17 March 2026

Community-led Learning

What works, what's hard, what helps

At the Humanitarian Network and Partnership Week (HNPW2026), the Fabo Learning Community held a session on the 3d of March 2026 to  examine what happens when learning tools are shared across organisations, networks and countries. While common tools can reduce duplication, create shared language and widen access to learning, they can also feel external, generic or difficult to anchor in daily practice.

Purpose of the Session

This session explored how the Fabo Learning Community’s democratised approach places ownership of learning directly in the hands of organisations and their teams. By offering adaptable courses, practical templates, and ready-to-use training modules, Fabo provides a flexible framework that members can shape to fit their own contexts, languages, and priorities.

Whether reusing existing materials or creating something entirely new, members of the community decide what learning looks like and how it serves their staff, volunteers, and partners.

During the panel, representatives from Digni (a norwegian network of 17 faith-based organisations working globally), FONAR (a Ghanaian environmental NGO), Fabo (a member-driven learning community of 30+ civil society organisations) shared how this approach has supported local leadership, expanded access to meaningful learning opportunities, and strengthened their ability to build and sustain their own learning ecosystems.

Speakers and Moderator

  • Lisa Winther, Digni
  • Sumaila Saaka, FONAR
  • Facilitated by Béatrice Mauconduit, DCA Learning Lab in Denmark & Fabo Learning Community

Fabo in brief

Fabo was presented as a shared learning infrastructure and peer community for NGOs. Hosted by DanChurchAid and originally developed through the ACT Alliance network, it enables organisations to create, adapt and share learning resources rather than building separate systems from scratch. The platform combines templates, courses, resource hubs and opportunities for peer exchange.

  • Member-driven model: organisations create, adapt and share learning resources with one another.
  • Flexible use: resources can support on-demand learning, webinars, workshops, training-of-trainers and communities of practice.
  • Practical value: organisations can duplicate existing content, tailor templates and reduce unnecessary duplication of effort.

Digni experience: what worked

Lisa Winther explained how Digni, a Norwegian umbrella organisation for 17 faith-based member organisations working with around 60 partners in 30 countries, has used Fabo over the past three to four years. Digni built a hub that now includes around 50 sub-pages with onboarding content, thematic resource libraries, event pages and workshop materials.

  • A central hub made it easier for members and partners to find recordings, guidance, workshop tasks and background material in one place.
  • An onboarding course with modules on roles, ethics and financial integrity supported induction of new staff and partners.
  • Resources were often used flexibly - not only as self-paced courses, but as material for facilitated discussion, in-person workshops and adapted local training sessions.
  • Digni also benefitted from the wider community by adapting material first developed by sister organisations, including financial integrity and AI-related resources.

Challenges identified by Digni

  • Adoption requires active handholding. Sending a link is not enough; people need walkthroughs and repeated exposure.
  • Ownership in member organisations shapes whether partners will use the platform.
  • Account creation can be a barrier for webinar participants and first-time users.
  • Internet connectivity remains a constraint, making it important to keep pages light and easy to load.

FONA perspective: opportunities for a new member

Sumaila Seidu Saaka introduced the Forum for Natural Regeneration (FONA), a Ghanaian organisation established in 2014 to promote farmer managed natural regeneration in northern Ghana. FONA works through community implementation, advocacy, school eco-clubs and capacity building with local authorities and partners.

  • FONA joined Fabo because, as a small organisation, it would not realistically be able to build or maintain its own online learning platform.
  • The organisation sees value in access to professional digital tools, free shared resources and peer learning from others doing related work.
  • Its strongest interest lies in technical and thematic learning, especially agroecology, sustainable farming practices and monitoring and evaluation.
  • FONA currently conducts most training face to face and sees digital learning as a way to reach more people across districts, nationally and potentially across West Africa.

Constraints raised by FONA

  • A very small team means digital learning development must compete with field implementation demands.
  • Seasonal fieldwork reduces the time available to explore and build new online resources.
  • Network instability and limited connectivity affect access and participation.

Main discussion points

What works

What’s hard

What helps
  • Shared spaces for resources, recordings and guidance
  • Reusing and adapting existing materials
  • Hybrid learning that combines facilitated and self-paced elements
  • Low uptake when there is little introduction or follow-up
  • Heavy pages or slow loading where internet access is weak
  • Too much content at once can overwhelm new users
  • Contextual adaptation of templates and courses
  • Repeated demonstrations and practical onboarding
  • Peer support and permission to reuse others’ resources

Questions from participants

Participants raised questions about the most in-demand learning needs among local actors, the relevance of existing Fabo resources for new members, and how online materials can be combined with offline or downloadable use. The responses suggested that there is no single demand profile: some organisations prioritise compliance learning, while others - such as FONA - are mainly seeking technical and thematic capacity strengthening.

Key Takeaways

  • Shared tools do not create learning on their own; they need time, ownership and facilitation.
  • The strongest use cases are hybrid: digital resources work best when linked to human interaction, discussion and training processes.
  • Smaller organisations see major value in access to infrastructure they could not otherwise afford, but they may need more support and time to get started.
  • Adaptability matters. Templates and shared courses are most useful when they can be reshaped for local realities, language, timing and target groups.
  • Community-led learning becomes meaningful when organisations are willing not only to consume content, but also to reuse, adapt and contribute back.

Overall message: the webinar underscored that technology is not the solution in itself. What makes a shared platform effective is the willingness and ability of organisations to invest in contextualisation, facilitation and collective ownership.

Post-webinar resources

🎬Watch the recorded session👇

What is HNPW 

The Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week (HNPW) 2026 was held for two weeks on 2-12 March 2026. The HNPW provides a unique forum for humanitarian networks and partnerships to meet and address key humanitarian issues. One of the largest humanitarian events of its kind, it gathers participants from the UN, NGOs, Member States, the private sector, the military, academia and beyond to discuss and solve common challenges in humanitarian affairs. During the event, networks and partnerships hold their annual meetings and consultations, share their expertise and collaborate on best practices to address shared problems..