Training Workshop on the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach for IFAD Project Staff and Consultants Based in the Balkans and Turkey

Tirana, Albania, 15-19 November 2003

Workshop description

IFAD has been exploring the use of the sustainable livelihoods approach (SLA) in its programmes as a means of assisting project design and implementation. The approach is a way of thinking about the objectives, scope and priorities of development. It puts people at the centre of development, thereby increasing the effectiveness of development assistance. One important tool to facilitate this approach is the sustainable livelihoods framework. The framework endeavours to provide a perspective on the livelihoods of poor people that will stimulate debate and reflection, thereby improving performance in poverty reduction. In its simplest form, it views people as operating in a context of vulnerability. Within this context, they have access to certain assets or poverty-reducing factors. These gain their meaning and value through the prevailing social, institutional and organizational environment. This environment also influences people’s strategies for combining and using available assets in pursuit of beneficial outcomes that meet their own livelihood objectives.

IFAD is now organizing a workshop on this subject for IFAD-financed project managers, non-governmental organization (NGO) representatives and local consultants from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey. If you are working with a project in a capacity related to livelihoods or if you are a consultant who has already been involved in designing projects for IFAD, this workshop will help you in your work. Specifically, you will learn how the sustainable livelihoods framework can be used to improve project design, implementation and impact.

The workshop will address the following topics:

• What is the sustainable livelihoods framework, why was it developed, how does it work in practice and why should I (as a project officer, NGO representative or consultant) use it?
• What is the PIP (policies, institutions and processes) box?
• How will I operate differently in my work in the project or on my next IFAD mission if I use the sustainable livelihoods framework? And what institutional implications does use of the framework have for IFAD and its project partners?

As a 'full immersion' experience, the workshop will give participants the opportunity to explore the subject through in-depth presentations, discussions, case-study work and informal sharing of viewpoints over meals. It will include formal presentations, reading, group discussion, case studies, problem-solving, and feedback sessions. Two SLA experts, Peter Bailey and Philip Townsley, will facilitate the workshop. No prior knowledge of the framework is necessary. For more information, you may also want to review the following website

Duration

The workshop will take place in Tirana, Albania, from Saturday, 15 November to Wednesday, 19 November 2003 (the first and last days will be travel days). Participants will be expected to take part in all workshop sessions and activities on a full-time basis, and (with the exception of Albanian participants) will reside in the workshop hotel venue.

Profile of participants

Local Project Staff

• IFAD project directors, monitoring and evaluation officers, and other relevant field staff who are interested in using the sustainable livelihoods framework in their current and future IFAD activities and who are working in a project that is at least three years from its closing date; and
• staff recommended by IFAD professional staff.

NGOs and Local Consultants

NGOs and local consultants who have written support from IFAD professional staff, who are interested in working for IFAD on future consulting assignments.