Contextual Profiling as Start up for Case Studies and Co-engaged Research Design

The T-learning TKN adopted an approach to co-engaged research design based on a methodology developed in southern African environmental education locally called 'contextual profiling'.  We encouraged all partners to engage with potential partners in local case study research to discuss the emerging nexus concerns at the climate-water-food security-energy nexus in different participating countries.  We were interested in the kinds of questions and concerns raised by local participants in situ. We were then interested in probing how these concerns were already being engaged via learning processes, and how this could be expanded or extended. We used concepts such as 'matters of concern' and 'expanding learning' as well as 'transgressive learning' to probe the potential for researching T-learning. In each case participants came prepared with potential cases, where they had already started consulting local partners in resolving matters of concern at the climate-water-food security-energy nexus.  Some of the cases were already well developed, and others were in initial scoping phases.  The cases captured here in various presentations helped to bring thinking of TKN members together with matters of concern as experienced in local contexts in the diverse countries of the TKN member participants.  Cases cover a range of contexts including social movements, existing and emergent learning networks, and practice oriented programmes and projects. We share some of the presentations made at the January meeting on the cases that TKN members discussed as foundation for the T-learning network's further proposal development work.