2013 learning marketplace overview

Learning Marketplace

MidwestCommunityLearning Marketplac

e

Overview for Partners

Learning together towards our community vision


Growing groups and social impact• Community organisations and social entrepreneurs want to do better

– Always trying to do more with less– Constrained by money, time, staff, volunteersInsight: More than anyone else their leadership, learning and development has a social benefit

• Learning and development can fall down list of priorities– ‘Professional development’ or ‘organisational development’ is always beneficial,– In the face of needy clients, social problems or limited time, learning can come last,– Organising or attending training, learning can be relatively complex, time-consuming,Insight: Reducing barriers could lead to more effective and resilient community organisations

• Much of the learning is relevant across all local organisations– Governance, financial management, marketing, technology are common topics

across social, environmental, cultural and sporting organisations,– Micro, small and medium organisations, incorporated or not, often have same needs,– Local and state government have a mandate to build capacity in all these groups,Insight: A project that reaches across sectors, services and the region can help everyone


Problem• There is a learning need for community groups

– Geraldton is the base for organisations and services delivered across the region– Building capacity enables higher quality services delivered more efficiently (greater

impact for same effort and level of funding),– Learning and development through training, courses and workshops build capacity,Insight: No single mechanism / organisation to match needs to demand.

• There are multiple providers, procurers and networks– 20+ organisations delivering training, capacity building to community organisations– Hundreds of individuals and organisations as the target audience– Every organisation or offering is publicised through different channels, often

ineffectivelyInsight: No single way/place to find out what’s available or planned.

• The current situation is less than ideal for everyone– Courses / training doesn’t get filled or gets duplicated, and learners miss learning,– Training happens in Perth when there is enough supply and demand locally– Searching, networking, maintaining lists and reading newsletters takes time,Insight: Money and time is wasted

• Examples– Governance training for treasurers not publicised to all community groups,– Free Digital training for community groups under-subscribed,– Cost and time of travel to Perth for courses available in Geraldton or via webinar


Current situation• A better way is needed

– Pollinators convened a meeting or many partners, providers and networks in late 2012,

– Opportunity to create a single ‘portal’ was supported as useful,– No organisations had capacity or motivation to lead

• Funders and partners are on-board– Partnerships developed with technology providers,– Funders have requested funding applications,– Solutions have been trialed and shown promise

• Examples– EverythingGeraldton calendar and app have proven popular,– City of Greater Geraldton, Lotterywest are supportive,– Pollinators has receiving frequent requests to promote events,– CISCO WebEx and web-based platforms have been reviewed

and relationships developed with providers.


Solution• Bring all learning opportunities together in one place

– Aggregate the offerings from all learning and development providers in one place,– Reduce the administrative cost & hassle of advertising or searching for learning

opportunities,– A better ‘marketplace’ for learners, local organisations, local trainers,Benefits: A single way to promote and find learning opportunities

• Enable better planning through surveys, suggestions and demand– Rather than expensive audits, use surveys and test demand prior– Avoid duplication across sectors/ niches by making all info public,– Enable learners or trainers to suggest and vote for topics or courses.Benefits: Money and time is saved, risk of under-subscription reduced

• Enable new ways to deliver training and learn– Affordable access to webinar technology for providers and learners to avoid expensive

travel and increase audience for training,– Enable an online community for peer-to-peer learning and post-training discussions to

complement formal training and courses,Benefits: Greater impact and better services using existing resources

• Examples– Digital enterprise training can be delivered via webinar to the whole region– Non-profits can request courses rather than run expensive in-house courses, travel to

Perth or wait for irregular audits– Providers can reduce time spent on growing, maintaining individual databases for

distribution


Marketplace Components• Listings/directory and calendar of all training and learning

– Website and mobile application– Listings be listed and then filtered by type, price, timing, location, audience– Easy upload via website, easy integration into existing calendar (outlook, iCal, google)

• Network of all community organisations and contacts– Each organisation can manage its own communication preferences– Send out regular updates on upcoming opportunities– Enable individuals and organisations to connect, converse online

• Webinar system for broadcasting or receiving training– Using existing technology (laptops, webcams, smartphones) and better quality/reliability than VOIP

(Skype),– Can be used by all to broadcast, communicate in small groups, or access live/recorded training

• Feedback and survey capability– User-friendly way to suggest or request courses, training and test demand before going ahead,– Aggregate feedback on each/all training offered

• Payment system for listing, promoting and booking training– Enable training providers to list tickets and receive payments via the site– Avoid 3-6% charges from overseas e-commerce or events listings providers– Avoid administration of registrations via paper, email– Transparent price differentiation and discounts for NFPs, community organisations

• Examples– Digital enterprise training can be delivered via webinar to the whole region– Non-profits can request courses rather than run expensive in-house courses, travel to Perth or wait

for irregular audits– Providers can reduce time spent on growing, maintaining individual databases for distribution


Roles and timingPollinators Project

ContractorsPartners

(community)Users Other training

providers

Consult (October 2013)

• Distribute survey• Host and facilitate

workshop

• Detailed review of existing offerings, demand

• Respond to survey• Attend workshop

• Respond to survey

Design(November 2013)

• Functional and aesthetic design

• Provide logos • Confirm org

contacts, settings

Build (Dec-Feb 2014)

• Provide technical training to all partner organisations

• Lead training • Attend training• Upload listings

• Attend training• Upload listings

Launch(March 2014)

• Organise launch event and promo campaign

• Promote to networks• Plug-in to own

website or calendar

Operate (Mar-Oct 2014)

• Send regular updates on events

• Provide training for partners, users, providers

• Promote heavily throughout region

• Provide technical support

• Use to list events• Use webinar service

for own meetings or training

• Use to find events• Use to register for

events

• Use to list events• Use to suggest and

test topics• Pay fee to list if they

are a for-profit provider

• Identify improvements or problems

• Update or change as required

• Suggest and test topics in planning

• Suggest topics or events

• Suggest and test topics in planning

Evaluate(July-Oct 2014)

• Business plan for sustainability

• Conduct evaluation • Respond to survey• Attend workshop

• Respond to survey • Respond to survey

Sustain (Oct 2014)

• Publish evaluation• Introduce any

features to enable sustainability

• Continue to use • Continue to use • Continue to use


Marketplace ComponentsLEARNING HUBWebsite + App

Component Listings & calendar

Network & contacts

Webinars & conference

Feedback & suggestions

Ecommerce & ticketing

Coord & support

Benefits • One-stop site for all learning and training

• Easy to read, share and find out more

• Higher traffic increases participation, reach

• Enables better planning, reduced clashes

• Larger reach for promoting events

• Organisations can adjust own details settings

• Reduce duplication of mailing lists

• Pre and post-training discussion forums

• Cheaper for remote organisations to experts

• More reliable, higher-quality and cheaper than VOIP

• Each organisation allowed private use

• Enables collaboration

• Easy testing of demand for training

• Easier to ‘audit’ needs

• Easy to collect feedback and evaluation

• Easy to suggest ideas, topics, fixes

• Enables evolution

• Reduced fees for ticketing events = lower prices

• Reduced administration of RSVPs, updates and reminders

• Enables sustainable business model

• Local online & face-to-face support for orgs

• Help with listing, promoting, featuring events

• Training for new users

• Enables all local organisations to access

Features • Integrates with existing calendar software

• Single log-in• Manage contacts,

topics, frequency of notifications

• Automatic email notifications

• Hosted technology

• Uses existing hardware in every home/org

• Seamless integration with site + app

• Integration into existing accounting systems

• Pollinators to coordinate

• Use DigiHub & other local services

Technology (examples)

• WP Listings • Ning• BuddyPress

• CISCO WebEx• Google Hangouts

• UserVoice • WooCommerce• Shopp


Contact

• Andrew Outhwaite • 0466 694 702• [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]