Grants:MSIG/Examples/Skill Development/Guidance

This page contains extended guidance to applicants who wish to develop new skill development resources or activities. It is meant to supply the examples of skill development implementation grants, a part of Movement Strategy.

Types of Skill Development Activities

Skill development activities are the method(s) one uses to help learners develop skills. If we think of the skill as the “what,” the skill development activity is the “how.” Below is a list of learning activities that you are encouraged (but not mandated) to select from. You can select one or multiple. Because many of the activities listed can have multiple interpretations based on local context or language, when writing your proposal, please define the skill development activity you have selected. For example, if you select “online course,” describe what exactly that means and provide as much detail as possible.

• Online course
• Offline course
• Blended course (mixture of online and offline)
• Mentorship program
• Skills exchange program
• Game
• Workshop
• Module
• Training program
• Tutorial
• Discussion
• Event
• Guidebook
• Podcast
• Video
• Simulation
• Shadowing program
• Project (for learning)
• Peer-to-peer support
• Performance
• Experiment
• Tool
• Virtual Platform

Determining The Appropriate Skill Development Activity

There are several factors to consider when selecting a skill development activity. Is it online or offline, one-time or continuous, learner-centered or teacher-centered, active or passive? These are just a few questions to ask as you determine the most suitable learning activity or activities. The selection you choose should be based on your target learners (their needs, contexts, abilities) and the skill(s) you aim to develop.

To help you reflect on the best-suited skill development activity for your objectives and learner needs, we have included a short, self-guided exercise below. This exercise is optional, and is only meant to help you think further about your skill development activity selection. Each row of the table describes a learning trait and its opposite(s). Each row can be viewed as a spectrum, from one pole to the other. To complete the exercise, read each row and decide the most fitting choice. Keep in mind that your end result may not involve all of the traits, nor lie firmly on one side of each spectrum.

Individual learning		Group learning
Self-guided		Instructor-led
Online	Blended	Offline
Local		International
Learner Focus		Topic Focus
Learner-led	Peer-led	Instructor-led
Interactive		Passive
Informal		Formal
Synchronous learning		Asynchronous learning
Theoretical		Practical
Spaced-out (time) sessions		Condensed (time) sessions
Continuous		Fixed-term
Similar ability learners		Mixed ability learners
Motivated learners		Unmotivated learners
Low intensity		High intensity
Monolingual		Multilingual

Skills

Types of Skills

The skills needed to enable sustainability and growth in our movement are wide-ranging and diverse. They depend on a variety of factors, such as a volunteer’s role, aspirations, or cultural context. A movement organizer who focuses on organizing events may need a different set of skills than someone who focuses on editing a Wiki project.

While we acknowledge the definition of “skill” is not singular, static or universal, for the purpose of facilitating a common understanding, we classify skills into two categories: sustaining skills and growing skills. Keep in mind that the skills of each category can and will overlap. The purpose of categorization is only to help provide framing, not to declare a sole definition.

Sustaining Skills

Sustaining skills are the practical and everyday skills of movement volunteers. When these skills are applied, they allow volunteers to contribute to projects and organize initiatives. Sustain is about continuing and maintaining the everyday work we are doing. They can be both technical and non-technical skills. Below is a non-exhaustive list of sustaining skills:

• On-wiki technical skills (editing, tool use, templates use, working with API, etc.)
• Governance
• Writing
• Grant writing
• Project management
• Fundraising
• Advocacy and public policy
• Financial management
• Strategic thinking
• Organizational development
• Event planning
• Succession planning
• Community management and outreach
• Partnership development

Growing Skills (Leadership Skills)

Growing skills are skills we apply to help our movement grow. While it can be argued that sustaining skills are also growing skills, growing skills have a keen focus on growth. Growing skills are what we refer to as leadership skills in the Skill and Leadership Development recommendation summary. These skills are often related to social, interpersonal, and personal skills or qualities. Below is a non-exhaustive list of growing skills:

• Communication
• Conflict Resolution
• Facilitation
• Mentorship
• Giving and receiving feedback
• Deep & active listening
• Empathy
• Humor
• Self-awareness
• Self-care and resilience
• Flexibility
• Purpose
• Self-confidence

Helpful Resources

Some helpful resources on learning design:

• The Design Book for Online Learning, by Fitech Network University
• Understanding by Design, by Vanderbilt University’s Center for Teaching (explore the navigation bar on the right of the page for more resources)
• Criteria for Quality Implementation, by Mari Varonen from JAMK University of Applied Sciences and Tuula Hohenthal from Centria University of Applied Sciences
• How to Make an Open Online Course, by the Open University
• Overview of Creating an edX Course, by edX