Time for learning Loyce Pace, CEO Global Health Council
We are living through a worldwide health crisis, an economic crisis, a racial crisis and a crisis of democracy. Anyone of them would test us, facing them all at once, for an indefinite time into the future, is going to take enormous amounts of our energy. We need to pace ourselves, find our allies and partners and ‘learn into’ the crisis. To help in the search for ‘actionable learning’ I wanted to share some of what we’ve been learning through the Testing Change project.
As we move
into a new year, there have been a number of pieces discussing trends we should
be aware of. Here are some of the trends
I find most interesting:
Multiple generations in the work force: In 2019, Generation Z – people born in or after 1997 or 2001 (there are varying parameters being used) – will overtake millennials as the most populous generation in the world, according to a data analysis by Bloomberg. Growing up with smartphones and social media, Gen Z as a whole is a tech-savvy cohort whose rapid rise, along with the increasingly digital nature
This post has been co-authored by Bonnie Koenig and Alyssa Smaldino
Last year we wrote about the importance of multi-generational dialogue. We noted a number of considerations to help make these exchanges effective including: two-way dialogue; ensuring that the approach is inclusive and intersectional; strong facilitation; and all participants make a genuine commitment to listen and understand.
Recently we facilitated a workshop for nonprofit leaders to delve further into the practicalities of engaging across generations, and integrating these approaches into organizational practices and cultures.
Some of what we discussed included:
The concept of a ‘generation’ has become fluid and often
The Civil Society and Testing Change project (CS&TC) is an initiative to develop and test new ways for civil society organizations and their partners to operate. The project’s model is for global, multi-stakeholder working groups to focus on areas where operational changes may have the most effect on impact, and to have a lead group test these ideas and theories over a multi-year period. An introductory blog post can be found here. Our target group are NGOs and civil society organizations that are 10+ years old, interested in considering operational changes to remain effective and relevant, and with …
Earlier this year I wrote about the state of impact assessment. Under the auspices of the Civil Society and Testing Change project, I recently helped convene and facilitate a discussion to further exchange learning on this topic, and brainstorm how we can make our ideas more actionable. Some of the ideas shared at this roundtable are below.
Some key variables to consider:
It is important to stipulate how you are defining impact, and whether your purpose is to validate your impact and/or to improve it. Find ways to keep your focus on impact, however a group defines it.
