Rural Finance Learning Centre  
training resources news and events discussions contacts

WELCOME to the RURAL FINANCE LEARNING CENTRE!

Anyone can use this site - you do not have to login to look at the information that is in the Rural Finance Learning Centre. If you want to know about being a member, please click here.

The Rural Finance Learning Centre has five gateways or entry points. You can see them listed across the top navigation bar:

  • training
  • resources
  • news
  • discussions
  • contacts

The home page gives you a brief summary of what you will find in each gateway. To move between gateways, you just need to click on the one you want to go to in the top navigation bar. You will see it shows up on a white background when you are there.

Where should you start?

You could just use the search facility. You can do a simple search for a keyword, title, author, type of resource using the search box you will find under the top navigation bar on every page or you can do an advanced search which enables you to specify your search criteria much more carefully. The results of your search will be presented in a list and you can click on the link to go to the item you have selected. To get more advice on searching please click here.

You could choose to browse in the database of resources. This is like a library where you can look to see what books, papers, training manuals, different types of multimedia and so on are available on different subjects. Click on the resources link in the top navigation bar. This will bring you to a screen which explains the structure of the database. We have organised the material into topics according to three broad perspectives. These are:

  • Client advice - which brings together material useful for working directly with people who are existing or potential clients of financial service providers. The material is for the staff of financial institutions or advisory services, not for clients themselves.
  • Policy-making - which brings together material of interest to decision-makers in financial institutions, government departments and donor organisations who are involved in promoting improved rural financial services.
  • Service provision - which brings together material of interest to those managing financial service business operations, whether commercially or as an NGO or project.

Choose which perspective interests you and click the topic link in the left navigation bar. You will find it brings you to a screen with an introduction to that particular perspective and a list of sub-topics in the left navigation bar. Would you like to know the complete list of topics in each perspective now? Click here to see the sitemap and make sure you are looking at the resources section.

When you find a topic that looks as though it will be useful to you, click on it. You will arrive at a screen with an introduction to the topic and a list of the resources that have been added to the library about that subject so far. You can see at a glance if there are case studies, training manuals or guidelines available, when they were published and in what language.

The resources may be divided into categories, e.g. documents, multimedia, editor's notes. If the documents tab is highlighted in green, you are looking at the list of materials which are some form of document, whether they are training manuals or books or whatever. If there are resources classified as multimedia available for that topic, you will see the tab next to documents and clicking on it will take you to a screen with the multimedia list. Similarly if there are editor's notes available, click on that tab to see what issues the editors have been writing about. Editor's notes are short features about issues that experts in the field consider important or of topical interest or need raising for further debate.

When you click on the title of a document or other type of resource, some more detailed information about that item will appear in the window. There will be an abstract which should tell you why we think that resource is useful and, if it can be downloaded, there will be a link to enable you to do that. If you have to order the item from someone, we will give you the information to do that.

What else can you do?

You might find the training gateway interesting. Click on the training link in the top navigation bar to go here. You will arrive at screen which explains the three sections you can investigate. These are:

  • Recommended curricula - which contains session guides for workshops on different topics and other supportive material for trainers to use.
  • Self study lessons - interactive learning sessions you can work through on your own to improve your skill or understanding on certain issues.
  • Training opportunities - which contains information about training or study courses which are being offered in the field of rural or micro finance or closely related subjects such as rural development with specialisation options in rural finance for example.

The recommended curricula and self-study lessons are being developed specifically for the Rural Finance Learning Centre either by adapting selected existing material or writing brand new material. For this reason material will only be added slowly as funds become available to contract writers and instructional designers.

If you are a trainer, you should check out the recommended curricula. The purpose of each curriculum will be clearly explained, e.g. a one-day workshop intended for managers of commercial banks, and each session guide will contain facilitator's notes, handouts and answers to any exercises. Normally you should adapt exercises and handouts to your local situation and the session guides can, of course, be used in a different sequence or combination.

The self study lessons are intended as a form of distance learning. Each one might take 30-40 minutes if you try to answer all the questions properly and think about the information provided. Your answers will be saved while you are using the lesson but not once you close the lesson down. Choose the title that interests you and you will arrive at a screen explaining the purpose of the lesson. Click the "Start lesson" link to begin.

An organisation could use the lessons as a training tool with a small group of staff by supervising a session during which participants work through a lesson and stop to discuss the answers as they go. It is appreciated that it is not possible to be online for extended periods of time in many countries and when the lesson programme is sufficiently developed it will be available on CD-ROM.

To go to the news gateway you click on the news link in the top navigation bar. Here you will find a list of items telling you what is going on in the Rural Finance Learning Centre and in the field of rural finance around the world. By clicking on the events tab, you will arrive at a screen with a listing of conferences, seminars and other events relevant to rural finance. The information here is organised by region.

By clicking on the discussions link in the top navigation bar, you will arrive at a screen listing some discussion groups in which you might be interested. Clicking on the title of the discussion will present you with further details and a link taking you to the place where you would need to join that discussion. From time to time the Rural Finance Learning Centre may initiate and host a discussion, particularly if members indicte their interest in a certain topic. The active Devfinance listserv is being archived by the Learning Centre so that you can read postings to that list right here in the RFLC.

What is the contacts gateway?

Clicking on the contacts link in the top navigation bar brings you to a screen where you can choose to look either at a list of the RFLC members or at a list of organisations who have chosen to feature their details in the RFLC. If you want to play an active role in the development of the Rural Finance Learning Centre, you should consider registering as a member. Click here for more information.

Feedback

If you have any comments or suggestions about the Rural Finance Learning Centre, particularly about ways you believe it could help capacity building within your own organisation, please let us know. The Chief Editor and the CABFIN Partnership will welcome your suggestions.

Email: RFLC@fao.org

Contact RFLC Editor
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