Helen's comment on the last post made me think. We have these three dynamic streams interacting: the fellows, the alumni thing and the environment. I realise now that I didn't explore enough the fellows' personal trajectory and now i have a lot of questions about that.
Some fellows want to use the alumni group as a way of sharing good practices and experiences about reaching the poor in rural communities; others want to use it to multiply the AWARD effect and build agricultural science leadership capacity in other cohorts of women and girls, others want to use it to increase their visibility and further their careers.
Now it could be that some people are more egotistical than others, but i suspect the difference lies with the fellows progress on their trajectory. Those who are now quite high in their career want to give back, make a difference, set agendas and influence policy. How can i explore this? Well, i guess i could look at the job title... but the job title we have on file is the one they started the fellowship with not necessarily current. Though I am sure i could find the current one with a little effort.
And/or i can share these findings - somehow in a way that does not judge fellows on the basis of their altruism - and see if it rings true to them. So, possibly sharing one to one not as a wider forum...?
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Interesting that you have framed it in terms of what they want to use the alumni group for ...where is your focus here? Are you are considering the group, the individual and/or the relationship between the two? If you are considering the group as a system of interest then presumably you are exploring its (actual and potential...or desirable and feasible) purpose(s)?
But it sounds more as though you are focused on the systems of interest of individuals. Do you have anything more on what the alumni group is a part of for those interviewed? If you could understand the mental models/worldviews it might help? The time dimension is interesting and I think is a good one to explore as your interviewees might have quite different timeframes in mind. It's an interesting hypothesis that the stage of career or the stage on a personal trajectory might have an effect on how they want to use the group. But I'd be surprised if it's a case of 'one size fits all' and that those later or earlier in their careers will all respond in a similar way. You might even find that once they see a full list of what people want to use the group for that their answers change. Might be worth feeding back the full list of what participants want to use the group for to check your understanding and that you have covered everything and while you are at it you could slip in a question about what has influenced this response and if necessary give them a few suggestions to choose from rather than just the 'stage of career' one? (roles, values, current circumstances, future aspirations?)......though on the other hand if wanting to sound them out you might reach the same end point by just running your idea past them as they could then either agree or disagree.
Chris
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Chris - thank you for your thoughts on this. I am pretty much aligned with the way you are seeing it. When i think of the fellows i see them as personal systems which are subsystems in the higher system of mobilizing women to address food insecurity in Africa. I am thinking along the lines of how CoP theory sees individual and group learning as interacting. And then within the landscape of other systems they belong to - their institutions, their disciplines, not to mention villages, churches, and so on. The point for me on a pragmatic level is to find the 'domain' that will be the most magnetic in terms of provoking useful interactions - not too lofty and future to seem irrelevant to those who are interested in making concrete changes today, and not too limiting for those who want to influence policy.
I am hoping that i will have time to feedback to the women (and one man) who have responded. It will greatly enrich the analysis to have their comments and critique on what i find.I like the idea of deliberately asking that question. I think i would like to do it as an open question to everyone together - rather than individual emails - and see if there is any discussion around this that could give insights.
I hadn't deliberately considered the is/ought aspect, but on reflection, that is actually what I am doing, isn't it? I think it is, looking at how the women see what they are doing now, and what they say they would like to be doing ideally.
The time one is an interesting one. The time i gave them was ten years,... Let's say this alumni group gets up and running, what difference will it have made in ten years' time?