From agency to influence — DDC weeknotes
My cough is nearly better. The headache is gone. The haircut is done. Power on!
It’s been a week of cross-pollination and partnership work — making the most of less intense support delivery on Deloitte Digital Connect (DDC) to dedicate some time to nurturing our partnerships and experiencing first hand the longer-term impact that programmes like Deloitte Digital Connect are having. My kind of week, when the different spinning plates land in an orderly line. It could have been a messy washing up session, but no — it’s all quite tidy. It all fits.
- From agency to influence — Take 1
I hosted a masterclass on no-code solutions for our Digital Leads Network. The Digital Leads Network is a collaborative space for those running digital projects to carry on learning and supporting each other on their digital journey. The current DDC cohort will be invited to join at the end of this programme. It was pretty great to see Liam Sweeney, Senior Creative Partner from Hubbub (DDC class of 2021–2022) share his brilliant No-code case study as part of the masterclass. Two years ago he was exploring solutions on DDC — now he was showcasing his great solution to help improve Hubbub’s Community Fridge Network service. It was a great session and I learnt a lot. Liam inspired me to spend more time making the most of the number of No-code tools we use at CAST. He built an impressive CRM system using Airtable and other tools. Also amazing to learn from No-code pros, Lizzie from Jamabuck Studio and Max from 100DaysOfNoCode.
You can find a step-by-step guide to Liam’s solution here. And if you’re interested in No-Code solutions, you can watch the recording and access all the resources here.
2. From agency to influence — Take 2
Part of the aim of the Digital Leads Network is to apply user-centred design practice to its development and ensure it is member-led. We’ve set up a working group of active members to help shape the next phase of the network and ensure it’s responding to user needs.
After a few months of storming and forming, the group is really finding its groove now. We had a productive meeting this week, discussing user personas, the positioning of the network and community engagement. Four of the seven working group members took part in Deloitte Digital Connect and it’s been great to see again, how they’re now able to have influence beyond their team and organisation, to ensure wider impact across the sector. I’m very grateful for their input and I’m learning a lot from them. There’s going to be an in-person network showcase in London on 28th March where they’ll share more about this great work (among many exciting things!). The event is open to non-network members interested in joining and this applies to the current DDC cohort. Find out more about the event and join us in London!
3. From agency to influence — Take 3
Ok, this was a couple of weeks ago but I like things in ‘threes’! We ran a meetup on digital upskilling across charities (again for the Digital Leads Network) and looking at how charities are bridging the digital skills gap in their respective organisations. It was inspiring to get members together to share solutions and challenges in upskilling teams across organisations. And it was great to have Robbie Maverick, Digital Product Manager at The Tutor Trust (also DDC class of 2021–2022), share his own experience with other organisations.
You need patience to highlight the longer term impact of digital capacity-building programmes for individual charity leads and their organisations. It can sometimes feel quite slow-going. But if we stick with it we can see those ‘aha’ moments appear like we did this week. Nice!
Ok, I’m using the ‘5 things happened this week’ weeknotes template so here are two more things that happened worth sharing:
4. Planning AI mini-series of support for DDC project sponsors
I met with Jess from Deloitte for coffee in our favourite cafe in Worthing last week. We brainstormed some support offers for project sponsors. We also ate cake and talked about up-and-coming Worthing hotspots (a new co-working space, with a gym…and a bar!). It was so nice to meet up in-person. We’ve now got a promising AI mini-series of support in the pipeline for project sponsors. And guess what? We’re going to feature some nice examples from DDC alumni and the Digital Leads Network. And also collaborate with Deloitte’s AI Institute. Are you excited? I am!
5. Improving our processes with support from one of Deloitte’s partners
Ellen and I had a great kick-off call with Xander Talent consultancy, a Deloitte partner, who will be providing some pro bono support to help us improve our DDC processes and systems. We review and try to improve our programme processes each year but there are little niggly things that we just don’t seem to be able to get to. It’s been great to take a step back and speak to Airtable and Zapier experts. The aim is to automate and streamline some of our data points and data synthesis processes, to simplify how we keep track of the participants’ learning journey and as a result, have more time to provide valuable support to participants. No doubt the learnings from this exercise will also be useful to share with our wider team. Each year our partnership with Deloitte brings up new added value and surprises — we’re always so grateful for these opportunities!
Five it is. Happy Friday :)
P.S. I’m writing weeknotes for Deloitte Digital Connect, a programme run in partnership with Deloitte which connects charities and social enterprises with digital expertise and advice. Read more about how to start writing weeknotes, find a template that works for you (I’m trying out ‘Five things that happened this week’ this week), set aside 30 minutes — and go for it!
