About
Why the work is being done
We’re a collective of organisations and individuals keen to help charities respond to the changing needs in their communities through the power of digital, data and design.
Overall purpose/vision for the event
- To build a supportive community of organisations with an interest in supporting digital, data and design innovation within nonprofits.
- To promote learning, sharing, peer support amongst members of the network.
- To build a community invested in Catalyst and keen to help it develop, grow and evolve.
- To support greater the reuse of tools/systems/approaches to benefit the activities of nonprofits.
“Informal learning [and connecting] happens when people pay attention to what happens, reflect on it and talk about it with others. Networks are good for this because they are relational places. When we relate and interact with one another in this setting we get exposed to different information and different views.” -Joe Robinson
Why
What is the aim for this event?
1] to share and connect - first 6 months
2] to play a key part of shaping Catalyst - longer-term
Problem to solve
Full insights user research in this slide deck. (completed 2020 by Catalyst Comms team)
Who are the users and what do they need to do
Catalyst needs
- To build a supportive community of organisations with an interest in supporting digital, data and design innovation within nonprofits and civil society organizations.
- To promote learning, sharing, peer support amongst members of the network
- To support greater the reuse of tools/systems/approaches to benefit the activities of nonprofits.
- To build a community invested in Catalyst and keen to help it develop, grow and evolve.
User Needs
Top 3 user needs identified:
- want to be part of Catalyst and want to contribute
- Want to connect with others
- Want to share and find out what others are working up
What and who
At initiation in March 2021, the Catalyst Network Meetup’s is an opportunity for organisations to connect with others and share inspiration.
The first 6 months (March -August 2021)
Our vision:
To create a space for members of the network to connect, learn and support each other within a fun and engaging setting.
Objectives for the event:
- Learn 1 new thing
- Make 1 new connection
- Get an opportunity to share with others what I'm up to/what I'm stuck with/what help i need
- Spark curiosity / interest
We want the people attending the session to walk away with…..
- Feeling of belonging: feel connected with like-minded people, and feel that it was worth their time and energy.
- Wanting to attend the next session and invite other along
Context:
- Catalyst (Capacity Team)
- Want to create an active and engaged network
- Be honest with the network that the community is a key goal of Catalyst however to date we haven’t made a conscious effort to do this, as we have been distracted by delivering programmes. We now want to support the network to form and shape this community.
- Be clearer of the hopes/ needs of the network members
- Funders
- Some have funded digital agencies in the network to deliver work
- There might be some existing connections with Catalyst and other agencies
- This is an opportunity for them to hear first hand from those delivering the work.
- This is an opportunity to connect with those on the frontline supporting the digital innovation across the sector
- digital/data/design agencies
- Some have collaborated, some are competitors in other contexts
- Some know Catalyst/CAST well, some are new
- Other network members
- Freelancers?
- Charities/nonprofits/ civil society organisations/VSCO’s?
- Policy and other sector organisations eg. GDS?
Roles:
- Catalyst (Capacity Team)
- Organises, supports and guides the journey of the network
- Funders
- Attends and, actively contributes
- digital/data/design agencies
- Attends and, actively contributes
- Other network members
- Attends and, actively contributes
How do we make this happen?:
- Needs can be gathered through polling/evaluation -
- Ask them what they would like to see at the next event - co-create future events (could be for part of the session or a specific reflection exercise).
For example:- Agree topic for future meetings and identify/nominate speakers
- Something like the co-created agenda we use in our peer sharing sessions with charities to determine what they want to talk about; for eg. it could be about finding out more about/ testing user needs; we could use prompts from the Comms research deck
- Agree a governance model - for eg. rotating facilitation where facilitators can do it their way
Key project resources
Catalyst Network Meetup folder on Google drive
all info re the CNM is saved in here