[...]... Absorptive capacity of group progressively improves over time Evidence of lessons learned, group learning, successful technologies and best practices being accumulated, practiced and documented Successful technologies, innovative practices and lessons learned being extended both within the group and outside the group Field days, seminars and trainings conducted by group for members and non-members... in mind that some existing networks and institutions may also have low levels of social capital Existing networks and institutions may include village groups, farmer groups, women’s groups, youth groups, local government organisations, and indigenous groups 2 Use of community facilitators to build social capital: The pivotal role of community facilitators in community development processes has been... Landcare groups (farmer to farmer learning and innovation), and between Landcare groups and other organisations such as government agencies, the business sector, and research and education institutions 15 One significant outcome of the increasing farmer participation rates and the consequent number of Landcare groups, has been the formation of these groups into sub-regional or regional networks (or ‘groups... landholders; influence the priorities of regional catchment groups Not only have local community Landcare groups in Australia been effective at undertaking SLM activities, but such local groups have also forgedstrong linkages and networks with other similar groups at the district, regional, state and national levels The relationship between these groups and their networks is illustrated in Table 2 and... organisations to community groups and networks 12 4 Social Norms Social norms are the standards and patterns of acceptable or desirable behaviour set by the group or network SLM Implications The advantage of positive social norms in relation to SLM is that where groups set high standards of participant behaviour (or natural resource management behaviour), then there is some compulsion for the group members to... take actions that will lead to better SLM outcomes Proactive groups are more likely to see value in, and thus participate in SLM Indicators: Group strategically plans at the group level, and monitors and evaluates plan implementation Innovative community development and SLM project proposals 6 Problem or issue identifiers High social capital groups or communities have the ability to identify issues... and scale-up and extend these strategies and technologies throughout the group, and to others outside the group SLM Implications Within community groups and networks, there is a continual need to improve upon old strategies and technologies and develop new ones The advantage of learning from mistakes and successes is that such groups learn quickly, and constructively and adaptively manage their natural... contribute to the achievement of food security to the APEC s community Ladies and gentlemen, This workshop is the most appropriate platform for sharing and exchanging of ideas to achieve our common goals of encouraging more collaboration among APEC member economies and ensuring food security for all.With the cooperation and collaboration among the APEC community, all of us could overcome this challenges... information, formation of partnerships etc.) formed with other groups at the same functional level or similar geographic area (e.g other similar community groups; schools, local government, agribusiness) Number and quality of vertical linkages formed with other groups at a higher level (e.g district and provincial/state government agencies, NGOs, industry groups, catchment organisations, and research institutions)... level of social capital Demonstrations of trust within members of a group, or in particular, between groups, e.g between community groups and government or industry organisations, illustrate higher levels of social capital Trust can take some time to build, but can be lost very quickly Building of a trusting relationship between community groups and the agency undertaking PSLM should be a priority of any . Economic Cooperation Secretariat 35 HengMuiKeng Terrace Singapore 119616 Tel: (66) 6891-9600 Fax: 6891-9690 Email: info @apec. org Website: www .apec. org ©2013 APEC Secretariat APEC No: APEC# 213-AT-04.1. goals of encouraging more collaboration among APEC member economies and ensuring food security for all.With the cooperation and collaboration among the APEC community, all of us could overcome. resource mobilisation; group learning and co-learning opportunities; the ability to extend knowledge, and influence the attitudes and behaviours, both within groups and between groups; landscape