Draft Agenda for the

WLE Greater Mekong Writeshop

October 13-17, 2014

Background

WLE has invited 14 successful Expressions of Interest to develop a full proposal for the WLE Greater Mekong Focal Region Program. This writeshop is being organized to provide participants with an opportunity to develop their proposals in collaboration with the other projects and ensure proposals are leading to the identified outcomes of the WLE Greater Mekong Program.

Objectives

  • Significant progress on proposals, workbooks
  • Jointly develop impact pathways
  • Common understanding of WLE and its goals
  • Develop relationships across teams and cross project engagement
  • Understand how projects fit into global and regional impact pathways
  • Understand the support provided by the Focal Region team and program team, understand coordination mechanisms, reporting mechanisms, roles and responsibilities, processes

Outputs

  • Project impact pathways
  • Revised regional impact pathway
  • Draft proposals
  • Clear process for finalizing proposals
  • Understanding of other projects, inter-connections and potential areas of collaboration
  • Understanding of opportunities that WLE provides at program and regional levels

Process

The writeshop process follows the proposal template and is guided by the overall impact pathway approach adopted by WLE. Participants will have time to develop individual sections of their proposals, get peer feedback as well as coordinate their efforts with the other projects within the WLE Greater Mekong.

In addition, the writeshop will ensure that the overall outcomes feed into the greater regional program and are linked to WLE cross-cutting programs related to Ecosystem Services and Resilience, and Gender.

Day 1 - Setting the stage (Lao Plaza Hotel)

By end of Day 1:

●Understand overall WLE program, key thematic areas and Greater Mekong, and requirements.

●Have been introduced to one another –awareness of the skill sets in the projects and begin to understand other projects in the region.

●Have developed their problem analyses.

Agenda Item / Who
8.30 / Registration and coffee
0900 – 920 / Welcome and introduction
  • Welcome by Kim Geheb, WLE Greater Mekong Regional Coordinator.
  • Introduction to writeshopprocess, objectives and outputs and overall principles
/ KimGeheb
Tonya Schuetz Michael Victor
9:20-10:00 / Participant introduction / Michael Victor & Mia Signs
1000-1030 / Coffee Break
1030-1100 / WLE framework + Q&A / Nate Matthews
1100-1130 / WLE regional GM framework + Q&A / KimGeheb
1130-1230 / WLE cross-cutting framework onecosystem services & resilience + GM and project relevance (incl. Q+A) / Matthew McCartney to present; Michael Victor to facilitate questions
1230-1330 / Lunch
1330-1430 / WLE cross-cutting framework on gender and equity, and project relevance (incl. Q+A) / Nicoline De Haan
1430-1500 / Coffee break
1500-1600 / Project Vision and its Problem Tree Analysis / Tonya Schuetz
1600-1630 / Presenting these for peer review within smaller groups, i.e. by 4 basins or 5 topics (adding to the content of proposal template Part A, sections 1-3)
1700-1715 / Wrap up (one word go around)
1715-1730 / M&E committee feedback

List of Resource People

  • Administration and logistics: David Clayton and SengmanyPunkeo (Noy)
  • Kim Geheb, Michael Victor, Tonya Schuetz, Elizabeth Weight, Nate Matthews, Nicoline De Haan, Mia Signs, Stew Motta, Joseph Girton,

Day 2 - Getting to Outcomes (= changes in behavior, practice, knowledge, attitude, skills) to be held at the Lao Plaza Hotel

By the end of Day 2, participants will have developed and shared draft outcome statements and seen how these relate to the greater program

Times / Activity / Leader
0900-0915 / Check-in/recap of previous day, agenda of the day
0915-1015 / Developing Project outcomes / Tonya Schuetz & Elizabeth Weight
1015-1045 / Coffee break
1045-1115 / Share back in plenary or in groups by basins/ topics / Tonya Schuetz & Elizabeth Weight
1115-1200 / Project outcomes synthesis discussion / Nate Matthews Kim Geheb
1200-1300 / Lunch
1300-1400 / Developing Project Outputs / Michael Victor & Elizabeth Weight
1400-1500 / Mapping project outputs into the WLE major output groups / Kim Geheb& Nate Matthews
1500-1530 / Coffee break during group work
1530-1700 / Identifying output users and use / Elizabeth Weight, Michael Victor & Stew Motta
1700- / Wrap-up
1715-1730 / M&E committee feedback
1800 / Social Event

Day 3 - Partners-People and our Research (to be held at the Rose Hotel)

By end of the day, projects will have assessed the users of the outputs and how these link to initial outcomes identified. Discussion will take place on how these target groups can be effectively engaged both by individual projects and collectively. Projects will have time to start writing full proposal and discuss collaboration with other projects.

Time / Activity / Leader
0900-0915 / Check-in/recap of previous day, agenda of the day
0915-0945 / Continue developing output users and use
0945-1045 / Looking at output users across the regional portfolio / Michael Victor, Elizabeth Weight & Stew Motta
1045-1115 / Coffee Break
1115-1215 / Jump start story telling + fish bowl on successful stories and mechanisms / Michael Victor & Mia Signs
1215-1315 / Lunch
1315-1400 / Research questions and methodologies / Nate Matthews & Michael Victor
1400-1645 / In their project teams for the rest of the day to work on Research Questions and Methods or any other sections
Open space - Bilaterals, smaller group discussion
1645-1700 / Wrap up of the afternoon session
1700- / Wrap-up
1715-1730 / M&E committee feedback

Day 4 - Engagement, project planning, M&E framework (to be held at the Rose Hotel)

By the end of the day, projects will have developed their activity and M&E plans as well as discussed linkages and plans between project and regional level communication. Projects will also have identified areas of collaboration/coordination with other projects.

Time / Activity / Leader
9:00 / Check-in/recap of previous day, agenda of the day
0915-1015 / Communication and engagement
Presentation + Bus stops / KimGeheb, Michael Victor & Team
1030-1045 / Coffee break
10:30-1215 / Project activities planning I. - Projects take a first stab at their more detailed planning based on the sessions we had / Michael Victor
1215-1315 / Lunch
1315-1415 / WLE M&E, Reporting Framework - what is expected from the projects / Elizabeth Weight & David Clayton
1415-1500 / Open space for bilaterals or smaller groups
1500-1530 / Coffee break
1530-1700 / Indicators and baselines / Elizabeth Weight
1700-1715 / wrap-up
1715-1730 / M&E committee feedback
1800 / Cocktails

Day 5 - Project M&E, Convergence and next steps (to be held at the Rose Hotel)

By the end of the day participants will have heard revised summaries of each project and have clear understanding of next steps and deadlines.

Time / Activity / Leader
0900-0915 / Check-in/recap of previous day, agenda of the day
0915-1045 / Projects develop their M&E Plans / Elizabeth Weight
1045-1115 / Coffee break
1115-1215 / Projects presenting their projects in form or an Impact Pathway (gallery walk) / Michael Victor
1215-1230 / Evaluation and feedback / Michael Victor
1235-1300 / Next steps (by next few weeks, months, years) and closure / KimGeheb, David Clayton

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