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This paper describes experiences from East Africa and elsewhere where coalitions of different agriculture-related organisations at different levels have been using a learning process for collective planning and innovation. The learning process follows five phases:
À Defining future agroecosystems
À Matching farmer demands with the services needed to create those agrosystems
À Negotiating new partnerships
À Taking action and assessing the actions taken
À Assessing the performance of the new partnerships

This paper reports on the learning experiences of anthropology students at the University of Sussex. Through an undergraduate research project, students of social anthropology used participatory methods to explore reflexively issues of learning. The objectives of the research were to increase communication between students and faculty and to raise awareness among students of the importance of their views and experiences in shaping their learning. A summary of the research process and some of the criticisms that were raised about the handling of the project is also provided.