What is the Local Leadership and Collective Action Program?

LLCAP builds on 16 years of TVI’s work with universities, young people and communities, growing a network of active citizens.  LLCAP aims to expand this network, inviting in new leaders from government, civil society and the private sector working with their communities to create transformational change and tackle some of PNG’s most pressing problems. 

The objective of the program is to see tangible progress on public policy reform or solving of complex problems. To achieve this LLCAP supports collective action, groups coming together to act on problems and progress reform. 

The program works on reform in three ways; growing dialogue, knowledge and debate on an issue, then supporting leaders and organizations taking action on that issue (developmental leaders) and, around these leaders, encouraging a broader coalition of actors to bring increased resources to the reform objective. 

How long is the PDIA course and what does a week involve?

PDIA is a course from a world standard University. It is demanding and requires sustained commitment for the full 12 weeks, including submission of weekly assignments, weekly online lectures and face to face group meetings. The course runs for 12 weeks from August 7 to November 3 2023. There are usually two written assignments due each week, plus reading, videos and group activities.

Each week looks like this:

Monday: Individual assignment  due

Tuesday 8am-10am: Online lecture 1 hour/ groupwork and discussion 1 hour

Thursday: Group assignment due

Through the week: Approximately 6 hours of work to complete assignment, meet with your team, take actions.

Does PDIA work?

The Harvard team has been putting PDIA principles into practice under the leadership of Professor Matt Andrews and has undertaken engagements with teams in Albania, Sri Lanka, Honduras, Brazil, and in several African countries on problems related to agriculture, education, governance, industrial development, urban development, tourism, investment promotion, judicial reform and public financial management. This work has helped to form a cutting-edge action-oriented learning intervention. The mechanism integrates internet-based learning with group-based real world (on-the-job) engagement, and active coaching.

What does the course include?

There are three phases;

Phase I: Learning the PDIA process

The first phase of the program will include a seven-week intensive period of PDIA training for the teams. During this period participants will be expected to commit a minimum of 3 hours/week to live online sessions and approximately 5 hours/week to self-study time – approximately 8 hours total each week. Self-study module with videos and readings to be reviewed before the live virtual session. Work includes;

• Individual assignment to be completed by participants.

• A live virtual session with Matt Andrews to introduce a new PDIA concept and to answer any questions. The topics to be covered in these weekly sessions include:

  • PDIA overview and the art of teaming: How to work together as a team and set norms.

  • Problem construction: How to create a narrative about your problem using stories and data

  • Problem deconstruction: How to break down your problem into its root causes

  • Entry point analysis: How to use the triple-A change space analysis to identify entry points

  • Crawling the design space: Where to look for ideas

  • Building and maintaining authorization: What authority do you need and where do you find it?

  • Designing the first iteration: How to structure your first iteration

• A live virtual session for teams to apply the concept they learned to the problem they are working on and to submit their team assignment.

Phase II: Action Learning and Reporting Progress

The second phase of the program will include a five-week action learning period during which the teams will continue to engage in one to two week iterations. Each iteration involves an action ‘push’ in which teams act on the specific next steps they identify, reflect on the experience of such actions, and determine the next steps.

During this period (August- September), teams review self-study modules. The content of these modules will be customized to the experience and needs of the teams. The topics in this phase could include:

• Iteration and action learning

• Engaging in difficult conversations

• Delegation and time management

• Communicating your learning and leads

• Multi agent leadership and your personal leadership.

The teams would, additionally, produce updated documents indicating “what was done, what was learned, and what is next”. These documents form the basis of the coaching sessions focused on modelling the importance of small-step-accountability in the process of getting things done, and helping to ensure lessons are learned, and pressing teams to build real momentum.

Phase III: Taking Stock of the Learning and Sharing Experience

PDIA—and action-based PDIA learning program—is not only useful in helping to build capability to address specific problems. We believe that there is value in embedding this way of engaging more generally—especially in the face of complex and difficult-to-address problems. At the end of the action push period, the teams would reconvene virtually where they will reflect on their individual and team experiences, share lessons, and determine a strategy to build their new-found learning into future work agendas. The learning will help determine the next steps for creating a community of practice.

Who teaches and supports the course?

Matt Andrews and Salimah Samjii are the main lecturers. There will also be a Harvard teaching assistant to support teams.

Each team will also have a local mentor. This will be a PDIA graduate from previous cohorts or a TVI staff member who has also completed the course. This mentor will help teams stay on track and understand course requirements. With this support, in the 2022 course there was a 96% pass rate.

Who can be in a PDIA Team?

Teams must be made up of 4-6 people as Harvard have found this is the most effective number for this approach.

Teams need to be working together or planning on working together to solve a social or economic problem or on a public policy reform.

For example:

• a government department team

• a group of civil society organisations or community leaders

• a group of private sector leaders

• a mixed teams made up of government, civil society, private sector

Do I need a degree or existing qualification to apply?

No. But you do need a minimum standard of computer skills and ability to complete written and verbal assignments.

Do I get a certificate?

Yes, if you attend and pass all assignments then you will receive a certificate.

Do I need internet connection for the PDIA course?

Yes. The course is mainly delivered online. You will need reliable internet.

What happens after the PDIA course?

You will be part of the LLCAP network and receive ongoing opportunities to support your reform work. This will include additional learning opportunities with local and global experts, custom support for your reform work and opportunities to come together with other network members and TVIs broader community.