question:
1. How does GULL help to professionalize the process of church and community
mobilization?
2. How does GULL help to recognize the efforts of those who are leading
transformation?
3. How does CCMP with GULL help the church, the community and others to
address poverty?
4. How is CCMP with GULL helping to sustain and widen the impact of self-
directed development?
WHAT IS COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION AND WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT?
Bishop Anthony Poggo, Episcopal Church of Sudan, makes the following

observation at the beginning of the video: How does CCMP with GULL help the
church, the community and others to address poverty?3
If you give aid – when it runs out, that’s it. But if you help people through a
process of self-directed change, they will continue and teach others.
Communities are mobilized when community members voluntarily come together
to facilitate a participatory decision-making process. The effort involved in
mobilizing a community is based on the assumption that when this state of
readiness is achieved, the community is more likely to be able to solve its own
problems and sustainable development challenges. The mobilization process starts
with a dialogue about the priorities for self-directed development and this provides
a guiding framework to enable all community members to participate in decisions
that affect their lives. Here the concept of the combined effort being greater than
the total of individual effort equates with enhanced corporate capacity to bring
about self-directed change based on a collaborative action plan.
In any community setting, obstacles need to be overcome, such as tensions in
existing interrelationships and dependencies among families, friendship groups and
neighbours. In economically poor communities, there is typically limited
organization and planning capacity, and in part that is why the local church has a
potentially significant role to play in the process – providing that the church is
willing to rise to this challenge.
The community’s apparent inability to direct its own change process stems from
historical dependence on others and on a common misconception that national
politicians and officials should initiate improvements on their behalf. Other
impediments include corruption, inept administration, the absence of financial
resources and the expertise needed to organize the community’s efforts.
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Additionally, human individualism can impede progress, especially if individual

interests conflict with the perceived need to form a broader cooperative effort.
A key determinant of success is the extent to which the mobilization process is
led from within the community and is focused on identifying its own concerns and
needs. If an authentic process can be established, the motivation that energizes
community effort is much more likely to follow. Community leaders that
successfully mobilize the entire community yield the most significant outcomes
and are more likely to sustain a sense of collective motivation over an extended
period. In contrast, community groups that opt to assume responsibility for
development on behalf of others are less likely to sustain the effort in the medium-
to long-term.
Njelango (2012, p. 15) identifies the characteristics of effective community
mobilization as:
– Ownership of a process arising from community recognition – collective
responsibility for decision-making is essential.
– Identification of internal community resources and knowledge and the
respective roles that individual skills and talents will play in the process (e.g.,
What resources do we have? Who can do what? Who is already doing what?
What else can we do?)
– Prioritization of needs (e.g., What are we most concerned about?).
– Self-direction – a commitment by community members to plan and manage
activities using their own internal resources.
– Enhanced capacity of community members to implement the community’s plan,
to access external resources once internal means are exhausted, and to sustain
the mobilization effort in the long-term.
– Step-by-step approach – a community-led process that is not necessarily based
on a prescribed approach or preconceived order.
– A guided process – External organizations can serve as catalysts to promote
ownership through participatory processes. As noted earlier, the impetus for
community mobilization and for action must emerge from the community and
thereafter, external agencies can facilitate the mobilization process guided by
the local community’s own priorities, concerns, capacities and commitments.
As noted earlier, a number of my conversations with Francis Njoroge, principal
developer of church and community mobilization, have provided background
information for this chapter. This is especially so in relation to the concept of
sustainable community mobilization and the history and development of the church
and community mobilization process. The points below and in the following
sections, ‘An emerging role for the church in community mobilization’ and ‘The
church and community mobilization process’, are based on the author’s
conversations with Francis (Note A).
A key determinant of the long-term impact of community mobilization is
whether or not it is sustainable. Here, the concept of sustainability refers to a
living, evolving process with the capacity for independent self-renewal. Francis
Njoroge argues that sustainability is the ability of a community to continue to
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generate benefits, to grow, expand and propagate long after any initial external
input has been stopped.
In summary, the characteristics of sustainability include, on an ongoing basis:
– Active community participation in information gathering, analysis, decision-
making and implementation.
– Monitoring and evaluation with frequent tracking to check on progress made,
and to determine the value added.
– Financing – from within the community.
– Human capital regeneration as the community conducts its own training and
shares its skills and knowledge.
– Networking and collaboration – What is working in other communities? How
can we learn from others and share what we have learned?
AN EMERGING ROLE FOR THE CHURCH IN COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION
The church and community mobilization process (widely referred to as ‘CCMP’) is

based on a participatory evaluation process (PEP) originally designed during 1982–
1984 by Judy Hutchinson, who was then a monitoring and evaluation specialist
working for the NGO World Vision (WV). The purpose was to help WV to better
integrate its approach to community development and to enable communities to
demonstrate some level of self-reliance as an outcome of their partnership with
WV. While working with WV’s Kenya training team, she observed that most of the
evaluations she had conducted on WV projects indicated that decisions were made
‘for’ instead of ‘with’ and ‘by’ community members. Taking action on the basis of
this reflection, she designed a new curriculum with the aim of equipping WV
trainers with the skills needed to facilitate community development and
specifically to enable community members to reflect on their current situation to
determine their own future themselves. Three words embody this approach –
‘participatory’, ‘evaluation’ and ‘process’.
‘Participatory’ was emphasized to remind WV field staff that their interactions
with communities should reflect a shift from training to facilitation, to enable
community members to fully participate in the decisions made about their own
development. ‘Evaluation’ was to emphasize that communities were to be
equipped to assess their own situation and generate baseline information that they
could use to envision, plan for and achieve a better future. ‘Process’ was important
because WV trainers were taught to facilitate the change process at the pace of the
community. In behavioural terms, this was a significant change; the trainers were
to listen more than talk, learn more than teach, spend time with communities and
facilitate every opportunity to enable community members to express themselves.
The overall objective of PEP was ‘to empower people to read into their reality,
and take charge of it in order to determine their destiny’. The process sought to
‘walk’ the community systematically through four stages from Description
(exploring the current situation in the context of the past), Information gathering
(identifying the specific information needed to help make informed decisions),
Analysis (analyzing information to determine priorities), and Decision (informed
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decision-making about the future, based on the outcomes of analysis). The aim was
to enable people to fully explore their current situation, and through deep analysis
reach conclusions that empower them to determine priorities for their own
development instead of allowing outside agencies to decide on their behalf.
Judy Hutchinson’s work had had a profound impact on Francis Njoroge, a
member of the WV Kenya training team during the PEP development phase. When
Francis left WV in 1995, he was invited to pilot PEP with the Africa Inland Church
of Tanzania, Diocese of Mara and Ukerewe, where it was hoped that PEP would
enable the Diocese and its target communities to shift from dependence-based
development. Francis conducted PEP workshops in three villages over a period of
seven months. The results were extraordinary – communities revived projects that
had stalled many years before and initiated new ones – without the need for any
external funds.
The following year, the UK-based charity Tearfund invited Francis to work with
another four villages in the Diocese, and eight months later those villagers had
achieved similar outcomes.
An evaluation of the PEP outcomes in July 2000 indicated that community
members did indeed feel empowered and that by harnessing their own resources to
the process, they had accomplished much greater self-reliance. Above all, the
review concluded there was sufficient evidence to confirm that participating
communities had begun to take charge of their own destiny and that this was the
underlying reason for the dramatic changes that their efforts were producing.
However, the review identified one major concern: while communities had been
mobilized and were actively seeking to transform their situation, the local churches
had not participated and were playing little or no role in the community
development process. This meant that the changes under way were largely physical
and personal; spiritual development was under-represented in this transformative
community development.
Given the centrality of the church in Christian communities and that the changes
taking place in the community were one-sided (physical), Francis and his
colleagues redesigned the program and called it the ‘Church and community
mobilization process’. The key objective was to actively encourage holistic
development, reflected by both physical and spiritual change. Emphasis placed on
personal and spiritual growth would be equal with that placed on physical/practical
development, to nurture God-given human potential, character and self-belief
among community members. To accomplish this, CCMP incorporated a new first
stage that would envision and equip the church to work more effectively with the
community it serves.
THE CHURCH AND COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION PROCESS
CCMP is based on nine key principles or ‘pillars’ that also provide the main
indicators that facilitators use to assess the ongoing effectiveness of the process:
1. Holistic human transformation – physical and spiritual;
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2. Relationships – human (with each other), spiritual (with God), natural (with the
environment);
3. Sustainability – long-term, participant-owned, people-driven development;
4. Empowerment – self-discovery and self-directed development – not relief, but
release;
5. Process rather than product – internal change first and foremost, walking step-
by-step at the pace of the participants;
6. Realizing God-given potential – participants discovering what they have the
potential to become and to achieve;
7. Resources (internal and natural) – used appropriately, they reduce the impact of
poverty;
8. Role of the local church – every church member playing a key role in personal
and community change;
9. Changed, change agents – CCMP trains facilitators who are able to train others.
CCMP OVERVIEW
Each stage of the CCMP process is founded on its preceding stage so as to ensure
that progress is systematic and action-oriented. Details of the stage-related outcome
indicators for individuals (CCMP participants), multiplication (the multi-level
training of others), and church and community (the impact of CCMP trainee
teams), can be found in Appendix 5.2.
The stages of CCMP are as follows:
Stage 1: Envisioning and equipping the church: Aims to motivate the church to
fully understand its role and relationship in partnership with its immediate
community. This involves using Bible studies and activities to help the church to
develop a vision for working with its community; reviewing the resources available
to the church and how they might be used more widely in the community; setting
up a small initiative using the church’s own resources; reviewing the church
initiative, celebrating what went well and discussing what could be improved on in
the future.
Stages 2–6 inclusive: Community mobilization: Aims to raise awareness of how the
local church might partner with the community to help meet its community needs
using local resources. This involves building a relationship with the community
and community leaders; planning the first community meeting; making a list of
ways of working together as a community, and selecting and training a local
coordination group (LCG).
Stage 2: Church and community description: Enables the church and community to
accurately document its situation and make the resources available to bring about
change by describing the community. Various tools can be used for this purpose
including a community mapping tool; the history of our community; community
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history picture; seasonal calendars; who does what in our community?; drama; and
ranking.
Stage 3: Information gathering: Enables the church and community to construct a

detailed picture about every aspect of community life. To do this, the LCG needs to
establish an information-gathering team (IGT) and agree how the information will
be gathered and by whom, and how the information will be used once it has been
gathered. The main sources of information are likely to be representatives of the
community (drawing on focus group discussions, questionnaires, mapping
exercises and timelines); officials such as health professionals, local authorities and
police (drawing on interviews to get information from these sources) and statistics
on issues such as health, education, livelihoods and income.
Stage 4: Information analysis: Enables the church and community to analyze its
situation and to identify options for change based on factual data. Information
analysis is important in terms of helping the community to identify the key issues
that need to be addressed and it involves working through all the information that
has been gathered so as to identify common themes.
Stage 5: Decision-making: Enables the church and community to participate in

making decisions by developing practical action plans based on: dreaming;
clarifying what to do next; planning for action; and learning and reflection.
Stage 6: Implementation: Aims to ensure that the church and community evaluate
ongoing progress towards self-reliance and financial independence. This involves
monitoring community projects; delegating tasks and responsibilities; leadership;
and evaluation and feedback to the community.
IMPLEMENTING CCMP WITH GULL
As CCMP offers a well-developed and highly effective way of equipping

economically poor communities to advance towards self-reliance, sustainable
scale-up with verifiable outcomes is the main ongoing challenge for those
responsible for implementing CCMP:
CCMP is no longer being piloted … we know it works in the different
environments of five East African countries (Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan,
Tanzania and Uganda). Our challenge now is quality, sustainable CCMP
scale-up. What has been missing has been a way to professionalize CCMP so
that we can learn from what we are documenting and then share our
experiences so that we can improve in certain areas. We used GULL to
undertake a number of projects that we thought would help us to improve the
process. In particular we thought we should begin to develop tracking
systems so that we are able to see the return on investment from CCMP.
(Jonas Njelango, response to the question, How does GULL help to
professionalize the process of church and community mobilization? (1))
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Here, GULL helps by providing:
(1) Recognition linked to CCMP’s outcomes indicators:

One of the main developments is a CCMP–GULL pathway that enables us to
recognize CCMP practitioners at the different stages of their journey as they
acquire new skills and experience. As we know exactly what evidence we are
looking for in terms of the evidence of impact, the linkage with GULL is
relatively straightforward. (Jonas Njelango, response to the question, How
does GULL help to professionalize the process of church and community
mobilization? (1))
Figure 5.1. Implementing CCMP with GULL
Figure 5.1 outlines the CCMP–GULL pathway to professional Bachelor (B)

degree (B level 5) which features three certification points. A level 2 certificate
(BL2) is awarded on successful completion of CCMP stage 1 (Envisioning and
equipping the church), followed by a level 3 diploma (BL3), after participants have
successfully completed the requirements of levels 2–5 (community mobilization).
As noted earlier, it is not possible to advance to stage 2 until the requirements of
stage 1 have been met, as successful community mobilization depends on an
incremental step-by-step process. The expected outcomes (see Appendix 5.2)
reflect the need for a sustained period of action learning that is characterized by
significant personal and community-related change. These outcomes are certainly
equivalent to (though very different from) an academic development process, and
CCMP with GULL deliberately encourage a broad-based holistic learning process
that embraces development in both character and competence. The level 5 award,
GULL’s Bachelor of Professional Studies (Church & Community Mobilization), is
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awarded once community mobilization is fully implemented and to attain this

level, the CCMP facilitator must have trained his/her own team of co-facilitators.
(2) A process that encourages ongoing personal and professional development:

GULL is helping us to professionalize the process … looking at the graduates
who have just completed the first phase of the training and been given their
certificates – you can see the excitement. They are seeing that the whole
process is recognized; which means that it is really worthwhile. I think that
this is very important. (Anthony Poggo, response to the question, How does
GULL help to professionalize the process of church and community
mobilization? (1))
(3) A methodology that can be adapted to the culture and context:
As the training is interlinked with field work, it takes 2–3 years to complete.
People gain great skills in how to facilitate communities and in dealing with
their own situations … then GULL came with tools and systems so that the
people at the grassroots level (who are causing change) can be encouraged
(by recognition and professional certification) to continue. (Jonas Njelango,
response to the question, How does GULL help to recognize the efforts of
those who are leading transformation? (2))
(4) A valuable way of affirming all those who are leading the transformation effort:
CCMP tells us that we are the only remedy – we can find a solution to our
situation. GULL strengthens this – you struggle all these days, facilitating the
community, the church and individuals and the certificates from GULL have
encouraged the facilitators. It is also inspiring them to continue in the process
so that they go higher and higher – to diploma, degree and onwards. That is
why all the facilitators are going to commit themselves to practise and to
facilitate the CCMP process in the Diocese of Kajo Keji. (Wudu Ezbon
Moggson, response to the question, How does GULL help to recognize the
efforts of those who are leading transformation? (2))
To achieve these objectives at low cost and on a large scale, it is essential to build
on the key principles of CCMP by equipping participants to sustain their own self-
directed development and share or ‘cascade’ this expertise to others. In so doing, it
is possible to multiply the impact of an initial group of CCMP facilitators who
assume responsibility for training others as they advance on GULL’s professional
Bachelor pathway.
MULTIPLYING THE IMPACT OF CCMP FACILITATORS
The main external input to CCMP is building capacity of people in local churches
and communities at different levels. This helps to initiate a mindset change by
empowering participants to strive for self-directed economic transformation.
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Prior to stage 1, senior church leaders are briefed about CCMP so that they are
aware of its purpose and the likely benefits. If they opt to proceed, this group
selects the participants for CCMP facilitator training. They also select the local
churches that will work with the trainee facilitators. Thereafter, the trainee
facilitators repeat the envisioning exercise before working with their placement
church and training their own co-facilitators.
Stage 1 commences with Bible studies for church members so as to awaken the
church to its mandate for service in the community. This prepares church members
to engage with their local community and to discuss the various ways in which
they might work together. When the community is ready to participate in the
process, church and community resource persons (CCRePs) are selected. The
church selects its own resource persons and the community does the same. The
CCRePs typically come together for a week of training, led by the trainee CCMP
facilitator, supported by their own trainee co-facilitators. In this way, CCMP
facilitators practise, and share (or cascade) their own learning. Co-facilitators,
CCRePs, and Information Gathering Team (IGT) members support the trainee
CCMP facilitator as they continue the process and many co-facilitators and
CCRePs in turn become second generation CCMP facilitators.
Figure 5.2. CCMP–GULL cascade
As Figure 5.2 shows, the timescale for CCMP implementation is 30–36 months.
Stage 1 is normally completed in nine months, stages 2–5 between 12 and 15
months and full implementation with trained co-facilitators takes between 9 and 12
months. When CCMP is implemented, the process is ongoing as the lead facilitator
sustains a cascade by training co-facilitators (a requirement for the professional
Bachelor degree award), CCReP and IGTs – all of whom are eligible for GULL
awards when the stage-related outcomes criteria have been met. The formal
recognition process helps to encourage and motivate participants and as more
people grow into these community leadership roles, it becomes easier to sustain the
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momentum needed to ensure that the self-directed development process is firmly

embedded. This is a key feature of CCMP that distinguishes it from a once-only
training process. The purpose is to bring about lasting change and this can be
achieved only by sharing and cascading the action learning process as widely as
possible. In so doing, the community as a whole gains the necessary confidence
and self-belief to organize and fully utilize its human potential and natural
resources.
CCMP’s growth model fits perfectly with GULL’s dual track concept of return
on investment: (1) personal development that benefits the individual, and (2)
community development that benefits others. In essence, as participants grow in
personal confidence and gain experience in using action learning, they are expected
to ‘release’ these new skills by passing them on to others. This is achieved as
GULL participants progress towards professional Bachelor degree (level 5) and
facilitate and/or coach new participants.
This approach encourages the church, its leaders and front-line facilitators as
they join hands in their efforts to address poverty:
The graduation yesterday brought very refreshing challenges to our ministry.
As I looked and I saw over 1,000 people graduating, I realized the impact of
the mobilization process upon communities. Over 1,000 people have now
been trained and there were 1,000+ who were not able to attend … so we
anticipate a great movement of people who are able to transform their
communities and improve the economic, social and spiritual life of the
nation. This is a very great foundation. (Simon Peter Emiau, response to the
question, How does CCMP with GULL help the church, the community and
others to address poverty? (3))
ENHANCING THE VALUE OF CCMP: PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION
Given the many variables that characterize the CCMP implementation process
(e.g., differences in language, culture, relative level of economic disadvantage and
geographical dispersal of participants) it was especially important to align and
integrate GULL certification with the CCMP requirements and stage-related
outcomes. In some respects, this reflects a much richer form of learning attainment
than the traditional emphasis placed on written work. In fact, as Figure 5.3
indicates, CCMP implementation is founded on a wide range of indicators that
reflect both sustained personal development and the ongoing process of community
mobilization and development.
Specifically, Figure 5.3 depicts the interrelationships between stage-related
CCMP outcome indicators (Appendix 5.2), indicators for monitoring and
evaluating change (Appendix 5.3), and stage-related CCMP–GULL recognition
and certification (Appendix 5.4). To sustain the cascade, it is important to provide
clear guidelines for monitoring and evaluating the changes that occur as CCMP is
implemented. Although it is helpful to specify the expected outcomes (Appendix
5.1), it is also important to specify the characteristics of individual and community
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change and the types of evidence that are needed to verify progress (Appendix 5.3).
As and when CCMP trainee facilitators and other CCMP practitioners demonstrate
appropriate understanding, application and evidence of impact (stages 1–5), and
evidence of wider impact (stage 6), the corresponding GULL award is made.
Details of stage-related CCMP–GULL recognition and certification can be found
in Appendix 5.4.
Figure 5.3. Linking CCMP outcomes to GULL professional certification
Above all, it is action and change that are required. These cannot be attained
using conventional forms of learning/assessment like assignment writing; they
require sustained, holistic human effort:
After graduation yesterday, I received a lot of responses from people who
came for the graduation. They felt it was a unique occasion and it had
encouraged them. It was a way of recognizing what they have done. Most of
the people we have trained in church and community mobilization have had a
major impact in their communities … they are so happy that they have been
recognized and awarded certificates. This recognizes their efforts as they help
people to overcome both physical and spiritual poverty … It was a wonderful
time together. (Jane Achaloi, response to the question, How does GULL help
to recognize the efforts of those who are leading transformation? (2))
This comment also reflects the importance of ‘recognition’ to CCMP participants,
almost all of whom have no other learning or development option available to
them. Discussions with CCMP participants reveal that many had unfulfilled
educational aspirations and by linking their community work with GULL, it is
possible to meet these needs:
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I sat down with all the graduates so that we could reflect together … there
were great testimonies shared by the participants. One of them said, “I am so
happy to receive this certificate”, and he shared his personal story. He had
passed all his exams at school but his father had died and he didn’t have the
funds to continue at school. He joined the CCMP facilitators’ training in 2009
and has been working in the field. A lot has happened in his own life – a lot
of changes in the community … and now his commitment has increased and
he will continue to facilitate. Another said: “This certificate will be a constant
reminder to me of the work that I did”. You can see the impact that this
recognition is having on these people and it is a powerful source of
motivation in our quest for CCMP quality and sustainable scale-up. (Jonas
Njelango, response to the question, How does GULL help to recognize the
efforts of those who are leading transformation? (2))
VERIFYING THE VALUE OF CCMP: IMPACT TRACKING
During the period 2001–2012, more than 500 churches and communities in some
14 African countries deployed CCMP and the results everywhere have been
remarkable. As noted earlier, evidence of the impact of the local church is through
a mobilization process that influences the community’s future. This begins when
the church motivates its community to explore ways of achieving sustainable
transformation by taking charge of its own destiny collectively. The change
process that follows is characterized by self-directed development (thereby
breaking a cycle of dependence on the need for external support), restored
relationships and a lasting spirit of cooperation as community members ensure that
basic needs are met throughout the community. The process also engenders
courage and self-confidence as community members tackle the causes of their
physical and spiritual poverty both individually and together. A further outcome is
a growing awareness of resources – each person’s unique gifts and talents, and an
abundance of natural resources – that can be harnessed to secure ongoing
sustainable development.
Although CCMP is well established and highly regarded, historically there has
been very limited data to prove that a social return on investment is secured every
time the process is implemented. In response to this challenge, Njelango (2012) set
out to develop an impact tracking format by drawing on existing CCMP procedures
and generic GULL forms.
As a result of the CCMP–GULL collaboration, the impact tracking project team
is now able to aggregate this evidence at village, community, regional and national
levels. This enables them to provide a systemized way of assembling and
presenting the evidence of impact and change that contribute to sustainable
community development.
The concluding section of this chapter explores the emergent impact tracking
framework, profiling its approach and some of its key features. Before turning
there, let us consider the concept of ‘social return on investment’, which has a vital
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conceptual and practical role in this framework because an investment in people

development that has been multiplied is more likely to be repeated.
THE CONCEPT OF SOCIAL RETURN ON INVESTMENT
Social return on investment (SROI) is an approach to understanding and managing

the value of the social, economic and environmental outcomes created by the
activity of members of the community or of an external organization (SROI
Network International). SROI is based on a set of guiding principles that determine
how SROI should be used. The key principles are:
– Involve stakeholders: Establish a dialogue with stakeholders so they understand
how a process like CCMP facilitates change.
– Understand what changes: Discuss and acknowledge the stakeholders’ values,
objectives and inputs before defining the scope of evaluation.
– Value the things that matter: Use financial proxies as indicators to estimate the
economic contribution made by CCMP participants.
– Include only what is relevant: Articulate clearly how activities create change
and evaluate this using the evidence gathered.
– Do not over-claim: Make comparisons of performance and impact using
appropriate benchmarks, targets and external standards.
– Be transparent: Demonstrate the basis on which findings can be considered
accurate and honest, and explain how they will be reported to and discussed
with stakeholders.
– Verify the result: Ensure appropriate independent verification of the outcomes.
These principles underpin GULL’s approach to recognizing the outcomes of self-
directed learning as they relate to the participants’ contributions to both self-
development and helping others via community development.
TOWARDS A CCMP IMPACT TRACKING FRAMEWORK
Before the development of a new, standardized impact-tracking system, CCMP

coordinators personally carried out CCMP monitoring and evaluation – at different
levels (e.g., community and regional) and in different ways. It was therefore
difficult to compare the outcomes both within and between the East African
countries where CCMP had been adopted. For the review, the lead coordinators
from the five participating countries (Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and
Uganda) provided details about the methods they used to track CCMP applications.
As a minimum, coordinators prepared mid-year and annual reports and gathered
transformation stories ad hoc from individuals, villages and communities. Overall,
there were gaps in the collection and collation of information, enabling only a
potted narrative and incomplete statistical information about CCMP projects,
progress and outcomes. In this context, the purpose of the review was to develop
an incremental and systematic tracking system that could be implemented in all
locations to help in developing a detailed cost–benefit analysis of CCMP.
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The impact tracking review and development process was led by Jonas Njelango
and Francis Njoroge, who were joined by a team of regional CCMP coordinators
(GULL professional Master candidates). They began by reviewing the existing
arrangements for monitoring and documenting outcomes in the participating
countries. On this basis, some of the existing forms were augmented by newly
developed forms in preparation for a data-gathering process that involved
reviewing outcomes over a period of some ten years. Specifically, all CCMP
coordinators in the participating countries were asked to use a standardized
procedure to collect information and to verify the changes in place or under way.
Here the aim was to develop a much more complete picture of the cumulative
impact of CCMP over an extended period. Subsequently, the data was
consolidated, analyzed and summarized. The CCMP–GULL collaboration
provided an additional source of information for the review in the form of insights
gathered directly from CCMP practitioners, since CCMP–GULL participants now
fully document what they have learnt during the CCMP process. In particular, they
are asked to detail aspects of the CCMP contribution to their personal lives and the
nature of the impact on their family situation and their church and community
environment.
Figure 5.4. Tracking and verifying CCMP outcomes
Figure 5.4 depicts the interrelationships between CCMP East Africa tracking
and reporting formats (Appendix 5.5); linkages with CCMP objectives, verifiable
indicators and the related tracking forms and tools (Appendix 5.6); a key outcome
example (Table 5.1); a summary of the review participants (Table 5.2); and the
main findings of the review (Table 5.3). As comments on Tables 5.1–5.3 are
featured below, it is important to note that CCMP tracking and reporting draws on
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a number of forms as described in Appendix 5.5. The forms relate to all aspects of
CCMP implementation, from financial reporting on the costs incurred to emerging
community-led projects and individual stories of transformation. The purpose of
Appendix 5.6 is to illustrate how progress in attaining overall and specific
objectives is monitored in relation to verifiable indicators using the appropriate
tracking forms and tools.
Table 5.1. Key outcomes: Stages 1–6 inclusive
Key outcomes Verifiable indicators Tracking forms

and tools
Stronger family, inter- (1) Improved relationships within families, churches, Information-
denominational and denominations and the community at large; gathering
community (2) Stronger families: both parents and children activities
relationships bringing involved in planning and decision-making and the Reflection report
greater harmony and family working together to achieve collective Transformation
unity wellbeing; (3) Greater inter-denominational harmony stories
and churches working more closely together; (4) Emerging
Church and community planning and acting together. projects area
report
Enhanced capability (1) Number of church-based projects; (2) Number of Information-
and capacity of the family-based projects; (3) Number of special interest gathering
church and community group-based projects; (4) Number of community- activities
to achieve common based projects; (5) Number of families reporting Reflection report
goals improvements in their circumstances; (6) Number of Transformation
farming families with increased food production; stories
(7) Number of children going to school regularly; Emerging
(8) Number of people able to access health services projects area
report
Increased faith and (1) Extent of offering/giving; (2) Church attendance; Information-
church growth (3) Number of people coming to faith and/or re- gathering
newing their faith activities
Reflection report
Transformation
stories
Emerging
projects area
report
Mobilized communities (1) Number of communities that CCMP trainee Reflection report
facilitators are working with; (2) Number of Statistical report
community members who attended sessions on tools Consolidated
for community mobilization; (3) Percentage of men, facilitator activity
women and youth attending the sessions on report
equipping communities with the tools to carry out
holistic development; (4) A clearly written vision and
plan for holistic community development
Source: Adapted from Njelango (2012, Executive summary, pp. v–xi)
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OUTCOMES REVIEW: HOW IS CCMP FACILITATING

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT?
The overall objective of CCMP is to help create the conditions to enable

empowered people to develop holistically. In this process, people transform their
own communities using local resources to analyze their situation, and mobilization
tools to bring about lasting change through collaborative action. Table 5.1
illustrates how, through the CCMP experience in East African contexts, this
objective has been translated into key outcome targets. Each target has verifiable
indicators and related tracking procedures that draw on data-gathering formats and
tools to collect and collate the evidence of change.
Table 5.2. CCMP participants in East African nations (Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan,
Tanzania, Uganda) 2001–2012
Total
First generation facilitators trained to initiate CCMP 335
Second generation facilitators and co-facilitators trained with the support of the 911
initial facilitators
Active facilitators 834
Church leaders envisioned as CCMP supporters 1,254
Trained church and community resource persons 1,325
Information gathering teams 4,141
Community development committees 150
Trained community development members 2,640
Envisioned churches participating in CCMP 475
Communities mobilized (using their own resources to meet their own needs) 306
Source: Adapted from Njelango (2012 Executive summary, pp. v–xi)
Jonas Njelango, Francis Njoroge and their team of regional CCMP coordinators
were able to determine progress in relation to the number of participants involved
during the review period and this data is presented in Table 5.2. It is especially
satisfying to observe the cascade of learning and training: by 2012, 335 first
generation facilitators had themselves trained 911 second generation facilitators
and co-facilitators and thousands of church and community resource persons,
information-gathering teams and community-development committee members.
The key finding here is that the cascade method is without doubt a low cost and
very effective way of equipping people and communities to take responsibility for
sustaining their own collective effort to attain greater self-reliance and financial
independence for their community’s wellbeing. Given the significant effort and
time involved in mobilizing the community, the involvement of GULL in helping
to systemize, professionalize and recognize the CCMP process is an important and
valued contribution. This is especially so in motivating facilitation team members
and sustaining momentum in the medium- to long-term for sustainable community
development.
150
Table 5.3. CCMP project outcomes in East African nations (Kenya, South Sudan,
Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda) 2001–2012
Area: Beneficial outcomes:

Health Benefits for health of children, women, vulnerable groups and the
wider communities through health facilities including buildings and
medicines.
99 health facilities constructed, including:
27 health centres serving an estimated 67,600 people.
67 health clinics/dispensaries supporting an estimated 43,000
people.
Education Benefits for children’s education through more schools, facilities, desks
and books.
19 secondary schools constructed, supporting approx. 13,800
students.
49 primary schools constructed, 40 of which serve approx. 23,100
students.
3 nursery schools constructed, supporting approx. 984 infants.
Food security Food security and livelihood projects under way and helping to reduce
poverty for individual families and wider communities.
1,077 community food production projects implemented, 466 of which
benefit approx. 46,600 people.
217 livestock projects established, benefitting approx. 31,200 people.
1,114 income-generating projects initiated, 1,095 of which benefit
approx. 24,000 people.
118 grinding mills and machines setup, benefiting approx. 24,450
people.
Water, sanitation, Significant improvements in water, hygiene and sanitation in many

hygiene (WASH) communities.
201 shallow wells constructed, 89 of which benefit approx. 17,600
people.
48 deep wells/boreholes constructed, 45 of which benefit approx.
24,100 people.
69 earth dams constructed, serving approx. 24,125 people
9,802 toilets constructed, used by approx. 98,000 people.
Vulnerable groups Significant numbers of vulnerable people (e.g., widows, orphans and
(VG) HIV/AIDS sufferers) involved in community development projects.
84 projects supporting people living with HIV benefit 430 people.
12 HIV support groups supporting approx. 7,400 people
218 orphan-support projects initiated, supporting 822 orphans.
Church building Many communities have constructed churches using bricks made in the
community.
228 churches constructed or improved, serving approx. 18,100 people
Source: Adapted from Njelango (2012 Executive summary, pp. v–xi)
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Jonas Njelango, Francis Njoroge and the regional team have also shown that the
active involvement of more people from the community in CCMP brings
significant benefits in the key areas that adversely affect economically poor
communities. Table 5.3 lists six broad areas and related projects either completed
or in progress, and the estimated number of beneficiaries. The large number of
projects spanning the five East African countries represents a significant social
return on investment in CCMP and as members of the impact tracking
development team continue their work, the next step will involve trialling a method
for calculating the economic value of community-led projects such as community
engineered and managed wells.
CONCLUSION
Although the new CCMP impact tracking system is a work in progress, data
analysis reveals a truly remarkable story about the role that CCMP is playing in
community mobilization and its ongoing development. Furthermore, the key
findings are based on a relatively narrow set of data-gathering procedures and so it
is likely that the outcomes under-represent the social return on investment in
CCMP since its inception in 2001. In addition to improvements in the scope,
frequency and quality of reporting made by the development team, GULL’s action
learning system has gained widespread support from the participating churches and
communities in the region. In part this is because GULL provides a reward and
recognition framework that motivates and encourages CCMP practitioners but also
because GULL’s evidence-based approach is helping to further professionalize
CCMP and efforts throughout the CCMP network to strengthen the evidence
gathering, analysis and verification of CCMP outcomes. The fact that CCMP–
GULL participants are formally required to gather the evidence relating to their
own learning journey – personally, professionally and in relation to the specific
contributions made – has and is continuing to enhance and enrich CCMP’s impact
in every church and community where it is used. The many individual stories of
change can now be aggregated to create a much richer picture of large scale
transformational change.
Reflecting on the outcomes, Jonas Njelango concludes:
We have been able to take stock of all the ongoing projects – building
churches, agriculture, education, health – … definitely we see that this is
laying the foundations for future work so that in the context of return on
investment, we can cost all of these capacity-building activities and relate
them to the emerging projects to verify the return on investment in CCMP.
(Jonas Njelango, response to the question, How does GULL help to
professionalize the process of church and community mobilization? (1))
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1. How do you think community mobilization is linked to self-determination and

why is this important for economically poor communities?
2. How do you think the church and community mobilization process helps to
ensure sequential, sustainable development?
3. How do you think capacity building, mindset change and empowerment are
linked to self-directed economic development?
4. How do you think the CCMP cascade or growth model facilitates both personal
development and social return on investment?
5. What do you think are the benefits of linking CCMP outcomes to GULL
professional recognition and certification?
6. How do you think community-led impact tracking helps the stakeholders and
sponsors of self-directed economic development?
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author would like to thank Jonas Njelango and Francis Njoroge for their help
in preparing this chapter.
NOTES
Notes (A) and online resources (1–4) at the Global University for Lifelong Learning –
www.gullonline.org
(A) Several conversations with Francis Njoroge, principal developer of church and community
mobilization, provided background information for this chapter, especially in relation to sustainable
community mobilization and the key concepts that underpin the history and development of the church
and community mobilization process.
The key issues raised in this chapter are further explored in four videos recorded in South Sudan,
Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya during January 2012. These videos, together with further details about
how GULL supports CCMP, can be found at the GULL website in the ‘Case Studies’ section. To view
the videos see the online case study, ‘Church and Community Mobilization’.
Each video addresses a question:
1
How does GULL help to professionalize the process of church and community mobilization?
See: www.gullonline.org/book and video 5: ‘How does GULL help to professionalize the process of
community mobilization?
2
How does GULL help to recognize the efforts of those who are leading transformation?
See: www.gullonline.org/book and video 6: ‘How does GULL help to recognize the efforts of those
leading transformation?
3
How does CCMP with GULL help the church, the community and others to address poverty?
See: www.gullonline.org/book and video 7: ‘How does church and community mobilization (CCMP)
help to address poverty?
4
How is CCMP with GULL helping to sustain and widen the impact of self-directed development?
See: www.gullonline.org/book and video 8: ‘How is the CCM process with GULL helping to sustain
self-directed development?
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REFERENCES
Njelango, Jonas W. (2012). Church and community mobilisation process return on investment tracking
system/tools – The case of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan and South Sudan. Unpublished Doctor
of Professional Studies thesis, Global University for Lifelong Learning, USA, January 2012. This
report be can viewed at the GULL website in the ‘Case Studies’ section – see:
www.gullonline.org/book and Jonas W Njelango, GULL D Prof report, January 2012.pdf –
Download PDF [Note: this report is located at the bottom of the web page, after video 8.]
The Social Return on Investment Network International www.thesroinetwork.org
APPENDIX 5.1
PROFILES OF JONAS NJELANGO AND FRANCIS NJOROGE
Dr Jonas Njelango currently works with Tearfund in South Sudan. He is a

graduate of the University of Dar-es Salaam, Tanzania, and he has worked
extensively in development and disaster management since 1982. Among other
earlier roles, Jonas provided country oversight for World Vision in Tanzania,
Liberia and the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Oxfam in Somalia,
and Tearfund in Liberia and Sudan/South Sudan. He also held the positions of
Director of Development, Relief Programs and Technical Services with World
Vision in Tanzania, Kenya and Liberia. The overall responsibility of managing
those various departments included managing operations, programs, staff, finances
and assets. Before joining Tearfund, Jonas was for several years the National
Director, World Vision Liberia.
In his current role, Jonas works with Tearfund’s partners and he has been
instrumental in facilitating the developing of a church and community mobilization
process (CCMP) in the Counties of Yei, Boma, Kajokeji and Mundri in South
Sudan. In 2012, Jonas completed his Doctor of Professional Studies degree by
designing and implementing a return on investment tracking system for CCMP,
based on data gathered in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan and South Sudan. This
innovative project, partly facilitated by the Global University for Lifelong
Learning, involved an action learning approach to aggregating the evidence of
individual change and impact at community level. Before this, there had been no
comprehensive information system about CCMP’s impact. Moreover, CCMP
practitioners had been using different monitoring systems and so aggregation and
analysis by region and country could not be accomplished.
Reflecting on the outcomes of his action learning journey with GULL, Jonas
observes, “I have learnt that I am able to learn on my own with the support of
coaches, peers and others, without necessarily going to a four-walled learning
facility. GULL learning has also taught me the importance of perseverance and
persistence and this has contributed to the high performance of the doctoral team”.
Dr Francis Njoroge is regarded by his peers as the foremost pioneer of church and
community mobilization in Africa and he is a visionary leader and tireless
campaigner for CCMP with GULL throughout the Continent.
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Francis was born in Kahuho in the Kikuyu region of Kenya and he trained as a
science teacher at the Kenya Science Teachers College. He taught in Kianyaga and
Karuri High schools from 1974–1981 and then joined World Vision Kenya
(WVK). From 1984–1994 he worked with more than 100 communities in Kenya,
introducing them to the Participatory Evaluation Process (PEP), which is a
powerful tool for enabling people to ‘read’ into their realities and transform their
situation and circumstances. In 1991–92, he took study leave in the USA where he
attained a Master’s degree in International Management.
Francis left WVK in November 1994 to establish his own consultancy practice
and in this capacity he has worked extensively with Tearfund and many African
church organizations. In this context, Dr Njoroge developed a widely acclaimed
action learning process that empowers people to transform their own situation
holistically, using their God-given resources. In recent years he has trained
hundreds of facilitators in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Congo, South Sudan, North
Sudan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Chad. There are
remarkable outcomes in all these places as the local church awakens to fully serve
its community.
Reflecting on CCMP with GULL, Francis comments:
GULL presents a source of hope. I have been facilitating for Tearfund since
1997, and we have worked hard to perfect a church and community
mobilization process (CCMP) so that it empowers the church to engage in
integral mission in its immediate community. We have seen powerful results
of impact – transformation in people’s lives, to the glory of God. I have
focused on equipping the teams who will carry the process forward when I’m
not there. We are seeing great results of passionate, self-driven teams that are
causing amazing changes within the church and the community. It is for these
teams that my heart cries. I long to keep them motivated, for they are doing
great work and I know that GULL offers the solution. The potential for
growth and expansion is so great I almost cannot imagine it.
What excites me most about GULL is the opportunity it affords to recognize

the efforts of those who are creating change and impact. Typically this is
driven by community members who do not have academic qualifications and
yet GULL is affirming their God-given potential. Prior to this, many people
had asked me if they would be eligible to receive a certificate in recognition
of their sustained effort and at last came GULL to affirm those who are
causing change in the community. I thank God for the great work that they
continue to do and for the greater sense of confidence and professionalism
that GULL is facilitating.
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APPENDIX 5.2
STAGE-RELATED CCMP OUTCOME INDICATORS
Stage 1: Envisioning and equipping the church – expected outcomes

Individual indicators Multiplication indicators Church and community
indicators
Can articulate core mission Participants are training Church leaders make a
confidently and in a way teams of co-facilitators commitment to engage in
that the church leadership from the church and integral mission.
and members can community.
understand and implement. Relationships between the
Co-facilitators can facilitate church and community
Able to build a team of co- effectively for the church improve – the two join
facilitators that is cohesive and community. hands to meet needs.
and ready to walk with the
rest of the church in the Co-facilitators are The church begins to show
journey of transformation. impacting the church as a concern and to take action
consistent resource to the on poverty issues in the
mobilization process. community.
The church and community

value co-facilitators as their
own resource persons.
Stages 2–6 inclusive: Community mobilization
Stage 2: Church and community description – expected outcomes

indicators
Ably and confidently uses Co-facilitators remain The church and community
the CCMP description tools committed and maintain the has started to document the
in a way that empowers the mobilization ‘fire’. general situation.
church and community to
begin to take action to Neighbouring churches and Church and community
transform the lives of communities start to begin to use local resources
members. enquire about the process. to address needs.
Facilitate in a way that Participation in church

builds peoples’ confidence activity such as bible study
and motivation to change. attendance begins to
increase.
Train co-facilitators to
confidently facilitate and Leadership begins to take
maintain the drive for full responsibility for the
change in the church and process.
the community.
156
Church and community

members can articulate their
situation in a way that
stimulates a desire to
change.
Stage 3: Information gathering – expected outcomes

indicators
Confidently articulate the Co-facilitators motivate the The church and community
purpose, objectives, process people as they gather volunteer and share
and tools used for information. information in support of
information gathering in a the changes needed to
way that motivates the Information gathering teams achieve transformation.
church and community to (IGTs) gather, compile and
gather its information. validate quality information Church and community
with the church and members ‘own’ the
Train the information community. information the IGTs gather
gathering teams to gather then validate it, document
quality information IGTs become a resource to it, keep custody of it, and
thoroughly and accurately. the community (as people are proud of it as ‘our
who can gather ‘our information’.
information’).
Stage 4: Information analysis – expected outcomes

indicators
Understand the concept of Maintain motivation and A deep understanding of the
deep analysis. develop change agent skills issues and ability to begin
in support of the process of devising
Can facilitate analysis so as transformation. appropriate strategies to
to trigger and sustain a address them.
drive by the church and Keep the community and
community to transform church motivated during the Fully understand and
their situation. (often) tedious process of appreciate their collective
information analysis. resources, capacities and
Enable the community and potential.
the church to emerge with Understand the positive
an accurate and detailed implications of analysis and
baseline that they can use to be able to transmit this to
make informed decisions. the church and the wider
community.
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Stage 5: Decision-making – expected outcomes

indicators
Fully understand the Co-facilitators motivate the ‘Dream dreams’ that propel
concepts contained in the churches and communities them forward and give
decision-making phase as to maintain their priorities direction to long- term
they relate to the design of and begin implementing transformation.
transformational interventions in line with
development. the action plans. Lay strategies that involve
everyone in establishing
Able to facilitate for the Facilitators begin to engage change priorities that truly
church and community in with other churches and represent the community’s
reaching decisions that prepare to hand over to co- realities; action plans that
guarantee needs are being facilitators. ensure attention is focused
addressed to bring about on the most pressing
true change. Co-facilitators exhibit good challenges and that real
understanding of the entire issues are being addressed;
Learn from lessons arising process and good systems that ensure the
from stage 5 as facilitators facilitation skills. interventions made are
reflect with each other and sustainable.
with the church and the
community. Begin to carry out
interventions that reduce
human suffering and lead to
enriched lifestyles.
Stage 6: Implementation – expected outcomes

indicators
Engage in frequent action- CCMP expands jointly with Able to reflect and use this
reflection that motivates the co-facilitators and with process to sustain CCMP,
church and community to minimum assistance from take corrective action (as
systematically move external lead facilitator. necessary) and
forward. Here, newly qualified progressively address local
facilitators mentor their issues.
Impact their organizations own co-facilitators.
in relation to integral Church evidently growing
mission by envisioning their Co-facilitators keep their in size and members
organizational leaders and respective churches and displaying true spiritual
training others. communities motivated and growth.
can ably facilitate an
Mentor co-facilitators and action–reflection–action Church continues to stir its
encourage them to continue process. immediate community and
their development as fully lead holistic change in
fledged facilitators. New areas are being response to its biblical
identified and mobilized. mandate to be ‘salt and
light’ to the community.
158
Continue to raise the

necessary resources to
address issues of poverty.
Gain confidence and

ambition to expand so as to
address poverty.
Source: Adapted from Njelango (2012, pp. 128–139)
APPENDIX 5.3
INDICATORS FOR MONITORING AND EVALUATING CHANGE
Indicators for monitoring the different levels of change as a result of community

mobilization (CM):
(A) Individual change; (B) Coordination group change; (C) Community change.
(A) Indicators of individual change

Key questions to be used in gathering information about individual change:
1. What have you learnt about yourself from the GULL personal learning
statement and diary work?
2. What difference has this made to your view of the community?
3. What new insights have you gained from working with your community?
4. What new skills have you learnt by being involved in your community?
5. What will you do differently as a result of this experience?
Suggested evaluation tools to use with the above questions: focus group
discussions; timeline by individuals about how they have changed; storytelling.
Indicators of individual change are:
Attitudes: Openness to try out something new such as a new cropping technique, a
new way of gaining income or working with different groups of people; openness
to sharing experience, ideas and skills with others so that the community can
benefit; openness to exploring issues of faith.
Knowledge: From working together, individuals have: learnt from their experience
and are able to apply knowledge to new initiatives; gained a new understanding
about how to work together effectively; and gained knowledge about how CM
works, what is involved and how to use the different tools.
Skills: Able to work in a group and make decisions and plan together; able to
contribute to gathering and analyzing information; able to take on a task and see it
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through; and able to learn new technical skills which can be shared with the
community.
(B) Indicators of coordination group change

Key questions to be used in gathering information about coordination group
change:
1. What has the coordination group learnt from working together?
2. What has been the greatest challenge the coordination group has faced?
3. How has the coordination group overcome this challenge?
4. What does the coordination group value most about working together?
discussions; timeline by individuals about how they have changed; and storytelling.
Indicators of coordination group change are:
capacity of the coordination group; ability to work together, gather
information, plan and make decisions; ability to share skills, insights and
experiences; ability to review and learn lessons from experience; ability to
envision, inspire and encourage the community; ability to solve problems,
ease tensions and deal with conflict in the community; ability to
communicate with community and community leaders; and ability to
communicate and network with statutory bodies and government agencies.
(C) Indicators of community change

Four groups of indicators cover community togetherness, livelihoods, health and
education. It is recognized that while establishing an initiative, not all these
indicators will be relevant until a project has started. However, the first set of
indicators on community togetherness could relate to all stages of the process.
Key questions to be used in gathering information about community change:
1. Have the livelihoods in the community changed? If so, in what ways?
2. Has the health of the community improved? If so, in what ways?
3. Has the education of young people improved? If so, in what ways?
4. How united is the community? Give examples of this.
5. Is the community better prepared for crises or disasters? Give examples.
discussions; timeline by individuals about how they have changed; storytelling;
mapping; and ranking. Indicators of community change are:
Community togetherness, involving ability to: work together on a future vision for a
better community; make collective decisions; identify community needs; look out
for the most vulnerable and marginalized; plan together; involve key community
160
leaders; network with other agencies and local authorities; delegate; share and
review information; and manage and resolve community conflicts.
Livelihoods: access to continuous and plentiful supply of food and to clean

drinking water; capacity to cope with food shortage; improvement in household
income, skills for generating income, shelter or housing, sanitation and water
supply and ability to prepare for and respond to disasters.
Health: improved access to primary health care; reduction in water borne diseases
and infant mortality; increased awareness of HIV and how to avoid it; improved
personal hygiene, personal health and nutrition.
Education: overall increase in attendance in schools; increased attendance of girls

in school; increased number of girls completing their school education; increased
access to vocational training for men and women; and improved ratio of teachers to
pupils.
Source: Unpublished correspondence between Francis Njoroge and Richard Teare.
APPENDIX 5.4
STAGE-RELATED CCMP–GULL RECOGNITION AND CERTIFICATION
Stage 1 Envisioning and equipping the church

Aims to motivate the church to fully understand its role and relationship in
partnership with its immediate community.
GULL’s Professional Bachelor Level 2 (Certificate) is awarded to CCMP
participants (trainee facilitators and their own trainee co-facilitators*) when the
expected outcomes and requirements (understanding, application, evidence of
impact) have been met:
Understanding and application Evidence of impact

The trainee facilitator is able to: clearly The church: has a clear vision for holistic
articulate the objectives and pillars of CCMP; ministry; and is applying the principles of
and train co-facilitators (stage 1). holistic ministry; engaging with its
immediate community and influencing
the community; undertaking projects to
meet its needs; and meeting needs using
local resources.
The trainee facilitator has facilitated at least Church members are demonstrating
one church: foundational bible studies and personal and spiritual development.
resource mobilization.
The trainee facilitator has enabled at least one
church to: Develop a vision for holistic
ministry in its immediate community, and
projects using local resources; build
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relationships with the immediate community,

trained co-facilitators, and church and
community resource persons (CCRePs).
Stage 5 Decision-making
Enables the church and community to participate in making decisions and
developing practical action plans.
GULL’s Professional Bachelor Level 3 (Diploma) is awarded to CCMP–GULL
participants (trainee facilitators and their own trainee co-facilitators*) when
participants have met the expected outcomes and requirements (understanding,
application, evidence of impact).
Understanding and application Evidence of impact

The trainee facilitator has: facilitated The church and community have: started
church and community description; trained projects that are meeting needs using local
information gathering teams (IGTs) and resources; use clear baseline information to
supervised the information gathering plan and reflect on progress; established
process; helped the church and community clear priorities to initiate systematic
in its analysis of information; facilitated the development; developed clear action plans
decision-making process; and trained in support of priority projects.
committees to oversee the implementation
of action plans and projects.
The trainee facilitator can write a Other evidence: sizeable numbers of people
comprehensive baseline report in are actively participating in the
conjunction with the church and development work and taking personal
community. responsibility for their own change and for
community development; participants are
routinely reflecting on progress and taking
corrective action as needed; and church and
community resource persons are motivating
their respective churches and communities.
The facilitator can provide evidence of
personal change and development
(character, competence and spiritual
development) based on GULL’s narrative
format (personal learning statement, diary
reflection; return on outcomes, project
review, outcomes review and learning
summary forms (as appropriate).
Stage 6 Implementation
Aims to ensure that the church and community evaluate ongoing progress towards
self-reliance and financial independence.
162
GULL’s Professional Bachelor degree (Church & Community Mobilization) is

awarded to CCMP–GULL participants when the outcomes and requirements
(evidence of wider impact) have been met.
Evidence of wider impact

The trainee facilitator: has trained a second batch of co-facilitators and church and
community resource persons; is leading the expansion of CCMP in the locality; can
provide evidence of ongoing personal change and development (character, competence and
spiritual development) based on GULL’s narrative format (personal learning statement,
diary reflection; return on outcomes, project review, outcomes review and learning
summary forms (as appropriate).
*Notes: CCMP co-facilitators receive two certificates and they can also continue to
Bachelor Level 5 (Bachelor of Professional Studies) if they opt to continue their
journey to facilitator status. Church & community resource persons (CCRePs) and
Information gathering team (IGT) members receive one certificate: Professional
Bachelor Level 2 Certificate (Church & Community Mobilization) after
successfully completing the outcomes criteria appropriate to their respective roles
during stages 2–5 inclusive. Thereafter, they can opt to continue their journey to
co-facilitator/facilitator status.
Source: Unpublished correspondence between Francis Njoroge and Richard Teare.
APPENDIX 5.5
CCMP EAST AFRICA: TRACKING AND REPORTING
Form Purpose
Finance report Provides information on the cost of inputs and process such as
training costs, stationery, accommodation, food and transport.
Trainee attendance Records CCMP training attendance and the sessions and times when
report trainee facilitators attended.
Reflection report Tracks the work done by CCMP practitioners (facilitators, church
and community resource persons – CCRePs), information gathering
teams (IGTs) and community development committees (CDCs)) to
provide information on inputs, progress and outcomes in the local
churches and communities.
Statistical report Provides information on the key facilitation activities undertaken by
CCMP practitioners, such as the amount of time spent and the
groups they have been facilitating. It is important to know what
inputs have been made so they can be costed accurately.
Transformation Transformation stories provide qualitative data about the impact of
stories CCMP. They also provide information on the value and benefit of
CCMP to local churches and communities. By summarizing the
stories it is possible to quantify aspects of the impact occurring.
CCMP–GULL Completed by trained facilitators, it consists of a structured
graduand report summary of personal learning, professional development and the
graduand’s contribution to community development throughout the
process.
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Consolidated Consolidated information relating to each stage of CCMP training.

trainee attendance This form is used to determine whether sufficient experience has
report been accumulated to acquire the skills and knowledge needed to
become an effective CCMP facilitator.
Consolidated This form is used to track and consolidate the range and frequency
facilitator activity of CCMP facilitator inputs.
report
Consolidated CCMP activity generates outputs that yield results and evidence of
capacity-building impact. This form provides information about the outputs so that it
report is possible to determine the impact of CCMP on the local churches
and communities.
Outcomes tracking Provides quarterly, consolidated information on CCMP outcomes
report relating to each reporting period.
Emerging projects Provides quarterly, consolidated CCMP area/regional information
area report on emerging projects and the related numbers of beneficiaries.
Emerging projects Provides quarterly, consolidated CCMP country information on
country report emerging projects and the related numbers of beneficiaries. It is
used for cost–benefit analysis and to determine the ongoing
value/benefit of CCMP.
Source: Adapted from Njelango (2012, pp. 113–117, 140–164)
APPENDIX 5.6
CCMP EAST AFRICA: OBJECTIVES, INDICATORS AND TRACKING
Objectives
Objectives Verifiable indicators Tracking forms
and tools
Overall objective: (1) Good relationships within families, the Emerging
Empowered people church, across denominations and the projects area
holistically transforming community; (2) Sustainability – people- report
their community using owned and -driven development; (3) Em- CCMP–GULL
mobilization tools and powered people – realizing their potential graduand report
local resources to and taking charging of their situation; Reflection
analyze their situation (4) People using locally available report
and bring about lasting resources to reduce poverty; (5) Local Transformation
change. church envisioning the community to stories
review and change; (6) Holistic change
Specific objective: To (spiritual, physical, social, economic).
alleviate physical and
spiritual poverty in
communities by
equipping people to take
full responsibility for
their own holistic
development.
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Stage 1 Envisioning and

equipping the church
Overall objective: (1) Number of churches that are actively Reflection
Awakened local churches engaged in envisioning their communities report
assisting their about the possibilities for change; (2) Emerging
communities to change Number of church members that are projects area
with every church actively engaged in CCMP. report
member playing a role in Transformation
personal, family, church stories
and community change. CCMP–GULL
graduand report
Specific objectives: (1)
The local church
realizing its potential; (2)
The local church taking
action to transform its
situation; (3) The local
church working with the
community to facilitate
change.
Stages 2–5 Church and
community
mobilization
Overall objective: (1) Number of communities actively Reflection
Mobilized local churches engaged in holistic change using mainly report
and communities local resources; (2) Number of local Emerging
changing their individual church and community members actively projects area
and collective situations engaged in CCMP. report
using mainly local Transformation
resources. stories
CCMP–GULL
Specific objectives: (1) graduand report
discovering their
collective potential; (2)
taking action together.
Source: Adapted from Njelango (2012)
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PART III: REFLECTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible;

and suddenly you are doing the impossible.
(St Francis of Assisi)
This final part consists of Chapters 6 and 7. Chapter 6, in support of each of the
chapters in Part II, draws on video material which is referenced and freely
accessible from the GULL website. This material supports the claims made
throughout the book and especially in Chapters 3–5. Each video consists of
comments and reflections on GULL and related indigenous people development
systems (PV and CCMP) by participants, indigenous system developers and
analysts. This chapter contains the transcripts of all eight videos with material
mainly drawn from East Africa (Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda) and
Papua New Guinea.
Chapter 7 is a critical analysis and reflection on the previous case studies,
calling for radical, positive change and a parallel educational system to ensure a
democratic, equal, just and sustainable global society and a way forward to a better
world – by investing in people, rather than projects. Solutions to most problems
can be found within us, rather than outside us. Traditional education has mostly
been exclusive. This concluding chapter argues for inclusivity, equal opportunities
for all and the power of people and processes that can be aided and strengthened by
institutional agencies and volunteers.
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REFLECTIONS AND INSIGHTS ON THE GULL

SYSTEM THROUGH VIDEO TECHNOLOGY
Impossible situations can become possible miracles.

(Robert H. Schuller, American clergyman, entrepreneur and author, born
1926)
OUTLINE
Chapter 6 provides practical insights in support of each of the chapters in Part II

of the book in the form of referenced videos produced by the GULL
Global Support Team that are freely accessible from the GULL website
(www.gullonline.org/book). Each video consists of comments and reflections on
the lifelong action learning (LAL) process by GULL participants, indigenous
system developers and analysts. The purpose of transcribing the videos in
Appendix 6.1 is to ensure that all readers understand the NESB1 participants’
vernacular on the audio tracks and that readers who have no access to the Internet
and video equipment have the opportunity to ‘hear the voices’ in the text.
From the evidence provided in the eight videos, we may conclude that the
GULL system as deployed in these developing countries (Papua New Guinea,
South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya) has contributed to new ways of
providing holistic human development and transformational social change in these
communities at grassroots level through lifelong action learning (LAL) at low cost.
This is a major paradigm shift, from formal education for those who can afford it –
with a set (national) curriculum, strict timetable and room allocation – to a system
of self-directed LAL for all – working in action learning sets or project teams
together with mentors and coaches on personally and collectively important issues
that they had never addressed before and seemed impossible to achieve. It is also
an innovation and alternative to the traditional ways of education and community
development provided in the past by western governments and international NGOs
in developing countries.
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INTRODUCTION
How can we prepare the majority of people on this earth for the challenges of the
twenty-first century when our schools and universities remain practically
unchanged (with some few exceptions of course)? This was the initial question that
led the founders of GULL (see Foreword) to design an alternative to the formal
education system, especially for those who were excluded from it. This alternative
means working with whole communities (children, youth, parents, teachers,
churches, etc.) and with NGOs, business and government, as advocated in this
book.
Chapter 1 has introduced a framework for twenty-first century learning and
development that maps out the paradigm, knowledge and skills needed for a better
world, including global awareness, local activism, and solving real-world problems
collaboratively and in action learning teams or ‘sets’. This chapter extends this
self-directed, creative, innovative, collaborative, flexible lifelong action learning
(LAL), with development of transformational action leadership by using qualitative
research methods and technology integration. Proficiency in twenty-first century
knowledge creation and skill development differs from in the previous century,
mainly due to the emergence of sophisticated information and communication
technologies (ICTs). ICT proficiency means integrating and applying cognitive,
creative and technical skills. “At the highest level, ICT proficiencies result in
innovation, individual transformation and social change” (Dede, 2010, p. 64). So
what are these proficiencies and how can they be developed?
Dede (2010, p. 65) refers to Jenkins’ digital literacies based on new media. They
include:
– Play. The capacity to experiment with one’s surroundings as a form of problem-
solving
– Performance. The ability to adopt alternative identities for improvization and
discovery
– Simulation. The ability to interpret and construct dynamic models of real-world
processes
– Multi-tasking. The ability to scan one’s environment and shift focus as needed
to salient details
– Distributed cognition. The ability to interact meaningfully with tools that
expand mental capacity
– Collective intelligence. The ability to pool knowledge and compare notes with
others toward a common goal
– Judgment. The ability to evaluate the reliability and credibility of different
information sources
– Transmedia navigation. The ability to follow the flow of the stories and
information across multiple modalities
– Networking. The ability to search for, synthesize, and disseminate information
– Negotiation. The ability to travel across diverse communities, discerning and
respecting multiple perspectives, and grasping and following alternative norms.
Richard Teare drew on these abilities when planning, recording and editing his
unstaged, real-life video interviews, ceremonies, performances and various other
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REFLECTIONS AND INSIGHTS
events. The GULL Support Manager then compiled the final versions of the videos
and uploaded them on to the GULL website and provided the links for our readers’
easy access. In this way, and inspired by Wagner (2012), we combine Gutenberg’s
best fifteenth century printing technology with the best of twenty-first century
digital technology of smartphones (and iPads, laptops or computers) for access to
video, audio, website and other online materials as supplementary resources that
are instantly accessible with a computer or smartphone.
In the following discussion, we first consider the nature and use of video
technology for learning and development as discussed in Zuber-Skerritt (1984), in
this instance for illustrative and evaluative purposes, and as part of the new
literacies. We then summarize video comments and reflections by GULL
participants, indigenous systems developers and analysts. Finally, the transcripts of
the eight videos in Appendix 6.1 are attached for readers without access to video
and online technologies, as well as an overview of the GULL website in Appendix
6.2 for better understanding of the GULL learning and professional development
system.
THE USE OF VIDEO TECHNOLOGY FOR LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Last century a book publication on Video in Higher Education (Zuber-Skerritt,

1984) was very topical. It is now out of print but still relevant today, so it is useful
to include here parts of the introduction that are directly helpful for our discussion
in this chapter (pp. 7–8).2
The aims of that book are:
1. To make a contribution to the understanding of video, a medium which

has frequently been misused, or ignored altogether, but which has great
potential for influencing the learning process;
2. To show that the various uses of video which are discussed are
appropriate and potentially effective in educational practice only if acted
upon and viewed from a theoretical framework;
3. To stimulate readers to make more and better use of video technology for
their own educational purposes.
The book (Zuber-Skerritt, 1984) examines the use of video in higher

education to improve learning, teaching, interaction, personal behaviour and
communication. It contains contributions from researchers, teachers,
educational technologists, staff developers, consultants, student counsellors
and psychologists from many parts of the world (Australia, Canada, England,
Germany, Israel, New Zealand, Scotland and USA). Some contributors are
theorists while others are practitioners; all are concerned with exploring the
potential of video technology.
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The term ‘video technology’ is used in this book not in the limited sense of
‘hardware and software’ but as part of ‘educational technology’ in the wider
sense. Earlier books on video technology have been concerned mainly with
the relative attributes of software, equipment and professional production
techniques. The application of video production and recording in terms of
educational theory has been neglected, particularly in tertiary education. The
contributions presented in this book are, in essence, theoretical statements
deduced from experiments or case studies, or they present applications of
theories to educational practice. Their focus is on the use of video – not of
celluloid film or broadcast television – in higher education.
Here we do not consider video in a vacuum, detached from the learning task
and the learner. We see it as a medium by which specific educational
objectives can be achieved under certain appropriate conditions. We do not
assume, for example, that video – even if used appropriately – guarantees a
positive learning outcome. In any instructional design system, we always take
into account the other important variables besides its medium. The three
components to be considered by the instructional designer are the content, the
cognitive organization of the individual learner, and the medium. Statements
about the use of video in higher education are therefore most meaningful
when they specify the learning task or the specific learning situation.
Specifying the learning task or specific learning situation based on a theoretical
rationale is still the most important criterion for a meaningful and effective use of
video – as distinct from television – in any educational setting in the twenty-first
century. Navigating social networks as learning tools is one of the most important
abilities to be developed in this century. As Richardson (2010, p. 286) points out:
“We now officially live in a world where even twelve-year-olds can create their
own global classroom around the things about which they are most passionate”.
The example he gives is a 12-year-old boy who produced a video with a focal
question he wanted answered and the necessary information. So he placed the
video on the Internet, and while none of the many suggested solutions he received
were right for him, they gave him ideas on how to solve his specific innovation
problem.
Today there are still those who work in some schools who continue to think and
act as their predecessors have for more than 100 years. However, the way people
learn in this globally networked world has fundamentally changed forever. For
example, anyone with Internet access can post a blog or video on YouTube and ask
a complex question that they are passionate about but cannot answer themselves.
They can analyze information they receive from anywhere in the world and decide
on the best result and most appropriate action. This is online action learning, i.e.,
learning from and with others, seeking and giving advice on issues that matter most
to them. It is creating knowledge and disseminating it with electronic support.
Learning is no longer restricted to a particular place or time for those who have
access to the web. As Richardson (2010, p. 289) puts it: “Learning is creative and
collaborative, cross-cultural and conspicuous”.
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Ito et al. (2008) in their MacArthur Foundation digital youth report, followed by
a White Paper (2009), found that young kids are prolific at using online and mobile
technologies, such as MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, iChat, Skype, etc.
when often their teachers and parents are not. The web is no longer a ‘read only’
technology. Video technology plays an increasingly important role in
complementing the written text by audio and video that can be replayed as often as
required.
The new literacies – mastered foremost by young people who create their own
virtual classroom – present new challenges faced not only by traditional schooling,
but also by politics, business, and music and media industries. Richardson (2010,
p. 290) identifies five main reasons why many teachers find the path to network
literacy a huge shift to undertake:
1. Most teachers still prefer paper-based learning rather than the digital
technologies that our students see as fundamental communication tools;
2. Many teachers complain of a lack of time to learn these technologies and to
create sound pedagogy around them;
3. Many schools in some parts of the world have little or no access to the web;
4. Current assessment regimes, such as the national curriculum, make it difficult to
integrate new technology into the curriculum;
5. Most schools with web access block social networking tools out of fear, justified
or not.
To overcome these barriers to learning new literacies, it is important that we
include not only children and youth, but also teachers, parents, and people in close
and wider communities, as well as business and government in our learning and
development goals for a better world in the twenty-first century.
The eight videos that relate to Chapters 3–5 in this book and that are
summarized in the next section of this chapter are easily accessible from the GULL
webpage at www.gullonline.org/book. We include these videos here to enable them
to function as both learning/development tools and for illustrative and evaluative
purposes. When viewing these videos, the readers’ learning task is to make the
connection between the content of the video and the related chapters in this book,
especially Chapters 3, 4 and 5. Most readers have not been in PNG or East Africa
so here they can see the cultural background of these developing countries through
the eyes of their people – their voices, dance, song, clothes, artefacts and colours,
their expressions of joy, confidence, pride in achievement and gratitude, especially
during and after graduation ceremonies. More detailed video analysis for
evaluation purposes will be both interesting and useful, perhaps a task for a
Master/Doctoral thesis or a journal article by another potential author (or authors).
One of the referees of our book proposal commented on ‘Topicality’ and
‘Audience’ of this book by saying: “If this book is primarily intended for those
working in international development agencies on World Bank projects etc then it
will be topical with a long shelf life. With big changes to international aid on the
horizon, this is probably quite timely if it appears in the next year or so.” We have
written this book for leaders, staff and volunteers working for international
development agencies, government agencies, NGOs and World Bank projects. It is
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also for progressive academics working on international development, social

development, social anthropology and community development or engagement,
and for their students, possibly undergraduate as well as postgraduate. As this
referee put it: “Practitioners and policy makers in these fields will also find the
book of interest and use. It may be, however, that in other parts of the world, and
especially in developing countries, the audience will include those who consider
themselves community development-focused”.
This observation is correct and highlights a major contribution, innovation and
strength of this volume. While the case study illustrations are long established and
demonstrably effective in sustainable community development (with many
thousands of participants) they have never been written-up before. For example,
The ‘Church and Community Mobilization’ system was originally designed and
piloted in Kenya and has now been adopted much more widely across Africa and
elsewhere. Similarly, the ‘Personal Viability’ system is used in a number of Pacific
Islands and is likely to be replicated (at least in part) by one of the world’s largest
NGOs. In different ways, these two systems are indicative of the networking and
sharing of ideas that indigenous system developers dream about. But generally
these practitioners do not have the time, skills or resources to document their work
for publication to bring their useful local knowledge generally to a much wider
readership and specifically to contribute to the now flourishing discourses on
community development and lifelong learning.
It should be noted that the designers of these systems are delighted by the
prospect of their work and ideas and the responses of participants and others (via
the accompanying videos) reaching a much wider international audience. This is
consistent not only with the authors’ view that local knowledge should be
appreciated for what it is and shared with others who will find it useful, but also
with GULL’s mission to help facilitate the development of a lifelong action
learning network for the many without access to more traditional forms of
development and education. The fact that in just six years (since 2007) the GULL
network has grown to encompass participants in some 40 countries reflects the
enthusiasm for the new paradigm that our book is advocating. We intend to
develop the concept further in a second book, drawing on different systems,
different countries and different parts of the world to illustrate the richness and
diversity of lifelong action learning within the network, and to bring this local
knowledge to the many who will find it a useful contribution to their own
knowledge. The next section provides a taste of this local knowledge and insights
expressed on video.
REFLECTIONS ON THE GULL SYSTEM THROUGH VIDEO TECHNOLOGY
The following is a brief summary of comments, reflections and insights by GULL

participants, indigenous systems developers and analysts. These were recorded and
edited by Richard Teare as field notes in the form of eight videos. Transcripts of
the videos are included in Appendix 6.1 with information on the place/context and
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time of recording, where to find additional materials on the GULL Website, and a
list of participants (names and affiliation).
Video 1: Recognizing the impact of community volunteers

From Chapter 3: Building a case for evidence-based learning
The main issues apparent in this video commissioned by World Vision

International (WVI) with GULL in Kenya are Maasai literacy (52 per cent of adults
are illiterate); education and performance in schools and communities; and time
management. But after a pilot program for WVI staff and community volunteers
using the GULL system, and on the occasion of the first graduation, all participants
in this video agree that the GULL lifelong action learning system enables people to
grow holistically on their learning journey and that GULL recognition, certification
and celebration provide them with confidence, self-worth and a belief that they can
achieve more than they ever imagined.
Key words/phrases mentioned were ‘empowering’, ‘starting to reflect, analyze
and then document’, ‘improving my life, becoming a better professional’, ‘building
my future skills and career for myself, but also for my organization’, and
encouraging participants to create their work-integrated learning journeys that they
review regularly with mentors and peers, etc.
Senior management of WV Kenya in this video were impressed with the results
of this pilot program for themselves, their staff and especially with the impact on
community volunteers, their high motivation, excitement and feeling of being
appreciated, as well as with the impressive literacy program results. These literacy
programs were facilitated by community volunteers with parents who could not
read and write, and thus could not support their children at school.
The National Education Coordinator Kenya (Salome Ong’ele) who participated
in the WV Kenya with GULL pilot program stated in the video that she intended to
encourage WV Kenya staff and National Offices in Africa to pilot GULL, because
she experienced the ‘unimaginable’ that spread like fire. Dr Micael Olsson,
Director, Education and Life Skills, World Vision International, summed up the
video by saying:
These volunteers are our key to delivering on our goal as an organization to
improve the learning outcomes of children who have been left out of learning
opportunities. GULL and action learning are the mode that we can [use to]
make this happen. So let’s embrace GULL and building the capacity of
volunteers as the central plank for helping children across the globe.
This is encouraging from the perspective of the help that GULL can provide to
WVI staff and volunteers – especially in relation to self-directed lifelong learning
and cascading their evidence-based learning by helping others learn and develop
their full human potential.
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Video 2: Personal Viability: Preparing people to be self-reliant and financially

independent
From Chapter 4: Personal Viability – The journey to self-reliance and financial
independence
In this video, the founder of the Personal Viability (PV) system, Samuel Tam,
responds to three questions:
1. Why do subsistence cultures need to develop?

Answer: Most Papua New Guineans are not used to the system of money. They
need to take a more active role in the national economy by changing their attitudes,
mindsets and status from subsistence to working class to business class. The PV
system equips people with knowledge and skills to budget their money and time
and to live a happy life.
2. Why is holistic human development so important in bringing about change?

Answer: Holistic human development in the context of PV includes all aspects of a
person: the physical, mental, spiritual, emotional and financial. We lay one
foundation after another and follow the growth process.
3. How does PV facilitate self-reliance and financial independence?

Answer: This is done by a number of segments of training. First, participants learn
who they are, what is really important to them, and the skills they need to learn.
Then they start a project and calculate costs. They ascertain the ‘quantity asset
break point’, that is, what they need to produce and achieve to meet the family’s
financial goals – the ‘Game of Money’. Third, in the ‘Game of the Rich’, under
coaching they learn to find out what their actual costs are every day and every
week for a year.
Video 3: Grassroots University of Life: Preparing people to be self-reliant and

financially independent
independence
In this video, Samuel Tam explains his PV system further within what he calls the
‘Grassroots University’ – a concept and system, not only for human development,
but also for family, community, economic and business development. The different
campuses reflect the different levels of PV–GULL certification: Levels 1–4 on
micro-enterprise (the biggest grassroots campus for all people, even those with no
formal education) and levels 5–7 on commercial enterprises (i.e., level 5 on small
enterprise, level 6 on medium enterprise, and level 7 on large enterprise)
specializing in retailing or wholesaling, agriculture, livestock, fisheries, etc. Two
captions in the video help viewers to clearly understand the concepts:
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1. An innovative and systematic approach to holistic human development

First, holistic human development is like manufacturing: You need to develop a
process or system that consistently produces outcomes or products of the same
quality and standards. Second, you need to change or develop people’s mindsets or
habits so that they regularly determine their profit and loss, keep accountancy
books and be coached when they make a loss, and if so why this has happened and
how it can be avoided in the future. The grassroots university is a university of
systems, successful like the franchising system (80 per cent success rate) compared
to a normal business (10 per cent success rate) and simple so that anyone can
follow.
2. Community and nation-building: Developing knowledge, mindset and thinking

The three types of campuses are: the micro-campus (the largest, for everyone at
levels 1–4), the entrepreneur, commercial business campus (at levels 5–6), and the
corporate campus (at level 7) for companies such as Air Niugini, Post and
Telegraph, and for NGOs, churches or government departments. The level 7 group
can also have their own corporate campuses with rewards of GULL professional
degrees for those who achieve their professional goals.
Samuel Tam argues that no third world country will be able to control its own
economy without entrepreneurial development and business class education at
levels 5–7, no matter how good its policies are. Therefore, he started to develop
campuses all over the country. His goal is to spread the PV system to every city,
village, township and community.
Video 4: Attaining self-reliance

independence
Video 4 starts with a statement by Sir Paulias Matane (see ‘Foreword’ to this
volume) confirming Samuel Tam’s argument at the end of Video 3 by saying: “We
need to develop our own indigenous entrepreneurs in order to benefit from our
country’s rich resources”. The remainder of this video consists of testimonies by
level 3 graduates and their mentors, all confirming Samuel Tam’s claims about the
PV system in videos 2 and 3. Therefore, this video can be considered to some
extent as evidence for Richard Teare’s arguments in Chapters 3 and 4 and for
Samuel Tam’s statements in videos 2 and 3.
Video 5: How does GULL help to professionalize the process of church and
From Chapter 5: Church and Community Mobilization – A process for
transformational development
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This brief video testifies the difference GULL can make in helping to
professionalize existing initiatives, in this case the ‘church and community
mobilization process’ (CCMP) in the five African countries represented in this
video. As one of the NGO leaders in South Sudan points out, they learned through
the GULL system how to document what they were doing – which had not been
part of their African oral culture, nature and experience – and how to begin a
tracking system so that they are now able to see the CCMP return on investment at
every stage/level of the learning journey: “We know exactly what evidence we are
looking for when we are recognizing people at any level”. This is what Richard
Teare calls ‘evidence-based learning’ in Chapter 3. And Jonas Njelango sees the
bigger impact of GULL on NGO-sponsored CCMP projects in the future:
We have been able to take stock of all the projects that have been going on –
building churches, agriculture, education, health – all kinds of things … and
this is just the beginning because now when we look at this consolidated
information – different results in different countries – definitely we see that
this is just laying the foundations for future work so that in the context of
return on investment, we can undertake the costing of all these capacity
building activities and of all these emerging projects – economic, social,
spiritual impacts, so at the end we can show stakeholders the value of CCMP
– when you put in money to develop the capacity of facilitators, what is the
return?
This video therefore supports the arguments in Chapters 3 and 4 of this book, and
points at great possibilities and future impact of the GULL lifelong action learning
system on innovative projects and programs, not only in African countries, but also
in other places in the world.
Video 6: How does GULL help to recognize the efforts of those who are leading
transformation?
This video consists of comments on GULL’s certification and reward system from
NGO leaders and workers, church and community leaders, and from CCMP
facilitators in South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya, all of whom
appreciate the system of formally recognizing transformational learning and
development in CCMP programs. For example, one NGO worker (1) in Sudan
points out: “So this recognition is very, very powerful and will be a great impetus
in our quest for CCMP quality and sustainable scale-up”; and (2) in Tanzania: “I
really support it and I think for Tanzania, it is something that is needed – not only
for 20 or 30 people but for thousands of mobilizers whom I know”. And one of the
Partnership Facilitators in Kenya says: “As one of the graduands today, I am proud
to say that I have been able to see the change and I’m so happy again because
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through GULL my effort is being recognized”. Finally, a comment from the CCMP
Coordinator in Uganda:
As we graduated yesterday, I have received a lot of responses from people
who came for the graduation – most of them felt that this was something very
unique and it was something that has encouraged them. It was a way of
recognizing what they have done. Most of the people we have trained in
church and community mobilization are transformed and have also been able
to transform their communities but this is the first time that most of them
have received certificates. Some of them have never had the opportunity to
participate in formal education – they are so happy that they have been
recognized and awarded certificates … recognizing their efforts as they help
people come out of both physical and spiritual poverty.
These comments underscore the importance of recognizing evidence-based
learning and development (Chapter 3), because (1) good work is being
documented, monitored and continually updated or improved, and
(2) recognition/certification increases motivation, passion and further action.
Video 7: How does the church and community mobilization process (CCMP) with
GULL help the church, the community and others to address poverty?
As with the previous video, this video shows comments from church and
community leaders in South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya, CCMP
National Coordinators, and an Area Development Program Manager in Kenya.
Here they differentiate between NGO approaches to development in the past
(providing food, aid and programs by outsiders, with no change at the end of the
project), and the CCMP process with GULL certification that leads to
empowerment, participation and motivation of the people themselves, learning to
learn and to solve their own problems leading to more transformational and
sustainable development (see also Chapter 1 of this book). As the Dean of a
cathedral in South Sudan says about the process:
… yesterday everybody was seeing people receiving certificates, others
receiving a degree – everybody was excited – it is like our eyes are opened –
‘What is happening here?’ – It means that this is a serious process. So I think
GULL is really now strengthening the process.
As the CCMP Coordinator in Uganda says: “… people realizing that within them,
they have the resources that they can use to make their life better”, and an NGO
Area Development Program Manager in Kenya: “… let us go back with this
message that GULL is out to transform lives, GULL is out to make things happen
on the ground”.
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Video 8: How is the church and community mobilization process (CCMP) with
GULL helping to sustain and widen the impact of self-directed development?
As with the previous two videos, this video was recorded in Kenya, South Sudan,
Uganda and Tanzania before and after a GULL graduation ceremony. It contains
comments from NGOs, CCMP National Coordinators, church leaders, the media,
and two government representatives (in South Sudan), all of whom attended and
commented on the ceremony and GULL. The first Commissioner in the newly
independent South Sudan encouraged graduands by saying: “The papers you are
going to receive are not papers that are going to allow you to sit in your offices.
You are going to move from one home to another – from one field to another” and
the Speaker of the Council: “As a country in post war, we have a need for a change
of mindset, without which we cannot do away with conflict; and in the absence of
peace, nothing can be done”. And “If we can only replicate this and give it a higher
multiplying factor, we will achieve our goals in local government. In our first
session for this year, I want to take the concept of CCMP and discuss how it can be
replicated – country-wide”. So there is hope that Government and community
leaders and extension workers in South Sudan will work together in spreading the
CCMP–GULL concept and system, and that collaboration like this may happen in
other African countries. In a similar vision, the General Superintendent of one of
Uganda’s largest church denominations says:
My focus is to ensure that in the next decade or so, we will be able to cover
almost 50 per cent of PAG (Pentecostal Assemblies of God) churches. Our
target is the 5,000 churches – we want to see all the 5,000 churches practising
PEP (Participatory Evaluation Process – this is the Ugandan term for CCMP)
and this will bring transformation to the nation of Uganda. This is now a
possibility with that graduation we saw yesterday. Thanks to Dr Richard for
coming and blessing us. As GULL comes alongside us, I think this is going
to be a tremendous achievement and it will be a very big success in the
future.
The CCMP National Coordinator in Tanzania observed: “As the media and many
bishops were present, people were talking about the graduation ceremonies and
wanted to learn more about CCMP and GULL”. He concluded, “… the people in
the streets are talking about church and community mobilization, empowerment of
people, and they see that this is an event that can help their communities. The
media coverage has added value to this event”. As a field worker from Kenya sums
up the impact of GULL on self-directed development:
It’s been a long journey – and through this journey we’ve been able to
transform communities – we’ve been able to impact and assist our
communities to bring their best through action learning. We’ve been able to
initiate programs in the community and through GULL, these programs are
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today being recognized. So the essence of action learning – or GULL – is …

an opportunity to realize the efforts of church leaders and the entire
community … through action learning. Because we bring people together and
discuss their issues, we can even bring about issues of peace. Action learning
is all around us – it is a holistic learning approach.
This is action leadership – bringing people together, discussing their issues with
them, and helping them to solve their own problems collaboratively in action
learning teams, monitoring their progress and if successful, recognizing, rewarding
and publicly certifying them. Table 6.1 summarizes the issues arising in videos 1–8
and Chapters 3–5.
Table 6.1. Summary of issues arising in videos 1–8 and Chapters 3–5
Video Video title Chapter Issues for discussion

Video 1 Recognizing the Ch. 3 GULL’s
Kenya, impact of Building a case • Global impact
East volunteers for evidence- • Collaboration with WVI
Africa, based learning • Recognizing learning
during journeys and degree
2011 pathways
• Professional
development
Video 2 PV: Preparing Ch. 4 • Need to develop from

Mt Hagen, people to be self- PV: The journey subsistence culture to
Western reliant and to self-reliance working class and to
Highlands, financially and financial business class
PNG independent independence • Holistic human
Nov. 2011 development (physical,
mental, spiritual,
emotional, financial)
Video 3 Grassroots Ch. 4 PV:

Mt Hagen, University of Life: PV: The journey • Facilitation of self-
Western Preparing people to self-reliance reliance and financial
Highlands, to be self-reliant and financial independence
PNG, and financially independence • An innovative,
Nov. 2011 independent systematic approach to
holistic human
development
• ‘Nothing is viable until
you prove it’s viable’
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Video 4 Attaining self- Ch. 4 • Knowing oneself, one’s

Lihir reliance PV: The journey talents and skills
Island, to self-reliance • Knowing how to use
PNG, Sept. and financial them and how to
2012 independence improve life for oneself
and others
• Whole community and
national impact
Video 5 How does GULL Ch.5 GULL’s approach to:

South help to Church and • Recognition
Sudan, professionalize the community • Professionalization
Sudan, process of church mobilization: A • Documentation
Uganda, and community process for • Return on investment
Tanzania mobilization transformational
and Kenya development
Jan. 2012
Video 6 How does GULL Ch.5 GULL’s recognition is:

South help to recognize Church and • Important, powerful and
Sudan, the efforts of those community motivating
Sudan, who are leading mobilization: A • For individuals,
Uganda, transformation? process for communities and the
Tanzania transformational whole country
and Kenya development • For transformational,
Jan. 2012 sustainable development
and quality
Video 7 How does the Ch.5 GULL’s recognition is:
South church and Church and • Strengthening the CCMP
Sudan, community community • Changing attitudes
Sudan, mobilization mobilization: A • Change from inside
Uganda, process (CCMP) process for rather than outside
Tanzania with GULL help transformational
and Kenya the church, the development
Jan. 2012 community and
others to address
poverty?
Video 8 How is the CCMP Ch.5 GULL’s AL system is:
South with GULL Church and • A holistic learning
Sudan, helping to sustain community approach
Sudan, and widen the mobilization: A • A change of mindset
Uganda, impact of self- process for • Cascading into the whole
Tanzania directed transformational community
and Kenya development? development • Recognized by
Jan. 2012 governments
• Appealing to the media
• Bringing people together
to discuss issues
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CONCLUSION
This chapter began with the question: How can we prepare the majority of people
on this earth for the challenges of the twenty-first century when our schools and
universities remain practically unchanged (with some few exceptions of course)?
The aim was to arrive at an alternative to the formal education system, especially
for those excluded from it. We suggest this alternative means working with whole
communities (children, youth, parents, teachers, churches, etc.) and with NGOs,
business and government. This chapter has outlined the knowledge and skills
needed for this alternative system of self-directed learning, resulting in creative
innovation, individual and social transformation and change. It has provided some
explanation for and evidence of GULL’s success in providing an alternative to the
traditional, formal education system, i.e., a learning and development system that
leads to individual and social transformation and change at low cost, especially for
those excluded from formal education.
In support of the fact that the GULL system has worked in the poorest and most
disadvantaged communities, the videos – transcribed in Appendix 6.1 and
summarized above in this chapter – are testimonies and evidence that the GULL
system is effective in working with local communities, NGOs and governments to
create a better world. As mentioned earlier, video is a medium by which specific
educational objectives can be achieved under certain appropriate conditions. In this
chapter we have first argued that video technology is an appropriate qualitative
method for collecting and presenting evidence from participants and stakeholders
involved in GULL programs, as well as a medium for distributing and discussing
videos for individual and group reflection, discussion, evaluation and future action.
We have then summarized this evidence – provided by participants and
stakeholders in video recordings before and after graduation ceremonies – and
considered video to be one of the most important media for navigating social
networks, including the GULL videos 1–8 in this chapter. We have also argued that
specifying the learning task or specific learning situation – based on a theoretical
framework – is most important. In this chapter the specific learning task is to watch
the videos – ideally in a small action learning group – and try to understand and
reflect on the participants’ specific learning situations that are quite different from
the formal educational settings designed for developed countries. GULL
participants in these videos share their stories with us and express their gratitude
and happiness for the opportunity to learn – for most of them, for the first time –
step by step from where/who they are, to what they considered impossible to
achieve, and then to be publicly certified at a graduation for their practical and
professional achievements.
The limitation of evaluative video recording is clear: not all participants and
stakeholders could be interviewed and recorded. This is the nature of qualitative
research methods. However, a random selection of participants has shown not a
single disappointment or even suggestion for improvement. More research is
needed to identify areas in which the GULL system may be enhanced. Another
limitation of video is the fact that how it is edited can influence its effect.
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From the evidence provided in videos 1–8 so far, we may conclude that the
GULL system as deployed in these developing countries (Papua New Guinea,
South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya) has contributed to new ways of
providing holistic human development and transformational, sustainable
community development as an alternative to the traditional ways of education and
community development provided in the past by western governments and
international NGOs.
As the participants in the CCMP–GULL programs testified in the videos, the
GULL system in partnership with other agencies such as NGOs, governments,
business and large corporations, has potentially been effective in providing
individual, community and national transformation and change at grassroots
community level through lifelong action learning (LAL). This has been the case in
some 40 countries so far and is possible only because of GULL’s low cost,
networking approach, encouraging the poorest and most disadvantaged to learn to
become self-reliant and financially independent through LAL and systems like
Personal Viability (PV) and the Grassroots University in Papua New Guinea and
the CCMP in East African countries.
As one of the reviewers of our manuscript said:
I liked the quote from Josephine Sempele, ‘If you want to go ahead, you must
come out of your box, light your candle and pass the light to others and I’ve
seen it – it’s working’, which demonstrates the principle of the cascade
effect, and the quote from Joseph Mgomi that demonstrates that LAL is not
dependent on outside resources and can be found within one’s environment,
‘But through CCMP, people are becoming courageous. They use the things
that are surrounding them as God did not leave any place without something
to start with.’ I especially liked the term used by Francis Loku when he talked
about recognition of CCMP learners as ‘a graduation of the awakeners’.
Here we see a major paradigm shift from formal education for those who can
afford it to self-directed LAL in action learning sets or project teams with mentors
and coaches working together on personally and collectively important issues that
had never been addressed before. The transcripts in Appendix 6.1 clearly
demonstrate the speakers’ personal satisfaction, engagement, excitement,
motivation and vision for future action, joy, happiness and gratitude for the
opportunity to learn through the GULL/LAL experience. They followed St Francis
of Assisi’s advice: Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and
suddenly you are doing the impossible and Robert Schuller’s statement: Impossible
situations can become possible miracles, and Maxwell’s notion that if you have
drive, determination and desire, you have the three D’s of potential leadership
(Maxwell, 1995 p. 17). The next chapter is a further reflection on all the chapters in
this book.
1. Which video comment(s) do you find most interesting? Why?
184
2. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of using video in
research and development (R&D) fieldwork?
3. How do you define proficiency in twenty-first century knowledge creation and
skill development to achieve holistic human development and transformational
social change?
4. Who in your particular context would be able to benefit from the LAL approach
to improving individual learning and social conditions?
5. Can you see any applications of the GULL–LAL system in disadvantaged
communities in developed countries? And if so, how could the certification of
evidence-based learning be recognized and endorsed by the relevant government
– as an alternative to the formal education system?
6. What innovative system could you create for the poorest and disadvantaged
people in your state or country – a system similar to the indigenous PV and
CCMP systems?
FURTHER READINGS
Appendices 6.1 and 6.2 and browsing the GULL Website.
Kearney, J., & Zuber-Skerritt, O. (2011). Actioning change and lifelong learning in
community development. Monograph Series No 1. Action Learning and Action
Research Association, Melbourne. Available at http://www.alara.net.au/files/
ALARA%20Monograph%20No%201%20JKearney%20&%20OZuberSkerritt%
20201106s.pdf (accessed 2 August 2011).
Kearney, J., & Zuber-Skerritt, O. (2012). From learning organization to learning
community: Sustainability through lifelong learning. The Learning
Organization, 19(5), 400–413.
Stringer, E., & Beadle, R. (2012). Tjuluru: Action research for indigenous
community development. In O. Zuber-Skerritt (Ed.), Action research for
sustainable development in a turbulent world (pp. 151–166). Bingley, UK:
Emerald Group Publishing Ltd.
NOTES
1
NESB – People from Non-English Speaking Backgrounds.
2
© Ortrun Zuber-Skerritt.
REFERENCES
Dede, C. (2010). Comparing frameworks for 21st century skills. In J. Bellanca & R. Brandt (Eds.), 21st
century skills: Rethinking how students learn (pp. 50–75). Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
Ito, M., Horst, H., Bittanti, M., Boyd, D., Herr-Stephenson, B., & Lange, P. G. e. a. (2008, November).
Living and learning with new media: Summary of findings from the digital youth project.
http://digitalyouth.ischool.berkeley.edu/files/report/digitalyouth-WhitePaper.pdf.
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Jenkins, H. (with Purushotma, R., Weigel, R., Clinton, K., & Robinson, A. J.). (2009). Confronting the
challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century. Cambridge, MA: MIT
Press.
Kearney, J., & Zuber-Skerritt, O. (2011). Actioning change and lifelong learning in community
development. Monograph Series No 1. Action Learning and Action Research Association,
Melbourne. Available free online at http://www.alara.net.au/files/ALARA%20Monograph% 20No%
201%20JKearney%20&%20OZuberSkerritt%20201106s.pdf (accessed 4 August 2013).
Kearney, J., & Zuber-Skerritt, O. (2012). From learning organization to learning community:
Sustainability through lifelong learning. The Learning Organization, 19(5), 400–413.
Maxwell, J. C. (1995). Developing the leaders around you: How to help others reach their full
potential. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
Richardson, W. (2010). Navigating social networks as learning tools. In J. Bellanca & R. Brandt (Eds.),
21st century skills: Rethinking how students learn (pp. 284–303). Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree
Press.
Stringer, E., & Beadle, R. (2012). Tjuluru: Action research for indigenous community development. In
O. Zuber-Skerritt (Ed.), Action research for sustainable development in a turbulent world (pp. 151–
166). Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Ltd.
Wagner, T. (2012). Creative innovators: The making of young people who will change the world. New
York: Scribner.
Zuber-Skerritt, O. (Ed.). (1984). Video in higher education. London: Kogan Page.
APPENDIX 6.1
TRANSCRIPTS OF VIDEOS
Video 1: Recognizing the impact of community volunteers

From Chapter 3: Building a case for evidence-based learning
The World Vision with GULL video was recorded in Kenya, East Africa during
2011. The video also contains additional material supplied by GULL. A full list of
the participants (names, roles) in order of appearance can be found at the end of
this video transcript.
‘I want to tell you, this thing is going to cover the whole world – that’s why we call
it the Global University for Lifelong Learning.’
Paulias Matane
‘The idea of the Global University is to enable people to grow – holistically – it’s
your intellect, it’s your skills, it’s your ability – it’s a true learning journey.’
Richard Teare
‘Dr Richard Teare is the President of GULL – the Global University for Lifelong
Learning.’
Amy Montalvo
‘What we can do together is build on the amazing achievements of Personal

Viability – enable people to sustain their learning and provide certification – a
moment of recognition, celebration and attainment that boosts confidence and the
186
sense of self-worth and builds the belief that anybody – particularly those who
have not had opportunity, can achieve more than they ever imagined for
themselves.’
Richard Teare
‘Recently, World Vision invited Dr Teare and GULL to help pilot a structured
action learning initiative with our staff and community volunteers in Kenya. Let’s
hear reactions from the National Director, the National Education Coordinator, an
ADP (Area Development Program) Manager and a Community Volunteer – all
GULL students.’
Amy Montalvo
‘I found it very empowering. It gave me an opportunity to start to reflect, analyze

and then document.’
Girma Begashaw
‘The GULL program helps me to improve in my daily life as I serve and I become
a better professional.’
Salome Ong’ele
‘This is an opportunity – also for me – to see how I’m going to build my future
skills, my future career and also, not only myself – but for the organization.’
Evans Osumba
‘From my personal experience, I recommend it to my staff and I see that GULL

has huge potential in terms of recognizing community level volunteers who make
things happen and work with us. GULL offers one of the best ways to provide
them with recognition for self-development.’
Girma Begashaw
‘If you want to go ahead, you must come out of your box, light your candle and
pass the light to others and I’ve seen it – it’s working.’
Josephine Sempele
‘These are important points that I think everybody needs to record.’

Evans Osumba
‘GULL encourages its students to embark on learning journeys that they create for
themselves and integrate with their work. Journeys they review regularly with
mentors and peers. Progress is closely monitored and recognized within pathways
that lead to professional Bachelor, Master and Doctoral degrees. Achievement of
each of the five levels within each degree pathway is recognized with a certificate
and celebratory graduation.’
Amy Montalvo
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‘World Vision Kenya decided to pilot test GULL in Olenton ADP in the Narok
region of South Western Kenya. They hope to use it to support ongoing efforts to
improve adult literacy.’
Amy Montalvo
‘The majority of people that stay here are Maasai. The Maasai we work with have
a number of challenges – 52 per cent of the adult population are illiterate. We have
to come up with ways in which we can tackle issues of literacy and also how we
can promote the issues of education and good performance in schools.’
Evans Osumba
‘My project in GULL is to see the implementation of an improved adult literacy

program and working with them closely, to have them trained so as to improve
education in their communities and in so doing, support more children.’
Salome Ong’ele
‘Evans, the Olenton ADP Manager, has also integrated some ideas about time
management from his GULL learning journey into his daily work.’
Amy Montalvo
‘Please friends, we have to get to the meeting in time … we have to change our
trends on time management.’
Evans Osumba
‘These are ladies who are really working hard – they know what they are doing –
they have a vision and mission in their group and because I’m involved in the
effort to eradicate FGM (female genital mutilation) and I’m a GULL student, I
normally go and assist them.’
Josephine Sempele
‘We take role models of women who can talk to the young girls as well as the
wider community. I’m somebody – I can do it – I’m not somebody who is pulling
down, I’m somebody who is going ahead – I’ve not undergone FGM and I can
make it.’
Josephine Sempele
‘Results in literacy are also impressive.’

Amy Montalvo
‘Most parents don’t know how to read and write. This means that they don’t see
the need to support their children in going to school. Through the Olenton
education program, the volunteers have been able to double their effort and
mobilize the community members to see the need to undertake a literacy program.
For the first time in that community, the adults are coming together and
contributing their own money to form adult literacy classes. As they are facilitated
188
by the volunteers, they pay their own money from their own pocket so that they are
taught how to read and write.’
Salome Ong’ele
‘Salome has been stunned to observe the impact of GULL on community

volunteers.’
Amy Montalvo
‘Since they registered with GULL, the motivation level that they have as
volunteers is very high. They are excited as they work because they feel
appreciated by World Vision for giving them an opportunity to go through an
education. GULL is really adaptable – you can adapt it to any situation. That is
why I will encourage World Vision staff and National Offices to pilot GULL – we
see what it can do – we see what we did not imagine. It moves like fire – once
volunteers get into it, the further we can go – it’s unimaginable.’
Salome Ong’ele
‘So if you like what you’ve seen and heard, how can you help your World Vision
office to get started with GULL?’
Amy Montalvo
‘You’re ‘go to’ point for beginning GULL in a National Office that’s now
mainstreaming the reading target is Elinor Alexander in the Global Center. She’s
leading the GULL orientation for National Offices for World Vision.’
Micael Olsson
‘These volunteers are our key to delivering on our goal as an organization to

improve the learning outcomes of children who have been left out of learning
opportunities. GULL and action learning are the mode that we can make this
happen. So let’s embrace GULL and building the capacity of volunteers as the
central plank for helping children across the globe.’
Micael Olsson
List of participants (in order of appearance):

Sir Paulias Matane – 8th Governor-General, Papua New Guinea, Founding
Chancellor, GULL
Dr Richard Teare – President, GULL
Amy Montalvo – Video Narrator
Dr Girma Begashaw – National Director, World Vision Kenya
Salome Ong’ele – National Education Coordinator, World Vision Kenya
Evans Osumba – Olenton ADP Manager, World Vision Kenya
Josephine Sempele – Community Volunteer
Dr Micael Olsson – Director, Education & Life Skills, World Vision International
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Viewing the video at gullonline.org

Further details about the collaboration between World Vision International and the
Global University for Lifelong Learning can be found at the GULL website in the
‘Case Studies’ section. See: ‘World Vision International’ and the video:
‘Recognizing the impact of community volunteers’ in Chapter 6 of the online Case
Study.
Video 2: Personal Viability: Preparing people to be self-reliant and financially

independent
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed
him for a lifetime.

independence
This Personal Viability (PV) with GULL video was recorded in Mount Hagen,
Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea in November, 2011. A list of the
participants (names, roles) in order of appearance can be found at the end of this
video transcript.
Caption: Why do subsistence cultures need to develop?
‘When the colonizers came here, they brought in systems of course – their own
culture and especially the capitalist system. The subsistence people here (in PNG)
have their own cultural systems which is very different to the system of money –
they are not used to this.’
Samuel Tam
‘So we have this gap between subsistence – the subsistence class and the working
class and the business class – there’s a big gap between all three and this is what
they have to overcome if Papua New Guineans are to control or to take a more
active role in the economy.’
Samuel Tam
‘What I am trying to do through the Personal Viability training is to bring people

up from subsistence to the working class and to the business class because unless
they change their attitude and the way they look at things, their livelihood is not
going to change.’
Samuel Tam
‘Business class thinking is about learning how to improve – how can we do this
faster? How can we improve the quality? So, this is where real action learning in a
real-life situation comes in to improve the quality of the processing, to improve the
quality of the product and improve the timing because when we improve all these
190
things, you cut costs, you have a better product and you make more money. So it is
a very different way of training.’
Samuel Tam
‘The only way to change peoples’ mindsets and attitudes is to develop a real-life
situation so that they go into it, they practise, they see for themselves – first hand –
why you have to treat customers in certain ways – otherwise they won’t come
back.’
Samuel Tam
‘As the training came in and the participants who have undergone this training – it
has really equipped them with the knowledge and it has really strengthened their
mindsets and they could really use the resources – the finance and whatever they
have to become independent on their own – they can budget their time and budget
their money and live a happy life – they can see all sorts of big changes that are
coming in after they have undergone this process.’
Samuel Tam
Caption: Why is holistic human development so important in bringing about

change?
‘So why is holistic human development so important to bring about change? The
reason is this; holistic in the context of Personal Viability is about the physical, the
mental, the spiritual, the emotional and the financial. So, to develop the whole
person, we need to develop all these five aspects of a person.’
Samuel Tam
‘Once you’ve laid the foundations – I think you lay one foundation and then you
go to the next foundation – lay it properly – with PV principles and then you climb
the ladder – it’s a growth process – that’s what I’ve been teaching my people and
I’ve been living myself too and if it’s a growth process, once you set the
foundation properly in each growth area, how will you fall? You will not fall, you
will go.’
Cathy Rumints
Caption: How does Personal Viability facilitate self-reliance and financial

independence?
‘Personal Viability is actually a number of segments of training.’

Samuel Tam
‘We explain to people who they are, to help them find themselves, make sure they
own themselves and then try to be themselves – they have to work it out – what is
really for them in this life? So we take them through that and then we show them
the skills – what they need to do – we train them how to prepare and we show them
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how to calculate their family needs – most people don’t even know the amount of
money that they need in order to look after the family.’
Samuel Tam
‘And from then on, we show them what sort of projects they can do and we show
them how to calculate those projects so that they ascertain the quantity asset break
point and the things that they need to produce and to achieve in order to obtain the
money, the financial goals to look after the family. That is in Personal Viability,
but that is not enough. The next part of Personal Viability – the next segment is
called the ‘Game of Money’ where we teach people how to use money. In general,
people do have money – the problem is that they don’t know how to use it – they
don’t know how to multiply their money and they don’t know how to use time,
they don’t know how to organize the family members – so in the ‘Game of Money’
we actually teach them these four things – the three that I’ve mentioned, how to
use money, how to work in teams and to organize the family and then we actually
show them how to calculate the projects in the ‘Game of Money’ – they have to do
the costings so that they work out how many loaves of bread they have to sell in
order to make ‘x’ amount of money.’
Samuel Tam
‘And then there is a third segment which we call the ‘Game of the Rich’ – the GoR
puts it all together – what they have learnt – we go back to the family needs and
cost them out at actual prices – they go to the shops to find out what are their actual
costs instead of just guessing and then we make them do – under coaching – we
prepare them to map out every day and every week – they have goals every week –
weekly goals to achieve for a one year period.’
Samuel Tam
‘So week 1 they know what they have to achieve, week 2, week 3 and every week
they come back to calculate their profit and loss and the coach will count their
money and check their stock to make sure that this is true – to verify the amounts
and then the coach will stamp their books and signs it so that you really have
documentation of what they have done. We go out to the families – to the villages
to take photos of what they are doing whether it’s an oven or whether they have a
garden with vegetables and fruits and things like that, so actually document
everything and if they achieve their goals at the end of the year, they get what we
call a Diploma – a PV–GULL level 3 Diploma.’
Samuel Tam
‘We’re not waiting for the Government, we’re not waiting for our leader men of
this community, the Councillors and the leader men of this community, we’re a
small little grassroots community club, PV – we can now stand on our own legs
and we are set free – I would like to say thank you once again to EDTC to Papa
192
Sam and also to Dr Richard coming all the way from England to our community,
thank you very much.’
Anna Minewbi

Dr Samuel Tam MBE, CSI, OL, Founder of the ‘Personal Viability’ system
Cathy Rumints, ‘Personal Viability’ Coordinator, Western Highlands, Papua New
Guinea
Anna Minewbi, President, Kumaipana ‘Personal Viability’ Community Club,
Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea

Further details about the collaboration between Personal Viability (PV) and the
‘Case Studies’ section. See: ‘Pacific Islands’ and the video: ‘Voices – 4 Personal
Viability’ in Chapter 1 of the online Case Study.
Video 3: Grassroots University of Life: Preparing people to be self-reliant and

financially independent
If we give you fish, we feed you for one day. If we teach you how to fish, we feed
you for life.

independence
This Personal Viability (PV) with GULL video was recorded in Mount Hagen,
Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea in November, 2011. Details about the
participant (name, role) can be found at the end of this video transcript.
‘The Grassroots University campus is actually a concept for human development,

family development, community development, economic development and
business development. It’s a holistic way of looking at things because I need to link
up everything – I cannot just finish on human development because the learner has
a family and the family is in the community – if you don’t link up the whole
community, jealousy will come and the families will have all sorts of problems –
for those who are poor and if you have only one or two families in the community
doing well, they’re going to have problems.’
Samuel Tam
‘The different campuses are simply the different levels of the PV–GULL
certification. For instance, level 1 to level 4 is mainly about micro-enterprise – that
will be the biggest grassroots campus where people with no education at all can
come in and learn how to do this – learn how to use time, learn how to use money,
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learn how to organize teams, learn how to organize this and that.’
Samuel Tam
‘So in these institutional campuses, they will focus on level 1 Personal Viability,
level 2 Game of Money, level 3 Game of the Rich and level 4 where they start to
use their money – we go into marketing – we develop markets for them to retail
and wholesale their goods and services.’
Samuel Tam
‘Then from micro-enterprise – from level 4 to level 5 – level 5, 6 and 7 is

commercial.’
Samuel Tam
‘Level 5 is small enterprise, level 6 is medium enterprise and level 7 is large

enterprise, so these commercial campuses are very different, because they
specialize. One will specialize in retailing, one could be wholesaling, one in
agriculture, livestock, and fisheries – so depending on the resources that they have
in each community.’
Samuel Tam
Caption: An innovative and systematic approach to holistic human

development
‘I need to explain why I need to develop systems so that we have a consistent

outcome. It’s like manufacturing; you need a process or system that produces a
product consistently of the same quality, the same standards or whatever. So, the
Grassroots University is actually like a factory for human development.’
Samuel Tam
‘The other reason for systems is this – the reality is that we need to change
peoples’ mindset – we need to change their habits – and you need systems to
change those habits – we need them, for argument’s sake, to come in every week to
determine their profit and loss until it becomes a habit because this is why a lot of
business people fail – they don’t know whether they are making money or not –
because most people don’t like paperwork, they don’t like calculating this and
writing-up the books, so through a system, we are actually making sure that they
do this – they do a stock take, they count all the money and they do a proper profit
and loss statement to ascertain whether they are making money, or whether they
are losing money – and then through coaching, the coach will coach them and if
they are losing money, ask “Where is the problem? How do we find this?”’
Samuel Tam
‘When you don’t have consistency, you can never develop brands for the
grassroots people to sell and export or even sell in the internal domestic economy.’
Samuel Tam
194
‘The whole university is a university of systems because that is proven and that is
why franchising works so well in the world. That’s why they enjoy 80 per cent
success whereas a normal business enjoys about 10 per cent chance of success –
the difference is in the system, where it’s so simple – we have to keep it simple –
that anyone can follow.’
Samuel Tam
Caption: Community and nation-building: Developing business knowledge,

mindset and thinking
‘Just to recap, we have three types of PV campuses – the micro-one – that is the
biggest demand – where anyone can join – then you go to the entrepreneur – the
business – the commercial campus, and then lastly, the corporate campuses for
companies like Air Niugini, Post and Telegraph, PNG Ports – not just Government
departments – church people, the NGOs – they can have their own campuses too
and those who achieve their professional goals get rewarded with a professional
degree.’
Samuel Tam
‘So how does this impact the whole country?’

Samuel Tam
‘The institutional campuses focus on holistic human development but when it gets
up to levels 5, 6 and 7, that is entrepreneur development, where people learn all the
commercial laws and policies and learning how to use them. And then I talk about
business class mindset, which is very different to subsistence mindset – at the
business class level, nothing is viable until you prove it is viable.’
Samuel Tam
‘The point is that without these levels 5, 6 and 7 entrepreneur development, it is

highly unlikely that any third world country will ever control their own economy
and I think that every national government needs to focus on entrepreneurial
development because government can make policies and reserve businesses for
local people, but if they don’t have this business class education, the policies are
useless because no one is going to succeed.’
Samuel Tam
‘We’re in the next stage where we start to develop campuses – all over the country
– everywhere – every community – we should have campuses – so the university is
actually everywhere – in every village – in every township – every city – we will
have PV campuses.’
Samuel Tam
‘This is the Grassroots University – we go from micro-enterprise – so the people

can come up to small enterprise and then to medium and large enterprise – it’s up
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to the individual how far he wants to go. And for us, we are very fortunate, we
have GULL – the Global University for Lifelong Learning – who are prepared to
certify people who achieve certain benchmarks to enable them to achieve a
professional degree, whether it’s Bachelor or Master or Doctor degree according to
these benchmarks – the financial and the quantity asset break point that we set for
them to achieve.’
Samuel Tam
Participant:
Dr Samuel Tam MBE, CSI, OL, Founder of the ‘Personal Viability’ system

‘Case Studies’ section. See: ‘Pacific Islands’ and the video: ‘Voices – 5 Grassroots
University of Life’ in chapter 1 of the online Case Study.
Video 4: Attaining self-reliance

independence
This Personal Viability (PV) with GULL video was recorded in the Lihir Islands,
Papua New Guinea in September, 2012. A list of the participants (names, roles) in
order of appearance can be found at the end of this video transcript.
‘We need to develop our own indigenous entrepreneurs in order to benefit from our
country’s rich resources.’
Sir Paulias Matane
‘‘Personal Viability’ is a program established by EDTC to help the local people to

discover who they are and to discover the talent that they have, what they should
do and to implement goals in life.’
Alison Hitu
‘First, the mindset has to be changed – when they come to Personal Viability, they
discover who they are – but that is not enough. When they have discovered who
they are, they need to move on and find out more about what they can do with their
talents and skills.’
Alison Hitu
‘My name is Michael and I come from Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea. I
first started coming to this school last year. I started off with level 1 – I didn’t want
to come inside this program but through persuasion by my family members, I
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decided to join and I started to learn from level 1 which deals with knowing myself
and how I can improve my own life.’
Michael Botuo, PV–GULL level 3 graduate
‘What impressed me most about this program was how I could improve my
spiritual life as well as my personal life – my own life. What I learnt from this first
part of the program is that after completing the course, I was able to look at myself
and I saw who I was at first and all my failures and I began to improve from then
on – because all the lessons were about how I could improve myself.’
‘The second stage is called the ‘Game of Money’ and it enables them to practise
using their money, time and other resources so that they can earn money to help
themselves and help their family. At level 3, they implement what they have learnt
from Personal Viability and the Game of Money for at least one year. They have to
do practical work related to what they love to do – by earning some income to help
themselves and help their family.’
Alison Hitu
‘We did learn about how to roll/use money to get more. After this, I passed the
financial asset break point requirement and I completed level 2 and then continued
on to the Game of the Rich (GoR). We reviewed our family needs and did the
calculations and costings, then we did shared goals for each week.’
Grace Tselam, PV–GULL level 3 graduate
‘I’m not very good with numbers but now I can do something myself and I believe
that I am doing well with my numbers and later, I will continue to work with
numbers and I will learn more.’
Magarett Dardar, PV–GULL level 3 graduate
‘So in doing profit and loss and in finding ways of using this, I learn from other
students too.’
Grace Tselam, PV–GULL level 3 graduate
‘Many times they told us that the journey they have been undertaking has been
quite challenging because most of these people are grassroots people with very
little education or no education at all. For them to do book work and that sort of
thing, it’s been very challenging – very hard for them. But through teamwork they
were able to overcome this challenge – especially to do with book work.’
Paul Wiau
‘Today we witnessed the fact that 27 students had earned their PV–GULL level 3
certificate. The journey for these students is not easy – there are lots of occasions
when they want to give up. The challenge that I experience with them relates to the
mindset. I have to go around with them, come down to where they are and I have to
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explain things very slowly. By doing this, I am able to establish their trust and
engender the feeling that somebody cares.’
Alison Hitu
‘Most of the women in the group are widows and so they don’t have husbands to
help them. This is the significant challenge that the women face – yet they didn’t
give up.’
Alison Hitu
‘The PV–GULL level 3 graduation especially signifies that those who graduated
have reached the level of self-reliance and financial independence – individually as
well as in their families. It was very exciting yesterday – a very big day for the
people who graduated and their families and for the whole of Lihir Island and
Papua New Guinea as a country.’
Paul Wiau
‘What I feel is that this program should be attended by the community at large –
people from around the country and other countries too. This program is so
demanding and the results are good because it helps you to improve your life, your
finances and your ability to do work.’
‘I have no hesitation and I have no doubt that the future for these people –
especially the Lihirians – they can do things that people in other third world
countries would not think possible.’
Alison Hitu
‘The Global University for Lifelong Learning offers them certificates – it is a real
bonus to them – they cannot easily express themselves – except that they really,
really appreciate it.’
Alison Hitu
‘The graduation yesterday – especially the PV–GULL level 3 – it means a lot to the
people of Lihir and Papua New Guinea because in order to achieve self-reliance
and financial independence in this country, we have to go for level 3 – every
grassroots family in this country.’
Paul Wiau
‘So thank you very much – your presence really boosted them up and they feel that
they are somebody now and they have no hesitation in continuing to PV–GULL
level 4.’
Alison Hitu

Sir Paulias Matane, 8th Governor General, Papua New Guinea.
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Alison Hitu, Director, Entrepreneurial Development Training Centre (EDTC)

Limited, Papua New Guinea.
Michael Botuo, PV–GULL level 3 graduate, Lihir Islands, Papua New Guinea,
28 September, 2012
Grace Tselam, PV–GULL level 3 graduate, Lihir Islands, Papua New Guinea,
28 September, 2012
Sr Magarett Dardar, PV–GULL level 3 graduate, Lihir Islands, Papua New Guinea,
28 September, 2012
Paul Wiau, Director, Entrepreneurial Development Training Centre (EDTC)
Limited, Papua New Guinea.

‘Case Studies’ section. See: ‘Pacific Islands’ and the video: ‘Voices – 6 Attaining
self-reliance’ in Chapter 1 of the online Case Study.
Video 5: How does GULL help to professionalize the process of church and
This video was recorded in Kajo Keji, South Sudan in January, 2012. A list of the
participants (names, roles) in order of appearance can be found at the end of this
video transcript.
‘CCMP is no longer being piloted – our challenge now in the region is not about
piloting – we know it works in the different environments in these five countries –
now our challenge is on quality, sustainable CCMP scale-up.’
Jonas Njelango
‘However, what has been lacking now has been – how do we professionalize
CCMP whereby we are documenting, we are learning from what we are doing, we
are sharing our experiences so that we can improve in certain areas.’
Jonas Njelango
‘So through GULL we undertook a number of projects that would help to improve
the process. The critical one we thought we should begin to tackle was to develop
tracking systems so that we are able to see the CCMP return on investment.’
Jonas Njelango
‘Now GULL has really helped us because we are so busy people and being
Africans, our tradition is oral – taking time out of our busy schedules to write and
document has not been part of our nature or our experience, but through GULL, I
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can see the excitement of the coordinators – how they were able to respond to the
projects – how they were able to allocate time to collect information, to consolidate
it and so on. It was such a journey and an experience and definitely we ourselves
are set on a path to grow in that area of documentation so that we are able to share
far beyond the areas where we are.’
Jonas Njelango
‘I just want to highlight, very briefly, some of the achievements that we have been
able to have through the CCMP–GULL relationship … One is the development of
the pathway so that we can recognize the CCMP practitioners at the different levels
of their journey in acquiring new skills and experience and so on. We know exactly
what evidence we are looking for when we are recognizing people at any level.
Then also we have been able to develop the CCMP tracking system conceptual
framework because it is very difficult to really see CCMP in a nutshell – in
summary with all the phases and so on.’
Jonas Njelango
‘By having the Global University for Lifelong Learning come in to bring a
professional look into the process – so that the quality of what is being done in the
process is given a professional touch – that has been very helpful and looking at the
graduates who have just completed the first phase of the training and been given
their certificates – you can see the excitement. Some of them are now saying the
whole process is now getting some recognition which means that it is something
worth, worth, worth it! Apart from the results they are seeing, they are actually
seeing the recognition via the papers that they have been able to get. I think this is
very important.’
Anthony Poggo
‘We have been able to take stock of all the projects that have been going on –
building churches, agriculture, education, health – all kinds of things have come
along and this is just the beginning because now when we looked at this
consolidated information – different results in different countries – definitely we
see that this is just laying the foundations for future work so that in the context of
return on investment, we can undertake the costing of all these capacity-building
activities and of all these emerging projects – economic, social, spiritual impacts,
so at the end we can show stakeholders the value of CCMP – when you put in
money to develop the capacity of facilitators, what is the return?’
Jonas Njelango

Dr Jonas Njelango, Tearfund South Sudan
Bishop Dr Anthony Poggo, Episcopal Church of Sudan, Diocese of Kajo Keji,
South Sudan
200

Further details about how the Global University for Lifelong Learning supports
Church and Community Mobilization can be found at the GULL website in the
‘Case Studies’ section. See: ‘Church and Community Mobilization’ and the video:
‘Professionalizing community mobilization’ in Chapter 4 of the online Case Study.
Video 6: How does GULL help to recognize the efforts of those who are leading
transformation?
This video was recorded in South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya in
January, 2012. A list of the participants (names, roles) in order of appearance can
be found at the end of this video transcript.
‘Today, 18 January, 2012, a wonderful thing has happened here in our college – a
graduation of the awakeners. They have now become facilitators because of
learning CCMP and this has been recognized. Today they graduated and it was
really wonderful – very colourful. Many people came to witness it and people were
surprised because this graduation – as I said before – it is the first thing done in
Kajo Keji here.’
Francis Loku
‘We shall continue onwards to diploma, we shall continue to get a degree.’

Francis Loku
‘It is what we want because it helps us to develop, it helps us to change our lives –
physically and spiritually.’
Francis Loku
‘The training takes like 9–12 months but because it is interjected by the field work
it takes almost 2–3 years. People gain great skills in how to facilitate communities
to deal with their own situations and the people were crying to us – ‘We are doing
a great job’ but we never get any recognition – we don’t get any paper. Basically
we were telling them that Tearfund and partners – we are not an academic
institution – our business is to do the work. But when GULL came with tools and
systems whereby those people at the grassroots who are causing change can be
encouraged through recognition to continue to grow their skills, their abilities to
work even more to bring the change, we really felt that this was an answer to
prayer.’
Jonas Njelango
‘… and the importance of this thing is that when I studied and graduated, I thought
that learning was just in the four corners of the room, but through this process, I
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really come to know – learning is everywhere and today, I managed to get a

certificate through this process.’
Mary Gideon Jagu
‘The Global University – they bring all classes of people together, they bring new
learning and you can be able to transform yourself in the community around you.’
Mary Gideon Jagu
‘I sat down with all the graduates so that we could reflect – what do all these things
mean – the recognition for the work that they do. There were great testimonies
shared by the participants. One of them said, “I am so happy to get this paper.” He
gave his personal story, he was very bright, he passed the exams but his father had
died and he didn’t have school fees to continue at school. He joined the CCMP
facilitators training in 2009 and has been working in the field – a lot has happened
in his own life – a lot of changes in the community – he was so amazed that
someone would be so interested to come and check the progress he is making from
the skills that he is learning and recognizing that. So, he just said he’s so happy and
that his commitment has increased and he’ll continue to facilitate.’
Jonas Njelango
‘Another one said, this paper, I’ll put it very well because it will continue to be a
constant reminder to me that because of the work that I did, that’s why I got the
paper – if I continue to do the work that I have been doing, then that justifies that I
have this paper. So this recognition – you can see the impact that it is going to have
on these people and many others shared very similar testimonies about the
recognition they received.’
Jonas Njelango
‘So this recognition is very, very powerful and will be a great impetus in our quest
for CCMP quality and sustainable scale-up.’
Jonas Njelango
‘GULL has come to give more empowerment – you struggle all these days,
facilitating the community, the church and individuals and now the certificates
from GULL have encouraged the facilitators that it is true, they have not been
doing nothing – but what they have been doing has been backed by the paper, the
certificates. It has also inspired most of them to continue in the process so that they
go higher and higher. So that next time they go to the Diploma, degree and
onwards. So that’s why everybody and all those facilitators are going to commit
themselves to practise and to facilitate the CCMP process in the Diocese of Kajo
Keji.’
Wudu Ezbon Moggson
‘As we graduated yesterday, I have received a lot of responses from people who
came for the graduation – most of them felt that this was something very unique
202
and it was something that has encouraged them. It was a way of recognizing what
they have done. Most of the people we have trained in church and community
mobilization are transformed and have also been able to transform their
communities but this is the first time that most of them have received certificates
and they are giving testimonies that some of them have never had the opportunity
to participate in formal education – they are so happy that they have been
recognized and awarded certificates. The certificates that they have been awarded
are recognizing their efforts as they help people come out of both physical and
spiritual poverty, so it was a wonderful time together and we really want to say
thank you.’
Jane Achaloi
‘With GULL providing recognition for these people – it’s quite a remarkable
contribution. I have seen people who have graduated from GULL on previous
times, and I have seen how committed they are – being recognized in their
professional, practical input in doing this development in their communities.’
Justin Nyamoga
‘We talk about the day – it was really wonderful – this day – especially when
church members and people in the town of Iringa saw the Bishops and the
facilitators marching towards the church for the celebration – the GULL
graduation. They were asking each other ‘What is this?’ Asking where is this
school – they have not seen it in town! They are seeing people wearing robes,
marching with joy with different types of dressings and they were amazed to see
that.’
Emmanuel Isaya
‘I really support it and I think for Tanzania, it is something that is needed – not
only for 20 or 30 people but for thousands of mobilizers whom I know.’
Justin Nyamoga
‘As one of the graduands today, I am proud to say that I have been able to see the
change and I’m so happy again because through GULL my effort is being
recognized.’
Mark Egelan

Revd Francis Loku, Church and Community Mobilization Process (CCMP) –
GULL participant, Kajo Keji, South Sudan
Dr Jonas Njelango, Tearfund South Sudan
Mary Gideon Jagu, CCMP Facilitator, South Sudan
Wudu Ezbon Moggson, CCMP Coordinator, Diocese of Kajo Keji, South Sudan
Jane Achaloi, Participatory Evaluation Process (PEP)/CCMP National Coordinator,
Uganda
Justin Nyamoga, Tearfund Country Representative, Tanzania
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Revd Emmanuel Isaya, CCMP National Coordinator, Tanzania

Mark Egelan, Partnership Facilitator, Compassion International, Kenya

‘Recognizing the mobilizers’ in Chapter 4 of the online Case Study.
Video 7: How does the church and community mobilization process (CCMP) with
GULL help the church, the community and others to address poverty?
‘If you see people who are poor and you give them food or you give them aid, once
that aid runs out, that’s it. But if you help people through a process of some
knowledge, especially knowledge from the word of God, it means that that is left
with them and they will carry on doing that and teach others.’
Anthony Poggo
‘Many NGOs have been coming with approaches of development – but they have
gone back – they have not changed the situation – CCMP tells us that in our
situation – we are the only remedy to our situation – we can find a solution to our
situation – but not any other person that can come from somewhere to address a
situation he or she may not know, or maybe learning it from a paper, but if you stay
there, you know your situation and you have the solution. The solution is here
through the CCMP.’
Wudu Ezbon Moggson
‘The process is long, which can be discouraging to many people – we live in a

world of ‘instant’ – instant coffee, instant everything – people want instant results,
but for it to take its rightful course, it’s helpful because it makes it stronger and
firmer.’
Anthony Poggo
‘The event of graduation today, has really touched the hearts of people and
especially in Kajo Keji community. They didn’t know that CCMP was recognized
outside – by the international community.’
Henry Mawa Samuel, CCMP Coordinator
204
‘In regard to the occasion of yesterday, which was the graduation, I was really
excited because I did two graduations, one for certificate and one for diploma in
theology but this graduation is unique in the sense that I am graduating to go and
do practical work. With the other graduations, other things are learnt theoretically
and we could not put them into practice. But with CCMP, I would like to say that
the graduation is like adding power for me to go and transform the community,
transform the church. So I am taking more responsibility – to do – and we are
really thankful for GULL to come in – when we were learning CCMP, we were
thinking, how are we going to get the certificates – how are we going to get papers
on this – since we know that this is practical work.’
Pianilee Samuel Alibe
‘I think it is strengthening the process as yesterday everybody was seeing people

receiving their certificates, others receiving a degree. Everybody was excited – it is
like our eyes are opened. “What is happening here?” It means that this is a serious
process. So I think GULL is really now strengthening the process and making
others to know that this is a very important process.’
Pianilee Samuel Alibe
‘That graduation yesterday brought very refreshing challenges to our ministry – as

I looked and I saw over 1,000 people graduating, I realized the impact of the
participatory evaluation process (PEP) upon communities. The deepest impact
arises from the fact that over 1,000 people have now been trained and there are
1,000+ who were not able to attend … so we really anticipate a great movement of
transformed people who are able to transform their communities and improve on
the economic, social and spiritual life of the community, which is a very great
foundation. I think that this is what brings God glory and for me it is a tremendous
achievement for the last ten years or so of involvement.’
Simon Peter Emiau
‘CCMP has improved many lives – in most of the communities we have gone to,
we have found that in many communities, people are never given an opportunity to
talk about their problems but CCMP provides an opportunity for people to discuss
the issues that affect them and for the first time, peoples’ attitudes change from
thinking that for development to happen, there should be someone from outside to
help the community to rise from poverty, to people looking around and realizing
that within them, they have resources that they can use to make their life better.’
Jane Achaloi
‘To me, CCMP has been a tremendous help since we started it. We have seen
CCMP change the lives of the community so that now we have many places where
people have been helped – they are changing from poverty to a better life in the
communities, so I can say that CCMP is greatly used as a tool to change and
transform our societies.’
John Nkola
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‘My name is Joseph Mgomi, Bishop of the Anglican Church, Diocese of Ruaha.
Actually, I am one of the products of CCMP.’
Joseph Mgomi
‘To me, CCMP is not just a tool but a facilitator as well. It is a tool because in
using it, we experience permanent and tangible changes in the lives of many
people.’
Joseph Mgomi
‘We have seen many organizations – governments as well – trying to change the
lives of the people.’
Joseph Mgomi
‘They just give to people – but as the period of the project ends, then everything
ends there. But through CCMP, people are changing their attitude – in their minds
and hearts.’
Joseph Mgomi
‘But through CCMP, people are becoming courageous. They use the things that are
surrounding them as God did not leave any place without something to start with.’
Joseph Mgomi
‘The Bishops themselves – hearing from their mouths – they are saying, this event
has really rejuvenated our motive towards the work we are doing. We are thinking
that we are going down because of our age, but this recognition for us is something
special, which has increased even our energy for this ministry we are having.’
Emmanuel Isaya
‘I want to take this opportunity to bring our greetings from Kericho. I stand on
behalf of Tearfund.’
Jackson ole Sapit
‘We are in partnership in the diocese of Kericho, doing the CCMP process, which
seeks to transform societies and communities. So we want to appreciate GULL for
recognizing these efforts.’
Jackson ole Sapit
‘We want to thank that aspect of recognizing lifelong learning and action.’
Jackson ole Sapit
‘For those who have come to see the graduation and also to see many of us
graduating, let us go back with this message that GULL is out to transform lives,
GULL is out to make things happen on the ground.’
Evans Osumba
206

Bishop Dr Anthony Poggo, Episcopal Church of Sudan, Diocese of Kajo Keji,
South Sudan
Henry Mawa Samuel, CCMP Coordinator, Africa Inland Church, Sudan
Revd Pianilee Samuel Alibe, Dean of the Cathedral, Diocese of Kajo Keji, South
Sudan
Revd Dr Simon Peter Emiau, General Superintendent, Pentecostal Assemblies of
God, Uganda
Uganda
Bishop Dr John Nkola, Africa Inland Church, Diocese of Shinyanga, Tanzania
Bishop Dr Joseph Mgomi, Anglican Church of Tanzania, Diocese of Ruaha,
Tanzania
Bishop Dr Jackson ole Sapit, Anglican Church of Kenya, Diocese of Kericho,
Kenya
Evans Osumba, Area Development Program Manager, World Vision, Kenya

‘Addressing poverty’ in Chapter 4 of the online Case Study.
Video 8: How is the church and community mobilization process (CCMP) with
GULL helping to sustain and widen the impact of self-directed development?
‘I am today really happy as I happen to be the first Commissioner in South Sudan

to witness a graduation ceremony in the newly independent South Sudan.’
District Commissioner of Kajo Keji
‘The papers you are going to receive are not papers that are going to allow you to
sit in your offices. You are going to move from one home to another – from one
field to another.’
District Commissioner of Kajo Keji
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‘As a country in post war, we have a need for a change of mindset, without which
we cannot do away with conflict and in the absence of peace, nothing can do –
nothing can be done.’
Speaker of the Council of Kajo Keji
‘If we can only replicate this and give it a higher multiplying factor, we will
achieve our goals in local government. In our first session for this year, I want to
take the concept of CCMP and discuss how it can be replicated – country-wide.’
Speaker of the Council of Kajo Keji
‘One of the important things I also saw from the graduation yesterday was that the
government has come to recognize this process – something that has a real
meaning. Before, it looks like any other church activity. But it has come in the
sense of the government officials who joined us in the graduation ceremony
yesterday. They have recognized it and their extension work has been increased,
because these facilitators are prepared extension workers who can also support the
community and as they support the community, the community and the
government can work together. Now they have come to recognize CCMP and this
is just through the GULL graduation that they have done here today and offered
certificates and many wanting to become students of GULL!’
Wudu Ezbon Moggson
‘Today we followed-up with one of the communities to check on the impact that
has happened as a result of CCMP. We visited Omagoro community where we met
a few people who gave their testimonies – one of these was Margaret who being a
woman, had been very afraid to express herself. But as a result of CCMP, she was
empowered. She grew in confidence, her attitude changed, and she was even able
to become a political leader. Now she has confidence, she can address her
community, and she can also address people.’
Jane Achaloi
‘My focus is to ensure that in the next decade or so, we will be able to cover almost
50 per cent of Pentecostal Assemblies of God (PAG) churches – our target is the
5,000 churches – we want to see all the 5,000 churches practising PEP and this will
bring transformation to the nation of Uganda. This is now a possibility with that
graduation we saw yesterday. Thanks to Dr Richard for coming and blessing us –
as GULL comes alongside us, I think this is going to be a tremendous achievement
and it will be a very big success in the future.’
Simon Peter Emiau
‘In the streets – people who saw us marching – some have talked with me – that the
event that happened today – it is really wonderful. It has impressed them and it has
added value for their region. They say, ‘All these Bishops have come to us!’’
Emmanuel Isaya
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‘We had the media – since yesterday the media was talking about the graduation –
and the people heard from every corner of this town – people were asking each
other ‘What is this?’. We have never heard about this, we want to learn more about
it. But the media has helped much. The people in the streets are talking about
church and community mobilization, empowerment of people and they see that this
is an event that can help their communities. The media coverage has added value to
this event.’
Emmanuel Isaya
‘I mainly focus on adult learning as a GULL student. The reason why I focus on
adult learning is because of the level of illiteracy in my community. It was
something which was really needy – so I saw that I should focus on adult
education.’
Mike Naija
‘Since I engaged in adult learning, I have seen that my community has really
changed.’
Mike Naija
‘We can fight all this – we can fight illiteracy, we can fight the harmful cultural
practices in our community through GULL.’
Mike Naija
‘It’s been a long journey – and through this journey we’ve been able to transform
communities – we’ve been able to impact and assist our communities to bring their
best through the action learning. We’ve been able to initiate programs in the
community and through GULL, these programs are today being recognized. So the
essence of action learning – or GULL – is basically to recognize what
contemporary education would recognize – this is a great deal of learning that
normal universities may not recognize, but through action learning, this is an
opportunity to realize the efforts of church leaders and the entire community.’
Mark Egelan
‘Through action learning – because we bring people together and discuss their
issues, we can even bring about issues of peace. Action learning is all around us –
it is an holistic learning approach.’
Mark Egelan

The District Commissioner of Kajo Keji, South Sudan
Speaker of the Council of Kajo Keji, South Sudan
Uganda
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Revd Dr Simon Peter Emiau, General Superintendent, Pentecostal Assemblies of

God, Uganda
Mike Naija, Community Development Facilitator, World Vision, Kenya
Mark Egelan, Partnership Facilitator, Compassion International, Kenya

‘Sustaining self-directed development’ in Chapter 4 of the online Case Study.
APPENDIX 6.2
OUTLINE OF THE GULL WEBSITE
The Global University for Lifelong Learning @ www.gullonline.org
Homepage
Our Mission
GULL is dedicated to enabling YOU to make a difference in OUR world. GULL’s
practical approach to personal and professional development uses action learning
to help individuals, communities and organizations to sustain learning and apply
the outcomes.
Applications
1 The Concept of GULL

This video outlines the reasons for establishing GULL and draws on the
inauguration event hosted by Sir Paulias Matane, 8th Governor-General, and Sir
Michael Somare, Founding Prime Minister, Papua New Guinea, held on 5 October
2007.
2 GULL in the community

The purpose of the video is to profile GULL’s role in facilitating change and
transformation among the poorest communities. It also outlines how GULL
encourages participants by recognizing the impact of community members as they
develop themselves and thereafter ‘cascade’ the process of action learning to
others.
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3 GULL in the workplace

Although a great deal of learning occurs in the workplace, for many, there is
insufficient time to reflect on the actions taken, to review the outcomes and make
improvements – a powerful cycle of learning that lies at the heart of GULL’s
approach. In this video, organizational leaders comment on the outcomes attained
by using this cycle of learning at work in support of personal and professional
development.
News & Updates
Links to the latest news

Browse Archives > Links to News
About the University
The Global University for Lifelong Learning (GULL) provides access to lifelong
learning for people in communities and for workplace organizations around the
world. To facilitate large scale participation, GULL works with affiliated
organizations who use GULL’s system for action learning to develop their own
pathways to professional certification. GULL’s primary role is to recognize and
certify evidence of learning and application. This arises as participants use and
apply action learning and then cascade their experience to others. The evidence
typically relates to change, impact and transformation and the objective is to enable
participants and other stakeholders in the learning process to advance and improve.
In developing nations, GULL works with non-governmental organizations and
other agencies in support of community-based initiatives for disadvantaged and
marginalized groups and in economic terms, the poorest. In the workplace, GULL
provides a powerful operating system for corporate business school and university
applications. Please see the case studies for examples.
Learn more > Links to About GULL
About GULL
Launched in October 2007, The Global University for Lifelong Learning (GULL)
provides access to lifelong learning for people in communities and for workplace
organizations around the world.
GULL is a non-profit network movement that enables its affiliated organizations
to recognize the individual and collective efforts of those who are causing change
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and progressive transformation in communities and in the workplace. How does

GULL make this possible? Our core learning process – action learning – is not
dependent on rich resourcing but on the determination of the human spirit. Each
and every GULL participant – whether they work in a boardroom or in a rural
community – must determine what he or she needs to learn and then journey with
others to secure practical and professional outcomes. In the process, significant
benefits arise like growth in individual self-esteem and confidence. There are many
wider implications too as groups of action learners advance together and pass on
their action learning expertise to others.
For more information, please read the ‘GULL story’, which is presented in three
parts. Part 1 explains GULL's mission and mandate; Part 2 outlines GULL's
approach to recognizing learning outcomes in the community and the workplace;
and Part 3 profiles the role of GULL’s officers and representatives and outlines the
steps involved in affiliating and getting started with GULL.
Reading resources:
Part 1 | Mission – Explains GULL’s purpose and mandate
Part 2 | Pathways – GULL’s approach to recognizing learning outcomes in the
community and the workplace
Part 3 | Affiliation – Outlines how organizations and officers affiliated with
GULL’s global network movement
News
The news section features information about GULL system applications around the
world in community and workplace settings.
For example, GULL news updates for October, 2012 are as follows:
23-10-2012 | GULL Guatemala: Hope for Young Adults

18-10-2012 | Recognizing the impact of community volunteers in Mexico
15-10-2012 | Facilitating urban and rural micro enterprise in Jamaica
16-10-2012 | GULL South East Asia: Starting in China
05-10-2012 | Island life after the gold mine, PNG & Australia
The archive also includes details of GULL's launch event in the State Function
Room, National Parliament House, Papua New Guinea on 5 October, 2007 as well
as other national and regional initiatives.
Media
The Media section features English language press and TV coverage, briefings,
other events and video endorsements. To learn more about the origins of action
learning, view the videos of the late Dr Reg Revans in the Briefings & Events
section.
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Key resources:
The GULL Story – three short videos about the concept of GULL, GULL in the
community and in the workplace
Press & TV coverage of GULL’s work
Briefings & Events
Video Endorsements
Case Studies
GULL supports a wide range of community and workplace initiatives and to

illustrate the possibilities and outcomes, this section contains example applications
in case study format. Each case study contains a blend of words, pictures and
video-based material in order to explain and illustrate some of the many ways in
which the GULL system can be deployed – from community mobilization through
to operating system support for ‘own brand’ corporate business schools and
corporate universities.
Case Study example applications:

Community | Church & Community Mobilization
Community | World Vision International
Workplace | Eurest Dining Services
Workplace | Sandals Resorts International
Workplace | Turks & Caicos Islands Airports Authority
Regional | Australasia
Regional | Pacific Islands
National | Jamaica
National | Kenya
National | Sri Lanka
Recognition
The Recognition section includes details of GULL’s status as a non-profit public

benefit corporation located in California, USA. GULL’s mandate to confer
professional awards is based on a statement of recognition signed by the Head of
State and the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea on 10 April 2007, further
endorsed by other Governments, Leaders and Institutions. Official letters of
endorsement are featured in original languages with an English translation where
applicable in the ‘Endorsements’ section.
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Key resources:
Endorsements
Statement of Recognition
Status of GULL
Officers
GULL’s honorary officers initiate and support the University’s work in national
and regional areas. GULL's non-profit status and its networking model means that
GULL’s honorary officers serve the University without any form of payment or
reimbursement of expenses by GULL. Where possible and appropriate, honorary
officers can at their own discretion recover expenses and accept fees directly from
the GULL affiliated organizations that they are supporting.
The honorary officers section profiles the GULL Co Chancellors and Pro
Chancellors (Heads of State, Government and other National leaders); Presidents,
Vice Presidents, Network Leaders and Facilitators (Regional and National
Presidents and Vice Presidents lead GULL’s work in their respective nations or
regions); Ambassadors (GULL’s active supporters) and Elders (GULL’s passive
supporters).
Edward Mooney (Chairman) and Richard Teare (President) manage the three
companies that host GULL's central services. These companies are: Global
University for Lifelong Learning Incorporated, USA (the university and awarding
body, which is a non-profit public benefit corporation, located in California, USA),
the GULL Empowerment Action Fund (a registered US charity) and GULL
Limited which is a UK-based company. GULL Limited provides global support
services to the university.
Officers (continued)
Honorary officer profiles:

Honorary | Co Chancellors
Honorary | Pro Chancellors
Honorary | Presidents
Honorary | Vice Presidents
Honorary | Network Leaders
Honorary | Ambassadors
Honorary | Elders
Executive Officers (Edward Mooney and Richard Teare)
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Affiliate
In order to distribute the GULL system, GULL seeks to work in affiliation with
work and community-based organizations. To facilitate this, GULL provides a
straight-forward affiliation procedure based on a code of practice. The purpose of
the GULL code of practice is to protect the integrity of GULL in all community
and workplace locations.
Prior to affiliation, prospective GULL system users are asked to nominate a
representative so that the affiliation is based on a relationship. There are two ways
to affiliate with GULL – either by completing and submitting the online form in
the ‘Affiliate’ section of the website or via written correspondence with the
appropriate GULL officer. As GULL does not have the resources to engage with
individuals or correspond about individual needs or scholarships, relationships are
established with affiliated organizations who provide GULL to their stakeholders.
There are many ways of using the GULL system and so we have designed an
easy to use ‘Getting started’ package that enables affiliated organizations to link
the expected outcomes of their training and other kinds of development activity to
GULL’s professional certification system. This approach ensures that they are able
to build on what is already familiar to their organization.
GULL recognizes and certifies action learning outcomes and so all system users
are responsible for monitoring and verifying progress and performance. Impact
tracking is a mandatory requirement (as specified by GULL’s code of practice) as
it enables user organizations to identify what is going well and where corrective
action might be necessary. Second, it provides a body of evidence that links the
cost of training and other inputs with the return on investment (ROI) in training
and individual and organizational effort. In so doing, it is possible to track ROI
over time and predict the longer term impact as GULL ‘cascades’ through the
organization.
Key resources:
Affiliate with GULL
Getting Started
Impact Tracking
Contact Us | F.A.Q. | Sitemap
For general enquiries and to view the FAQs about what GULL ‘does’ and ‘does
not’ do, visit this section. As a suggestion to those without organizational support,
consider how you might encourage others to join you in establishing a new
network organization that could help distribute the GULL system. In the words of
GULL’s motto, we want to enable YOU to make a difference in OUR world.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why was GULL established?

The world needed a practical, holistic, inclusive global system for recognizing and
certifying lifelong learning. Why? Because the majority have few options to enable
them to learn and develop. Most do not have the academic qualifications or the
money to enter further or higher education. Given the opportunity, GULL believes
that each of us has the innate capacity to learn what we need to learn in order to
lead a more fulfilling life. GULL’s purpose then is to facilitate human capital
development by innovative means – dependent not on technology or standard
educational methods, but on the human spirit.
What is GULL’s mission?

GULL is dedicated to enabling YOU (the learner) to make a difference in OUR
(shared) world. GULL’s practical approach to personal and professional
development uses action learning to help individuals, communities and
organizations to sustain learning and apply the outcomes. Lifelong learning is for
EVERYONE and all are welcome to participate. GULL’s focus is to reach the
majority: the low paid, disadvantaged groups and in economic terms, the world’s
poorest people. In so doing, GULL seeks partnerships with NGOs and other
organizations with similar priorities.
Where is GULL based and how does it operate?

GULL is an American university, operating as a not-for-profit foundation from
California, USA. GULL’s objective is to operate as cost effectively as possible and
it does not use dedicated premises or other costly infrastructure resources.
How does GULL offer a credible alternative?

GULL’s mandate is based on its authority to award recognized professional
certificates, diplomas and degrees. Here, the accumulation of credit is entirely
linked to practical learning outcomes. This approach ensures that evidence of
learning is realistic and valuable to the learner and to employers and the
community.
What is GULL doing to develop globally?

To reach the majority (our global objective), and at the same time to localize the
value of our awards, GULL seeks Government level endorsement in the regions
and countries in which it works. In this respect, GULL’s approach is forging new
ground. For example, the Government of Malaysia has endorsed GULL and its full
suite of professional certificates, diplomas and degrees. This exemplifies our
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approach – Government recognition (once only) and endorsement by other

Governments, Leaders and Institutions. For further details, please see the
‘Statement of Recognition’ and the ‘Endorsements’ section at the GULL website.
Why did GULL seek Government recognition for its awards rather than
accreditation?
GULL does not work with accrediting bodies nor offer accredited awards. If we
did this, we would exclude most of those we are seeking to serve. This is because
prior academic attainment is so often a pre-condition of access to further and
higher education. Furthermore, the cost of accredited study is beyond the financial
means of the majority. Instead, GULL provides a recognized professional award
system with pathways to professional Bachelor, Master and Doctor. These
pathways enable people to learn in a natural, holistic and integrated way – at work
and in the community – on a lifelong basis.
As GULL is not an academic institution, why is it termed a ‘university’?

The word university is derived from the Latin universitas magistrorum et
scholarium, meaning community of teachers and scholars. The oldest universities
(like Oxford and Cambridge in the UK) became known as academic institutions
because academia or academe and academy is a collective term for the scientific
and cultural community engaged in higher education and research. Please note
though that the term actually originates from Akademeia, ancient Athens, where
the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a centre for learning in a lifelong
quest for wisdom. This is GULL’s purpose too!
How else is GULL different from academic institutions?

GULL provides frameworks and awards in support of lifelong learning. GULL is
not itself in the education business and it does not ‘educate’ people as this requires
teachers, pre-determined curriculum, standards and accreditation. Second, GULL
does not use academic terminology – GULL works through representatives (not
professors, faculty or teachers). This is because a contemporary definition of an
academic is a person who works as a researcher (and usually a teacher too) at a
university or similar institution in post-secondary (or tertiary) education. He or she
is nearly always an advanced degree holder. Further, in the United States, the term
‘academic’ has become synonymous with that of the job title, professor.
What is the rationale for GULL’s professional qualifications system?

The purpose of GULL’s professional qualification framework is to enable our
learners to advance in incremental steps and in so doing, to make a difference in
their respective workplaces, communities and beyond. This is an ‘active’ challenge
in which each participant must take responsibility for their own learning journey.
Above all, GULL seeks to facilitate the kind of holistic development that
mirrors the diversity and richness of activity in the workplace, in the community
and in life. It is not sufficient to claim technical competence (e.g., ‘I can do the
job’): A true professional in any work or community role should also be an
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effective role model. Soft skills, good character (as reflected by attitudes and
behaviours) and a professional approach to every task and interaction are vitally
important. GULL aims to facilitate all of these things and to enable our learners to
step themselves up and demonstrate professional excellence in how they think;
what they say; what they do and in how they behave.
Why does GULL denote the professional status of its awards on its
certificates?
GULL’s awards reflect the outcomes of active, holistic learning with tangible,
trackable benefits for the learner and for other stakeholders in the learning process.
GULL encourages its learners to customize their own learning journey and this
does not require conventional curriculum or formal teacher input. To reflect this
and the fact that GULL’s awards are not designed to articulate with academic
awarding bodies and institutions, GULL’s certificates clearly state that they are
professional awards. The only guaranteed way to advance via an academic route is
to follow an academic development route from the outset and so GULL does not
issue transcripts of grades or marks. However, we believe that GULL offers a
practical, inclusive, powerful, low cost and credible alternative for the majority.
Why did GULL adopt action learning as its core learning process?
To facilitate holistic development, GULL encourages its participants to determine
for themselves what they need to learn. Why is this so important? If he/she is to
advance and demonstrate true professionalism in their work, each learner must
honestly assess their own strengths and weaknesses and determine where and how
they might improve and who can assist them (e.g., colleagues, friends, family and
others). To enable this level of customization, GULL uses action learning. It is a
process that engages the participant and his/her colleagues and community on a
collaborative journey. In our view, nothing is more powerful than people working
together to better themselves, solve problems and create stronger societies for their
families and future generations.
What is action learning?

Action learning occurs when people learn from each other, create their own
resources, identify their own problems and form their own solutions. The world
over, this process works – in any culture, language and tradition. The process is so
enriching that every learner is able to identify personal and life transforming
outcomes. These commonly include expressions of enhanced self-confidence, self-
belief, renewal, enthusiasm for learning, a new sense of direction and purpose for
career and life – along with new skills, insights and the sense of being equipped for
the future.
What form of quality assurance does GULL use?

GULL uses a quarterly review format to help its system users to track their own
progress and identify their own variances for corrective action, over an annual
cycle concluding each year with an annual report and review meeting. To facilitate
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this, GULL has developed its own web-based quality assurance (QA) tracking
system with reporting formats that are easy to follow and use. This provides a
helpful way of identifying potential fail points, appropriate corrective action and a
firm basis for incremental improvement.
How does GULL verify attainment?

GULL’s representatives organize local external review meetings with independent
professional verifiers and a learning review workshop at GULL certification
events. As GULL focuses on outcomes, the learner must provide evidence of
learning and application. If the evidence is incomplete, the learner is required to
continue until they have met the requirements.
How does GULL recognize learning outcomes?

GULL’s representatives organize local learning review workshop and certification
events for those who have met the requirements. Here, learning outcomes are
shared and certificates are presented. The recipients of GULL awards can opt to
wear a cap and gown, providing that all recipients at any given event can afford to
rent this attire. GULL’s policy is to leave the decision about the use of ceremonial
attire to its local representatives as this is an important occasion for award
recipients and should be conducted in a way that reflects local preferences. In most
cases, recipients of GULL awards will wear formal business or community attire to
reflect the professional nature of the award.
How can GULL help my organization?

GULL’s approach blends working and learning so that these two activities (so
often separated) are integrated. Every user organization (no matter how large or
small) is able to take full ownership and utilize the GULL system ‘in-house’ to
address its own unique challenges in keeping with its own ethos, culture and
priorities. It does not require specialist qualifications, skills or resources to
implement the GULL system but it does require a commitment to people, to
learning and to enhancing professionalism.
GULL’s systemized learning process is probably the best way to retain and
develop people, to help them to sustain their learning and to foster, facilitate and
recognize skills development and attainment. It is an approach that virtually
guarantees high performance at low cost and enables anyone and everyone to
participate in a practical way. GULL is ready to provide you with a practical,
systemized approach to lifelong learning that helps people to work more smartly, to
feel better about themselves and to sustain their own active learning and
development.
References:
For a detailed explanation of GULL’s mission and mandate, please read the GULL
Story (Parts 1–3) at www.gullonline.org/about Please see: the ‘About GULL’
section. The first article explains GULL’s mission and mandate, the second
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outlines GULL’s pathways to professional qualifications and the third article

profiles the role of GULL’s network of representatives.
Explanation of the terms ‘university’ and ‘academia’ draw from the Wikipedia
Encyclopedia www.wikipedia.org
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REFLECTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS ON LEARNING

AND DEVELOPMENT FOR A BETTER WORLD
If you’re feeling helpless, help someone!

(Call to action by Nobel Peace Prize winner, Myanmar politician and long-
time political activist, Aung San Suu Kyi)
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.
(Mahatma Gandhi, Indian nationalist, activist and spiritual leader; full name
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi)
OUTLINE
The purpose of this final chapter is to capture the main results and arguments of the
previous six chapters. Here I reflect on the significant outcomes and barriers or
limitations, and conceptualize the main message of this book by designing and
explaining two new models that sum up the essence of this work. The first model
reflects the sub-title of this book and focuses on learning and development for a
better world based on lifelong action learning (LAL) and action leadership
development. The second model reflects the title of this book and focuses on
engaging in and facilitating personal and social sustainable development and
positive change in one community and then cascading the learning to other
communities with an educational multiplier effect at low cost. This chapter also
responds to the issues raised in the recent IPPR (Institute for Public Policy
Research) Report (March 2013) that argues for a deep, rapid and urgent
transformation in higher education as much as in school systems globally. This
chapter, in summation of this book, offers definitive alternatives that the Report
urges us as concerned citizens to present.
INTRODUCTION
In this book we have addressed as our central question: How can we encourage and
help all people, especially the poorest and most disadvantaged communities – the
majority of the world’s people – to discover their special gifts and to develop these
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gifts together with other like-minded people so as to become self-confident, self-

directed and self-sufficient and then help others on their own similar journeys. In
particular, we have explored answers to these questions:
– How can communities develop new ways to be self-sufficient and prosperous?
– How can they learn from multiple sources, including ones that are not formally
recognized as educational institutions, such as successful corporations and their
own communities?
– How can they best take control of their own livelihood, destiny and natural
endowment to maximize the wellbeing of all community members individually
and collectively?
This chapter summarizes our answers. In brief, I argue that we need to continue to
explore the emerging paradigm and methodology of research and development
(R&D) that is suitable for developing skills and knowledge creation required in
these swiftly changing times. In this book we have presented a system of
community development and mobilization through lifelong action learning (LAL),
and a system designed by the Global University for Lifelong Learning (GULL).
We have also included in our discussion two systems that were designed by
indigenous development innovators who formed a partnership with GULL: the
Personal Viability (PV) system in Papua New Guinea and the Church and
Community Mobilization Process (CCMP) in East African countries.
In this final chapter I reflect on and draw conclusions from the previous six
chapters. I do so by (1) capturing the main arguments and results of each chapter
and its significance and limitations; (2) creating two models of (a) learning and
development for a better world and (b) engaging in and facilitating human and
social development and positive change through LAL in one community and then
cascading the learning to other communities; and (3) concluding with a response to
the questions and challenges posed (but not answered) in the recent Institute for
Public Policy Research (IPPR) Report (March 2013): An Avalanche is Coming –
Higher Education and the Revolution Ahead. We envision the flow of learning
through LAL not as an avalanche but as a network of rivers that carry across our
lands what is needed for life, to nourish our minds and hearts, as well as our
bodies, especially in the world’s poorest places where need for learning and
development is greatest.
I believe this final chapter is important for pulling together the key ideas that
form the theme of the book, especially for those readers who read selectively from
the volume. Presenting the composite picture is also significant because it
contributes to the current debate about the need for radical and urgent
transformation required in education and higher education across the world. Here I
illustrate the essence of this book and explain an alternative transformational
learning model in two diagrams. But first, I reflect on the main arguments,
significant outcomes and limitations of each chapter.
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REFLECTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
CHAPTER 1: A NEW CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR LEARNING AND

DEVELOPMENT IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
ORTRUN ZUBER-SKERRITT
This chapter has argued for the need to shift the dominant paradigm from training
to development; from technical to creative, innovative thinking; from teaching as
transfer of content to facilitating learning and problem-solving. Community
development means engaged partnerships where there is a shared responsibility for
identifying issues that need to be addressed and processes that address these issues
for the benefit of all. In particular, lifelong action learning (LAL) is characterized
by social justice, ethical behaviour, collaboration and sharing knowledge and
experience with others. I have challenged and taken a critical approach to
traditional learning and community development through reviewing the literature
on twenty-first century skills and focusing on an alternative system of learning and
development (GULL) that has proven to be effective and less dependent on
physical resources in some 40 developing countries in the last seven years since its
inception. The central message of this chapter is that while lifelong action learning
as a methodology is frequently not acknowledged by those in the formal education
system as an alternative to “schooling”, educators in the formal system can learn
new principles and strategies from this methodology that they can introduce to
make learning more transformational, creative, exciting and enjoyable in any
context.
The limitations are that many teachers, academics, government policymakers
and bureaucrats may feel threatened by and hostile to this alternative approach.
They may not understand the new conceptual framework for learning and
development required for maximizing opportunities and responding to ever more
complex issues in the twenty-first century. Alternatively, they may reject practical,
evidence-based learning as not ‘academic’ and dismiss knowledge that is personal
and shared, rather than propositional and ‘scientific’. The GULL system is
recognized and endorsed by governments in many developing countries, but it is
not as yet in developed countries, although there is a need for it, especially by
people in poor, disadvantaged and migrant communities who cannot afford a
formal higher education. However, we hope that this book will make a positive
difference for those who can make good use of its practical, instrumental approach
to lifelong learning.
CHAPTER 2: HOW TO DEVELOP LIFELONG ACTION LEARNING

ORTRUN ZUBER-SKERRITT
This chapter has demonstrated lifelong action learning in practice. With practical
examples it has illustrated how LAL can be used to help people define their own
learning needs and goals; identify their particular strengths, gifts and ‘unique
brilliance’; develop these talents; sustain their self-directed LAL; and develop
action leadership to help others within the community on their own learning
journeys. Table 7.1 summarizes the main principles of LAL and how they can be
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applied in practice through appropriate activities and with the support of a

facilitator, mentor, coach and peers, as the chapter explains in detail.
Table 7.1. Principles/values and activities for developing lifelong action learning
Principles and Values Activities

Reflection Diary format: daily, weekly, monthly (Appendix 2.1–2.3)
Communication and Relationship building (Appendix 2.4); vision and team building; the
collaboration role of the coach
Self-directed learning Preparing a Personal Learning Statement (PLS) and Return on
Learning Outcomes (RO)
Problem-solving Needs analysis for defining project theme(s) and planning a
program comprising several team projects
Achieving and Preparing for public presentation that demonstrates personal
celebrating results learning, reflective evaluation and collective outcomes and that
celebrates these achievements
This chapter does not take a technical approach to developing LAL for
community development, i.e., it does not just prescribe and describe tools and
techniques, but explains the underlying values and principles of why we do what
we do. This does not guarantee, of course, that readers understand and want to
follow this ‘good practice’, especially if they disagree with the underpinning values
and principles. But it does open the path for readers who are interested in these
principles to further develop the paradigm by adapting their practices to local
circumstances through the flexibility that LAL presents. The next three chapters by
Richard Teare explain the new framework and practice of lifelong action learning
in more detail, illustrated by case studies in Papua New Guinea, Kenya, South
Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
CHAPTER 3: BUILDING A CASE FOR EVIDENCE-BASED LEARNING

RICHARD TEARE
In this chapter Richard Teare has explained how community-based organizations

can attain significantly better outcomes by creating an evidence-based learning
culture that fosters self-directed personal and professional development. This is
because they can more effectively support their own staff development and at the
same time equip and empower the economically poor communities that they serve.
Based on his review of the literature on organization development and
performance and his many years of teaching and research in this area, Richard has
argued that:
1. If the organizational culture facilitates learning, the organization is likely to be
more open-minded, responsive and proactive.
2. If the concept of personal professionalism is valued, the organization is more
likely to achieve its goals.
3. If the philosophy of self-development is accepted, the organization will be more
confident about achieving its potential.
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4. If evidence-based learning is prioritized, the organization will secure tangible

benefits from its investment in professional development of its staff.
The collaboration between GULL and World Vision International (WVI)
demonstrates how GULL’s systemized approach to lifelong action learning can be
used to facilitate participants’ (in this case WVI staff and volunteers) self-directed
learning through an experiential process that they then cascade (pass on) to others.
This systemized approach enables system users to start LAL wherever they are in
their stage of life and development, progress step by step to the next stage, and be
recognized for their learning outcomes at every stage on their pathway to
professional awards. They can also track and quantify the impact of evidence-
based learning in community development.
The barriers or limitations of the GULL professional award system are that the
certification/awards need to be recognized and endorsed formally in each country
before they can be endowed by GULL. This has been a major issue for universities
and governments in developed countries. I return to this issue when discussing the
IPPR Report in the last section before my conclusions.
CHAPTER 4: PERSONAL VIABILITY – THE JOURNEY TO SELF-RELIANCE AND

FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE
RICHARD TEARE
This chapter has profiled the ‘Personal Viability’ (PV) holistic human development
system developed by Samuel Tam in Papua New Guinea specifically for the 80 per
cent of people who live in subsistence or ‘grassroots’ communities in that country.
The chapter has argued that a deeper level of change is needed if indigenous people
in developing countries are to achieve economic independence and greater control
of their natural resources. Part of the needed change is therefore that individuals
and communities acquire a business mindset characterized by business-level
knowledge and practice. In this context, wealth is measured not solely in terms of
the accumulation of capital and resources but also in evidence of holistic
development reflected in good health, wellbeing and happiness.
The case study in this chapter has showed how the successful PV process in its
own right can be further enhanced by the GULL system that provides a complete
step-by-step development pathway for a large number of subsistence level
participants. This is because the PV–GULL pathway provides the necessary
structure, system and support to ensure that participants can attain a much higher
level of self-reliance and financial independence than they would otherwise. As PV
is an indigenous system, its holistic human development process is wholly aligned
with the culture, the context and the aspirations of the indigenous people. We
believe it is one of the best possible examples of an action learning approach that
builds on human talents and entrepreneurial skills so that greater prosperity can be
achieved without damaging the physical or social environment. Sam Tam in the
accompanying video refers to this outcome through lifelong action learning as a
‘business class’ development process, in contrast to the traditional educational
approach that prepares people for employment by others (which he terms a
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‘working class’ education). This business class development process is significant

in the context of engaging with economically poor communities. It releases the
potential in people so that they are confident, self-disciplined and organized
enough to achieve a more prosperous and sustainable lifestyle for their families and
for future generations.
The limitations are the same as in the previous chapter in that the PV–GULL
system works only in countries – mainly developing countries – that are ready to
adopt and formally endorse this alternative approach to learning and community
development. However, it is hoped that the traditional, regulatory government and
education systems in western countries will soon turn these limitations into
opportunities to introduce or pilot such alternatives as new innovative systems in
parallel or replacement with other creative systems in the future.
CHAPTER 5: CHURCH AND COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION – A PROCESS FOR

TRANSFORMATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
RICHARD TEARE
This chapter has explained and illustrated how the church and community
mobilization process (CCMP) developed over many years by Francis Njoroge is
building the capacity of entire communities. It encourages them to participate in
CCMP in partnership with GULL and discover ways in which the community can
attain greater self-reliance.
The chapter has drawn on a multi-country case study from East Africa (Kenya,
South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda) and explained how GULL has been
integrated with ongoing CCMP applications. GULL’s role is to recognize the
significant contributions made by CCMP practitioners; although ‘celebration’ is a
core component, until collaboration with GULL there was no provision for
certifying these outcomes. When the CCMP–GULL collaboration began in 2009,
regional teams were able to formally gather evidence through the development of a
community-based tracking system for documenting and quantifying the benefits
arising from CCMP – a system that particularly helps the stakeholders and
sponsors of self-directed economic development.
The limitations are that the key findings are based on a relatively narrow set of
data- gathering procedures, so it is likely that what are recognized as the outcomes
under-represent the social return on investment in CCMP since its inception in
2001. However, this work will continue and GULL’s lifelong action learning
system, which provides a reward and recognition framework motivating and
encouraging CCMP practitioners, has gained widespread support from the
participating churches and communities in the region. This is due to the
improvements that the GULL system has generated in the scope, frequency and
quality of reporting made by the development team. The fact that CCMP–GULL
participants are formally required to gather evidence relating to their own learning
journey – personally, professionally and in relation to the specific contributions
they have made – has enhanced and enriched CCMP’s impact in every church and
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community where it is used. The many individual stories of change create a rich
picture of large-scale transformational development.
CHAPTER 6: REFLECTIONS AND INSIGHTS ON THE GULL SYSTEM THROUGH

VIDEO TECHNOLOGY
ORTRUN ZUBER-SKERRITT AND RICHARD TEARE
This chapter has provided practical insights supporting each of the three case-study
chapters through referenced videos produced by the GULL Global Support Team
that are freely accessible from the GULL website (www.gullonline.org/book).
Each video presents comments and reflections on the lifelong action learning
process by GULL participants, indigenous system developers and analysts. From
the evidence provided in the eight videos, we may conclude that the GULL system
as deployed in these developing countries (Papua New Guinea, Kenya, South
Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda) has contributed to new ways of providing
holistic human development and transformational social change in these
communities at grassroots level through lifelong action learning at low cost.
The significance of this chapter is that it has demonstrated a major paradigm
shift from the traditional, exclusive formal education system to a system of
inclusive, self-directed lifelong learning for all. Participants work in action learning
sets or project teams together with mentors and coaches on resolving personally
and collectively important unaddressed issues that had seemed impossible to
address. This chapter also presents an innovation and alternative to the traditional
ways of education and community development provided by western governments
and international NGOs in developing countries at great cost – financial and human
– as their ‘gift’ of aid imposed a hierarchical, non-democratic and culturally alien
system on people who remained helpless and under-developed.
Limitations include the fact that the testament in these videos is provided by the
converted, i.e., people involved in community development in developing
countries. There is still a need for evaluating both the long-term effectiveness of
the new approach and the extent of cascading the learning outcomes from
individuals or groups into other communities over a longer period. As well,
resistance and blockage are likely from some people in governments, schools and
universities in the western world who feel a threat to their so-called traditional
‘standards and quality’, who fear change, or who are simply ignorant of the new
paradigm of learning and development required in the twenty-first century.
However, for those readers who are open to change and are keen to apply the
principles of lifelong action learning in their own context for a better world at
large, the next section provides conceptual models for an exciting new journey into
the future.
CONCEPTUAL MODELS
Having summarized and reflected on the previous chapters, we can now attempt to
conceptualize their main messages and build conceptual models from them.
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Model of learning and development for a better world

The first model is shown in Figure 7.1 and explained below.
Figure 7.1. A model of learning and development for a better world
The elements in this model are: (1) the overarching ‘Conceptual Framework of
Learning and Development in the twenty-first Century’ supported by two main
pillars (2) ‘Individual Lifelong Action Learning’ and (3) ‘Action Leadership
Development’. These are grounded in (4) ‘Community Development for Individual
and Social Change’. All four elements contribute to the central focus on (5) ‘A
Better World’. These five elements are briefly explained below.
A conceptual framework of learning and development in the twenty-first century

The overarching new conceptual framework of learning and development in the
twenty-first century (presented in Chapter 1) is called lifelong action learning
(LAL) as a concept, methodology, practice, strategy and a way of life.
The concept of LAL is based on the philosophical assumption that every person
of sound mind is capable of learning and creating knowledge on the basis of
concrete experience, reflecting on this experience and formulating general, abstract
concepts. The person can then test these new concepts in new situations and thus
have a new concrete experience (Kolb, 1984). Therefore LAL is not linear, but is
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circular, ongoing and lifelong. It is not taught from outside or above, but motivated
from inside and self-directed. It is not the product of instruction, but of action,
interaction and reflection. It is developed continuously through experience, practice
and dialogue with peers, mentors and coaches, all learning from and with one
another.
Our preferred methodology for helping people learn in a self-directed way and
for sustainable community development is Socratic, i.e., learning is elicited and
new knowledge is created by asking questions, not by giving information,
instruction or advice. It is process-oriented, rather than content-based. The practice
of LAL is inclusive, not exclusive like many formal private or public school and
higher education systems. Chapter 2 has demonstrated how – and Chapters 3–6 that
– the poorest and most disadvantaged people in subsistence communities can learn
and achieve what they never thought was possible for them in life. The practice is
collaborative, relational and conducive to reaching the impossible dream. The
strategy of LAL is flexible, yet systematic, based on systems such as GULL, PV or
CCMP as discussed in this book. When used in this way as a concept, method,
practice and strategy, LAL becomes a way of life for individual participants and
action leaders.
Individual lifelong action learning (LAL)

Although in practice LAL is collaborative learning from and with others in action
learning sets or groups or project teams, each individual member is normally
motivated and passionate to find the answer/solution to a shared question/problem/
issue/concern. Within this shared vision, each individual defines and states their
personal learning goal expressed in writing as a personal learning statement (PLS).
The individual learner reaches this goal step by step on a learning journey of
professional development, with the help of a mentor and/or coach, who in turn has
undergone professional development as an action leader (see Chapter 2).
Action leadership development

Within the LAL paradigm, leadership is not conceived as a position of control
reserved for the elite in power or at the top of a hierarchy, as in the traditional or
neo-liberal management paradigm. It can be achieved by all those who have
developed the attitude and democratic values of freedom and equality for all
humankind. Action leaders delight in helping others succeed. They are
experienced, wise, and other-centred rather than self-centred. I think a perfect
example is John Sikkema (2012). Although John does not use the terms action
learning, action research or action leadership, his book is about personal and
organizational transformation and change, and the values and principles, the
philosophical framework and research/development paradigm that underpin our
ALAR culture, strategies and practice. It is an honest account of his life story from
a shy Dutch immigrant boy in Tasmania – learning English by osmosis and
struggling to be accepted and respected by his schoolmates and teachers – to a self-
made multi-millionaire and CEO of one of the most successful financial planning
organizations in Australia.1 The book is about John Sikkema’s journey from
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success – business success and accumulation of wealth to satisfy yourself – to

significance – meaning and purpose through an enriched life, mainly by helping
others to become successful and enrich their lives by discovering their true purpose
and focus.
Action leadership can be developed through LAL in partnership with others,
through collaboration, participation, reflection on one’s own practices, and
conceptualizing on the possibilities and barriers for human and social sustainable
development.
Community development for a better world

Both action leadership and individual LAL are embedded in the new conceptual
framework introduced in this book. They contribute to (see arrows in Figure 7.1),
and are required for, effective and sustainable community development if it is to
lead to substantial, radical personal and social change– indeed, transformation – for
a better world. Community development in the past meant that rich countries
helped poor countries through ‘foreign aid’ largely in the form of food, medicine,
infrastructure and western-styled education, much of which was to suit the interests
of the donor nations and kept the people of need in recipient nations in poverty,
ignorance and with no possibility for improving their life circumstances. The poor
suffered from an unequal and unfair power relationship with their donors.
Transformational, sustainable community development means engaging with the
people at grassroots level, understanding their cultures, traditions and oppression
and empowering them to find their own solutions to problems of poverty, health
and learning to learn by developing their confidence and skills in LAL and action
leadership. In the present times when most of us live ‘connected’ lives in a global
community, we need a new mindset of people power and self-directed, collective
behaviour towards a better world with a just and equal global society. Instead of
rationality, control, technical efficiency (rather than effectiveness), neo-liberal
managerialism and national competition (sometimes leading not just to conflict but
to war), we need a better and more sustainable world for the common good of all
people for present and future generations.
Model for facilitating and cascading human and social transformation and change
The most important task in any model of learning and development for
transformational change is to ignite a flame or spark that generates in all
participants a strong motivation, commitment and passion for real, transformational
change in their organization or community. This quest for change is not only for
their own individual benefit but also for the common good. Unless this is achieved
at the outset, the change program or project is unlikely to bring about the maximum
outcomes it could otherwise produce. Therefore, time and effort spent on structured
and unstructured discussions, defining and analyzing individual and mutual
interests, needs and goals before embarking on the journey of designing a strategic
plan, implementing the plan and evaluating the results and learning outcomes is
time and effort well spent.
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Another important task is to facilitate the process of lifelong action learning

(LAL) for individuals and project teams and action leadership development (ALD)
for facilitators, mentors and coaches who help and support the individual
participants and project teams in achieving their goals. GULL methodology can be
used successfully here (see Chapter 2: PLS for goal setting, DF for reflection, RO
for evaluation, the role of coaches, etc.) to achieve maximum outcomes of LAL
and ALD for individual and social transformation and change – first in just one
community or organization to start the process for cascading. After they gain
certification, participants in their own community-change program will be able to
work with a small group in another community and facilitate the full process
(supported by a mentor/coach for each participant), as discussed in Chapter 5 and
illustrated in Figure 7.2.
It is not usual to steer discussion toward new literature in a concluding chapter.
However since this chapter offers reflection on all previous chapters and since I
recognize that a recent report opens the way for deeper insight into the previous
chapters, in the next section I turn to briefly outline the essential issues and
questions of that report, as the basis for further, more integrated reflection.
AN AVALANCHE IS COMING
As indicated in Chapter 1, An Avalanche is Coming is the title of the IPPR Report

by Barber, Donnelly and Rizvi (March 2013). Its sub-title is Higher Education and
the Revolution Ahead. In fact, the scope of the report is not restricted to higher
education, but includes the full range of formal education – from pre-school to
primary and high school to tertiary education. The report claims that “deep, radical
and urgent transformation is required in higher education as much as it is in the
school system” (p. 3); and that if the change is too slow or too incremental, as a
result of complacency, caution or anxiety, or a combination of the three, an
avalanche will come. This metaphor of the avalanche is appropriate because
anyone who stands still in the avalanche’s path will be taken by it. The Report’s
essential message is as follows:
Given the state of the global economy, tensions in international relations,
massive gaps between wealth and poverty, the deepening threat of climate
change and the ubiquity of weapons of mass destruction, our contention is
that we need a generation better educated, in the broadest and most profound
sense of that word, than ever before. We need – as the London 2012
Olympics promised – an inspired generation, all of whom are well educated
and some of whom are able to provide the bold, sophisticated leadership that
the 21st century demands. We need citizens ready to take personal
responsibility both for themselves and for the world around them: citizens
who have, and seize, the opportunity to learn and relearn throughout their
lives. We need citizens who are ready and able to take their knowledge of the
best that has been thought and said and done and apply it to the problems of
the present and the future. (p. 3)
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Figure 7.2. A model of facilitating and cascading individual and social change
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The authors of the report put important questions on the agenda, but they do not
answer them definitively. Instead they aim to provoke creative dialogue and
challenge complacency. Our present book has a similar aim, but it also seeks to
answer their main questions. For example, the Report’s key question is: How does
the entire ecosystem need to change to support alternative providers and the future
of work?
Our answer: Governments need to rethink their regulatory regimes, because in
the twenty-first century universities are no longer national but global, and private
providers, such as GULL, must be allowed to operate in fair competition alongside
public and private institutions accredited by governments. The report argues that
“students are kings” (p. 10) and shop globally for the best offerings; and that “with
every passing year, the demand for well-educated, imaginative, collaborative,
confident people who uphold personal responsibility and will go the extra mile”.
So the response must be: let the learners decide where and how they want to learn
and spend their valuable time and resources! As mentioned in the introduction to
the Report:
… the authors argue that a new phase of competitive intensity is emerging as
the concept of the traditional university itself comes under pressure and the
various functions it serves are unbundled and increasingly supplied, perhaps
better, by providers that are not universities at all. Think tanks conduct
research, private providers offer degrees, Thiel Fellowships have more
prestige than top university qualifications, and Massive Open Online Courses
(MOOCs) can take the best instructors global. Choosing among these
resources and combining them as appropriate, many of those served by
traditional universities may be able to better serve their objectives. (p. 1)
GULL is such a competitor and offers professional degrees for eligible learning. As
discussed in Chapter 1, GULL has faced difficulties in being accepted and
endorsed in western countries, but it is more interested in providing an alternative
system designed for poor or disadvantaged communities and equipping them to
take responsibility for sustaining their collaborative effort to attain greater self-
reliance and financial independence. Gull works to achieve this in a very effective
and low-cost way through (1) LAL, (2) the cascading method, (3) a reward and
recognition framework that motivates and encourages participants, and (4) an
evidence-based approach. Participants are formally required to gather evidence
relating to their learning pathway, as discussed in Chapter 2, e.g., by completing
the ‘Personal Learning Statement’ (PLS) and ‘Return on Learning Outcomes’ (RO)
forms, as well as the monthly diary form. The learner must discuss all completed
forms with their learning coach. Usually after several revisions the necessary
documentation is finally signed by the learning coach, and then sent for evaluation
to an internal and an external assessor who either approve the results or suggest
further improvements until everyone involved is satisfied. This learning journey
can be repeated as often as necessary until the assessors are satisfied that the
learner has achieved the benchmark required for the specific degree level. For the
vast majority of people in developing countries who are illiterate or semi-illiterate,
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this means that they start at the lowest level and provide evidence in a variety of
practical ways (through artefacts, harvest results, etc.) and then through literacy
programs so that they can proceed to the next levels.
The central problem many university academics have with private education
providers is allowing these providers to confer degrees. Universities, many
academics and indeed governments believe that this is the prerogative of a
traditional university. As mentioned in previous chapters, GULL offers certificates,
diplomas and degrees at the Professional Bachelor, Master and Doctor levels, as
Richard Teare has described in Part II of this book. He points out:
GULL simply aims to reach to the places where traditional universities do
not/cannot go … I don’t think it is acceptable in a 21st century world that
birthplace, money and qualifications determine whether or not people have
access to life-changing opportunities (like education). There are many
excellent indigenous action learning systems – but they all say that the
missing piece is ‘recognition’ and academia does not have an exclusive right
to use the term ‘degree’ (that's the word that resonates most with
communities) – as long as they earn their professional GULL award, that's
OK with me! (Email to author, 8 April, 2013)
The problem is that some private universities, e.g., in America, are unethical; they
effectively ‘sell’ degrees for money instead of quality work. It is therefore
understandable that traditional universities and their academic staff have become
suspicious of degrees conferred by any private education provider, especially new
institutions without established histories that attest to their integrity. Richard’s case
studies in this book illustrate the rigour of GULL’s outcomes mapping approach. In
discussion with Richard about the significance of lifestyle related learning
outcomes, he responded:
Critics should look carefully at the learning outcomes that must be attained
and demonstrated prior to receiving professional Bachelor level awards. For
example, Samuel Tam’s professional Bachelor level 3 candidates must secure
a trading surplus of approximately US$2,000 prior to receiving this award
(this is his benchmark for determining self-reliance and financial
independence). Given the challenges of subsistence living, this is a
remarkable achievement. I very much doubt if I could attain this if we were
to ‘trade places’. … GULL is very much at the forefront of discussions with
NGOs like World Vision in relation to community-led impact tracking; and
its online tracking, review and corrective action (TRACA) system helps to
facilitate this transition. See: http://www.gullonline.org/traca/
Affiliated organizations cannot work with GULL unless they accept and abide by
GULL’s code of practice (http://www.gullonline.org/affiliate/affiliate-with-
GULL/index.html) and its strict criteria for entry to professional Master and Doctor
pathways. See ‘Getting Started’ resources: http://www.gullonline.org/affiliate/
getting-started/index.html. As the requirements are so stringent, and since these
degree programs were introduced in 2007, only a small number of people have
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attained Professional Master and Doctor awards in community settings

(approximately 30 at M Prof level and approximately 10 at D Prof level) – all of
them have been senior NGO staff (and all D Prof candidates have been NGO
executive leaders). Candidates for M Prof and D Prof must demonstrate a strategic
contribution via projects that help many other people.
GULL is able to provide lifelong action learning that is relevant to and
accessible for everyone who wants to learn and improve their life situation.
However, to keep running expenses down, GULL cannot deal with individual
learners, and it needs to be in partnership with affiliated organizations that sign an
agreement with GULL, that is, these organizations comply with the GULL code of
practice and take responsibility for the quality assurance and tracking process.
An Avalanche is Coming has set the scene for many private education providers
like GULL in the future and for traditional universities to adapt more radically and
more rapidly to the needs of learners in the twenty-first century. Even so early in
this century, competition and collaboration in our global world are accepted and
appreciated, rather than being considered as a paradox.
CONCLUSIONS
In this book, Richard and I have argued and demonstrated that lifelong action
learning is an effective methodology for developing creative, innovative,
collaborative, confident and self-educated, holistic human beings, who take
responsibility for their own and others’ lives and who create jobs for themselves
and others. They are lifelong learners and action leaders who work together
towards unity and constant change, bringing cosmos out of chaos.
However, being located and living in a LAL paradigm can often be likened to
being a ‘stranger in a foreign land’ and sometimes being the odd ones out or
swimming against a very strong cultural current. It takes courage and confidence to
march to a different drumbeat instead of conforming to the status quo. In my
experience, it is more productive to relate to like-minded people who support one
another in working together towards positive common goals, rather than wasting
time and energy fighting against and responding to constant, destructive criticism.
We in LAL learn from constructive criticism from ‘critical friends’ who, because
they are loving and caring, are carefully constructive and cooperative with others.
Building good relationships means that we must learn to deal with our own
criticism and condemnation of others. As was once said, when criticism is high,
then love is low, but when love is high, criticism is low. Any criticism must always
be constructive, helpful and Socratic, i.e., through asking probing questions, rather
than telling people what to do and how to do it. As Peterson (2003, p. 20)
consolingly says: “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate
instead of compete and fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and
your place in God’s family”.
Because of the explosion of knowledge and new technologies and the blazing
speed with which they are created and used, it is impossible to learn ‘content’ as in
the past. We need to learn the ‘processes’ of learning how to learn. This involves
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play, trial and error, not being afraid to fail, to try new things, to explore the
unknown world, to face unexpected problems and figure out for ourselves and with
one another how to solve them. The new challenges for today’s and tomorrow’s
worlds are to create innovators with vision, motivation, passion, purpose and
action, who can teach themselves by selecting the right people they can learn from
and with.
The true heartbeat and spirit of self-directed lifelong action learning can be
found in the brilliant and creative system designers like Francis Njoroge (CCMP),
Samuel Tam (PV) and Richard Teare (GULL) who are innovating and leading the
way. Their work truly encourages and enables economically poor communities to
engage in self-development. Their work indicates that subsistence community
people know what to do, but they need encouragement, structure and a system to
support them. Since its inception in 2007, the GULL system has been successful in
over 40 countries and has provided encouragement, structure and a certification
and tracking system to other learning and development agencies, such as World
Vision International (WVI in Chapter 3), Personal Viability (PV in Chapter 4) and
Church and Community Mobilization Process (CCMP in Chapter 5) at no or low
cost.
Video technology has been usefully applied in this book to illustrate the case
studies with indigenous learners, their facilitators, system developers and NGO
staff and volunteers who have provided testimonies and evidence of what and how
they have learnt and achieved – for them an impossible dream. They obviously
found the process challenging, but motivating and inspiring. As individual learners
they also showed commitment and passion for community development and
change (see top circle in Figure 7.2). Whether as individual LAL participants or
action leaders (the pillars in Figure 7.1), they were proud of their evidence-based
outcomes and of having achieved their goals to meet the strict GULL requirements
at their particular level.
In this book our aims are not to replace or compete with the formal education
system, but to enhance current thinking in lifelong action learning processes, no
matter what stages people are at. We also aim to challenge those aspects of current
thinking and processes that might not be serving the interests and needs of
communities. We do not want to throw out the baby with the bath water, but to
build on and constantly improve education for all people in their particular
situation.
We hope that this book will encourage readers, communities, development
agencies and creative system designers to adopt or adapt the GULL system or to
create their own innovation system that enables all people, especially the hitherto
excluded, poor and disadvantaged, to unlock their human potential for positive
social change and transformation. In this book we have explored the legacy of
GULL in the context of developing countries. What can be learnt from the GULL
experiences for developed countries? This is the focal question in our next book,
especially on educational alternatives for youth and future leaders in the twenty-
first century. As the world is changing so rapidly, their future is undefined. We
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argue that they – and we all – need lifelong action learning as a driving force to be
equipped for constant and complex change.
POSTSCRIPT
As I finish this concluding chapter, I’ve viewed the video, “The Girl Who Silenced
the World for Six Minutes” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sj00vO48MTk,
accessed 30 July 2013). To reinforce the importance of the message and
methodology of our present book for the immediate future, I urge readers to watch
this video if possible, for this child’s words in 1992 are as resonant and inspiring
today as they were then.
Canadian Severn Suzuki, then 12 years old, delivered her powerful and
passionate speech before delegates at the UN Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, as a
representative of the Environmental Children’s Organization (ECO) that she and
her friends established. She is now aged 32, a mother of two, and still a passionate
environmental youth activist. Interviewed by a representative of the UNEP
(UN Environment Program), she offered this insightful response to the question
“what can young people do?” (http://www.unep.org/environmentalgovernance/
PerspectivesonRIO20/SevernSuzuki/tabid/55518/Default.aspx, accessed 30 July
2013)
First follow your passion. What are you interested in? What are you good at?
Society now needs everyone in every field to become sustainable. People
think to make a difference they must become an “environmentalist”. I
disagree. Become whatever you’re interested in first and then bring
sustainability to it.
It’s also important to experience and know the environment around you. Visit
your dump. Visit your reservoir or water treatment plants. Go to the sites of
local environmental conflicts and learn what the issues are. You’ll feel
invested and become an authority, giving you confidence to speak out.
There’s nothing more powerful than youth speaking the truth.
1. In your own words, what is the main message of this book?

2. What do you agree or disagree with?
3. What have you learnt from reading this book?
4. What will you do in future as a consequence of this learning/insight?
FURTHER READINGS
The avalanche is coming: Higher education and the revolution ahead.

http://www.ippr.org/images/media/files/publication/2013/03/avalanche-is-
coming_Mar2013_10432.pdf (accessed 30 June 2013).
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Chapter 1 on ‘From action learning and action research to action leadership’. In

Zuber-Skerritt, O. (2011). Action leadership: Towards a participatory
paradigm. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer International, pp. 1–19.
Kearney, J., & Zuber-Skerritt, O. (2012). From learning organization to learning
community: Sustainability through lifelong learning. The Learning
Organization, 19(5), 400–413.
Browsing the GULL website: www.gullonline.org
NOTES
1
John Sikkema founded Garrisons, a financial planning company in Tasmania and finally sold the
company as a franchise business with 65 offices across Australia for $40 million to Challenger, a
Packard-backed international company. He is now CEO of Halftime® Australia, an organization that
is, in essence, a community of individuals together seeking to support, encourage, learn and
accelerate the attainment of a life that is truly significant.
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238
NAME INDEX
Achaloi, J., 145, 202, 203, 205, 207–209 Donnenberg, O., 15, 26
Alibe, P. S., 205, 207 Dotlich, D. L., 15, 26
Argyris, C., 18, 21, 26
Aristotle, 4 Egelan, M., 203, 204, 209, 210
Aspin, D., 10, 26, 28 Ellstrom, P., 72, 91
Aung San Suu Kyi, 52, 221 Elmuti, D., 73, 91
Emiau, S. P., 144, 205, 207, 208, 210
Bagnall, R., 11, 12, 26
Baker, B. A., 71, 91 Fadel, C., 7, 13, 28
Barber, M., 8, 26, 231, 238 Fals Borda, O., 4, 26, 30, 54
Bartlet, B., 55 Fauré, E. & Associates, 4, 26
Bateson, G., 21, 26 Fink, D., 38, 54
Beadle, R., 55, 185, 186 Fisher, D., 22, 28
Begashaw, G., 187, 189 Fletcher, M. A., 15, 26
Bellanca, J., 7, 25, 26, 185, 186 Ford, H., 72
Berryman, M., 7, 8, 26 Francis of Assisi, St, 23, 167, 184
Billett, S., 75, 91 Freire, P., 4, 13, 18, 26, 30, 54
Bittanti, M., 173, 185
Boshyk, Y., 7, 15, 26 Garrick, J., 75, 91
Botuo, M., 197–199 Gentry, W. A., 71, 91
Boyd, D., 173, 185 Gerber, R., 69, 70, 91
Bradbury, H., 7, 27, 54, 55 Gilchrist, A., 20, 26
Brandt, R., 7, 25, 26, 185, 186 Gosling, J., 70, 91, 92
Brockbank, A., 7, 15, 27, 53, 54 Gutenberg, 171
Burns, D., 7, 26
Hargreaves, A., 38, 54
Carroll, A. M., 37, 47, 48, 53, 54 Harris, L. S., 71, 91
Castillo-Burguete, M. T., 30, 54 Hatton, M., 10, 26, 28
Chapman, J., 10, 26, 28 Herr-Stephenson, B., 173, 185
Cheetham, G., 69, 91 Hitu, A., 124, 196–199
Chivers, G., 69, 91 Holian, R., 73, 91
Civelli, F., 72, 91 Honey, P., 38, 54
Clegg, S., 75, 91 Horst, H., 173, 185
Clinton, K., 170, 186 Hutchinson, J., 137, 138
Dardar, M., 197, 199 Illich, I., 30, 54

Davies, D., 7, 28, 92 Isaya, E., 203, 204, 206–210
de Jong, F., 75, 91 Ito, M., 173, 185
Dede, C., 170, 185
Denicolo, P., 34, 53, 54 Jackson, S., 7, 13, 27
Dewey, J., 4, 18, 26, 73 Jagu, M. G., 202, 203
Dick, B., 26, 34, 36, 43, 47, 53, 54, 62 Jarvis, P., 7, 26, 27
Dickinson, F., 30, 54 Jenkins, H., 170, 186
Dilworth, R., 7, 15, 26 Johnson, L. B., 23, 52
Dixon, P., 68, 91 Jones, N., 72, 91
Donnelly, K., 8, 26, 231, 238
239
NAME INDEX
Kearney, J., 53, 185, 186, 238 Peterson, E. H., 235, 238
Kelly, G. A., 16, 18, 27, 33, 54 Piggot-Irvine, E., 53
Kolb, D., 16, 18, 27, 33, 38, 54, 228, 238 Plato, 4, 217
Kretzmann, J., 22, 27 Poggo, A., 135, 142, 200, 204, 207
Lange, P. G., 173, 185 Pope, M., 34, 53, 54
Lao-Tzu, 22, 103 Purushotma, R., 170, 186
Ledwith, M., 7, 27
Letiche, H., 75, 91 Raelin, J. A., 7, 27
Lewin, K., 4, 27, 30, 42, 54 Rahman, M. A., 30, 26, 54
Lloyd, B., 73, 91 Reason, P., 7, 27, 54, 55
Loku, F., 184, 201, 203 Revans, R., 4, 15, 27, 30, 38, 54, 67, 71,
Longworth, N., 7, 25, 27 72, 90–92, 212
Richardson, W., 172, 173, 186
Marquardt, M. J., 15, 27 Rizvi, S., 8, 26, 231, 238
Marsick, V., 15, 27 Robertson, I., 70, 92
Matane, P., 126, 177, 186, 189, 196, 198, Robertson, J., 38, 54
210 Robinson, A. J., 170, 186
Maxwell, J. C., 23, 27, 184, 186 Robinson, G., 72, 91
McGill, I., 7, 15, 27, 53, 54 Robinson, K., 7, 9, 27
McKenna, S., 71, 73, 91 Rumints, C., 191, 193
McKnight, J. L., 22, 27
Meister, J. C., 73, 91 Sadler-Smith, E., 70, 92
Mgomi, J., 184, 206, 207 Samuel, H. M., 204, 207
Minewbi, A., 193 Sandelands, E., 7, 28, 92
Mintzberg, H., 70, 91, 92 Sapit, J. o., 206, 207
Moggson, W. E., 142, 202–204, 207–209 Sawano, Y., 10, 26, 28
Montalvo, A., 186–189 Schön, D. A., 14, 16, 18, 21, 26, 27, 33,
Mooney, E., 214 54, 71, 72, 92
Mumford, A., 38, 54 Schuller, R., 169, 184
Sempele, J., 184, 187–189
Naija, M., 209, 210 Sheehan, P., 10, 28
Nevin, A., 7, 8, 26 Sikkema, J., 229, 238
Njelango, J. W., 134, 136, 140–142, 146, Sila, A., 30, 54
148–154, 159, 164, 165, 178, 199–203 Sloman, M., 75, 92
Njoroge, F., 133, 134, 136, 138, 148, Smith, P. J., 70, 92
150, 152–155, 161, 163, 226, 236 Socrates, 38, 39, 51, 229, 235
Nkola, J., 205, 207 Somare, M., viii, xi, 210
Noel, J. L., 15, 26 SooHoo, S., 7, 8, 26
Noordegraaf, M., 73, 92 Stringer, E., 30, 54, 55, 185, 186
Nyamoga, J., 203 Suzuki, S. (Cullis-Suzuki, S.), 237, 238
Nyoni, S., 30, 54 Swantz, M.-L., 30, 55
Olsson, M., 175, 189 Tam, S., 99, 100, 103, 124–127, 176,
O’Neil, J., 15, 27 177, 190–196, 225, 234, 236
Ong’ele, S., 175, 187–189 Taylor, M. M., 7, 18, 19, 22, 25, 28
Osumba, E., 187–189, 206, 207 Teare, R., vii, viii, xix, 5, 7, 14, 23, 28,
30, 40, 50–52, 65, 67, 72, 92, 99, 133,
Paloniemi, S., 72, 92 161, 163, 167, 169, 170, 174, 177,
Passfield, R., 37, 47, 48, 53, 54 178, 186, 187, 189, 214, 224–227,
Pedler, M., 15, 27 234, 236
240
NAME INDEX
Thomas, M., 75, 92 Wakefield, L., 70, 92

Torbert, W., 21, 22, 28 Weigel, R., 170, 186
Trilling, B., 7, 13, 28 Wenger, E., 5, 28
Tselam, G., 197, 199 West, P., 70, 92
Wiau, P., 124, 197–199
van Boeschoten, R., 75, 91
Viga de Alva, M. D., 30, 54 Zuber-Skerritt, O., viii, xix, 1, 3, 7, 9, 14,
15, 23, 25–29, 38, 39, 43, 45, 46, 48,
Wagner, T., 7, 9, 28, 171, 186 53–55, 67, 103, 167, 169, 171, 185,
Wain, K., 12, 28 186, 221, 223, 227, 238
241
SUBJECT INDEX
A better world, 4, 19, 22, 23, 25, 51, 52, mainstream, 9, 11, 20, 189
167, 170, 173, 183, 221, 222, 228, practical, 6, 40, 210, 216
230 Socratic, 39, 51, 229, 235
Academic staff development, 30 systemized, 68, 87, 107, 118, 146,
Action leadership, 31, 38, 170, 181, 221, 177, 181, 194, 225
223, 228–231, 238 to traditional learning, 223, 225
transformational, 170 western-dominated, 30, 226, 227,
Action learning 230, 233
lifelong, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 16–20, 24, 25, Assumptions, 11, 12, 21, 74, 135
29–52, 67, 78, 81, 90, 99, 103, epistemological, 16
105, 118, 169, 170, 174, 184, philosophical, 5, 8, 15, 228
221–224, 227, 229, 231, 235, 236 Avalanche, 231–235
literature, 7, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 47
pathway, 29, 65, 83, 84, 86, 102, 103, Campus, 108, 121, 122, 176, 177, 193–
233 195
performance, 21, 50, 71, 74 business, 177
principle, 4, 5, 12, 22, 23, 31, 38, 39, corporate, 177, 195
51, 52, 71, 223, 224 micro, 177
self-directed, 6, 7, 31, 40–42, 51, 77, Cascade, 84–87
81, 82, 85, 169, 170, 184, 223– Cascading, 7, 144, 175, 182, 221, 222,
227, 236 227, 230–233
set, 17, 31, 36, 39, 41, 42, 46, 169 Case study/ies, 8, 23, 65, 78, 91, 99, 125,
system, 30, 68, 87, 88, 152, 175, 178, 133–135, 153, 167, 172, 190, 193,
226 196, 199, 201, 204, 207, 210, 211,
team, 37, 46, 72, 170, 181 213, 224–227, 234, 236
Action research, 1, 7, 8, 15, 22, 25, 26, Change
34, 42–48, 50, 51, 53, 185, 229, 238 behaviour, 75, 93, 95, 107, 127, 137
aims, 7–9 exponential, 21, 25
spiral, 29, 53 mindset, 65, 123, 142
Activism personal, 95, 162, 163
local, 170 positive, 8, 9, 21, 41, 67, 167, 221,
Approach, 1, 3, 5–8, 10, 15, 16, 19, 20, 222
21, 23, 29, 30, 33, 38, 40, 46, 50, 51, radical, 9, 167, 222, 230, 231, 235
65, 67, 68, 71, 74, 76–79, 81, 82, 84– rapid, 4, 9, 221, 235, 236
88, 90, 92, 97, 99, 103–105, 107, 110, social, 169, 170, 227, 228, 230, 236
111, 115, 117, 118, 120, 122, 124, substantial, 101, 102, 230
126, 136, 137, 144, 146, 147, 152, Church and Community Mobilization
154, 177, 179, 181, 182, 184, 185, CCMP, 133–152
194, 204, 210–212, 215–219, 223– CCMP–GULL, 134, 141, 143–146,
225, 227, 234 148, 152
alternative, 223, 226 decision-making, 135, 136, 138
critical, 223 implementation, 137, 140, 143, 144,
evidence-based, 74, 90, 152, 233 149, 158
instrumental, 223 process, 133–153
learning, 6, 65, 76, 78, 90, 124, 154, stages, 137, 139, 141, 143, 145, 149,
181, 182, 209, 225 156, 160, 163, 165
243
SUBJECT INDEX
Coach, 15, 17, 31, 33, 34, 36–39, 49, 53, Community of practice, 5, 38
58, 61, 77, 81, 93, 103, 108, 113, Complexity, 3, 4
115–119, 122, 130, 131, 144, 154, Concept, 1, 3–5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 15, 16, 19,
169, 184, 192, 194, 224, 227, 229, 25, 50, 67, 68, 70, 72, 78, 79, 87, 99,
231, 233 103–105, 107, 110, 111, 117, 119,
personal learning, 31, 33, 38–42, 50, 124, 135, 136, 144, 146, 147, 153,
51, 93–95, 114, 233 157, 158, 174, 176, 180, 193, 208,
Collaboration, 6, 8, 9, 13, 14, 17, 23, 31, 210, 223, 228, 229, 233
33, 44, 45, 47, 49, 51, 78, 81, 91, 104, abstract, 228
121, 125, 133, 134, 137, 146, 148, general, 5
180, 181, 190, 193, 196, 199, 223– Conceptual
226, 230, 235 framework, 5, 15, 23, 24, 25, 200,
collaborative, 33–40 223, 228, 230
Common good, 9, 11, 18, 230 model, 227–231
Communication, 13, 22, 23, 31, 33, 34, Conceptualization, 4, 15, 17, 49
45, 49, 51, 70, 71, 170, 171, 173, 224 Conclusion, 12, 23, 24, 50, 86, 89, 90,
tool, 173 123, 124, 138, 152, 167, 183, 184,
Community 221–238
disadvantaged, 7, 9, 17, 19, 22, 25, Content, 13, 17, 68, 80, 93–95, 126, 172,
45, 47, 183, 185, 221, 233, 236 223, 235
economically poor, 6, 67, 81, 90, 124, based, 17, 229
135, 140, 152, 153, 224, 226, 236 Control, 7, 70, 71, 99, 100, 123, 177,
empowerment, 36, 139, 153, 179, 190, 195, 222, 225, 229, 230
180, 202, 209, 214 Cooperation, 17, 21, 23, 146
engagement, 12, 20, 72, 80, 174, 184 Country, -ies
enhancement, 81, 135, 136 developed, 183, 185, 223, 225, 236
improvement, 18, 22, 38, 41, 45, 71, developing, 8, 9, 11, 19, 23, 65, 99,
74, 80, 102, 130, 134 169, 173, 174, 184, 223, 225–227,
learning, 19, 22, 86 233, 236
-led impact tracking, 81, 87, 153, 234 third world, 177, 195, 198
local, 121, 136, 143, 183 Creativity, 9, 13, 18, 37, 110
mobilization, 133–165 Critical
poor, 4, 8, 67, 80, 90, 124, 135, 140, friends, 39, 40, 42, 235
152, 153, 224, 226, 236 Criticism, 43, 45, 76, 235
rural, 51, 65, 81, 133, 212 constructive, 235
subsistence, 68, 87, 99–101, 103, destructive, 235
105, 110, 115, 124, 229, 236 Cultural
volunteer, 78, 79, 81, 82, 84–86, 91, change, 11, 74
157, 175, 186, 189, 190 context, 11, 12, 16
Community development, 3–8, 11, 12, Culture, 8, 12, 14, 30, 33, 39, 50, 67, 68,
19, 20, 22, 23, 25, 29–31, 41, 43, 46, 70, 72, 81, 99, 123, 142, 144, 178,
51–53, 68, 77, 81, 84, 85, 87, 88, 90, 190, 218, 219, 224, 225, 229, 230
97, 100, 117, 124, 134, 137, 138, 144, Indigenous, 8, 11, 12, 30, 50, 81, 99,
146, 147, 149, 150, 151, 162, 163, 123, 124, 142, 167, 176, 190, 230
169, 174, 184, 185, 193, 222–228, subsistence, 68, 87, 99, 100, 103,
230, 236 105, 107, 110, 115–124, 176, 181,
assets-based, 22 190, 195, 225, 229, 234, 236
sustainable, 12, 18, 20–23, 46, 150, Cycle, 14, 16, 29, 33, 48, 53, 69, 71, 74,
229, 230 86, 88, 89, 93, 146, 211, 229
transformational, 11, 20–23, 30
244
SUBJECT INDEX
Development Disasters, 154, 160, 161

business class, 124, 225, 226 natural, 18, 22
capacity building, 6, 7, 20, 38, 81, human-induced, 4, 9, 21
84–86, 152, 153, 164, 178, 200
character, 65, 92, 118 East Africa, 6, 65, 88, 90, 134, 140, 147,
competence, 119 148, 150–152, 163, 164, 167, 184,
consultant, 4, 43, 76, 171 186, 222, 226
economic, 79, 102, 121, 124, 125, Education
126, 153, 193, 226 alternative, 1, 3, 169, 170, 183–185,
entrepreneurial, 103, 112, 124–126, 223, 227, 236
177, 195, 199, 225 business class, 177, 195
financial independence, 99–124 formal, 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 11, 12, 17, 19,
holistic, 7, 82, 92, 99, 117, 118, 138, 25, 65, 80, 122, 169, 170, 176,
149, 164, 217, 218, 225 179, 183–185, 203, 223, 227, 231,
human and social, 222, 230 236
inside-out, 25, 27 high school, 24, 155, 231
micro-enterprise, 102, 103 higher, 5, 6, 8, 9, 19, 25, 171, 172,
outside-in, 20, 22, 30, 111, 121, 179 186, 217, 221–223, 229, 231
personal, 11, 71, 93, 144, 153 leadership, 30, 38, 54, 184
practitioner, 4, 14, 15, 16, 33, 34, 36, mainstream, 9, 11, 20
38, 47, 94, 134, 141, 145, 148, management, 5, 71
174, 200, 226 postgraduate, 30, 36, 39, 42, 47, 174
process, 20, 68, 82, 87, 104, 108, 118, pre-school, 11, 231
121, 123, 124, 133, 138, 141, 144, primary, 77, 83, 110, 111, 231
148, 225, 226 provider, 30, 112, 233–235
professional, 31, 38, 40, 41, 50, 65, tertiary, 172, 217, 231
67, 76, 81, 171 transformational, 172
skill, 50, 170 western-styled, 230
step-by-step, 8, 37, 82, 99, 108, 117, working class, 118, 124, 176, 181,
118, 123, 136, 141, 225 190, 226
sustainable, 20, 21, 23, 25, 102, 106, Effectiveness, 13, 26, 45, 67, 68, 74, 86,
107, 112, 117, 121, 123, 134, 135, 99, 138, 227, 230
146, 179, 221 Efficiency, 80
technical, 68, 93, 94, 95, 223 technical, 230
transformational, 133–152 Empowerment, 11, 18, 20, 36, 139, 180,
working class, 118, 124, 176, 190, 202, 209, 214
226 Epistemology, 16
Dialogue, 14, 15, 22, 38, 104, 135, 147, Equity, 9, 11
229 Ethical, 8, 11, 12, 234
creative, 233 behaviour, 14, 223
Diary Evidence-based, 152, 233
daily, 29, 31–33, 51, 224 learning, 5, 6, 52, 67–90, 175, 178,
form, 233 179, 185, 186, 223–225
format (DF), 29, 31, 33, 51, 53, 93, outcomes, 236
224 Examples, 8, 30, 124, 134, 160, 225
monthly, 29, 33, 53, 233 practical, 6, 14, 18, 19, 30, 34, 36,
weekly, 29, 31–33, 51, 53 39, 43, 72, 78, 84, 88, 90, 120,
Disadvantaged, 3, 5, 7, 9, 17, 19, 22, 25, 131, 172, 174, 178, 223, 229,
47, 80, 96, 183–185, 211, 216, 221, 233, 234
223, 229, 233, 236 Exclusion, 7
245
SUBJECT INDEX
Experience, 4, 5, 14–17, 19, 31–34, 38, code of practice, 40, 88, 96, 97, 215,
39, 43, 47, 49, 50, 67–69, 71, 74–76, 234, 235
79, 83, 85, 90, 97, 103, 107, 108, 111, impact, 88, 97, 141, 178, 180, 189,
116, 120, 132, 141, 144, 150, 159, 215
160, 164, 178, 184, 199, 200, 211, mission, 6, 174, 210, 212, 216, 219
223, 228, 229, 236 recognition, 144–146, 161–163, 175,
concrete, 14, 16, 228 178, 179, 182
practical, 6, 19, 38, 45, 50, 51, 96, requirement, 88, 143, 197, 215
108, 234 reward system, 178
role, 134, 210, 226
Facilitator, 4, 23, 31, 43–45, 47, 49, 81, support manager, 171
83, 88, 89, 93–95, 97, 138, 139, 142– system, 169–184
146, 149, 150, 155–158, 161–164, tracking, review and corrective action
178, 200–203, 206, 208, 214, 224, (TRACA), 87–89
231, 236 tracking system, 81, 87–89, 134, 140,
Figure eight, 48 147, 152, 154, 178, 199, 200, 219,
Financial 226, 236
asset break point, 113, 197 website/webpage, 23, 29, 33, 40, 41,
independence, 99–124 71, 78, 90, 91, 96, 97, 125, 126,
Framework, 8, 12, 13, 17, 65, 69, 102, 135, 153, 154, 167, 169, 171, 173,
135, 146, 147, 152, 170, 217, 224, 175, 185, 190, 193, 196, 199, 201,
226, 229, 233 204, 207, 210–220, 238, 227
conceptual, 3, 5, 15, 23, 24, 25, 200,
223, 228, 230 Higher education, 5, 6, 8, 9, 19, 25, 46,
theoretical, 1, 3, 171, 183 171, 172, 216, 217, 221, 222, 229,
Further reading, 23, 25, 47, 53, 185, 237 231, 237
Future formal, 223
generation, 20, 21, 124, 218, 226, 230 Human
-oriented, 9 development, 65, 99, 102, 110, 112,
116, 118, 123, 124, 169, 176, 177,
Gift, 7, 31, 52, 146, 221–223, 227 181, 184, 191, 193–195, 225, 227
Global potential, 4, 5, 7, 8, 17, 18, 23, 51, 65,
awareness, 170 138, 144, 175, 236
classroom, 172 talent, 124, 225
University for Lifelong Learning
(GULL), 40, 50, 96, 107, 134, Inclusion, 7, 9, 20
211, 222 Indigenous, 4, 11, 99, 100, 121, 122,
Globalization, 3, 4, 13 167, 185, 222, 225, 234, 236
Graduation ceremony, 180, 207, 208 entrepreneur, 122, 177, 196
Grassroots, 9, 20, 51, 99, 100, 103, 104, knowledge, 3
118, 122, 125, 126, 129, 142, 176, system, 65, 123, 133, 167, 169, 171,
184, 192, 197, 198, 201, 225 174, 225, 227
level, 142, 169, 184, 227, 230 Information technology, 4
university, 104–108, 121–123, 125, Innovation, 9, 13, 18, 49, 74, 96, 102,
176, 177, 181, 184, 193–196 123, 169, 170, 172, 174, 183, 227,
GULL 236
agreement with, 235 self-directed, 5, 22, 67, 68, 71, 77, 81,
celebration, 203 82, 85, 87, 88, 90
certification, 144, 176, 178, 179, 185, Innovative
186, 193, 211, 215, 219 network, 47, 76, 77, 172
246
SUBJECT INDEX
principles, 5, 68, 71, 83, 84, 87, 96 creative, 3

processes, 5, 77, 82, 85 double-loop, 21, 22, 74
program, 178 emergent, 19, 25
project, 154, 178 environment, 4, 38, 39, 78
Innovator, 9, 222, 236 evidence-based, 5, 6, 52, 67–98, 175,
International 178, 179, 186, 223–225, 233, 236
development agencies, 173 facilitating, 13, 81, 223
NGO, 78, 169, 184, 227 from experience, 33, 75
Introduction, 4, 5, 10, 29–31, 46, 47, group, 31, 37, 41, 46, 88, 89, 183
123, 170–171, 221, 222, 233 innovative, 5, 13, 17, 18, 24, 49, 74,
Issue, 9, 14, 17, 22, 23, 25, 30, 40, 42– 78, 154, 169, 170, 178, 183, 223,
44, 46, 52, 68, 70, 74, 89, 119, 135, 226, 227, 235, 236
140, 153, 156–159, 169, 172, 175, journey,7, 31, 40, 84, 85, 95, 152,
181, 182, 184, 188, 205, 209, 221, 154, 175, 178, 186–188, 217, 218,
223, 225, 227, 229, 231, 237 223, 226, 229, 233
lifelong, 10–14, 16–19, 30, 38, 40,
Journey 68–70, 78, 82, 89, 90, 95, 174,
from success to significance, 230 206, 207, 211, 216, 217, 219, 223
learning, 7, 31, 40, 84, 85, 86, 95, ongoing, 84
152, 154, 175, 178, 186, 187, 188, outcomes, 32, 41, 49, 50, 52, 65, 74,
217, 218, 223, 226, 229, 233 77, 78, 81, 83, 84, 86, 94, 175,
189, 212, 215, 216, 219, 225, 227,
Kenya, 5, 17, 78–80, 133–135, 137, 138, 230, 233, 234
140, 147, 150, 151, 154, 155, 167, personal, 17, 31–33, 38–41, 50, 51,
169, 174, 175, 178–181, 184, 186– 74, 92, 93, 162, 163, 224, 229,
189, 201, 204, 207, 210, 213, 224, 233
226, 227 practical, 6, 216
Knowledge self-directed, 7, 11, 17, 73, 183, 224,
application, 159 225
construction, 4, 8, 10 single-loop, 21, 22, 74
creation, 7, 9, 16, 51, 170, 185, 122 situation, 172, 183
explosion of, 235, 236 style, 38
generation, 44, 77, 231 task, 172, 173, 183
personal, 223 triple-loop, 19, 21, 22, 25
propositional, 14, 223 workplace, 67, 73, 89
scientific, 4, 223 Learning and development, 1–24
shared, 77 alternative system of, 183
sharing, 14, 223 Lifelong Action learning (LAL), 29–53
theoretical, 3, 14, 205 activities, 31
collaborative, 29, 229
Leadership creative, 44, 45
development, 5, 19, 30, 221, 228, cycles, 48
229, 231 flexible, 229
issue, 30 paradigm, 169
transformational, 19, 170, 223, 226, principles, 31
227, 229, 230 Lifelong learning, 10–14, 16–19, 30, 38,
Learning 40, 68–70, 78, 82, 89, 90, 95, 174,
autonomous, 31, 40, 51 206, 207, 211, 216, 217, 219, 223
barriers to, 173, 221 Limitations, 223, 227
collaborative, 29, 229 Literacy, -ies
247
SUBJECT INDEX
digital, 13, 170 alternative, 16

Maasai, 175 dominant, 13, 223
new, 171, 173, 231 emerging, 222
learning, 5, 16, 227
Managerialism, 230 shift, 13, 15, 169, 184, 227
neo-liberal, 229, 230 Participation, 5, 11, 44, 77, 78, 80, 134,
Mentor, 169, 175, 184, 187, 224 179, 211
Message, 179, 206, 221, 223, 227, 231, Participatory action learning and action
237 research (PALAR), 15
Metaphor, 10, 19, 231 Pathway, 102, 103
Method, 43, 150, 152, 183, 229 PV–GULL, 122, 225
Methodology, 142 Personal
LAL, 222 learning, 17, 31–33, 38–41, 50, 51,
of R&D, 222 74, 92, 93, 162, 163, 224, 229,
Mindset, 71 233
change of, 65, 123, 142, 153 learning goal, 229
Model, 32, 228, 230, 231 learning statement (PLS), 17, 29, 31,
Motivation, 42, 45, 136, 179, 230 40, 41, 51, 53, 229, 233
responsibility, 231, 233
Needs analysis, 46, 51 viability (PV), 99, 103, 104, 125,
Neoliberalism, 13 126, 176, 184, 190, 193, 196, 199,
Networking, 170 222, 225, 236
NGO, 30, 50, 67, 77, 78, 81–83, 137, Plan, 32, 41, 47, 49, 50, 74, 80, 81, 89,
169, 170, 173, 174, 177–180, 183, 94, 102, 104, 107, 108, 113, 121, 129,
184, 195, 204, 216, 227, 234 130, 134–137, 140, 149, 158–160,
executive leaders, 235 162, 230
leaders, 178 strategic, 47, 230
staff, 52, 81, 84, 85, 87, 235, 236 Poor, 3, 4, 7, 9, 19, 22, 25, 30, 51, 67,
volunteers, 81 80, 81, 90, 102, 106, 112, 124, 135,
Nominal group technique, 42–44, 51, 55 140, 142
Power relationship, 230
Openness, 23, 37, 71, 96, 159 unfair, 230
Organization Poverty, 4, 8, 11, 22, 30, 103, 121, 125,
affiliated, 40, 88, 96, 97, 211, 214, 205
215, 234, 235 Presentation and celebration day, 31, 47,
community-based, 67, 68, 87, 215, 50, 51
224 Problem-solving, 9, 13, 21, 22, 31, 42,
development, 4–6, 41, 46, 49–51, 67, 95, 223, 224
72, 78, 120, 224 Process
Organizational of lifelong action learning, 231
change, 229 oriented, 229
culture, 68–70 tracking, 235
learning, 67, 68, 75, 76 Professional
Other-centredness, 7, 9 Bachelor, 83–85, 96, 110, 116, 141–
Outline, 3, 29, 67, 99, 113, 169, 210, 221 144, 161–163,
Degree, 65, 83, 85, 94, 177, 195, 196,
Papua New Guinea, 5, 6, 90, 99, 100, 233
125, 126, 167, 169, 184, 189, 196 Doctor, 117
Paradigm, 1, 3, 7, 8, 13, 16, 22, 25, 65, Master, 83, 116, 148, 235
110, 170, 174, 224, 229, 235
248
SUBJECT INDEX
Professionalism, 67–69, 71, 72, 77, 96, on learning outcomes, 233

97, 115, 218 on learning outputs (RO), 29, 31, 51,
Professionalization, 182 53
Program
alternative, 184 Schooling, 12, 13, 30, 77, 80, 173, 223
innovative, 126 Self-
literacy, 175 centredness, 7, 9
Project, 1, 16, 17, 29, 31, 34, 36, 37, 39– confidence, 7, 14, 77, 93, 146, 218
42, 44–50, 52, 53, 76, 84, 86, 87, 94, development, 71, 72, 73
95, 106–108, 111–116, 118, 119, 121, directed, 1, 3, 5–9, 11, 13, 22, 30, 31,
122, 126, 129, 130, 131, 137, 138, 40–42, 52, 68, 71, 73, 77, 81, 82,
140, 147, 149, 151, 152, 154, 160– 85, 87, 117, 135, 142, 144, 175,
165, 167, 173, 176, 178, 179, 188, 184
192, 199, 200, 206, 224, 230, 235 reliance, 65, 81, 90, 99, 102, 103,
innovative, 154, 178 108–110, 114, 116, 117, 121, 124,
team, 17, 37, 48, 50, 51, 84, 146, 169, 140, 150, 162, 176, 177, 225, 226
184, 224, 227, 229, 231 sufficient, 7, 22
Skill
Quality, 10, 78 cognitive, 15, 170, 172
assurance, 69, 88, 97, 218, 219, 235 creative, 10
entrepreneurial, 124, 225
Recognition, 96, 141, 142, 213, 214, 217 future, 175, 187
References, 23, 47, 219 technical, 83, 93, 94
Reflection, 5, 8, 16, 17, 21, 29, 31–33, Social justice, 9, 11, 13, 14, 20, 223
36, 37, 49, 51, 81, 84–86, 114, 137, South Sudan, 5, 134, 135, 140, 147, 150,
140, 149, 158, 163–165, 167, 169, 153–155, 169, 178–180, 199, 201,
171, 174, 183, 184, 221, 224, 227, 203, 207
229–231 Stakeholder, 21, 31, 42, 48–50, 67, 87,
critical, 14, 15, 23 147, 153, 200, 215, 218, 226
diary, 29, 31–33, 51, 53, 93, 162, Strategy, 19, 74, 78, 79, 81, 102, 228,
163, 224 229
integrated, 231 of LAL, 229
meta-, 15 Sudan, 5, 133, 134, 140, 147, 154, 155,
self-critical, 81, 84, 129, 167, 169– 169, 178–180, 199, 201, 203, 207
184, 221–237 SWOT, 23, 37, 46, 49
Reflective System
evaluation, 31, 47 education, 6, 8, 16, 19, 25, 105, 170,
practice, 14, 15 183, 185, 223, 227
practitioner, 14, 16, 33, 36, 38, 71 GULL, 6, 22, 83, 84, 87, 88, 90, 96,
Relationship building, 31, 34, 47 97, 169–185
Research, 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, 42, 44, 47, higher education, 6, 229
104, 183, 185, 217, 222, 224, 229, school, 9, 221, 223
233
journal, 33 Talent, 31, 52, 107, 124, 131, 136, 146,
qualitative, 46, 47, 170, 183 196, 203
Respect, 7, 23, 36–39, 93 Tanzania, 5, 133, 134, 140, 147, 154,
Return 155, 169, 178–180, 199, 201, 203,
on investment, 67, 140, 144, 146, 207
147, 152, 154, 178, 199, 200, 215, Team
226 building, 23, 31, 34, 37, 45–47, 51,
249
SUBJECT INDEX
project, 31, 37, 45–47, 51 individual, 170

Technique national, 184
nominal group technique, 31, 42–44, radical and urgent, 222, 231
51 social, 230, 231
snake technique, 34 Transformational social change, 169,
Technology 185, 227
digital, 171 Trust, 23, 33, 34, 36–39, 71, 112, 198
educational, 172 Turbulence, 3, 4, 18
ICT proficiency, 170 Turbulent world, 1, 3, 25
information and communication Turning point, 31, 36, 51, 62
technology (ICT), 170 Twenty-first century
integration, 170 learning and development, 3–25
mobile, 76, 173 skills, 13
online, 173
video, 169–185 Uganda, 5, 133, 134, 140, 147, 154, 155,
Thematic concern, 25, 29, 42, 43, 51 169, 178–180, 199, 201, 203, 207
Theory, 1, 15, 21, 69, 130 Unique brilliance, 31, 51, 223
educational, 172
espoused theory, 21 Values, 4, 9, 11, 12, 17, 21, 69, 96, 107,
theory-in-use, 21 132, 147, 224, 229
Thinking democratic, 229
creative, 13 of freedom and equality, 229
innovative, 24, 44, 223 Video, 23, 43, 50, 71, 78, 84, 90, 91,
technical, 223 104, 108, 114, 125, 135, 153, 154,
Topics for discussion, 25, 52, 90, 124, 167, 169–186, 189, 190, 193, 196,
153, 184, 185, 237 199, 201, 204, 207, 210–213, 225,
Transformation, 8, 9, 11, 19, 20, 22, 65, 227, 237
135, 138, 142, 145–147, 149, 153, interview, 5, 170
155–158, 163–165, 170, 178, 180, technology, 23, 169–185, 227, 236
182–184, 201, 208, 210–212, 221, Vision, 37
222, 229–231, 236 shared, 23, 229
community, 11, 19
in education, 172 Way of life, 123, 228, 229
in higher education, 171 Wealth, 4, 9, 99, 102, 105, 106, 230
in school system, 9, 221, 223
250

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Front Cover Photograph

The circle of friendship

ISBN 978-94-6209-387-4 (paperback)

Published by: Sense Publishers,

Printed on acid-free paper

All rights reserved © 2013 Sense Publishers

Reviewers’ Comments xiii

About the Authors xix

List of Tables xxi

List of Figures xxiii

List of Appendices xxv

List of Acronyms xxvii

Part I: Introduction to Lifelong Action Learning (LAL)

Chapter 1. A New Conceptual Framework for Learning and Development in

Chapter 2. How to Develop Lifelong Action Learning 29

Part II: Mobilizing Rural Communities 65

Chapter 3. Building a Case for Evidence-Based Learning 67

Chapter 4. Personal Viability – The Journey to Self-Reliance and

Chapter 5. Church and Community Mobilization – A Process for

Part III: Reflections and Conclusions 167

Chapter 6. Reflections and Insights on the GULL System through

Chapter 7. Reflections and Conclusions on Learning and Development

Name Index 239

Subject Index 243

ENABLING YOU TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN OUR WORLD

LIFELONG ACTION LEARNING FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

a multi-country application in East Africa. A second case study illustrates how a

His Excellency Grand Chief Sir Paulias Matane

‘Lifelong Action Learning (LAL) for Community Development: Learning and

‘Lifelong Action Learning (LAL) for Community Development: Learning and

community development projects; reinforcing at every stage the importance of

As a development practitioner, I have found myself in the middle of training

This book presents an enlightening account of the use of action learning in

Ortrun Zuber-Skerritt is Director of OZI (Ortrun Zuber International P/L),

1.1 Comparison between LAL and traditional education 17

1.1 Lifelong action learning: the synthesis of lifelong learning and

2.1 Daily Summary 55

AAR Annual Administrator Report

PEP Participatory Evaluation Process

(Nelson Mandela, anti-apartheid revolutionary and first black President of

A NEW CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR

Chapter 1 provides a theoretical framework for integrating the main concepts of

Until now, my co-author, Richard Teare, and I have published separately.

RATIONALE, AIMS AND APPROACH

This book on developing Lifelong Action Learning (LAL) is about encouraging

Our book ranges widely and comprehensively. To some extent it represents an

LIFELONG LEARNING (LL)

So important is the concept, it should be seen by all of us as representing a

1. Education for a more highly skilled workforce as an economic justification for

Parliament, the Nordic Council of Ministers and many national governments

values, beliefs or assumptions, as it is with their combined or cumulative

constituent phase of education within the broader context of a learning society”

learning characterized by social justice, ethical behaviour, collaboration and

ACTION LEARNING (AL)

encourages reflective learning as well as critically reflective learning. Fletcher and

Firstly, as a process by which experience is brought into consideration, and

LIFELONG ACTION LEARNING (LAL)

Whilst what is usually recognized as lifelong learning (LL) is mainly individual,

Table 1.1 presents a rough summary of the alternative learning paradigm we

Table 1.1. Comparison between LAL and traditional education

Lifelong Action Learning Traditional Education

Why is this kind of learning important in the twenty-first century? – Because

TRANSFORMATIONAL AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

(http://www.worldbank.org/depweb/english/sd.html, accessed 27 July 2013). The