Every year seems to bring a range of significant developments for VBNK. Some are new beginnings, which of course means that there are also some endings that are cause for some reflection. In 2000 the organisation's first three-year funding phase came to an end and with it the first set of long-term plans that had been devised when VBNK was just an idea, not a reality. The transition from being a new organisation in start-up mode to one with a history of achievement behind it was very significant. We moved into a new phase ready to start implementing strategic plans which included starting a unit to offer consultancy services to our target community. This represented a huge shift in our own organisational development as we stopped being an organisation with a single focus and became one that works on a broader range of issues. Another ending was the time in our first office, which we had outgrown, and we started operating in a much bigger and more suitable building. Since then we have started another new unit in order to include research and publications in our range of services and now we are moving to our third office.

These and other developments, most notably the increase in our workload, prompt regular reflection and action on the important issue of being a learning organisation. As the organisation matures and develops a history, and its staffing, structure and workload grow the need to give real time and attention to being a learning organisation also grows. It is a simple fact that we must be able to learn if we are to be effective in training and advising others. And this is an issue not only for VBNK but also for every organisation working in development and the sector as a whole. Without reflection and learning how will any of us ever be able to assess whether or not what we are doing is truly effective, or find ways to improve our practice? Everywhere in the sector the needs and demands on time and resources are such that a task orientation predominates and little time or value is given to reflection or learning processes. Yet interventions into other peoples' lives and development should demand careful thought and planning based on learning from what has gone before and other sources.

As an institute offering training and consultancy to other organisations it is imperative that VBNK learns from every available source of knowledge and experience: its own internal activities, the wealth of knowledge and experience that participants bring to the training room, and all the many and varied external opportunities that are available to us. Yet doing so it not an easy task. Not only separate units but also individuals within units can all too easily become so engrossed in their own work that they forget to communicate in order to learn from each other.

Without exception all the variations of the learning cycle call for a stage of reflection or thinking. We know this but it is a fact that prompts questions rather than providing answers. We have reflection processes built into many aspects of our work but how can we be sure that reflection leads to learning? How can we develop quality learning processes that will lead us to new insights and understanding and improved practice? How can we be sure that new staff are properly oriented to our learning practices? How can we be sure that old staff do not become complacent? Reflection and learning take time and it can be extremely difficult in the face of the pressures of urgent deadlines to make space for the processes that lead to learning. It is all too easy to slip into the habit of reflections being mechanistic with a focus on activities and outcomes rather than on the experience and connections that lead to learning. Making the connections between the activity, the experience and the learning and gaining learning from them is both a skill and a real challenge for all development practitioners. Much of the literature on the subject of learning organisations is not particularly relevant for the NGO sector in Cambodia - it needs substantial adaptation to make it useful and workable. So we struggle to find ways to reflect and learn that are meaningful in the cultural context within which we are working.

Whatever learning processes or devices an organisation chooses nothing effective will happen to integrate learning into practice without the total commitment of senior management. Unless organisational leaders are able visibly to demonstrate their commitment by mandating the time and resources for learning and by value the results achieved it will not happen. This can sometimes mean that hard choices have to be made between hitting targets for outputs and making the time for reflective processes. For VBNK - an organisation that has to earn a significant part of its own operating budget from its activities - these choices seem at times especially hard, yet in reality there can be no choice at all. We have to find the time for reflection and learning because being a learning organisation is essential to our long-term sustainability and we must never stop. We do not yet feel that we have fully integrated being a learning organisation into our organisational culture and daily practice, but we are working on it, and would be happy to share ideas and experiences with others who are working to achieve the same goal.

Source: 2001 Annual Report