Learning from 'Learn' : horizontal learning in a community of practice in south-eastern Europe

This publication presents documentation, analyses and reflections on the ETF LEARN project for South Eastern Europe, which was carried out between 2007 and 2009. The project, which was co-financed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was designed as an innovative way of making use of peer learning. Both experience and scientific studies have demonstrated that for learners who are adult professionals, peers may be the best vehicle for learning, compared with traditional training. The project started from the idea that developing reform policies (especially in transition countries) is really about learning new policy knowledge. There has to be ownership of such knowledge, and it has to be relevant to the context, otherwise it will not be sustainable. The 'best practice' knowledge that is provided by international experts as part of conditional assistance or development policies is not usually very useful, and this teacher-centred method has rarely been effective. At the ETF there is felt to be a need for a different approach, in which mutual learning becomes much more central; this is where the new social and constructivist learning theories become relevant. However, in practice this implies a fundamental rethinking of all basic aspects of the traditional development aid mechanisms. So as well as applying learning theories, there is also a need to connect with new approaches to participative policy development and critical thinking about the way international assistance is organised (this is still normally done in a very technocratic way, through projects and programmes). There is much work to do in this field, though it is a very exciting process.