Action Learning Set hosted by Good Food Oxford

Facilitated by Annie Davy and Polly McAfee from The Nature Effect. Six Friday mornings from October 2015 to February 2016.

Are you a food grower, producer or distributor? Run a restaurant or cafe that sources locally or would like to? Working or volunteering to make good food more accessible to everyone? Or working away at reducing the food waste mountain?

Would you like to focus with other members of the Good Food Oxford Network on generating new ideas and tackling existing challenges for creating a vibrant sustainable food system in Oxfordshire? We're offering sixteen members of the GFO Network the chance to join a subsidised Action Learning Set, facilitated by The Nature Effect. This is a peer coaching approach, described in the first half of this you tube video. It helps participants unlock systemic issues and gain fresh perspective. As we know, food is a systemic problem and this Set will give you:

• Time and space to explore new ideas with knowledgable peers
• Help with thinking outside the box through double loop learning, uncovering underlying values and assumptions
• Reflective analysis at a deep level across different parts of the food system
• The chance to pool expertise and avoid duplicating efforts
• Access to extremely good value coaching from facilitators and group members

It will also help to strengthen the GFO network by connecting members through a collaborative learning process. We think this will help the Network become more than the ‘sum of its parts’ by working closely together to examine the challenges facing the food system in Oxford and come up with solutions that work for everyone. The ultimate aim of this is to strengthen Oxford as a regional hotspot for local food production, radically increase access to good food, and eliminate food waste.

For all these reasons The Nature Effect and GFO are working together to lower the cost of participation in the set. The usual cost for six four-hour sessions is £250, but this one-off set of six sessions will be £95. This fee can be paid in 2 installments if preferred (£55 and £40). Good Food Oxford is also fully funding one bursary place which will be offered free of charge. The sessions will run in Oxford from 9.15am to 1.15pm on the following Friday mornings: 9 and 30 October 2015 20 November 2015 17 December 2015 15 January 2015 5 February 2015 The sessions will be facilitated by Polly McAfee and Annie Davy, both experienced Action Learning Set facilitators who trained with Ruth Cook of Action Learning Associates (the woman speaking on the youtube video). Annie & Polly are also both directors of The Nature Effect CIC and you can read more about them on The Nature Effect website. Here are some comments from participants on their previous Action Learning Sets for leaders in social and environmental change: “This process has empowered me to lead more confidently and to trust my own thinking." “An extremely empowering and cost effective methodology to help seasoned professionals work better – and happier.” “The format itself, and the tools within it were very powerful for helping us all to think more deeply.” To apply for a place on this set, please email Polly pollymcafee@gmail.com by 7th September 2015. To be considered for a bursary place, please email Hannah hannah.fenton@goodfoodoxford.org with a short paragraph about your organisation and how the peer coaching approach of Action Learning could help you in your work as part of the Oxford food system.