Why is it that many organizations are still battling problems even though the solutions are available? Why is it that despite workshops, speakers, and seminars galore focused on solving issues, our sector leadership and funders are still frustrated in their efforts to motivate staff and volunteers to explore new solutions?
Many cynics refer to workshops as a day out of the office rather than an investment of a day into learning. I don’t believe this for a moment but I do believe that the sector as a whole is not reaping 100% of the benefits from participating in the hundreds of opportunities for learning available for our staff and volunteers in any given year.
Obviously something has to change. Volunteer Alberta is offering that change now.
One of the advantages of the experience gained from delivering years of learning opportunities throughout Alberta is insight as to what creates change. Volunteer Alberta’s new approach – bundling the traditional one hour or half day workshops about a specific issue into a formal, comprehensive, structured series of competency-based professional development seminars – is designed to increase the ability of sector leaders to create the required changes we need to continue to be competitive, effective, and focused on mission delivery. Offering one hour or half day single-issue learning does not move the sector to a greater understanding of what is needed to succeed and excel in mission-based organizations.
Volunteer Alberta’s new curriculum combined with our new approach to knowledge transfer is now ready to be implemented. The learning opportunities are clustered into three ‘clouds’:
• Risk Management
• People Engagement
• Governance
The intensive curriculum is designed to identify the issues that learners are looking to resolve prior to the day-long seminars, provide expert-facilitated instruction and insights, and review the resolutions reached against the issues identified pre-seminar. This fall, Volunteer Alberta is offering day-long Risk Management seminars in seven locations throughout Alberta. Watch for more information in the August 21 Sector Connector.
Karen Lynch
Executive Director