Research & Impact
Prototyping Phase 2020 - 2022
From 2020 to 2022, we piloted a capacity-building methodology that aimed to equip participants involved in community-based food initiatives in Zimbabwe with the skills and knowledge to produce participatory video proposals. Through this phase, we developed facilitation resources tailored to the needs of participants and designed to support participatory learning.
Over the course of the prototyping phase, we engaged with approximately 70 participants from 13 NGOs and 30 community-based organisations. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, we were able to provide remotely facilitated online workshops through Zoom and WhatsApp. These workshops fostered small learning circles, allowing participants to collaborate and learn from one another.
The learning from this phase provided the foundation for the later development and expansion of the Make it Grow approach.
From Video Proposals to Community Projects
Following the prototyping phase, Make it Grow continued to develop its participatory approach to community-led food initiatives. Community groups were supported not only to communicate their ideas through video proposals, but also to develop, implement and reflect on their own locally designed projects.
In 2024, fourteen community groups across Zimbabwe used the participatory video approach to secure small grants and begin a range of food-system projects. These included poultry and goat rearing, greenhouse vegetable production, fish farming, indigenous seed saving and food-processing enterprises.
Each project was designed around the priorities, knowledge, skills and aspirations of the community involved. Rather than following a single model, the projects developed in different ways according to their local contexts.
70 participants trained in participatory video proposals
13 NGOs 30 CBOs involved
15 Video Proposals completed and gaining funding
"Participants acknowledged that their participation in the Make it Grow capacity-building programme has resulted in them having transferable skills that are of value to their work in general and has led to them doing new activities." (Impact Report)
Research and Impact 2025–26
During 2025–26, Make it Grow continued to research the longer-term outcomes of community-led food projects in Zimbabwe. This work explored how projects developed over time and the different ways in which communities experienced change through their participation.
The Make it Grow Impact Report draws on participatory video reports, interviews and participatory diagrams from funded community groups. It examines how community projects developed and how learning, enterprise development, skills, relationships and adaptation contributed to wider change.
The findings show that impact did not follow one single pathway. Instead, change developed through interconnected processes, with different projects progressing in different ways according to their circumstances, resources and ambitions.
Participatory Video Proposals
Participatory video proposals are central to the Make it Grow approach. Rather than relying only on conventional written funding applications, community groups are supported to communicate their project ideas through short videos created using accessible technology such as mobile phones.
This approach helps make project planning and funding processes more accessible and enables communities to communicate their own priorities, knowledge and ideas in a format that works for them.
The Make it Grow approach has also developed beyond the proposal stage. Community groups are supported through project planning, shared learning, reflection and participatory reporting, helping them build skills, relationships and networks that can continue beyond an individual funded project. Please see Video ProposalsFive Pathways to Change
The Impact Report identifies five broad pathways through which community projects created change over time.
- Building production systems – developing activities that supported production and seasonal income.
- Adding value and developing enterprises – increasing the value of existing products through processing and enterprise activity.
- Integrating activities – connecting different project activities into more joined-up systems that could reduce costs and strengthen production.
- Building knowledge and skills – developing practical, technical and organisational learning that could be shared with others.
- Adapting and building resilience – responding to challenges such as droughts and cyclones while continuing project activities.
These pathways show that impact did not follow a single model; different projects developed in different ways according to their circumstances and priorities.
Make it Grow Impact Report 2026
The Make it Grow Impact Report brings together evidence and learning from funded community food initiatives in Zimbabwe. It explores how projects developed over time, the different pathways through which change occurred, and the wider impacts experienced by participating groups and communities.
The report draws on participatory video reports, interviews and participatory diagrams from funded community groups.
Research Activities
Research and reflection have been an important part of Make it Grow throughout the project. During the prototyping phase, University of Sheffield students contributed through research placements and internships, exploring areas including participant experiences, inclusion and exclusion, and community project impact pathways.
This research continued as Make it Grow developed. More recent work has focused on understanding the longer-term impact of funded community projects and the ways in which participatory approaches can support community-led food-system change.
The 2026 Impact Report draws on participatory video reports, interviews and participatory diagrams from funded community groups to examine how projects developed and the different forms of change that emerged.
Make it Grow continues to use participatory approaches to monitoring, reflection and learning so that community experiences remain central to understanding project impact.
Participatory Video Proposals
Participatory video proposals are central to the Make it Grow approach. Rather than relying only on conventional written funding applications, community groups are supported to communicate their project ideas through short videos created using accessible technology such as mobile phones.
This approach helps make project planning and funding processes more accessible and enables communities to communicate their own priorities, knowledge and ideas in a format that works for them.
The Make it Grow approach has also developed beyond the proposal stage. Community groups are supported through project planning, shared learning, reflection and participatory reporting, helping them build skills, relationships and networks that can continue beyond an individual funded project. Please see Video Proposals
Makunembe Traditional Food Recipe
Nutri Grain Porridge
Phakama Sakhamuzi Urban Farmer's Network
Existing Research Papers on Video Proposals:
Experience with participatory video proposals: assisting community organisations with innovation project planning. Pamela Richardson, Maria Jose Restrepo, Raul Fernandez, Brigitte Kaufmann.
Participatory Video Proposals: A Tool for Empowering FarmerGroups in Transdisciplinary Innovation Processes?. Pamela Richardson, Maria Jose Restrepo Rodriguez, Raul Fernandez, Brigitte Kaufmann.
Wider Impact
The influence of Make it Grow extends beyond the individual community projects that received funding. Organisations that have worked with Make it Grow have started to apply elements of the participatory approach within their own community engagement activities.
This has supported more inclusive approaches to project planning and has helped organisations think differently about how marginalised communities can participate in developing ideas, accessing start-up funding and sharing their experiences.
The wider use of these approaches suggests that the learning from Make it Grow can continue beyond the original funded projects and contribute to longer-term changes in how community-led initiatives are supported.
We offer a range of services including:
- Workshop-based training on how to make & facilitate community video proposals.
- Consultancy services on grant applications for community-based projects.
- Support for social impact-oriented research and for video-based project reporting and evaluation.