A learning agenda is a set of questions, assembled by an organization or team, that identifies what needs to be learned before a project can be planned and implemented.
Overview An organizational learning agenda is frequently a set of broad questions directly related to the work enable the organization to work more effectively and efficiently. It often uses evaluation and evidence and links these to decision-making. Increasingly, the term learning agenda has been used by federal government agencies, non-profit organizational and international organizations.USAID Learning Lab. "Defining a Learning Agenda". Retrieved April 18, 2017 Learning agendas often have three major parts: a set of learning questions, a series of activities to answer them and a plan to share and disseminate the information.USAID Learning Lab."Learning Agenda: How to guide". Retrieved May 25, 2017
Learning agendas are used as an organizational learning tool to improve organizational effectiveness and efficiency within the government.USAID Learning Lab."Learning Agendas: The Five Most Important Things You Need to Know" Retrieved January 16, 2018USAID Learning Lab."Learning Agendas Across Federal Agencies". Retrieved November 18, 2019 For example, learning agendas have been referenced by the US Office of Management and Budget for use within the US federal government. The process often varies but often includes a set of common steps.[Office of Management and Budget https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/M-19-23.pdf "OMB Phase 1 Implementation of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018: Learning Agendas, Personnel, and Planning Guidance Memo"]. Retrieved November 18, 2019 These include convening relevant stakeholders and reviewing the literature for what is already known about the topic. Following this learning questions are frequently identified and prioritized. Following this, a plan is developed for answering those questions and implementing learning activities such as studies and analyses. Often key stakeholders are involved at different stages depending on the learning agenda. The evidence is disseminated usually through learning products such as reports or infographics in order to allow staff to use and apply the findings in their work.USAID Learning Lab. "Learning Agenda" Retrieved April 18, 2017Office of Management and Budget. (2013). "Next Steps in the Evidence and Innovation Agenda Memorandum" Retrieved April 18, 2017
History The first documented use of learning agenda appears to be from the early 1960s. Its origins are in the educational and business fields.William R. Dill, Wallace B.S. Crowston, and Edwin J. Elton, "Strategies for Self-Education," Harvard Business Review, November–December 1965, pp.55-66Stone, Elizabeth W.(1969).Factors related to the professional development of librarians. Metuchen, N.J:Scarecrow Press Often the term learning agenda was employed to describe an individual's path to learning, whether in a classroom or as a manager in a company. Following more recent work on organizational learning within government and the business sector, the concept of a learning agenda has become linked to idea of "learning organization", a term popularized by Peter Senge's work.Long, S. L. (1981). The Handbook of political behavior. New York: Plenum Press.Senge, P.M. 1990. The Fifth Discipline. London: Century Business. However, the use of learning agenda within the business field to describe an individual's pathway of learning is still common. In its place, other terms are used, such as "CEO agenda", in which learning occurs around the implementation of strategic goals and performance metrics.Bain & Company. "CEO Agenda". Retrieved April 18, 2017PWC Global. "The CEO Agenda". Retrieved April 18, 2017
Examples Within the US federal government, learning agendas have been used by a number of federal government agencies. For example, within the U.S. Agency for International Development, learning agendas have been developed across multiple offices and bureausUSAID Learning Lab. "Landscape Analysis of Learning Agendas: USAID/Washington and Beyond". Retrieved April 18, 2017 including across the agency USAID "USAID Self-Reliance Learning Agenda. Retrieved November 18, 2019 and bureaus that work on democracy and governance,USAID. "Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights and Governance Learning Agenda". Retrieved October 3, 2023 health,USAID."Marshaling the Evidence Learning Agenda". Retrieved April 18, 2017 food security,USAID. "Feed the Future Learning Agenda". Retrieved April 18, 2017 biodiversityUSAID."Office of Forestry and Biodiversity Biodiversity Learning Agenda".Retrieved April 18, 2017 and wildlife trafficking,USAID. "Office of Forestry and Biodiversity Countering Wildlife Trafficking Learning Agenda". Retrieved April 18, 2017 as well as cross-Agency initiatives.USAID. "Development Grants Program Learning Agenda". Retrieved April 18, 2017USAID. "Local Solutions Learning Agenda".Retrieved April 18, 2017 In addition, central bureaus such as the Bureau for Policy, Planning and Learning has a learning agenda focused on the Program Cycle USAID. "Program Cycle Learning Agenda".Retrieved July 20, 2018
Other federal agencies that have developed learning agendas include the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,US Department for Housing and Urban Development. "HUD Research Roadmap". Retrieved April 18, 2017 the U.S. Department of Labor,US Indian Health Service."Primer: Strengthening a Learning Culture at the Department of Labor". Retrieved April 18, 2017 within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).Social Impact. "USDA Food For Progress Trade Expansion & Agricultural Market Development".Retrieved April 18, 2017 MEASURE Evaluation, which operates under a cooperative agreement with USAID to provide thought and technical leadership in monitoring and evaluation and data in health systems, has recently developed an independent learning agenda. Other bilateral donors within international development have yet to use the term learning agenda although many have utilized the use of evaluations for learning purposes.
One example of the use of the term "learning agenda" in the private sector is an Accenture learning agenda for its Skills to Succeed project."Accenture. (2016). Skills to Success Insight and Learning Agenda" In addition, a wide range of international development organizations have developed learning agendas, including, but by no means limited to, the following: the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development's (UNRISD) five-year Research Strategy (2016),UNRISD. (2016). "Research Strategy" the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-funded Disconnected Youth learning agenda (MDRC, 2010),MDRC. (2010). "Disconnected Youth Learning Agenda" the RISE Learning Network's Learning Projects initiative (2015),RISE.(2015)."Learning Network's Learning Projects initiative" and Youth Business International's (YBI) three-year Research and learning agenda (2014).Youth Business International. (2014). "Research and Learning Agenda"
See also Adaptation Adaptive management Agile management Collaborative learning Project
References
External links Learning Lab USAID Evaluation Policy Urban Institute report on Engaging Stakeholders in Learning Agenda Development: A Playbook for Federal Agencies