Resources to help you design your next workshop or training session Tips for designing an effective workshop session – covering design essentials, from adult learning theory to formats that work. ...
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Read more »Which format is best for your next convening? On March 24th, 2022, Six session designers convened virtually to talk about the pros and cons of the different session formats we now have to choose from: virtual, in real life (IRL) and hybrids (a mixture of both). The session included Tanya […]
My primary reflection on 2021: it was marginally less crap than 2020. Certainly not the magnitude of crap that was 2020, but with insurrections, revelations and mutations, it still seemed a year we were all happy to see come to an end. Perhaps if we keep our expectations low and […]
On October 27th, 2021, thirteen Network-Centric Resource designers engaged in an online discussion to share challenges and lessons learned about processes and methodologies that ensure knowledge assets are ultimately used by intended communities and networks. We discussed the ways we know if resources are used and useful to their intended […]
The Session Design Canvas is for anyone who has attended the Virtual Session Design Lab, An Online Facilitator Coaching Session, or has read ‘Tips for Designing an Effective Workshop Session’. It assumes a familiarity with Malcolm S. Knowles Adult Learning Theories and ADIDS as a workshop format. This canvas has […]
Since the start of the pandemic, I’ve run over one hundred virtual sessions, and dozens of virtual events, interacting with thousands of participants. Here are six things I’ve learned along the way. Three things I’ve learned about tech: Keep the tech simple. Only use the tools you need. For example, […]
At Aspiration’s Non-Profit Developer Summit in November 2019, I attended a workshop on Facilitative Leadership run by Misty Avila. What struck me about the session was how Misty walked the walk, demonstrating the power of facilitative leadership through the session design, providing structure and scaffolding for participants to share and […]
Reflections on how to be, and not be, a freelancer. Recently, someone on LinkedIn wrote to congratulate me on my seventh anniversary at Fabriders. I was a bit taken aback. Had it been seven years? The story behind FabRiders My career does have seven-year phases. Night Club DJ, Non-Profit Admin […]
I was first introduced to user personas participating in a design sprint by Aspiration in 2005. In that workshop, we were asked to imagine users of Social Source Commons, a website to share lists of software tools that you already use, gain knowledge and support, and discover new tools. What […]
Introduction This workshop was designed for CIVICUS and their partners to collect indicators to be used as part of a presentation at the United Nations High-Level Political Forum during its review of Sustainable Development Goal 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions in July 2019. Special thanks to Kinara for Youth […]
This workshop will help participants understand how to build compelling stories from datasets. We start with focusing on the ‘who’ we are telling the story to and how to craft a narrative that is compelling to them. We then explore the data that the participants are working with and draft […]
A network-centric resource is a knowledge asset that supports interaction and strengthens the ability of a community or network to exist. They can be collection of curriculum such as IFRC’s Data Playbook, EFF’s Security Education Companion, or events like MozFest. We’ve chosen to describe the method of developing and sustaining […]
Looking for more help with Facilitation and Session Design? The Session Design Lab The Session Design Canvas Our journey learning about effective workshop session design began in the mid-90’s, when we were helping activists and community organisers in the United States understand how to harnass the potential of the Internet. […]
As someone who has spent a good part of the last two decades developing trainings and workshop sessions and subsequently learning from those experiences, I’m often asked to help other trainers develop curriculum on a variety of topics. This module has been evolving over the years as a result of contributing […]
For use with The Virtual Session Design Canvas. Before the session Questions to ask of your participants About their comfortability with tech: What is your comfortability with online tools? What do you use most often? How is your internet connection – are you able to use video/have your camera on? […]
First weeknotes of 2021 (Don’t worry, you haven’t missed any!), and in case you missed our roundup of what happened in 2020, it’s here (spoiler alert – no airplane journeys). Here’s what I accomplished this week: Completed my 20th interview of data literacy practitioners working in the Red Cross Red […]
Before diving into 2021, I’m taking a moment to reflect and capture what happened in the world of FabRiders in 2020. What I did In 2020, I supported over 80 virtual convenings, collaborating with more than a dozen organisations in 2020. I led over 60 of those, meaning I designed […]
Here’s what I accomplished this week: Hosted discussions with researchers on improving methodologies for collecting Egyptian Social Progress Indicators Facilitated CESR’s Annual Board Meeting Designed and facilitated a workshop on Building Data Culture in Grantmaking Institutions for 360Giving’s Data Champion’s Programme Started interviewing stakeholders of IFRC’s Data Playbook (Beta) to build a baseline to understand the […]
Use of the royal “we.” I use the royal “we” a lot. Not because I want to point out my importance, quite the opposite. I’ve also never taken to the idea that FabRiders is something I do on my own. I have lots of blog posts titled “What we’ve learned […]
Content & Logistics Come Last To have a successful convening, you need to stay focused on how the outcomes will serve your long-term goals, and on the most critical element, your participants. It’s the experience that participants have and how they contribute their expertise and perspectives. Your event design must […]
Refrains I find myself repeating. Your virtual convening must have purpose Since barriers to joining a virtual event are lower, you have a greater chance of gathering a diverse group of participants. People don’t need to travel, get on aeroplanes, deal with visa issues, etc. However, because the barrier is […]
Articulating the Big Picture In my rich fantasy life, everyone who works for a social change organisation can map every task in front of them on a journey to achieving a vision of success. This implies that every social change has a vision of success, and their strategies and tactics […]
The Virtual Session Design Canvas is out of Beta! Please use V1 The Virtual Session Design Canvas is for anyone who has attended the Virtual Session Design Lab, An Online Facilitator Coaching Session, or has read ‘Tips for Designing an Effective Workshop Session’. It assumes a familiarity with Malcolm S. […]
Seeding a Network of Practice We’re helping the Institute for Economic Justice plan a convening to be a first step towards building a network of practice that strengthens the connection between economic policy and human rights. We’ve started interviewing potential participants on what they want to get out of such […]
I’m enjoying reading “The Book of Trespass” by Nick Davies. I had picked it up after reading this article and because my husband and I spend a lot of time walking across the British countryside with our dog, Ada. I am quite interested in the tradition of rambling and how […]
“I think we need to lose the parenthesis around Virtual” – I was getting some feedback from Colleagues on a new resource called The (Virtual) Session Design Canvas when Tin Geber threw that one out. I had started using the virtual with parenthesis last March when I shifted my first […]
Caught up with online discussion outputs, prepped for upcoming workshops, ran another (Virtual) lab and announced a new lab offering. Right before getting stuck into the Climate:Red summit, we ran a Network-Centric Resources Online Discussion where a group of knowledge-asset resource designers co-created a best practices list on co-creation. This […]
On August 26th, 2020, we held an online discussion with members of our network of resource designers to compare notes, share challenges and solutions in engaging communities and networks in co-creating knowledge-assets. We were fortunate to have Chloé Mikolajczak from The Restart Project, as an anchor for the discussion, sharing […]
Lot’s of conversations this week with people planning upcoming virtual events and meetings. Pieces of advice that I keep finding myself giving: Focus on the participant experience and articulate the value of attending. Most people don’t go to conferences for the sessions, but for the opportunity to meet funders and […]
Some truths about running virtual events were very evident this week. Know your goals Focus on the participant experience Test the tech in any way you think might be relevant Rehearse if you have a team that needs to work together to deliver different pieces of a session And a […]
I have this vague recollection that August is supposed to be quiet as everyone goes on holiday. Lots happened this week and am bracing for a busy September. Working as part of The Solferino Academy team, along with Virtually Amazing, we’ve been running a series of online coaching sessions for […]
This week, I finished the first draft of a Session Host handbook and also started to compile safety, privacy and community participation guidelines for the Climate:Red Summit. It brought home for me how events are living organisms. The critical elements of that organism are the participants, and the focus has […]
This week I learned a hell of a lot about RightsCon, the world’s leading summit on human rights in the digital age. I started the week with the goal of learning about what makes an effective RightsCon session. I managed to get to 15 sessions, one side group meetup and […]
Rethinking a Festival Finished a series of four workshops to help the Institute for Economic Justice adjust the Rethinking Economics for Africa Festival online. We created stakeholder journeys – mapping out the experience before, during and after the virtual Festival. We then established the various roles and guides that would […]
This week we started a series of four workshop sessions with the Institute for Economic Justice to help them strategise on how to bring the Rethinking Economics for Africa Festival online. It’s bringing together several pieces of expertise that I’ve developed through self-funded projects like the Network-Centric Resources Project and […]
Things I was grateful for this week: RightsCon & TechChange Teams This week, I started working with the RightsCon & TechChange teams on providing support to facilitators who will be delivering virtual sessions for RightsCon‘s first online convening from July 27th to 31st. The first task was adding guidance to […]
Things I was grateful for this week. Heather Leson sharing this article on teams. It’s been great to be part of The Solferino Digital Team, with Heather, Laurent Fernandez and Shaun Hazeldene. these past few months, and I wholeheartedly agree with a lot of whats in the article. When you […]
Network Check-Ins & TEST, TEST, TEST, A first-ever Check-In meeting for the network developing around The (Virtual) Session Design Lab. An intended side effect of the Lab is for participants to start to rely on each other for inputs and feedback on their sessions, which is the perfect starting point […]
Breathing again with a focus on reflecting and planning. Reflecting Mor Rubinstein and I hosted a ‘social lunch’ for members of this 360Giving Data Champions Cohort as we wrap up this year’s programme. We also did a reflection on this year’s cohort with Mor getting us to respond to four […]
More Zoomies The primary focus this week was supporting a High-Level Convening on UN Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights on June 11th. Registration closed on the morning of the event with over 1000 registrants, and we ended up with around 600 people attending. I used the webinar module in Zoom for […]
