Cohort 1 - June 2023

Join a community of global aid and development leaders not just talking about shifting power but actually doing it.

Mahrukh (Maya) Hasan

Sr. Technical Advisor. UN & NGO Consultant. DEI Expert. 20+ years of experience.

Fearless Project

Tackle bias with courage and confidence

Shifting Power Accelerator

United States Agency for International Development

Unhcr

FHI 360

Save the Children International

Plan International

The time for local leadership, equal partnership, and decolonizing aid is now. Are you looking for a non-judgmental, compassionate space to learn how to shift power? This is it. Designed for busy professionals working for Global North institutions in the global non-profit, philanthropic, and public sectors, this course will help you navigate barriers to shifting power by learning key focus areas, frameworks and methods: 🌍 Liberatory futures🌍 Power and decision-making🌍 Influence and organizational change🌍 Mutual capacity strengthening🌍 Community-led design🌍 Participatory grantmaking🌍 Movement building I've carefully crafted a practical, cohort-based course drawing from industry-tested frameworks in each focus area. I've also curated case studies from sector leaders who candidly share their challenges and steps to incremental change. Besides group discussion with your peers (which you'll get plenty of), the most exciting part of the course is the experience of shifting power in real-time. At the start of the course, you will invite a community accountability partner of your choice (e.g., a local civil society leader or a Global South colleague) to participate with you. You will share course frameworks with your partner between each workshop, actively listen and reflect on the dynamics of your partnership, and work together on prioritized areas of power imbalance. I'll be available during weekly office hours and 24/7 via the online course platform to offer personalized support for your specific and immediate challenges and goals. Together, we will actively contribute to long-overdue changes across the global non-profit sector. I can't wait to see you on the course! MayaFacilitator, Shifting Power Accelerator P.S. Enroll by January 24 at 7:59 am EST for 20% off using this promo code: EARLYBIRD20. P.P.S. Register for the upcoming live Q&amp;A and information session with Cohort 2 graduate Pooja Singh on Wednesday, January 24: https://lu.ma/spaqa2401

Gain the skills & confidence to shift power to the communities you serve.

You’re a non-profit, philanthropic, or public sector professional at a powerful institution expressly committed to shifting power.

Your organization has localization or equal partnership plans, but you need frameworks and peer support to implement them successfully.

You are ready to shift power meaningfully, have time to participate, and can invite a community leader to join you on the learning journey.

This course is for you if...

Practice industry-tested frameworks used by leading #ShiftThePower organizations  

Shifting power requires critical inquiry. You’ll ask key questions to interrogate your motivations and your role, as well as measure how equal or community-led your partnership really is.

Validate your localization goals and objectives.

Embrace a mutual capacity-strengthening model over outdated top-down capacity-building approaches. You'll prioritize areas for partner-led growth.

Give up gatekeeping for good.

Unrestricted funding can seem like a compliance nightmare. You’ll learn how flexible funds and participatory grantmaking works so that you can build your own mechanisms with partner and donor support.

Overcome barriers to flexible funding.

Inviting input on project ideas is not enough for equal partnership. You’ll practice participatory and co-design methods for a truly community-led and bottom-up approach.

Innovate your program design process.

Shifting power starts by changing the way you think. What will international aid organizations' role be in 5, 10, or 25 years? You'll do a visioning exercise, commit to a growth mindset, and enjoy meeting your peers!

Orientation & Future Thinking

Power frameworks help you critically reflect on the state of your local partnerships in terms of decision-making. You will learn a few power awareness and analysis frameworks and tools, and practice with your peers. Finally, you will select one to evaluate an existing relationship with a local partner. Who is really calling the shots?

Equitable decision-making

It's no secret that models for organizational development in the aid sector are outdated. Luckily, there are alternative frameworks. You'll learn a few capacity-strengthening frameworks that prioritize local leadership, innovation, resilience, and performance. Then you will select one to determine mutual growth areas for you and your partner.

Mutual capacity-strengthening

Community-led partnerships work best when everyone is skilled in experimentation and unafraid to try new things. You'll learn three techniques used in a design sprint, an innovative and participatory framework for program design that you can share and use with your local partners.

Community-led innovation

Direct funding is the gold standard of shifting power. But how can you navigate institutional barriers and the emotional pushback of 'it's always been done this way'? You'll access a case study of creating an unrestricted fund and see real examples of funds you can replicate. You will create a stakeholder map and SWOT for a direct, flexible fund.

Direct, flexible funding

Congrats! We will share our Shifting Power reflections and celebrate all you have achieved during the course. You will also be invited to join an online community of practitioners for continued support following the course.

Demo Day & Graduation

In addition to all the live, interactive sessions, you will have lifetime access to recorded videos and a workbook of frameworks, tools, and fillable worksheets.

Bonus: Videos, Workbook, Templates, and More

A highly practical, grounded curriculum

Independent Consultant & Feminist Financial Resilience Project Coordinator, XOESE: The Francophone Women's Fund

Clean Water Fund Project Officer, State of Oregon

Transition Director, The Lotus Institute; Associate and International Consultant, Tsunagu

Gender & Program Management Specialist, Southeast Asia

Sr. Research & Program Manager, EngageMedia

Sr. Organization Development Manager, EngageMedia

What people are saying

Meet your facilitator

One module per week with lessons walking you through shifting power topics and workshops to practice them. Workshop recordings are available within an hour, with additional resources to help you complete the next project.

👩🏻‍🏫 Live Workshops

Six 1hr live Q&amp;A calls with Maya (or a Guest Expert) and the rest of the cohort to answer questions and dive deeper into that week's module and projects.

🙋‍♂️ Q&A with Maya or Special Guest

Develop a Shifting Power Initiative by completing a series of small weekly assignments with your community accountability partner.&nbsp;Reflect and apply course frameworks following each workshop and work together on priority areas of power imbalance.

🫱🏼‍🫲🏾 Partner Assignments

One 60-minute video call with Maya to discuss a topic of your choice, usually a professional, leadership, or organizational challenge. Get personalized feedback and advice within two months of the course.

💡 1:1 Coaching

Stay in touch with Maya and other Shifting Power Accelerator Alumni via a WhatsApp group, an email listserv, Zoom support calls, and in-person meet-ups (at the bi-annual #ShiftThePower Summit or whenever possible!).

🌐  Community of Practice

An Applied, Practical Curriculum

You will join a supportive community of aid and development leaders not just talking about shifting power, but actually doing it.

A Cohort of Applied Practitioners

Through Maven, an award-winning e-learning platform, and Zoom, you will collaborate with peers via group discussions, discussion boards, and team projects.

Shared, Collaborative Learning

Between workshops, you will report to a local partner of your choice (e.g., a local civil society leader or a Global South colleague). Using course frameworks, you will actively critically reflect on this partnership, working together on prioritized areas of power imbalance.

Practical & Experiential, Tools-Based

Interactive, cohort-based learning

Who we've worked with

If you attend the sessions, fully participate, and still don’t find the course valuable, we’ll happily refund your full payment up to 14 days after the course ends.&nbsp; More details: <a href="https://help.maven.com/en/articles/8705540-maven-s-satisfaction-guarantee" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Refund Policy</a>

Your investment is 100% risk-free

80% of our students get this course paid for by their employers. Since the course teaches critical skills, participation could even help get you promoted. You won't know until you ask!

🎓 Use your organization's Professional Development budget

It's awkward to ask your boss for funds. So we've made it easy. Just copy-paste, fill in the blanks, and send this template to your manager or budget authority. <a href="https://tinyurl.com/spa-request-template" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/spa-request-template</a>

👉🏽 Copy and paste this request template

Upon completion, we will email you a certificate of completion, as well as a link to a LinkedIn Badge you can upload to your profile. Here's what it looks like: <a href="https://maven.com/certificate/tFQXcwOW" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://maven.com/certificate/tFQXcwOW</a>

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