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Education Strategy & Learning Design, Meeting/Event Design & Management
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Education Strategy & Learning Design
Build a compelling education portfolio of engaging learning and networking experiences
We first start with an inventory of your organization’s learning and networking assets. This education portfolio is then evaluated for stakeholder satisfaction, gaps, and opportunities. Finally, we help develop and implement a roadmap to both sunset old and pilot new programs based on identified needs.
Additionally, we partner with you and your subject matter experts to ensure learning and networking sessions are designed and delivered with sound instructional strategies that will not only engage, but effectively educate and connect your attendees, as well.
Following are just a handful of examples describing how the Event Garde team can utilize our knowledge and expertise to meet the needs of you and your audience through education strategy and learning design:
Assess the risk tolerance of your board of directors, education committee, and staff to change existing programs or pilot new ones.
Organize and evaluate the existing education portfolio through an objective decision-making model quantifying effort vs. impact.
Facilitate stakeholder design sessions resulting in new in-person, virtual, or hybrid program proposals to meet audience needs.
Create a comprehensive content strategy that unifies event education with publications and other key functions/departments.
Develop unique session formats, durations, curricula, and session materials aligned with event objectives.
Partner with your speakers to help them develop and deliver more engaging learning and networking sessions.
Decision-Making Model
We believe that your education portfolio should be regularly evaluated to ensure relevancy and profitability. In addition to member/attendee satisfaction scores, this decision-making model is one way we help illuminate the effort and impact of your programs.
Don’t get discouraged; help is available
Did you enjoy a lot of leeway during the pandemic to create new learning and networking programs, but are now experiencing more pushback from organization leadership? Are your speakers excellent subject matter experts, but lack the training and experience to present truly engaging sessions?
Particularly in smaller organizations with limited resources, it can be difficult to split your time between meeting management and education development. But if you’re looking to finally untangle and organize your education portfolio, gain leadership support to sunset outdated programs in favor of more innovative offerings, and invest in your speakers to help them shine, we stand ready to join your team.
Think of us a little like a college or university academic advisor. We see both the big picture and the detail. Not only will we help your organization develop an intentional catalog of different offerings to meet the varied learning and networking needs of each stakeholder segment, but we will help you more clearly communicate these learner pathways and, ultimately, build brand loyalty.
Why organizations rely on Event Garde
The Event Garde team doesn’t just speak and write about the theory of education strategy and learning design – we’re practitioners, too. In addition to a range of short-term projects with clients, we also serve as fractional staff within organizations where we roll up our sleeves and work directly with boards, volunteers, speakers, and staff to support and guide long-term change management.
Ultimately, you and your organization benefit from the variety of successful interventions we’ve implemented over the years. We leverage and build upon successes from past projects; we continuously reference and tailor our tools and templates to your situation; and we anticipate and plan for the most common blocks and barriers. While we recognize that every industry is unique, we start with the best parts and pieces of past client work to save you both time and money.
“I had the privilege of working with the Event Garde team on a new senior leadership conference for our association members. I was short on resources, time, and experience for this effort, so I turned to them for assistance. Aaron and Kara were a pleasure to work with. Kara provided the project management and structure I needed to keep the project on track for a tight deliverable timeframe. Aaron provided his deep knowledge base and experience to help strategize, design, and then build the materials needed for the conference. The conference could not have gone off better and the attendees were extremely pleased with the experience and results. Partnering with Event Garde provided me the opportunity to deliver an exceptional learning experience to our members.”
Todd Slater, Ph.D.
NIGP: The Institute for Public Procurement
“Working with Event Garde brings such peace of mind. Aaron is incredibly knowledgeable, insightful, and forward-thinking. He asks high-level questions to truly understand the project goals - and offers observations and suggestions when there are areas to improve. His insights on content curation and development, faculty training, presentation best practices, learning format and overall program design are a huge asset to any organization looking to deliver high quality learning to their constituents. If you are looking to partner with the consummate professional to help enhance your organization's learning and education strategy - I highly recommend Event Garde!”
Megan Denhardt
Denhardt Productions
Case Study
NIGP: The Institute for Public Procurement
NIGP launches innovative and immersive Leadership Summit for senior public procurement professionals to rave attendee reviews
Challenge
In the wake of the pandemic's impact, compounded by concerns over hotel attrition and lost attendee revenue, NIGP found itself confronted with the looming threat of a significant financial penalty, potentially reaching six figures, due to the necessity of canceling an in-person conference slated for fall 2021. Concurrently, the departure of a vital member from the learning team underscored the organization's need to adapt and innovate.
With a commitment to serving its senior-level members more effectively, NIGP recognized the imperative to devise a new learning and networking experience. However, the persistence of various COVID restrictions, notably social distancing measures, further complicated the planning process. Amidst these challenges, NIGP sought innovative solutions and a strategic partnership to navigate the evolving landscape and deliver value to its members while mitigating potential financial risks.
Solution
Acknowledging the need for creative thinking and experienced learning/meeting professionals amid COVID restrictions, NIGP engaged Event Garde to co-create an entirely new program, ensuring senior procurement leaders received enriching learning and networking opportunities during an important time of transition and uncertainty. This new three-day event was imagined around five key themes: diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), workforce development, finance and strategic planning, supplier collaboration, and innovation and sustainability.
This initiative aimed to build upon the organization’s existing portfolio of quality in-person and virtual meetings, providing a dynamic platform for an otherwise underserved segment of the association’s membership – those more experienced professionals who benefit most from an immersive, multi-day experience centered around knowledge exchange, professional growth, and community development.
Ultimately, deliverables included a detailed event summary, including background, event structure, audience, anticipated experience, and key themes; curriculum at a glance, complete with daily focus, keynote topics, networking sessions, learning labs, and crucial conversations; detailed facilitator guides for each session, including timing, talking points, and recommended supplies; and a formatted learning journal, including reflection, note taking, and action plan opportunities.
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