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Shifting Power Accelerator

4.8

(10 ratings)

ยท

7 Weeks

ยท

Cohort-based Course

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

Course overview

The time for local leadership and equal partnership 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 humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding sectors, this course will help you navigate barriers to reaching your shifting power goals by exploring and applying key frameworks and concepts:


๐ŸŒ Liberatory futures

๐ŸŒ Power and decision-making

๐ŸŒ Ethical influence and advocacy

๐ŸŒ Mutual capacity strengthening

๐ŸŒ Community-led design

๐ŸŒ Participatory grantmaking

๐ŸŒ 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 local partner of your choice (e.g., a local civil society leader or a Global South colleague) to participate alongside you.


Using the course frameworks, you will share 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 in the course!


Maya

Facilitator, Shifting Power Accelerator

This course is for you if...

01

Youโ€™re a non-profit, philanthropic, or public sector professional committed to shifting power and decolonizing aid.

02

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

03

You are ready to practice shifting power meaningfully and can invite a local and/or community leader to join you on the journey.

Practice industry-tested frameworks used by leading #ShiftThePower organizations

Validate your localization goals and objectives.

Shifting power requires critical inquiry. Youโ€™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. Youโ€™ll learn how flexible funds and participatory grantmaking works 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. Youโ€™ll practice participatory and co-design methods for a truly community-led and bottom-up approach.

What people are saying

ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย I cannot recommend the Shifting Power Accelerator enough! This course is very practical.ย 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.ย 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
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 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
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 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
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 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
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 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
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 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
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 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
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 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
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 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
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 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

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 S๏ปฟhifting Power Accelerator
  • a sneak peek of the course platform
  • a conversation with Cohort 1 alumni Kate Cummings about her experience, and
  • a l๏ปฟive Q&A session



Access the recording now!
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Meet your facilitator

Mahrukh (Maya) Hasan

Mahrukh (Maya) Hasan

Sr. Technical Advisor. UN & NGO Consultant. DEI 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.

Fearless Project

Fearless Project

Tackle bias with courage and confidence

Fearless Project is an online education start-up for workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion.ย We help social impact leaders design work cultures where everyone can flourish.


We offer holistic DEI learning and transformation programs including courses, coaching, community, and consulting to accelerate change for aid and development organizations.ย 

An Applied, Practical Curriculum

35 hours over 7 weeks (๐Ÿ’ฏ recorded)

  • ๐Ÿ™‹๐Ÿฝโ€โ™€๏ธ Workshop 1: Orientation & Liberatory Futures

    Week 1: Tuesday, 8:00 am -10:30 am EDT

    • Meet your facilitator Maya who will share some tips on making the most of this course and what to expect on the journey
    • Meet fellow practitioners in your cohort (and our current challenges)
    • Imagine the future of global aid and our roles in it
    • Online community onboarding

  • ๐ŸŒด Optional: Live Q&A and Lab

    Week 1: Thursday, 8:00 am -9:00 am EDT

    • Ask any questions
    • Co-work on your projects
    • Get feedback from peers

  • โš–๏ธ Workshop 2: Power and Decision-making

    Week 2: Tuesday, 8:00 am -10:30 am EDT

    • Reflect on your power and positionality in different contexts
    • Identify your local or community partner and reflect on their position
    • Get familiar with a few power analysis tools, including Partos' Power Awareness Tool
    • Analyze your power and position in your organization

  • ๐ŸŒด Optional: Live Q&A and Lab

    Week 2: Thursday, 8:00 am -9:00 am EDT

    • Ask any questions
    • Co-work on your projects
    • Get feedback from peers

  • ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ Workshop 3: Ethical Influence and Advocacy

    Week 3: Tuesday, 8:00 am -10:30 am EDT

    • Reflect on power-based versus relationship-based social change
    • Learn the basics of good persuasion: 7 principles of influence
    • Get familiar with behavior change approaches: Fogg Behavioral Model
    • Determine an organizational change within your influence and describe the initiative

  • ๐ŸŒด Optional: Live Q&A and Lab

    Week 3: Thursday, 8:00 am -9:00 am EDT

    • Ask any questions
    • Co-work on your projects
    • Get feedback from peers

  • ๐Ÿซฑ๐Ÿผโ€๐Ÿซฒ๐Ÿพ Workshop 4: Mutual Capacity Strengthening

    Week 4: Tuesday, 8:00 am -10:30 am EDT

    • Evaluate your organization's current capacity-building approach
    • Match your local partner's organizational maturity level to the right support approach
    • Get familiar with the Capacity 2.0 Model and more
    • Outline a target growth area for partner-led development

  • ๐ŸŒด Optional: Live Q&A and Lab

    Week 4: Thursday, 8:00 am -9:00 am EDT

    • Ask any questions
    • Co-work on your projects
    • Get feedback from peers

  • ๐Ÿ’ก Workshop 5: Community-Led Design

    Week 5: Tuesday, 8:00 am -10:30 am EDT

    • Evaluate your organization's project design approach
    • Understand the principles of co-design and community-centered design
    • Learn the five-step design sprint method
    • Get familiar with participatory design methods: Co-Design Framework
    • Practice a new participatory design technique

  • ๐ŸŒด Optional: Live Q&A and Lab

    Week 5: Thursday, 8:00 am -9:00 am EDT

    • Ask any questions
    • Co-work on your projects
    • Get feedback from peers

  • ๐Ÿ’ธ Workshop 6: Participatory Grantmaking

    Week 6: Tuesday, 8:00 am -10:30 am EDT

    • Review your organization's funding or grantmaking approach
    • Learn participatory grantmaking principles
    • Get familiar with new frameworks, including Flexible and Participatory Funding Matrix
    • Understand how Oxfam GB made a flexible fund
    • Create a stakeholder map and influencing plan

  • ๐ŸŒด Optional: Live Q&A and Lab

    Week 6: Thursday, 8:00 am -9:00 am EDT

    • Ask any questions
    • Co-work on your projects
    • Get feedback from peers

  • ๐ŸŽ“ Workshop 7: Graduation & Movement Building

    Week 7: Tuesday, 8:00 am -10:30 am EDT

    • Participate in Dilemma Labs, a group coaching format
    • Celebrate your achievements
    • Reflect on your takeaways
    • Join the online community of practice!

  • ๐Ÿ’ซ Optional: 1:1 Coaching

    Once - To be determined

    • Schedule a 60 minute video call with Maya
    • Discuss a topic of your choice - a professional or organizational challenge
    • Get personalized feedback and advice

  • ๐ŸŒ Optional: Community of Practice

    Monthly - To be determined

    Following the end of the course, all Shifting Power Accelerator alumni will get an invite to stay in touch via:


    • a monthly group coaching program (for 6 months)
    • a WhatsApp group, and
    • a Google Groups listserv


    You're now part of the community ๐ŸŒŸ

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, actively participate, and still donโ€™t find the course valuable, weโ€™ll happily refund your full payment up to 7 days after the end of the course.ย 

Get reimbursed by your employer

Get reimbursed by your employer

๐ŸŽ“ Use your organization's Professional Development budget

80% of our students get this course paid for by their employers.


Since the course is industry-relevant and teaches job-critical skills, this course could even get you promoted.


You will never know unless you ask!

๐Ÿ‘‰๐Ÿฝ Copy and paste this request template

We know it can be uncomfortable to ask your boss for funds. So we've made it easy for you. Just copy-paste, fill in the blanks, and send it to your manager or budget authority.


Here's your email template:

https://tinyurl.com/spa-request-template

๐Ÿ† Course certificate & LinkedIn Badge

Once you complete the course, we will email you a certificate of completion that proves you completed the course, as well as a link to upload a LinkedIn Badge on your social media profile.


Here's what it will look like: https://maven.com/certificate/tFQXcwOW

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the expected time commitment?
What happens if I canโ€™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 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.

A pattern of wavy dots
Be the first to know about upcoming cohorts

Shifting Power Accelerator

|

Bulk purchases

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 S๏ปฟhifting Power Accelerator
  • a sneak peek of the course platform
  • a conversation with Cohort 1 alumni Kate Cummings about her experience, and
  • a l๏ปฟive Q&A session



Access the recording now!

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