One of the original functions of IIRR was to promote and help organize indigenous rural reconstruction movements. In so doing, IIRR has continually refined its techniques in providing intensive leadership training for carefully selected teams of specialists. IIRR also offers courses for development professionals connected with various public and private agencies involved with rural reconstruction.
Our courses include learning directly from practical demonstrations by community members on how they solve problems themselves. Another practical learning method is village immersion where two-person teams of trainees are assigned to village homes where they carefully document lessons for sharing and reflection.
Also since its early days, IIRR has served as a knowledge hub for distilling, packaging, and disseminating knowledge through conferences and seminars.
Our global learning and sharing program is based on a simple philosophy. If it is to bring about successful outcomes, development work must satisfy three tenets:
- It is effective and has impact.
- It contributes to building the capacities of development organizations (NGOs, CSOs, and government).
- It contributes to the body of knowledge on food security and nutrition, livelihoods, disaster risk reduction, and education.
Initially limited to just training, our global learning and sharing agenda grew into a full-scale program that we originally called International Outreach. More recently, we renamed the initiative as Applied Learning. It is all about building a collaborative leadership through global learning and sharing and as well as facilitating south-south and south-north exchanges. Today this program has evolved into three interrelated components:
- International trainings and customized courses
- Study missions and technical services
- Knowledge management, documentation packaging, and dissemination
Below are some of the titles of training courses that we offer:
- Participatory Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning
- Sustainable Agriculture Training of Trainers
- Program Development and Management
- Participatory Approaches to Agricultural Extension- Farmer-Led and Farmer to Farmer Extension
- Rural Development Management
- Gender in Program and Organizational Development and Management
- Community-based Integrated Watershed Management
- Food and Nutrition Security Through Bio Intensive Gardening (BIG)
- NGO Leadership, Development and Social Change
- Community-Managed Disaster Risk Reduction
- Sustainable and Conservation Agriculture
- Climate Smart Agriculture and Climate Change Adaptation
- Training of Trainers/Facilitation for Empowering Communities
- Documentation (Writeshop process)
- Project/Program/NGO Management – managing development organizations