Institute for Enhanced Livelihoods

Services offered

Training and information sessions

1. Development of e-learning modules.

E-learning modules will be developed for all the key areas addressed by the Institute. E-learning modules are easily accessible, much affordable, very effective and easily adaptable to the needs and levels of trainees or people needing information. Read more.

2. Organization of training workshops and information sessions.

Organization of training workshops and information sessions with a priority to train trainers (including teachers and university Professors), as well as those who can inform (such as journalists) and motivate (e.g. religious leaders) others, and facilitation of internships. E-learning modules will constitute the basic materials for the training of trainers and/or information of policy and decision-makers. Whenever possible, the Institute will prioritize training of members of regional organizations so that they can become nodes for regional capacity-building services. Read more.

Post training and information sessions

3. Exchange of needed information and expertise.

Exchange of needed information and expertise through the establishment of an interactive web space relying on networks of experts. Read more.

4. Provision of support for project development and resource mobilization.

The Institute will accompany the participants in the extra mile they have to walk that will make a difference in the livelihoods of communities. Read more.

5. Provision of support for monitoring progress and reporting.

Similarly, the Institute will accompany and support the participants in assessing and reporting on progress in the activities for which they were trained or acquired information.Read more.

Additional services

6. Consultancies on all aspects relating to biodiversity and ecosystem services e.g. reduced emission from deforestation and forest degradation through conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity (REDD+) with resulting poverty alleviation, payment for ecosystem services, biodiversity-inclusive guidelines for environmental impact assessment (EIA) and strategic environmental assessment (SEA), West Africa’s Great Green Wall and green economy.Read more.

7. Translations of tools in major UN languages (English, French and Spanish) to contribute to their wider dissemination in the developing world.Read more.

DETAILS ABOUT THE SERVICES OFFERED

Development of e-learning modules: E-learning modules were selected as the training tools of choice for the following reasons:

Accessibility: available 24 hours-a-day/7 days-a-week so that students can access materials at their convenience, and stop and start based on their availability;
Affordability: no distribution or travel costs as compared to face-to-face meeting attendance;
Effectiveness: continuous learning versus a one-time training event; content can be translated into multiple languages; content can be structured in layers, allowing for deeper levels of instruction; modules can also be organized in a way that they can serve as guidance or guidelines in managing our natural capital;
The fact that following the completion of the online course, students can take a test and be awarded a university certificate (interesting incentive that is being arranged with the University of Montreal, Canada and the Management of Protected Areas (MPA) Programme at Klagenfurt University, Austria) and can attend an onsite workshop (one day or few days to cover each module).
The success of the e-learning modules on protected areas (accessible at http://www.cbd.int/protected/e-learning/) is a good reference.

E-learning modules will be developed for all the other key areas described below (starting with the e-learning module on restoration). The Institute can also adapt or translate existing e-learning modules on relevant topics.
The Institute will also develop, in collaboration with UNESCO and UNICEF, guides for elements relating to green economy (including consideration of inter alia all the fields of activities considered by the Institute) for possible integration in primary, secondary and tertiary education. These guides will be tested in pilot schools and universities.

Organization of training workshops and information sessions with some priority to train the trainers (including teachers and university Professors), as well as those who can inform (such as journalists) and motivate (e.g. religious leaders) others, and facilitation of internships. The effectiveness and successes of training workshops have been demonstrated inter alia through the regional and sub-regional protected areas workshops that were organized in collaboration with international non-governmental organizations in the context of the programme of work on protected areas of the Convention on Biological Diversity (http://www.cbd.int/protected/meetings/). Teaching methodologies have been tested and refined through the many workshops. E-learning modules will constitute the basic materials for training. Part of training can be undertaken as distance training, using Skype or similar means whenever possible.

The interactive section of the website of the Institute (see below) will facilitate remote interactions with resource persons but training workshops will provide the best opportunities for the persons being trained to interact with resource-persons and possibly participate in field visits.

The Institute will focus its activities on the development and coordination of the capacity of regional organizations so that they can participate in the work of the Institute. Regional organizations that will be approached include, but are not limited to the following (i) for Africa: SADC, IGAD, CEMA, Arab Maghreb Union, ECOWAS; PRCM, COMIFAC, for Latin America and Caribbean: ACTO, CARICOM, Andean communities, for Asia and Pacific: SPREP, SARC, ASEAN, for Central and Eastern Europe. Empowerment of regional organizations implies their becoming nodes for (i) regional capacity-building services, (ii) regional clearing house mechanisms, (iii) regional communication and public awareness strategies, and (iv) regional finance mobilization. One of the training modules will include guidance on how to organise training and mobilize the needed resources at the national and regional level. The module will include project proposals templates and samples based on successful proposals. The module will be designed in consultation with funding agencies and the LifeWeb Secretariat of the CBD.

The additional focus of the Institute will be to identify places where novel ideas will have been tested successfully (using for example the findings of the Equator Initiative) and facilitate and accompany the trainers under training go through some kind of internship by immersion in those communities where novel ideas were tested and applied successfully.

Information sessions on selected themes with specific groups such as journalists, religious leaders, educators and parliamentarians will be organized as a Chriser of priority because these groups have a clear impact on many in the societies.

Exchange of needed information and expertise through the establishment of an interactive website relying on networks of experts: A dedicated interactive web space will be created on the Institute’s website for the networks. It will serve as a platform for communicating, exchanging and sharing or submitting questions or project proposals for comments. While part of the website will be open to all, the interactive part will be reserved to members and will require a username and password.

Provision of support for project development and resource mobilization: As part of the training, the Institute will propose models and/or practical guidelines for project development and resource mobilization targeting in particular GEF funds and funds made available within the climate change convention e.g. for adaptation and REDD+. Projects relating to children and the youth will be considered in the context of support from UNICEF and UNESCO. This training will form an optional or compulsory module of any capacity building programme that the Institute will deliver.

Quite often, training workshops stop at the meeting and once the meeting is over, participants are on their own and fail to apply their new skills, knowledge and partnerships to implement the activities for which they were trained. The Institute will encourage and, upon request (that it will encourage), provide support that will enable participants in the training or information projects/programmes to go the extra mile that will make a difference in the livelihoods. The Institute will seek grants for students who can support, through their MSc or PhD research, efforts in larger project development and implementation and who will become the leaders/coordinators of future capacity building activities.

Provision of support for monitoring progress and reporting: This will be another optional or compulsory module of any capacity building programme that the Institute will deliver;

Consultancies on all aspects relating to biodiversity and ecosystem services: The President of the Institute had the longest association with the CBD Secretariat. He developed or led the development, within the Convention on Biological Diversity, of the strategic plans and work on targets and indicators for monitoring progress; all the thematic programmes of work (agricultural, marine and coastal, forest, inland water, mountain, dry and sub-humid land and island biodiversity), and work on cross-cutting issues (protected areas, monitoring and indicators, ecosystem approach principles and practical guidelines, sustainable use principles and guidelines, invasive alien species, environmental impact assessment and strategic environment assessment). He initiated work that led to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Nagoya Protocol on access to genetic resources and the sharing of benefits from their utilization. He was involved in synergy work linking CBD with UNCCD and UNFCCC, with other biodiversity-related conventions and with business organizations. He was at the forefront of many initiatives such as the Satoyama Initiative, the Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration. He will therefore lead networks of renowned experts in various fields of relevance to carry out consultancy tasks that will stand scrutiny (because they will undergo careful peer-review so as to ensure high quality o the final products) and will be delivered in a timely manner.

Translations of tools in major UN languages (English, French and Spanish) to contribute to their wider dissemination in the developing world: Members of the network, including the core staff, have the ability to work in the 3 main UN languages. They have translated articles and books in French and English. Among its members, the Institute has a network of experienced interpreters and editors.

OVERVIEW OF THE PROCESS FOR DELIVERING THE SERVICES

Using a demand-driven approach, the Institute for Enhanced Livelihood will:

(a) As a first step, identify needs or confirm the expressed needs for capacity-building, and define the categories and requirements of decision-makers to be targeted within governments, local communities and civil societies. In addition, the Institute will describe their specific needs including in terms of motivation and/or empowerment to take decisions that will impact positively livelihoods and human well-being, and to ensure that these decisions are implemented.

Capacity-building needs of relevance to the Institute are usually identified in resolutions of Parties to multilateral environment agreements (MEAs), including regional environment agreements; and in national strategies, plans and reports and in strategies, plans and reports of non-governmental organizations, indigenous and local communities, and the private sector. Needs have also been expressed directly in project proposals submitted for funding. When needed, the Institute will use questionnaires to confirm the expressed needs and identify more specific gaps in capacities including, when possible, in (i) existing practices, knowledge and experiences; (ii) ongoing capacity-building activities and their effectiveness; and (iii) institutional components such as laws, policies, management types and governance.

This step on needs assessment in respective regions and sub-regions is critical because it will enable to tailor the training objectives and resources/materials to the needs and country/regional specificities. Existing collaboration with resource persons in the regions will facilitate/ensure to make the capacity building project relevant and effective.

(b) Mobilize expertise into a network. Members of the network will serve as resource persons in training activities and motivating sessions.

The Institute possesses and has access to rosters of experts (including from NGOs such as POWPA Friends, IPSI, SER International, and Government organizations having the required experience) who will be invited to join the network for specific activities. Expertise will be mobilized from existing lists in centers of excellence and relevant organizations, in both developed and developing countries, for (i) the development of e-learning modules, if not yet available; (ii) participating as resource persons in training programmes; (iii) development and provision of tools needed for well-informed decisions and actions, (iv) awareness raising, information dissemination, persuasion and motivation, (v) and assisting in implementation, if requested, and monitoring and reporting on achievements. A roster of experts on specific activities will be developed and linked, as much as possible, to existing rosters. Linkages with centers of excellence, including universities in particular, will be made to strengthen and raise the profile of the training dimension. Confidentiality regarding biodata of and contact information about experts will be ensured including through the provision of passwords in certain areas of the website.

(c) Select participants in capacity-building programmes. This is a critical step that will determine progress towards the achievement of targets and the mission.

In a first phase, and as part of the ‘quick win’, the Institute will focus on training trainers at the regional or sub-regional level to empower regional nodes in delivering training in their respective regions. As much as possible, the media and universities will be associated for awareness raising, wider dissemination of messages, and strengthening institutions and enabling environments. The Institute’s network will then accompany the regional nodes in their delivery of trainings. At this stage, the Institute will develop and start implementing a strategy for interacting with journalists/media, religious leaders, educators, parliamentarians and other groups that are at the forefront of awareness raising and motivation of decision-makers. Educators will prepare future decision-makers and will equip them with the necessary knowledge and information.
E-learning modules can be used by anyone who has interest in the topic. A real challenge is to ensure that many people are aware of the existence of the e-learning modules, including in particular those who need information or the training but have no or limited access to internet and the websites carrying or linking to the modules. Interactive parts will be organized through the website and Skype, other similar means and through face-to-face workshops. Participation in interactive parts of the training will require registration. For face-to-face training workshops, sponsored participants will be selected following transparent criteria (essentially for those who have a lot of opportunities to achieve the objectives of the Institute) among candidates nominated by governments and organizations. Selection can be done in consultation with the MEA secretariats, important NGOs and IGOs working in the regions and regional nodes.

(d) When the needs have been assessed and the category/ies of participants defined, organize the training courses/workshops tailored to the identified needs and participants.

Training and information materials will provide the basic but well focused knowledge and know-how needed. They will be developed by staff of the core group of the Institute with input from invited experts from the network to ensure adequate adjustment to geographical and cultural differences. Materials for basic training will be preferably in the form of e-learning modules. The Institute will seek authorization to translate into other languages for wider (in terms of number and diversity of users, and in diverse areas) use existing modules that are available in English only. Members of the network will be invited to adapt the modules to regional situations with the appropriate authorization from the original authors. During the process, materials such as brochures, leaflets, PowerPoint presentations and videos will be developed for use to inform, motivate and provide the best arguments for convincing policy and decision makers across the societies. Guide will be drafted for the possible inclusion of the themes covered by the Institute under the green economy chapeau in primary and secondary school and university curricula.
Face-to-face training courses will be carried out in regions mainly with resource persons from the regions, preferably in association with regional organizations, and in collaboration with a university in the host country. Face-to-face training courses will complete the e-learning modules by addressing very specific and concrete questions e.g. development and finalization of projects for funding, and meetings with decision-makers.
E-learning interactive modules will also be used for long-distance training. The Institute will encourage long-distance training and development of e-learning modules because they can be disseminated much widely, used individually or collectively but allowing the trainees to proceed at their own pace, with possibility of posting specific questions through the live forum for responses from the resource-persons and other experts in the network. Electronic modules will be preferred but, where needed, other means such as hard copies will be used. The e-learning modules will usually be a prerequisite to the participation in face-to-face training sessions.
Linkages with universities will provide additional incentives, particularly for those being trained to become trainers, in the form of university certificates or diplomas, and ensure stability in particular through universities outreach programmes. Association with universities and centers of excellence is being sought, as well as possibility of using some e-learning modules as basic materials for degree-related university curricula.
Electronic means such as Skype, video lectures will always be encouraged to reduce travel costs and contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.
Course contents will be adapted to the audience, taking into account their respective needs and regional differences; and

(e) Guide/accompany participants in training workshop and/or information sessions to achieve training objectives (i.e. to enhance livelihoods in particular through job creation, and derive benefits from biodiversity conservation and use, and from ecosystem services). This implies essentially (i) discussing with participants about their expectations at the start of the training or information session, (ii) providing them with ideas about new opportunities resulting from the training and information sessions, (iii) encouraging them to develop or strengthen and implement projects and/or programmes that would lead to the improvement of livelihoods through e.g., job creation and increased revenue , and (iv) assisting them in monitoring, reporting on results, and reviewing plans as needed. This step (e) is one of the added values of the Institute. Thus, one of the success criteria will be the catalytic activity of the training in terms of number of projects, level of resources and number of on-the-ground actions undertaken to enhance livelihoods. Reports will be published electronically and in hard copies (e.g. brochures and newsletters).

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