In the second half of 2025, the Dgroups Foundation worked with the SEBI-Livestock team to facilitate an LD4D Solutions Group on Gender Considerations in Livestock Modeling. The goal was simple but ambitious: to create the conditions for a diverse group of researchers, modellers, and gender specialists to think together, learn from one another, and tackle a shared challenge.

SEBI-Livestock works to mobilise and improve data and evidence so the livestock community can make better investment decisions – ones that improve livelihoods for smallholders in low- and middle-income countries. Much of the data used in livestock models focuses on things like disease patterns or productivity. But there is growing recognition, from both gender researchers and modellers, that ignoring gender in these models can unintentionally reinforce existing inequalities along livestock value chains. Integrating gender considerations opens up opportunities for decision makers to design interventions that better support both women and men whose livelihoods depend on livestock.

Why gender matters in livestock modelling

The Solutions Group approach brings together people from different organisations and disciplines for a fixed period of time to work collaboratively on a specific issue. For this group, Dgroups Foundation Associates Jessica Ball and Pier Andrea Pirani worked closely with the SEBI core team to design and facilitate three online workshops and one hybrid workshop.

Creating the conditions for collaboration

The first workshop laid the groundwork for collaboration. Alongside developing a shared understanding of the context and challenge, the group took time to surface a set of shared values – openness, creativity, adaptability, and trust – that shaped how participants chose to work together. These values became an important reference point as the group began grappling with the complexities of integrating gender into livestock modelling.

Understanding the problem from the user’s perspective

Using elements of a human-centred approach, the group then worked on defining the problem more clearly. Who is affected by this challenge? Where are the tensions? What are the gains if things are done well? Decision makers who use livestock models were identified as the primary “users.” To help ground the discussion, gender researcher Alessandra Galiè shared lessons from earlier initiatives that successfully engaged decision makers around gender integration. Her reflections brought several key insights to the fore:

• Integrating gender into livestock models works best when decision makers are involved early and consistently, and when efforts align with national priorities and policy needs.
• Building trust, framing gender equity in ways that resonate, whether through productivity, sustainability, or social impact, and demonstrating tangible, scalable results are critical to achieving buy-in.
• Clear purpose, flexible messaging, and evidence of longer-term impacts (for example, on nutrition or education) all help models gain traction with donors and government partners.

Agreeing on a shared direction

By the end of the first workshop, the group had built a shared understanding of both the challenge and the conditions needed for meaningful collaboration. Participants agreed on the importance of developing a shared vision to guide the work as ideas and possible solutions began to take shape.

Unpacking assumptions and refining the challenge

The second workshop focused on refining that vision and sharpening the challenge. As is often the case in interdisciplinary work, this stage surfaced different assumptions and interpretations. Rather than being a barrier, these moments became productive. The group realised that core gender concepts such as “do no harm” and “gender equality” needed to be unpacked and translated into language and approaches that could be meaningfully applied within livestock models and decision-making processes. Through iterative discussion, participants returned to an earlier insight: gender equity needs to be planned for deliberately. This allows models to tell a fuller, more accurate story – one that helps decision makers not only to pursue economic gains, but also to navigate trade-offs, meet international standards, and avoid unintended harm.

Making space for reflection and iteration

As the group began looking ahead to a potential piloting phase, it became clear that more time was needed. An additional virtual workshop was added to the process. This focused on clarifying and refining agreed gender indicators, such as “do no harm” and “support gender equity,” and how these could be operationalised in practice. It also created space to pause and reflect on how the group was working together. These moments of reflection proved essential in keeping the process grounded and adaptive.

From learning to next steps

The fourth workshop aimed to bring the learning together and move towards more concrete outputs. At four hours, it was the longest session and allowed participants to dive deeper into the nuances of the challenge. This time helped the group narrow its focus and agree on a clearer direction forward, including plans for a two-day in-person workshop. It reinforced the value of combining online and face-to-face interactions when working through complex, collaborative processes.

What worked and what could be improved

While the Solutions Group will continue into 2026, it is worth pausing to reflect on what worked well and what could be improved. A few challenges stood out: 

• Limited participant time, given other work commitments, suggests we need to more deeply and clearly manage roles and expectations, including what can actually be achieved in virtual discussions.
  
• As we came to better understand the breadth and complexity of the challenges, we could benefit next time from more attention early in the process to explore root causes, consult users, and prioritise key issues.
  
• Short virtual sessions, while attractive in busy schedules, sometimes limited deeper thinking and alignment, suggesting we need to consider longer sessions, offline tasks, asynchronous interactions, or more differentiated roles.

Why collaboration needs more than goodwill

These reflections highlight an important distinction between sharing knowledge and truly collaborating. Collaboration requires specific conditions, behaviours, values, and resources. Facilitation can help create the right environment and model collaborative practices, but time and funding ultimately need to be recognised and supported by those organising and participating in the process.

The Dgroups Foundation is grateful to work with partners who value iterative learning, reflection, and collaboration as more than a box-ticking exercise. We look forward to the next phase of the Solutions Group: Gender Considerations in Livestock Modeling.

The NAgDI initiative is not a technology platform, but rather a framework that promotes a sectoral approach to digital public infrastructure for agriculture, fisheries, livestock, and forestry that combines technical systems with governance, principles, policies, and market-oriented business models. It provides a shared framework for countries to organise their existing national data platforms and systems, reduce fragmentation, and lay the foundation for scalable exchange at regional and global levels.

In support of this vision, the Commonwealth Secretariat developed the NAgDI Policy Guide, which describes a comprehensive framework and roadmap for action that outlines priority areas such as governance, interoperable technologies, independent oversight, and sustainable financing. The guide was developed collaboratively with countries and experts and validated through multi-stakeholder engagement.

The Dgroups Foundation supported the NAgDI process by enhancing knowledge exchange around country-level activities. The Foundation helped incubate national-based online groups to support preparation for country workshops and sustain discussion beyond in-person events. It also supported and facilitated two thematic webinars that brought together stakeholders from diverse contexts to share their experiences and insights on agricultural data management.

Following those events, an e-conversation on NAgDI-related themes emerged organically within the D4Ag online Dgroup, supported by the Digital Agri Hub, another Foundation partner. This follow-on discussion was co-organised by the partners of the Foundation using a mix of webinars and online exchanges, accompanied by summaries of the eConversations.

Although the Foundation was not directly involved throughout all those interactions, it is proudly associated with the collaborations amongst its partners, connecting their respective initiatives and collaboration spaces for the benefit of their communities of practice. This collaboration also experimented with the use of AI to summarise the conversations amongst contributors and the generation of podcasts based on these summaries.

Altogether, the workshops, webinars, and subsequent online discussions illustrate how collaboration across organisations and initiatives can grow when people engage through Dgroups Foundation-supported communities and platforms. By providing spaces for ongoing dialogue and exchange, the Dgroups Foundation helps create conditions where synergies between partners can emerge, deepen, and contribute to shared goals in agricultural data infrastructure. We look forward to reading more from the NAgDI Community.

This year, we are supporting their transition to a groups.io-based community space, aiming to reinforce peer exchange and connect OMLC members more directly with other communities.

Visit https://www.outcomemapping.org/ for more information about OMLC and join the community at https://community.outcomemapping.org/

The session explored how Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) systems can move beyond compliance and reporting to foster shared reflection, adaptation, and collaboration across research programmes. Drawing on examples from CLARE, AQUADAPT, and KIX – three initiatives supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) – we discussed what it takes to design MEL systems that are both practical and learning-oriented.

The presentation highlighted several key considerations that guided the development of MEL systems alongside investment in KM platforms:

• Every programme is unique – systems must fit their specific context. 
• Use outcome-focused and actor-centred approaches – and provide the support needed to make them work.
• Start from MEL users’ needs – including both donors and grantees.
• Facilitate learning loops and collective sense-making, not just data reporting.
• Encourage openness, shared ownership, and responsibility in how data is managed and used.
• Set up integrated, bespoke systems that automate routine processes while staying adaptable to change.

Together, the AQUADAPT, KIX, and CLARE experiences illustrated how tailored, integrated MEL systems can help bridge the gap between research and practice – turning data into dialogue and learning into action.

As part of activities to mark twenty-five years of the KM4Dev community, the Foundation is supporting efforts to revamp its website, introducing a cleaner design and easier navigation to make the wealth of resources and conversations more accessible to members and the wider knowledge management community. 

The new site will also strengthen integration between the long-standing KM4Dev discussion groups and the public web presence, providing a more seamless experience for users and supporting ongoing community activities. 

The launch is planned for December 2025, with further improvements foreseen next year.

Contact the KM4Dev Core Group for more information and join the KM4Dev group https://dgroups.io/g/km4dev.

Earlier this year, CGIAR launched an online climate community – a dedicated space to share updates, insights, and foster connections among experts and peers committed to addressing climate adaptation and mitigation challenges. The Dgroups Foundation is supporting the Platform as it nurtures and grows this online community.

Planning for engagement

Engagement and relationship-building are central to successful communities. To support these goals, we developed a 90-minute virtual workshop to help new community leads strategize their growth. Before launching the CGIAR community, we guided a small group of colleagues through key steps to establish a solid foundation. Starting with a values check-in, we explored lessons from successful communities of practice, clarified roles and responsibilities, and identified priority activities. Additionally, we created a resource to guide community engagement, offering practical insights for designing and activating thriving online spaces.

Group setup and technical support

Launching an online community involves a blend of technical and engagement planning. Together with the CGIAR core team, we established a dedicated multi-community space using the groups.io platform, which supports email-based groups and collaboration tools.

Initially, efforts focused on creating a dedicated group for CGIAR members to share events, updates, and thematic discussions. A parent climate community, open to external members, facilitates connections and conversations beyond CGIAR’s boundaries, offering flexibility to engage diverse stakeholders.

Facilitating meaningful interactions

To spark engagement, we planned a series of thematic e-discussions within a specialized sub-group for CGIAR affiliates. These discussions provide a focused environment for deeper collaboration and foster connections across CGIAR centers.

As Dgroups Foundation, we have run many of such exercises and have a robust methodology and process that ensures active participation. As D4Ag community lead, Giacomo Rambaldi shared in a recent conversation, thorough preparation and planning are essential for the success of an e-discussion. This includes:

• Drafting a conversation framework to outline the topic.
• Identifying and formulating key questions.
• Assigning roles, such as question launchers and summary writers.
• Scheduling emails and preparing templates.

The first e-discussion explored the role of carbon credits in achieving climate goals. Responses highlighted diverse perspectives, projects, and challenges, enriching the conversation with valuable insights. To support both active participants and passive readers, we shared mid-point and final summaries of the discussion. Beyond e-discussions, the group has been used to highlight relevant events and share curated social media round-ups.

Guiding users and growing capacities

In parallel with thematic facilitation, we provided guidance to members on effectively participating in discussions and utilizing the groups.io platform’s features. While engagement is possible directly through email, platform tools such as the member directory, the calendar, and the wiki can foster collaboration and knowledge sharing.

A key part of our approach is strengthening the capacity of CGIAR colleagues in online facilitation and community management. Through hands-on demonstrations, we model effective facilitation behaviors, suggest actionable steps, and guide colleagues in designing and managing discussions. By doing so, we aim to empower CGIAR colleagues to confidently take the lead in managing the community next year, with the Dgroups Foundation stepping into a supportive, background role. This transition is essential for fostering a sustainable and self-reliant community.

Looking ahead

Communities require ongoing nurturing, blending online and offline interactions. As we look toward 2025, we will continue to support the CGIAR team in growing their community and deepening its impact. Reflexive learning and feedback loops will ensure the community’s value proposition remains relevant and impactful.

Key requirements, commonalities, and unique needs

The scoping and consultation phases were critical to understand each project’s priorities and MEL system requirements. While some needs were universal, others were specific to the project contexts. Additionally, trade-offs meant that certain features deemed essential for one project were categorized as desirable for the other.

Commonalities across projects

Both initiatives required MEL systems that were not only accessible from within the KM platforms but also seamlessly integrated as key components. Shared requirements included:

• Calendars or reporting schedules to ensure timely tracking and planning.
• Access to key documents and support materials for guidance.
• Interactive spaces to facilitate collaboration among stakeholders.
• Tools for submitting, reviewing, and approving monitoring data.
• Flexibility for editing and managing data post-submission.
• Ability to aggregate data across projects, stakeholders, and other fields.
• Dashboards and visualization tools for clear, actionable data presentation.
• Options for data export for offline analysis.
• Role-based access control with one user per account and multiple user roles.
• Single sign-on (SSO) for streamlined access and accountability.
• Robust data security and privacy protocols to safeguard sensitive information.

Unique requirements for each project

The MEL systems also needed to be user-friendly, minimizing reliance on external consultants for updates, reports, or maintenance, while remaining scalable and adaptable to evolving project needs.

CLARE

• Advanced features for target setting and executing complex queries for granular analysis.
• Support for sophisticated data collection tools, including follow-up forms and beneficiary-linked reporting.

AQUADAPT

• Integration of selected MEL entries into an internal ‘library’ of research and knowledge products.
• Automated generation of downloadable documents from Outcome Cases for dissemination and documentation.

Solutions implemented

For each project, we adopted a tailored approach to ensure that each system met its unique requirements while leveraging tools that were robust, user-friendly, and scalable. Below, we outline the solutions implemented for each project, highlighting the rationale behind the chosen tools and the functionalities they enable.

CLARE: Leveraging ODK and Power BI

For CLARE, we developed the MEL system using Open Data Kit (ODK) for data collection and review, paired with Power BI for analysis and visualization.

Why ODK? ODK is an open-source suite of tools tailored for environments with limited resources or connectivity. Its key strengths include:

• Diverse question types and conditional logic for dynamic data collection.
• Built-in calculations, checks, and controls to minimize errors during data submission.
• Capability to save incomplete entries as drafts for later submission.
• Integration with external datasets for pre-populating forms, reducing manual input and errors.
• Support for creating ‘entities‘ that dynamically populate follow-up forms, linking entries for consistency in reporting.

Integration with Power BI: Data from ODK forms is aggregated and displayed in tabular format within Power BI, providing:

• A quick overview of all data available.
• A KPI dashboard to track progress on impact, outcome, and output indicators against milestones and targets.

Using Google Workspace for AQUADAPT

For AQUADAPT, we initially considered ODK but encountered a limitation: the inability for users to reopen and edit form entries—a feature not yet available without custom development.

Instead, we opted for a reliable and familiar solution using Google Workspace tools such as Forms and Sheets. To avoid the complexity and cost of creating individual Google Workspace accounts for each MEL system user, we leveraged the Google Sheets API to display submitted entries as tables within WordPress. Additionally, we utilized WordPress user roles and custom fields to enable granular access to MEL data and tools, tailored to the needs of different projects and user groups. This approach ensured a cost-effective, user-friendly solution while maintaining flexibility and security. (Note: This solution is currently in testing and not yet live—updates will follow.)

Lessons and considerations for future work

Each project’s MEL system reflects a balance of universal requirements and bespoke solutions. While CLARE benefitted from the advanced capabilities of ODK and Power BI, AQUADAPT leveraged the simplicity and flexibility of Google Workspace tools.

These experiences underscore the importance of tailoring MEL systems to the unique needs of each initiative while maintaining scalability, security, and ease of use – and looking to build integrated platforms where users can plan, report, share, interact and learn.

Working closely with the AQUADAPT team and programme partners, the Foundation is designing an internal knowledge management platform to meet the initiative’s needs. The platform will enable:

• The collection and analysis of monitoring data across projects.
• Cross-programme peer learning, collaboration, and knowledge sharing.

After completing a comprehensive and inclusive consultation and scoping phase, we are now developing the platform’s alpha version. Building on insights from our work on the CLARE KM Platform, we are refining the integration between WordPress (as a content management system) and groups.io to enhance collaboration and interaction.

The beta version of the platform is expected later this year, with the full release in early 2025.

Stay tuned for updates as we continue to support AQUADAPT in addressing these critical challenges through innovation and collaboration.

The KM platform was conceptualized with three core objectives:

• Monitoring and Evaluation: To collect and consolidate M&E data across projects.
• Internal Collaboration: To foster peer learning and collaboration among CLARE projects.
• Outreach and Communications: To showcase information and evidence from CLARE projects to external audiences.

To bring this vision to life, the Dgroups Foundation assembled an international team of experts in project management, consultation, facilitation, design and branding, web development, M&E, knowledge sharing (KS), and online collaboration.

Guided by the Principles for Digital Development

Adhering to the Principles for Digital Development — a framework for sustainable and inclusive digital innovation — was fundamental to the platform’s creation. Central to these principles is “Design with people.”

To ensure the platform aligned with user needs, the Dgroups Foundation undertook an extensive consultation and research process:

• A digital persona workshop to identify and understand the platform’s primary user groups. 
• Three focus group discussions involving 76 participants to define user needs and platform requirements. 
• Eight interviews to gather in-depth insights into specific platform features.
• A technical review to evaluate existing platforms and identify suitable solutions.
• Two surveys to shape the design of the public website and understand the existing project ecosystems. 

Insights from these activities informed the platform’s final design, which leveraged existing tools and technologies rather than building a singlec system from scratch.

Showcasing CLARE’s work

The public-facing website of the KM platform serves as a hub for CLARE’s outreach and impact. It allows stakeholders to explore programme outputs, follow project developments, and engage with cross-cutting initiatives like Capacity Strengthening (CS) and Research for Impact (R4I).

WordPress was chosen as the content management system due to its open-source nature, robust ecosystem of developers and plugins, and its ability to support multi-site configurations.

Integrating research outputs

A critical feature of the public website is its integration with IDRC’s institutional repository on DSpace, which houses programme materials and project outputs for long-term discovery and reuse. Using the DSpace API, outputs are programmatically imported into WordPress, enriched with metadata, and organized using a robust taxonomy.

This approach enhances discoverability and ensures outputs are searchable, shareable, and integrable into other repositories like FCDO/R4D. The outputs also feed into the M&E system, providing evidence of project progress.

Facilitating collaboration and interaction

For internal users, the CLARE Base website provides a secure, members-only space that shares the same WordPress instance as the public site. 

The CLARE Base website serves as an interface and aggregator for the collaboration and interaction activities across the programme. These are enabled by groups.io, which combines website and email features – a powerful pairing. Although other options were considered, many participants preferred email because it works well for asynchronous communication and doesn’t require continuous internet access. Users from different programme and project groups can add internally-directed content, interact, find resources, seek assistance, and collaborate on content and activities.

M&E Center

From CLARE Base, users can also access the M&E Center, a dedicated hub for monitoring and reporting. It provides:

• Tools for data input and review.
• Key MEL documents.
• Dashboards and visualizations.
• Support resources for users at various levels.

Empowering Users for Success

Following the platform’s development, comprehensive user testing and training sessions ensured the KM platform met CLARE’s objectives. By enhancing collaboration and streamlining M&E processes, the platform keeps CLARE’s diverse community aligned, informed, and focused on building resilience to climate change.

This platform reflects a thoughtful approach to design, aiming to facilitate collaboration, knowledge sharing, and the generation of insights to support climate adaptation and resilience.

CLARE is a flagship research programme on climate adaptation and resilience, funded mostly (about 90%) by UK Aid through the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and co-funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada. CLARE is bridging critical gaps between science and action by championing Southern leadership to enable socially inclusive and sustainable action to build resilience to climate change and natural hazards.

As part of an extensive user-needs consultation, Dgroups Associate Jessica Ball was invited to the AQUADAPT Peer Learning event in Penang, Malaysia. For this event, Jessica created and facilitated a “Visions of Success” session aimed at helping each of the 11 AQUADAPT projects outline their own success roadmaps, contributing valuable insights toward the program-wide Theory of Change (ToC).

Given the 90-minute timeframe, Jessica developed an engaging and dynamic card game for the activity.

Each project group received a tailored deck of cards and instructions. The card deck included: 

• the 11 projects and the IDRC program actor cards; 
• 22 actor cards ranging from women aquafarmers to large aquabusiness; 
• 7 nature-based solutions cards; 
• 26 cards representing knowledge management types, values, attributes, processes and tools; and 
• 4 interaction cards – learn, share, co-create, and report.

A shared vision is an important element of project and program success and the aim of the exercise was to focus on what success looks like for each project. It allowed for projects to consider a range of success factors, ranging from learning and development of new ideas and approaches, benefits to communities, sustainability of projects, etc. 

The activity process was designed in four stages:

1. WHY: Each project team created a visual representation or story of what tangible success would look like, integrating nature-based solutions relevant to their objectives.
   
2. WHAT: Using a storyboard template, teams mapped out the key success factors necessary to achieve their vision.
   
3. WHO: Teams reflected on the key actors essential to their success, both from within the program and externally.
   
4. HOW: Using the knowledge management cards, the final step was for projects to think about how the AQUADAPT KM Platform and processes of learning and collaboration can support them in achieving their project success.  Using a spider diagram template, teams mapped actors and actions along the co-create, share, learn, and report axis to identify crucial interactions.

Each project group was requested to capture their outcomes of the activity, in the form of video, audio or written notes. This collaborative knowledge harvesting approach meant that after the event, Jessica was able to review all the project Visions of Success in detail. From this a summary document was created that included a synthesised vision of success as laid out by all 11 projects. Cross-checking this with the program theory of change impact provides a holistic program vision of success, and allows all projects to clearly see their contribution, and feel a sense of ownership and shared purpose in the overall success of the programme.

The activity revealed the unique approaches each project took, underscoring that successful collaboration doesn’t require a one-size-fits-all method. With a creative framework, the card deck facilitated shared understanding and successful collaboration across the board.

Feedback from the activity was overwhelmingly positive. IDRC Project Manager Rebecca McMillan highlighted that:

Participants reported immediately after that it was “fun,” helped promote “co-creation,” enabled them to cement a “clear vision,” and facilitated team communication. “Using visualised cards made the discussion easier,” said one participant. Another partner noted, “very positive energy – we can use that to make change happen!” A third wrote, “The exercises served as equalisers – truly emerging as PEER learning.” In the post-event survey, we asked participants which activities they most enjoyed from the three-day event. The Theory of Change/Visions of Success activity was the most frequently cited.

Based on the success of this activity and the card deck, the Dgroups Foundation is keen to work with other partners looking to apply this approach to their knowledge management strategy development. Please get in touch if you would like to find out more information and discuss how this could be adapted to your needs.