ABSTRACT
Synergos has worked for almost 30 years supporting initiatives that build collaboration between business, government, civil society, and marginalized communities. This case study examines its experiences in Ethiopia and Namibia, which shed light on how to shift mind-sets and behaviors in large bureaucratic organizations. Through a variety of approaches and feedback mechanisms, Synergos is helping build cultures of trust and learning. Its experience demonstrates that specific feedback tools vary depending on context, so no single approach fits all situations. However, regular engagement at multiple levels within a system appears to be required for cultural change to take hold.
At the core of changing mind-sets is the degree to which the values that support collective learning are cultivated by collaborating institutions and individuals within them. Various techniques to achieve this are explored in the case study. While collective learning can both enhance trust and collaboration and benefit from them, true effective learning in development projects needs to include formal “hard” data collection, collective qualitative learning, and informal personal learning. Personal learning and reflection are essential in building ownership of development initiatives, because they need to be consonant and coherent with collective learning. A culture of learning is therefore fostered when it is nurtured at all levels of an initiative or system, including not only senior leadership and mid-level professionals, but front-line staff and other stakeholders as well.
