Stories

Tag: VUCA

Volatile Uncertain Complex Ambiguous

  • How do we shift our capacity to embrace a volatile, complex world?

    How do we shift our capacity to embrace a volatile, complex world?

    This week, the Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF) is Devex’s “Presenting Partner”. We are proud to be sharing with Devex’s 170,000 NewsWire subscribers the remarkable progress and the results, outcomes, and impact we have achieved since the pandemic hit. Discover how we connect people, organizations, and communities to achieve collective impact better and faster… Get in touch…

    • We stand ready to support any organization or network that needs to mobilize people at scale in support of meaningful change.
    • We are seeking partners that share our yearning for transformation, and that can bring their challenges, resources, and capabilities to make this yearning a reality.
    • We are actively fundraising to develop our global platform so we can support more partners tackling ‘wicked’ problems.

    The need for change is evident.

    Is your organization rethinking how it contributes to achieving global goals?

    • Humanitarian INGOs headquartered in Geneva, London, or Washington are striving to “localize aid”.
    • A growing concert of voices is calling for the decolonization of global health.
    • Some donors are trying to listen to feedback from communities, not just metrics.

    How do we shift our capacity to embrace a volatile, complex world?

    The Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF) has developed a unique approach, grounded in learning science and a decade of research and practice, to nurture digital networks. Read Reda Sadki’s blog post: How we used this approach to support over 40,000 immunization staff facing the COVID-19 pandemic…

    We build collective capacity for transformation. Download a snapshot of our immunization programme…

    We do this in ways that motivate participants to connect and implement thousands of their own locally-designed projects, leading to measurable, lasting impact.

    The COVID-19 pandemic has created an opportunity for a digital-first Renaissance.

    The next 20 years of working for change are likely to be about harnessing digital transformation through hybrid networks fusing digital and physical.

    Learning how to develop people is a vital investment for the promise of digital to be realized. Read more about the digital-first Renaissance…

    I hope that you will take the time to learn more about our work to determine if what we do might fit what you need.

    To learn more about the Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF), download our brochure, listen to our podcast, view our latest livestreams, subscribe to our insights, and follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Or introduce yourself to our Partnerships team.

  • Who are we and why are we talking?

    Who are we and why are we talking?

    As learning leaders, we share a personal passion and commitment to solving wicked problems. We recognize that no one organization can solve these problems alone. We use our talent to advocate for new ways of doing new things, both inside and outside our structures. We see continual learning as the key to preparedness in a hyper-connected VUCA world. We believe that creative, collaborative, and networked business models are needed for both communities (“resilience”) and businesses (“sustainability”) that serve them (including humanitarian organizations) to survive and grow. The small farmer or grocery store perspective is the community-based perspective. Sustainability is the business. The point of our continued conversation is to determine how we can move to collaboration and action.

    Photo: Boats on the sea shore (Despite straight lines/Flickr)

  • A question of such immense and worldwide importance

    A question of such immense and worldwide importance

    Scale: Predictions over the impact of climate change and globalization suggest that we will see more frequent disasters in a greater number of countries, along with more civil unrest in those states less able to cope with this rapidly changing environment, all generating a greater demand for humanitarian and development assistance (cf. Walker, P., Russ, C., 2012. Fit for purpose: the role of modern professionalism in evolving the humanitarian endeavour. International Review of the Red Cross 93, 1193–1210.)

    Complexity: The world’s problems are characterized by volatility, uncertainty, and complexity in a knowledge society. The industry to tackle these growing challenges has expanded rapidly to become increasingly professionalized, with a concentrated number of global players increasingly focused on the professionalization of more than 600,000 paid aid workers and over 17 million volunteers active worldwide in UN agencies, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, and the main international non governmental organizations (INGOs).

    Innovation: The scale and complexity of humanitarian and development issues call for doing new things in new ways. The skills and processes that will prepare the humanitarian workers of tomorrow are not yet embedded in our educational structures. In fact, education is failing to prepare humanity for the challenges of the future. Existing partnerships do not address this gap. Attempting to do more of what has been done in the past is not the answer. No single organization can solve a question of such immense and worldwide importance. It is the future of humanity that is at stake.

    Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls via flickr.com

  • Learning in a VUCA world: IFRC FACT and ERU Global Meeting (Vienna, 31 May 2013)

    Presentation at the IFRC FACT and ERU Global Meeting (Vienna, 31 May 2013), exploring how we learn in a complex world.