YLDP Module 6: Transition to Digital Delivery
How did 2050 Climate Group’s operational volunteers adapt to delivering their final Module of the 2019/2020 Young Leaders Development Programme (YLDP) in a digital space during the COVID-19 pandemic? Viktorija Budre, YLDP Operations Team volunteer, explains our recent adaptations.
Doing things differently
If you had asked the YLDP operations volunteers three months ago whether our development programme could run online with no in-person interactions, many probably would have been cautiously optimistic but acknowledged virtual meetings are not the same as meeting in-person. Each of the six YLDP Modules are normally run ‘conference style’ in-person over one day with a mix of interactive workshops, panel sessions and presentations.
Being able to engage in workshop discussions; catch-up with fellow participants over coffee breaks; or simply being immersed in the 2050 Climate Group spirit are just some of the great things gained by our usual YLDP Module format.
However, the World has changed during the pandemic and our understanding of what ‘engaged’ means has had to evolve with it.
When the pandemic began, the YLDP operations volunteers made the tough decision to postpone our final YLDP Module. Module 6 was focused on leadership in the political sphere and, as ever, we had spent a lot of time planning this final Module and were looking forward to delivering it. Initially, we hoped for the best and believed that, perhaps, with some delay, Module 6 would be able resume as normal. Unfortunately, this was not the case but our ambition to deliver the last Module for Young Leaders was undeterred.
How we did it
This is a new challenge for our volunteer Operation Team and 2050 Climate Group as a whole. Below, I will share steps we have taken to reshape Module 6 to deliver it digitally.
Firstly, to understand how we could effectively deliver the Module, we reached out to the Young Leaders and asked via a questionnaire:
What shape and format they would like the Module to be delivered in the digital space.
How they would like to engage with us and each other during these sessions.
Preferences of timings of live sessions - weekend, evening, daytime?
There was a clear preference for the workshop sessions to be spread out over time rather than a day-long session in front of a computer. There was also a mix of Young Leaders who wanted an interactive session versus those who preferred a more passive webinar presentation format. Weekends and evenings suited the majority of Young Leaders.
Analysis of the survey responses allowed us to move to a next stage of planning, and start reshaping the agenda we had initially planned for Module 6. We decided on a week-long series of live workshops and pre-recorded presentations with follow-up live Q&A webinars with the speakers. At the same time, we were liaising with the speakers we had originally lined up for Module 6 to understand if online delivery would work for them and if they could adapt to the preferred format for the Young Leaders. As an aside, we had an amazing response from our distinguished speakers, so THANK YOU to all of you who kindly agreed to reshape their session!
While some of the 2050 Climate Group volunteers were focusing on the planning and speakers, others were looking into digital solutions and tools that could allow us to deliver an interactive Module 6. For this, we completed internal digital tool analysis; reached out to our colleagues in the third sector; and attended “How to run a charity digitally” webinars sessions to understand what works and which tools are digitally accessible and user friendly.
We selected Zoom as the live video-conference software due to its ‘breakout room’ functionality, ease of use and suitability for use in the wider 2050 Climate Group charity. We purchased an upgraded version of Zoom to allow us to use these extra functions.
For the pre-recorded sessions we decided to use the ‘private playlist’ function of the existing 2050 Climate Group’s YouTube channel to allow participants to watch pre-recorded content from our speakers in their own time before joining a live Q&A with the speaker.
Next, we moved into ‘Vertical and Horizontals’ of the Module planning and immersed ourselves into the finer detail needed for our week-long Module to be a success! The format of the Module had changed significantly, and we also had to rethink some of the “standard elements” of our modules.
For example, the Q&A sessions – what is the best way up to 130 people to engage with each other, and the speaker?
Other questions we asked ourselves included:
Does the language and messaging need to change to keep the Young Leaders engaged?
How do we make everyone comfortable in this online space?
Technical support – what if things go wrong?
How do we run breakout rooms?
Do we need extra volunteers present?
How can we provide privacy and anonymity for people who do not want to be ‘visible’ in our digital Module?
Ongoing learning
I am writing this blog post as we have progressed into Module 6 execution and even though our official planning phase has ended, 2050 Climate group volunteer communications are still very active and we are trying to improve every day. After each YLDP ‘live’ session, we share lessons learnt and what we can do better for the next activity.
This digital delivery experience was new to all of us. Making Module 6 happen is an amazing achievement for the whole 2050 Climate Group family. I was personally moved by seeing some of the Young Leaders kind words on social media following Module 6 kick-off.
We miss all Young Leaders and are sad we weren’t able to close the YLDP in person. However, we are extremely grateful that a common cause, even in difficult circumstances, brought us all together and we feel connected to our Young Leaders in a completely new way.