Platform: FAO elearning Academy
Duration: 3 h 40 m (self-paced)
Certification: Yes, it is free
This course provides a detailed exploration of the main principles, concepts, and approaches of the Tropical Agriculture Platform (TAP) Common Framework on Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS). The course aims to educate participants on AIS and the role of capacity building in advancing AIS. Capacity development has been explained at different levels, with all the processes involved and real-life case studies as examples.
The course follows an asynchronous learning method, consisting of six lessons, each accompanied by quizzes in between the lessons. It is designed to be completed at any time and at any pace. Each lesson is meticulously structured to build upon the previous one, ensuring a gradual and thorough understanding of capacity development for AIS. The course is tailored for a beginner, starting with the fundamentals of AIS and then expanding on capacity building at different levels along with capacity need assessment.
| Lesson 1 – Agricultural Innovation Systems – concepts and elements Lesson 2 – Capacity development for Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS) Lesson 3 – Capacity needs assessments and strengthening at innovation niche level Lesson 4 – Capacity needs assessments and strengthening at organization level Lesson 5 – Strengthening the enabling environment Lesson 6 – The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning framework |
As previously mentioned, the course consists of six lessons. In each lesson, quizzes are enclosed after each individual topic. While there is no live instructor, the course interface has been made engaging, with content hidden in each click. Other than the case studies provided in each lesson, there is one extra case study with an exercise provided at the end of each lesson attached as a pdf. Apart from this, there are supplementary resources provided in hyperlinks within the lessons themselves.Upon successfully completing the course and the quiz, participants receive a digital badge as a certification. However, the certificate is only awarded if a score of 75% or higher is achieved on the quiz. The quiz consists of 24 multiple-choice questions, some of which are repeated from the in-lesson quizzes taken during the course.
The course starts with an introduction to AIS and then proceeds to build upon the topics of capacity development and capacity need assessment at the innovation niche level and organizational level. It also includes policy dialogues and policy briefs as one of the lessons. The course ends with a pertinent explanation of the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) framework. As someone very new to this topic, each lesson taught me essential processes and knowledge at a beginner level.
The learning process was satisfactory for me. Although the interface is interestingly structured, some might find the course a bit slow at the start since it has a slide presentation format for e-learning. However, the addition of quizzes between the lessons has eliminated the possibility of the course being boring. I enrolled in this course to begin learning about AIS as a first step towards understanding agricultural extension. As a beginner in this field, I believe that this course has provided an excellent foundation for the beginning of my journey.
Overall, the course is really good, providing thorough coverage of the subject matter. I would recommend this course to anyone who is looking to start a career in agriculture extension, whether they are students wanting to learn the basics or professionals looking to refresh their knowledge.
Arsha Ashly recently completed her Masters in Water Policy and Governance from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, India and is a Research Officer with the Centre for Research on Innovation and Science Policy (CRISP), Hyderabad, India. She can be reached at: ashlyarsha20@gmail.com
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