Posts tagged Learning Partners
Using an Appreciative Inquiry Framework: Bridging ‘what is’ to ‘what could be’
Using an Appreciative Inquiry Framework: Bridging ‘what is’ to ‘what could be’

Comic Relief’s Rise and Shine programme funds organisations supporting early childhood development for vulnerable families in the UK and globally. Earlier this year, grantees came together for a day of reflection and learning, facilitated by Dartington Service Design Lab, the Learning Partners for the fund.

The goal of the learning event was to create a space where UK Rise and Shine grantees could reflect on what they’ve learnt to date, to inform their planning for the future as the funding programme nears its conclusion.

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News, ReflectionBLOGEvidence, research, Associates, Comic Relief, Rise and Shine, Parents, families, evaluation, Design, SarahFrost, DawnHart, AppreciativeInquiry, Reflection, Learning, Learning Partners
The mirror, the mentor and the midwife: What makes a good Learning Partner?
The mirror, the mentor and the midwife: What makes a good Learning Partner?

As we’ve explored and reflected on Learning Partner contracts, we’ve identified three roles that a Learning Partner takes; The mirror, the mentor and the midwife. Each role blends the “learning for” and “learning with” elements that we described previously, and in our experience, Learning Partners need to be confident shifting between the three as learning needs and capacity changes.

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ReflectionBLOGCollaboration, Service Design, Learning, Learning Partners, evaluation, services, funders, funding, impact, Keira
Getting Learning Partnerships right – the building blocks
Getting Learning Partnerships right – the building blocks

In our last blog, we looked at the motivations behind Learning Partnerships. In this one we examine some of the conditions we think are necessary for success – building on our experience, and that of our partners at Renaisi, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. In particular, we look at taking time to set the project up, develop consensus about aims and being explicit about creating the conditions for learning to happen and be acted upon.

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ReflectionBLOGCollaboration, Service Design, Learning, Learning Partners, evaluation, services, funders, funding, impact, Keira
The unstoppable rise of the Learning Partner
The unstoppable rise of the Learning Partner

It’s perhaps unsurprising that we have been drawn to the concept of the Learning Partner and all the term suggests; that is, working with organisations to enable learning and improvement, and doing so collaboratively. Having carried out several roles badged in this way, we wanted to reflect, as a team and with peers, on what the role can look like, what skills it requires, and what it can contribute to organisations, and to the sector more broadly.

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ReflectionBLOGCollaboration, Service Design, Learning, Learning Partners, evaluation, services, funders, funding, impact, Keira