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Shifting Power Accelerator

4.7

(14 ratings)

·

8 Weeks

·

Cohort-based Course

Build a shifting power roadmap, earn stakeholder trust and gain the technical skills you need to remain relevant in the future of global aid

Trusted by

United States Agency for International Development
Unhcr
Save the Children International
Plan International
FHI 360

Course overview

Gain the skills & confidence to redefine your role and shift power in 8 weeks.

The future of global aid is in


⚡️ building equitable partnerships,

⚡️ empowering local leaders, and

⚡️ shifting power to the communities we serve.


That future is now.


Have you taken the time to develop the skills, practice, and confidence needed to redefine your role and remain relevant in this future?


If you haven't, the Shifting Power Accelerator will give you the time you need and so much more.


Designed for busy professionals working for powerful institutions in the global non-profit, philanthropic, and public sectors, this course will help you navigate barriers to shifting power by learning the emerging best practice in key thematic areas:


🌍 Liberatory Futures

🌍 Power and Decision-Making

🌍 Influencing for 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 have the opportunity to invite a community accountability partner (e.g., a community or civil society leader or Global South colleague you have an existing relationship with) to participate with you.


You will share course frameworks with your Community Accountability 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!


Maya

Facilitator, Shifting Power Accelerator


P.S. Not ready for an 8-week commitment? You're not alone. That's why I'm launching a series of masterclasses and self-paced courses on equitable partnerships and community-led development that will be announced very soon.


Sign up for this waitlist to get notified as soon as we launch! https://maven.com/forms/9cce5b

This course is for you if...

01

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

02

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

03

You are ready to shift power meaningfully, have time to participate, and have an existing or new change initiative you can focus on.

Practice industry-tested frameworks used by leading #ShiftThePower organizations

Validate your locally-led or community-led goals and objectives.

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.

Give up gatekeeping for good.

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

Overcome barriers to flexible funding.

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

Innovate your program design process.

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.

This course includes

13 interactive live sessions

Lifetime access to course materials

79 in-depth lessons

Direct access to instructor

9 projects to apply learnings

Guided feedback & reflection

Private community of peers

Course certificate upon completion

Maven Satisfaction Guarantee

This course is backed by Maven’s guarantee. You can receive a full refund within 14 days after the course ends, provided you meet the completion criteria in our refund policy.

Course syllabus

Expand all modules

  • Week 1

    Jul 2—Jul 7

    Week dates are set to instructor's time zone

    Events

    • Jul

      2

      [MANDATORY] 🌍 Workshop 1: Orientation & Liberatory Futures

      Tue, Jul 2, 12:30 PM - 3:00 PM UTC

    • Jul

      4

      Orientation Checklist Q&A

      Thu, Jul 4, 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM UTC

    Modules

    • #1 Start Here: Liberatory Futures

  • Week 2

    Jul 8—Jul 14

    Week dates are set to instructor's time zone

    Events

    • Jul

      9

      ⚖️ Workshop 2: Power and Decision-Making

      Tue, Jul 9, 12:30 PM - 3:00 PM UTC

    • Jul

      11

      Office Hour and Lab

      Thu, Jul 11, 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM UTC

    Modules

    • #2 Conduct a power analysis

  • Week 3

    Jul 15—Jul 21

    Week dates are set to instructor's time zone

    Events

    • Jul

      16

      🙌 Workshop 3: Influencing for Change

      Tue, Jul 16, 12:30 PM - 3:00 PM UTC

    • Jul

      18

      Guest Expert Live Q&A with Themrise Khan, Scholar-Practitioner

      Thu, Jul 18, 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM UTC

    Modules

    • #3 Map your influence

  • Week 4

    Jul 22—Jul 28

    Week dates are set to instructor's time zone

    Modules

    • *Break* Catch up on weekly assignments

  • Week 5

    Jul 29—Aug 4

    Week dates are set to instructor's time zone

    Events

    • Jul

      30

      📚 Workshop 4: Mutual Capacity Strengthening

      Tue, Jul 30, 12:30 PM - 3:00 PM UTC

    • Aug

      1

      Guest Expert Q&A with Hibak Kalfan, NEAR Network

      Thu, Aug 1, 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM UTC

    Modules

    • #4 Target mutual growth areas

  • Week 6

    Aug 5—Aug 11

    Week dates are set to instructor's time zone

    Events

    • Aug

      6

      💡 Workshop 5: Community-Led Design

      Tue, Aug 6, 12:30 PM - 3:00 PM UTC

    • Aug

      8

      Office Hours and Lab

      Thu, Aug 8, 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM UTC

    Modules

    • #5 Practice a co-design principle and technique

  • Week 7

    Aug 12—Aug 18

    Week dates are set to instructor's time zone

    Events

    • Aug

      13

      🤑 Workshop 6: Participatory Grantmaking

      Tue, Aug 13, 12:30 PM - 3:00 PM UTC

    • Aug

      15

      Guest Expert Q&A with Vanessa Stevens, Global Fund for Children

      Thu, Aug 15, 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM UTC

    Modules

    • #6 Draft your concept note

  • Week 8

    Aug 19—Aug 20

    Week dates are set to instructor's time zone

    Events

    • Aug

      20

      [MANDATORY] 🎓 Workshop 7: Graduation & Movement Building

      Tue, Aug 20, 12:30 PM - 3:00 PM UTC

    Modules

    • #7 Wrap up: Join the #ShiftThePower movement

  • Bonus

    Modules

    • Bonus materials

    • Guest Expert Q&A

4.7

(14 ratings)

What students are saying

What people are saying

        I cannot recommend the Shifting Power Accelerator enough! This course is very practical. I am grateful for the cohort experience and the requirement to partner with a local leader or Global South colleague. They helped keep me accountable. Maya is also an incredible facilitator: inclusive and flexible, and challenges us towards meaningful action.
Anat Cassuto

Anat Cassuto

Independent Consultant & Feminist Financial Resilience Project Coordinator, XOESE: The Francophone Women's Fund
        Excellent course. The weekly projects allowed us to immediately apply the lessons. The learning resources were rich and diverse so I could dig as deep as I wanted. Maya's thoughtfulness and attention to detail showed up in every aspect: engaging activities, instructor feedback, and peer learning. One of the top training experiences of my career.
Alexis Cooley

Alexis Cooley

Clean Water Fund Project Officer, State of Oregon
        It's a useful course, timely and relevant. It is structured effectively and facilitated in an interactive manner. I highly recommend it.
Bethlehem Mengistu

Bethlehem Mengistu

Global Coordinator, Agenda for Change
        Excellent delivery. Maya's course content on decolonizing aid and shifting power was extremely instructive and inspirational. The way that she designed the course for busy senior leaders made it very easy to follow.
Matthias Naab

Matthias Naab

UN Resident Coordinator, Cameroon
        The content and instruction were phenomenal. The cohort's solidarity was motivating and supportive. It was a semester's worth of reading and learning is shared in weeks, yet the many ways to learn and share made it easy to stay engaged. I appreciated the emphasis on partnering with a Global South colleague to learn and shift power in real-time.
Kate Cummings

Kate Cummings

Transition Director, The Lotus Institute; Associate and International Consultant, Tsunagu
        You never know what to expect during any coaching session. Maya kept to task, and was respectful of the flow of conversation which made it easy to communicate freely. She challenged me. I like a good challenge. The session was just about right in duration - 1 hour. In the end, we set clear goals for achievement.
Samantha Dickson

Samantha Dickson

President, Grenada Red Cross Society
        Maya's well-thought-out curriculum and non-judgemental facilitation created a space for reflection on the difficult dynamics of the aid industry. She helped build a common understanding of the diverse perspectives on decolonizing and localizing aid. I took away new frameworks for conversations I have regularly in my work. Highly recommended.
Marisa

Marisa

Gender & Program Management Specialist, Southeast Asia
        Maya hosted an amazing online workshop on Power and Identity for 300+ global staff at UNHCR's Division of External Relations. I appreciated Maya's framing of the topic, making it accessible to people of different backgrounds. Her presentation style was also great. Maya is very professional and a pleasure to work with. I would highly recommend her.
Guido van Heugten

Guido van Heugten

UNHCR Inter-Agency Coordination Officer
        Maya is fun, intelligent, highly communicative and easy to work with. What stood out is her critical questioning of international development efforts and smart solutions on how more horizontal and participatory processes can be captured...I would recommend Maya for defining your strategy and translating these to actionable, measurable processes.
Egbert Wits

Egbert Wits

Sr. Research & Program Manager, EngageMedia
        Maya helped us examine our organizational capacity and craft leadership KPIs...She transformed a typically dull or intimidating process into a fun and collaborative effort and was quick to help us get out of our own way...I highly recommend Maya as a professional who brings a unique combination of expertise and humanity to their work.
Dylan Dellosa

Dylan Dellosa

Sr. Organization Development Manager, EngageMedia
Free resource

Power & Decision-Making Workshop

Power dynamics must be understood, identified, and challenged for equal partnerships to exist.


Many organizations and donors actively use power analysis and equitable decision-making tools to improve their partnerships.


It's time you did too.


This is a 60-minute abridged virtual workshop of Module 1: Power and Decision-Making of the Shifting Power Accelerator.


In it, you will learn:

  • ​how to identify power - formal and informal types
  • how to evaluate levels of community participation
  • ​how to reflect on power, privilege, positionality
Get the recording!
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Shifting Power Accelerator

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Meet your facilitator

Mahrukh (Maya) Hasan

Mahrukh (Maya) Hasan

Sr. UN, USG & NGO Consultant. DEI and Innovation Expert. 20+ years of experience.

Mahrukh (Maya) Hasan is the founder of Fearless Project, an online education start-up for diversity, equity, and inclusion. In her 20-year career, Maya has managed partnerships, grants, design, M&E, communications, and research teams at NGOs supporting civil society in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, CAR, DRC, Myanmar, and South Sudan.


Maya was also a course developer and facilitator for the Global Executive Leadership Initiative (GELI) hosted by UNOPS, USAID, LSE, and Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. She has an MA in International Economics and International Relations from Johns Hopkins University SAIS.


Want to bring this course to your organization? Book a call


Interested in 1:1 coaching? Book a call


Send Maya an email.


Connect with Maya on LinkedIn.

Fearless Project

Fearless Project

Tackle bias with courage and confidence

Fearless Project is an online education start-up advancing leadership, innovation, and inclusion in the non-profit workplace. We help social impact leaders design work cultures where everyone can flourish.


We offer courses, coaching, and consulting to accelerate change for the future of the non-profit, philanthropic, and public sectors. 

An Applied, Practical Curriculum

5-6 hours per week

  • 👩🏻‍🏫 Live Workshops

    Tuesdays at 8:30 am EDT (2.5 hrs/week)

    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.

  • 🙋‍♂️ Q&A with Maya or Special Guest

    Thursdays at 8:30 am EDT (1 hr/week)

    Six 1hr live Q&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.

  • 🫱🏼‍🫲🏾 Partner Assignments

    Due Fridays: Self-paced (~1.5 hrs/week)

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

  • 💡 1:1 Coaching

    Post-course - you pick a date/time

    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.

  • 🌐 Community of Practice

    Post-course - lifetime access

    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!).

Free resource

Shifting Power Accelerator Course Brochure (PDF)

This brochure is a PDF version of the course website for easy reading. It's also helpful for sharing with your employer.


Download this free resource as a quick reference and advocacy document to help you access professional development funds.

Get this free resource

Interactive, cohort-based learning

Interactive, cohort-based learning

A Cohort of Applied Practitioners

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

Shared, Collaborative Learning

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

Practical & Experiential, Tools-Based

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.

Who we've worked with

Who we've worked with

Your investment is 100% risk-free

Your investment is 100% risk-free

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. 


More details: Refund Policy

Get reimbursed by your employer

Get reimbursed by your employer

🎓 Use your employer's Professional Development budget

80% of our students get this course paid for by their employers. Since the course teaches critical skills for the future of work, participation could even get you promoted.


You won't know until you ask!

👉🏽 Copy and paste this request template

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.


Here's the email request template.

🏆 Course certificate & LinkedIn Badge

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 a sample course certificate.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the expected time commitment?
What happens if I can’t make a live session?
Who is this course for?
Who is this course NOT for?
Do you offer any disability or inclusion accommodations?
I can't make it to the upcoming cohort. Can I join a future course?
How long will I have access to the materials?
Could my organization or consortium book a private course for our staff?
Are there any discounts or scholarships?
Do you have a refund policy?
How can I learn more about the course?
I still have questions. Who can I contact?

Stay in the loop

Sign up to be the first to know about course updates.

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Be the first to know about upcoming cohorts

Shifting Power Accelerator

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Bulk purchases

Free resource

Influencing for Change Workshop

Effective influencing is the key to overcoming emotional and institutional barriers to equal partnerships in social impact.


Many leaders use change management best practices and stakeholder mapping to successfully drive their shifting power efforts.


Do you?


This is a 60-minute abridged virtual workshop of Module 3 of the Shifting Power Accelerator.


You will learn:


  • how to identify power by type: authority or influence
  • how and when to use power, rights, or interest-based approaches to change
  • the key elements of a successful change initiative
Get the recording!
Free resource

Your sneak peek of the Shifting Power Accelerator

Want to get a behind-the-scenes look at the Shifting Power Accelerator?


This is a recording of a 50-minute informational session on the Shifting Power Accelerator, a transformative 7-week cohort-based course for global aid and development leaders ready to take action and shift power in their organizations and partnerships.


This recording includes:

  • a course overview of the Shifting Power Accelerator
  • a sneak peek of the course platform
  • a conversation with Cohort 1 alumni Kate Cummings about her experience, and
  • a live Q&A session



Access the recording now!

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