Photo credit: GEF
It’s not every day you witness a shift, from passive listening to active design thinking, from questions to confidence. That’s exactly what happened during the GEF Expanded Constituency Workshop (ECW) for Central Africa, held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, in April 2025. ECWs are regional platforms that bring together GEF focal points, civil society, agencies, and other partners to share experiences, build capacity, and strengthen country engagement with GEF policies and programming.
This ECW focused on GEF-8’s Integrated Programs, a flagship approach that addresses the drivers of environmental degradation through cross-cutting, system-transforming solutions. Rather than working in silos, Integrated Programs encourage countries to design initiatives that generate multiple global environmental benefits by linking efforts across sectors like biodiversity, climate change, and land use. The goal is to co-create bold, scalable interventions that align with national priorities and global commitments.
Over the course of four days, country teams, agencies, civil society, and GEF Secretariat colleagues came together not just to talk about integrated programming, but to experience it, co-create ideas, and reflect on how we can do things differently.
At the heart of it all was a hands-on learning journey, one rooted in knowledge sharing, collaboration, and the belief that strong project design begins with listening and iteration. Project design refers to the process of shaping a project’s goals, activities, and implementation strategy to ensure it addresses real needs and delivers lasting impact. In the GEF context, this means working with stakeholders to define the environmental challenge, identify integrated solutions, and align with both national priorities and global commitments from the start.
As part of the ECW’s integration track, we introduced the Integrated Approach Clinic, a format we first developed and piloted in January in the Southern Africa region. The idea was simple: support country teams in breaking down the process of developing an integrated approach project, using a structured, visual tool to map out their priorities.
But the experience was far more than technical. With the help of a printed canvas and a toolkit of templates and guiding questions, participants were invited to brainstorm, prioritize, and reflect on what is necessary to develop a project that is holistic and integrated. The room was alive with sticky notes, side conversations, and dynamic teamwork. GEF Secretariat staff walked the floor, answering questions and encouraging teams to take the lead.
What stood out across all country teams was how quickly the sessions moved from abstract to concrete. Some came in with initial ideas in mind, while others used the clinic to surface emerging priorities. In both cases, the structured format prompted deep reflection, not only on what kind of project to propose, but how to design something meaningful and durable.
The session encouraged participants to reflect on key project elements like sustainability, risks, and indicators. Many teams found themselves shifting course, questioning early assumptions, rethinking project focus, or identifying overlooked entry points. These moments of constructive uncertainty were where real learning happened.
What emerged were not finished proposals, but thoughtful drafts anchored in national priorities. What mattered was that countries were thinking out loud, openly exploring trade-offs, and drawing connections between their national priorities and the integrated programming model.
Another core feature of the ECW was the Learning Stations, rotating peer exchange sessions where countries and agencies shared real project experiences. Each station offered a deep dive into a specific integrated project from the region, with candid stories of success and struggle.
What made these sessions unique was the focus on systemic levers—governance, finance, innovation, and collaboration, and how they were activated (or constrained) in real contexts. Presenters reflected on:
- Why the approach was selected
- What the project has achieved so far
- What’s been challenging and how it was addressed
- How stakeholders, especially underrepresented groups, have been involved
Participants moved into small groups, asked questions, and documented takeaways. The energy in the rooms reflected real curiosity and an eagerness to learn, not from theory, but from peers walking the same path.
What we saw first in Johannesburg and now in Malabo reinforces what many of us already know: learning doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens in motion, when people are asked to co-create, to reflect out loud, to challenge assumptions, and to connect ideas across sectors.
The Integrated Approach Clinic and Learning Stations are part of this broader mission: Knowledge for Impact. Together, they offer an intentional space to slow down, think critically, and build capacity, not through lectures, but through structured collaboration and purposeful exchange.
We’re only at the beginning of what these learning formats can unlock. Participants in Central Africa asked for more time for reflection, more direct feedback after country presentations, and even more opportunities to interact across teams. We’re listening and already thinking about how to adapt and scale these formats for upcoming ECWs.
The goal isn’t to perfect every session. It’s to keep evolving, and to treat every learning moment as part of a growing practice of knowledge-informed decision-making. These moments matter. They build confidence, clarify complexity, and spark ideas that go on to shape real projects on the ground.
And that’s what learning for impact should do.
