School Activities

Functions of the School

 The important functions of the School include: Knowledge Building- about methods and principles of livelihood promotion and Knowledge Dissemination-strengthening the implementation capacity of the agencies whose work affect the livelihoods of the poor.

Knowledge Building

The School has a special emphasis on the process of knowledge building. Presently, knowledge related to livelihood interventions rests with a few experienced practitioners. This needs to be drawn out, adequately generalized and conceptualized for it to be used by many others, who have or are going to join the efforts to promote/ support large number of livelihoods. The School undertakes:

• Applied Research: Review of existing literature, Case Studies, Research Studies, Survey Research, etc.  

• Consolidating Knowledge through Mutual Exchange: through Livelihoods Learning Groups, through Practice Showcasing

• Consulting: Closely working with livelihood support/ promotion agencies

• Developing instrumental knowledge by reviewing and developing tools and techniques used by livelihood support/ promotion agencies, and

• Fellowship program.

Knowledge Dissemination

The Livelihood School undertakes knowledge dissemination to enhance capacities of junior and middle level practitioners working in livelihood promotion agencies, or whose work affect the livelihoods of large numbers of people, through training programs, in vernacular medium, using the services of an Extended Faculty Group (EFG), which will be drawn from women and men involved in extending services relevant to livelihood support/ promotion. These comprise of:

A three level modular programme adding up to a one-year Programme in Livelihood Promotion (PLP)  and consisting of:

a) Fundamentals of Livelihood Promotion (FLP),

b) Engines of Livelihood Promotion (ELP): Management of specific drivers of livelihoods, such as micro finance, natural resources, animal husbandry, and

c) Functional Area of Livelihood Promotion(FALP): Functional areas consisting of vectors which cutr across various drivers such as marketing, finance, principles of sociology. Interspersed with intra modular assignments, the PLP has an appropriate mix of theory and practice.

d) Customized programs  to meet the specific requirements of institutions involved in livelihood support/ promotion.

On the cards are a series of standalone one-week programs on various subjects related to livelihood support/ promotion such as Identification of Livelihood Opportunities in an Area, Sub-sector Analysis, and Economics of Micro-Enterprises among others.

Delivered as a mix of classroom learning complemented with learning in the field, the programs are supplemented with use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) based materials.