Communicative ecologies and ethnographic action research

I was reading Gigler's section on "alternative evaluation framework" for ICT4D to review the concept of informational capabilities and to examine it more closely from an operationalization point of view. I noticed a footnote (p. 45) that mentioned ethnographic approach to understanding information and communication flows (and practices) within communities.  This led to Jo Tacchi's work on communicative ecologies and the EAR (ethnographic action research) training handbook.

The handbook shares similarities with TSFS concept and may provide additional insights or ideas for further consideration.

Tacchi with June Lennie have also published Evaluating Communication for Development: A Framework for Social Change (Taylor & Francis, 2013):

Evaluating Communication for Development presents a comprehensive framework for evaluating communication for development (C4D). This framework combines the latest thinking from a number of fields in new ways. It critiques dominant instrumental, accountability-based approaches to development and evaluation and offers an alternative holistic, participatory, mixed methods approach based on systems and complexity thinking and other key concepts. It maintains a focus on power, gender and other differences and social norms. The authors have designed the framework as a way to focus on achieving sustainable social change and to continually improve and develop C4D initiatives.

Of particular interest to JETI is the ethnographic approach and their approach to evaluation.  The ethnographic approach, linked with narrative inquiry, may be able to provide insights and inform the planning process for research prior to, during, and following the TSFS.  Evaluation may offer ideas for both the research team and for the TSFS training material to help stewards to design and carry out evaluation with their communities of practice.