A case study in learning to unlearn - Transformative Engagement Network (TEN)

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Rizky

A case study reflects how Irish academics learn through Transformative Engagement Network (TEN) work on climate change and food security. The project aims to reshape engagement among stakeholders and amplify the voices of vulnerable food producers in debates on climate change. The Maynooth University team describes growing recognition of the practical and intellectual challenges behind disciplinary assumptions, and how development complexities demand inclusive, participative knowledge-making.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Part 1: Rationale for the Case study

Part 2: Individual reflections on learning from the TEN Project

Martin Downes: Reflections

A case study in learning to unlearn martin downes, bernie grummell, conor murphy & anne ryan, maynooth university Abstract In this case study, Irish academics reflect on our involvement in a project – Transformative Engagement Network (TEN) . This project aims to transform the nature of the engagement between the various stakeholders impacted by or concerned with climate change and to insert the voice and concerns of the most vulnerable food producers into climate change debates. Throughout the project, the Maynooth University team has become increasingly aware of the complexities of development and of the practical and intellectual challenges to the assumptions and beliefs that underpin our disciplines. Introduction In this case study four Irish academics from three disciplines1 reflect on lessons learned through our partnership between four universities in Ireland, Zambia and Malawi2. The Transformative Engagement Network (TEN) aims to transform engagements between stakeholders impacted by or concerned with climate change and to insert the voices of vulnerable food producers into climate change debates. It aims to direct the knowledge, and power of universities to facilitate participative, inclusive engagements between stakeholders. The project includes (i) a Masters programme offered in three African universities to 36 students who work with rural communities vulnerable to food scarcity and (ii) a series of forums at local, national and international levels which guide the project. 1 Geography, Biology and Adult Education. 2 The four partner universities are Maynooth University (where the authors are based), Mzuzu University in Malawi, the Zambian Open University and Mulungushi University in Zambia. The project is funded under the Irish Aid and Higher Education Authority Programme for Strategic Cooperation. In this reflection, we position ourselves as learners seeking to know our world differently. Our teachers are our colleagues in the interdisciplinary teams in each partner university, the small-holder farmers in communities where our partner universities work and staff of the NGOs and government ministries who work in these communities and are students on the Masters programme or members of the forums. We focus on the Irish perspective in this paper, with other publications involving collaborations and reflective insights of other team members. This case study is presented in three parts. Part 1 provides a rationale for the case study. Part 2 presents learning reflections from team members in Maynooth University. Part 3 explores the implications of our learning for on-going work within TEN and beyond. PART 1: Rationale for the Case study Two key assumptions underpin TEN. First is that the persistence of social and economic inequalities between and within countries indicates that the underlying thinking and actions sustaining how we promote equality, including development interventions, need to change. Second is that inclusive processes in all aspects ofTEN, including how researchers, small-holders and agencies dealing with them, work together and how we create knowledge is crucial to well-developed judgments about the kind of changes that are pertinent to promoting and sustaining equality. Therefore, the ‘transformative’ agenda of TEN relates to how the different stakeholders involved in food security and climate change engage. The project seeks greater inclusiveness in decision-making and knowledge production. We believe that using participative processes will ensure that the perspectives of different players, in particular those living and working atthe local community level, will inform decision-making at national and international levels. TEN recognises that a major challenge for those based in universities, and in particular those in the global north, is to embrace alternative (and at times competing) ways of knowing the world and to utilise pedagogical and research practices that combine weste

FAQs

What is the Transformative Engagement Network (TEN) project trying to change?

TEN aims to transform how stakeholders affected by climate change engage with each other, and to insert the voices of vulnerable food producers into climate change debates.

How does TEN connect universities with learning from rural communities?

TEN directs the knowledge and power of universities to support participative, inclusive engagement, including a Masters programme and forums where rural communities contribute lived knowledge.

What key assumptions underpin TEN according to Part 1?

TEN assumes that persistent social and economic inequalities require changes to thinking and actions supporting equality, and that inclusive processes across research and collaboration are crucial for well-grounded judgments about relevant changes.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Rizky