WORKSHOPS & CO-LEARNING
Who
This experience is for individuals, groups, and organizations interested in taking a network approach to their work. You may be coordinating an impact network, leading an organization, participating in a collaborative project, or seeking to strengthen your relational leadership skills in any professional context. Workshops can be custom-built for your group or entity.
What
Most workshops and co-learning experiences can be offered either virtually or in person. Common topics include network cultivation, relational design and facilitation, network coordination, participant engagement, and network health assessment. Workshops can be woven into larger events or offered as stand-alone opportunities.
How
Our workshops and co-learning experiences are designed to provide practical tools and frameworks for participants, but also to harvest the wisdom each person brings to the table. All workshops are highly participatory, regardless of content. Participants should expect opportunities to share and connect with one another.
WORKSHOPS & CO-LEARNING
SERVICES
Workshop content and duration vary depending on the client and context.
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Common workshop topics include:
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Network Cultivation – understanding the core concepts and activities associated with developing a vibrant network
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Relational Design & Facilitation – learning to prepare for and lead productive conversations that build connection and achieve shared goals
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Network Coordination – building relational leadership skills and gaining practical tools to support your work
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Participant Engagement – exploring examples and frameworks for tracking and increasing engagement across the participation spectrum
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Network Health Assessment – understanding the four primary indicators of newtork health and the tools used to assess it​
PROJECT
EXAMPLES
Participant Engagement Workshop: Networks for Education Equity
We had the opportunity to deliver a 3-hour workshop on participant engagement to the Networks for Education Equity Community of Practice. The workshop was custom-developed for the group with a focus on:
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Learning from examples of existing healthy multi-year networks
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Helping cohort members see themselves as a part of a broader system
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Exploring ways to facilitate and track reciprocal engagement
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Deepening the mindset shift and related considerations around seeing participation as a spectrum and supporting engagement across that spectrum
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Networks for Education Equity was a group of eight education networks that came together from January 2022–March 2024 to form a community of practice focused on supporting better outcomes for Black and Latino students and students experiencing poverty. The COP was designed and facilitated by Community Wealth Partners. ​
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Learn more about the COP and its outcomes here.​​​​​​​
Client Experiences:
“We’ve begun to use [the workshop's] ideas around levels of engagement. We’ve now put in more effort to tend to those who only prefer low level of engagement, by making our emails robust with resources, job/grant/program opportunities, and highlights instead of just pushing out an email that advocates only to get people to come to an event. Looking at levels of engagement also inspired us to have a way to collect resources from the community that we can share with the network.”
— Angia Kinney
Program Manager, Black Principals Network​​​​​​​
Customizing a Network Theory of Change with the International Trade Centre
In the context of a larger engagement, we provided a multi-session virtual workshop for members of the International Trade Centre's Alliances for Action initiative. The workshop focused on:
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Building a shared understanding and shared language about impact networks
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Aligning impact network frameworks with A4A's context
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Understanding the process networks follow to create systemic change
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Co-creating a customized network theory of change for A4A to help build awareness and understanding of the work across the ITC and its constituencies
View the final theory of change in the 'Resources' section of A4A's website here.
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Alliances for Action (A4A) is an ITC initiative that aims to transform agricultural value chains and promote sustainable food production by honoring the value that smallholder farmers and SMEs contribute to agri-food value chains. A4A aims not only to improve stakeholders’ financial wellbeing, but also to promote equity, sustainability, and inclusion throughout these food systems.​​
Workshop Outcome:
The workshop resulted in a custom theory of change co-created by members of the A4A team.
— TK