Reflections from our Programme Lead Edda Kruse Rosset on how we created DEALING WITH CHANGE and what this says about how we learn and work at Kaospilot+ Berlin.
Dealing with Change is a programme that many people have inspired and made possible. Here is the story of how it came into being.
At Kaospilot+ Berlin, we do not only educate others in working more experientially and experience-based, but we also do so ourselves as an organization and as learning designers. This is also the story of what happened in the context of our 1-Year programmes.
We ran our first-ever 1-Year Programme from September 2022 to July 2023 with Team 1. It was called ‘Leadership in Systemic Activism’ and Team 1 was and will forever be our first pilots who were courageous when saying ‘yes’ to our invitation to join a programme that had never existed before. Part of their journey was to witness the unknowns and imperfections our prototype came with. Participants and learning designers have mutually learned a lot from each other, in formats such as regular plenums, where we together evaluated the programme while it was running, identified what needed to be clarified, what should and could be changed, and how we would go about it. Co-creating the educational journey was at the core and we look forward to continuing to work like this in the future.
Before Team 1 even started we decided to wait with deciding when applications for Team 2 would open up. We knew we would want to take a break first after the first round to make time for reflections, and evaluate what to bring with us into the second version, what to leave behind and what new to bring into the mix?
And so we did. In a slow, bumpy and at times emotional process we over several months reflected and evaluated the programme. In several co-creation sessions with our alumni, we talked about what to keep from the programme and discussed ideas for changes.
After many iterations, discussions, conversations, creative blackouts and small crises, we designed a new iteration of a 1-Year programme, and named it ‘Dealing with Change’. We wanted to keep and protect the essence, while letting go of what we had learned was not working.
Here are some of the choices we have made and the reasoning behind them:
1. A New Name: Dealing with Change
It was one of these sudden creative aha-moments: talking about what the programme actually was about I said to my colleague, well, it’s about dealing with change. There the name was, representing perfectly the red thread connecting all elements we will explore: be it defining your cause, activism and direction, be it designing and creating new solutions and initiatives to complex social challenges, or exploring the leadership it takes for you to do all of it. What we see connects all of it is an exploration of and our ability to deal with change. (Also our learners and even team members kept forgetting the old Programme Name ‘Leadership in Systemic Activism’ — maybe an indicator that it was too long/complicated/…?)
2. A New Structure: Part-Time
The first version of the Programme was a 4-Days a week full-time programme. One major thing we realized was that many learners had other requirements on the side, paid jobs, their own projects, families or businesses. Our curated workshops and inputs were sometimes unevenly spread out over and in periods the programme felt scattered.
The new part-time structure therefore seeks to acknowledge the realities of many people's various engagements, either because they chose to or have to — different social and financial backgrounds are simply a reality. The programme will allow a more flexible combination of various work(s) and creation(s) with this clearer structure where the individual self-led learning journey and regular intense collective gatherings weave into each other.
3. A new structure: Individual Learning Journey & Collective Gatherings
In our prototype, the line between individual and collective learning journey was often very blurry and this clearer separation between the two intends to honor their differences, give more intentional space to both whilst seeking to acknowledge that they are interwoven.
How this looks? The programme is structured around 10 gatherings which are our collective ground for co-creation, learning together and collaborating. Each gathering brings a theoretical and practical lens on change, and all consist of a combination of practical experience, theoretical input and collective reflection. In between the gatherings learners are guided in their own reflection and development process and get face to face support from programme leads, mentors and peers. This allows for a rhythm and density that enables transformation while acknowledging your other commitments in life.
4. A new price: a different business model
For the first round we decided to radically cross-finance most part of the costs through our own projects and profit. For several reasons (inflation, fewer project demands, organizational changes) we are unfortunately currently not in the position as an organization to repeat such all-encompassing cross-financing. This means that the participant price now has to cover all expenses of the programme: rent, salaries, materials, technology and small project budgets. Due to our legal set-up (we are a company, which allows us to earn money through consulting work and cross-finance) we currently don’t receive external funding or donations as it comes with tax disadvantages. We are working on changing our structure so that we hopefully in future will receive longer-term funding in order to continue to finance the coming years and make the program as accessible as possible from a financial perspective. Reach out to us if you want to know more or talk about this.
In general we are very happy how ‘Dealing with Change’ is really a manifestation of our collective learnings and reflections, and another courageous piece of work trying to become better at what we do, step by step, in honesty, with ambition and care.
And looking back one can really say this iterative, experimental and action-oriented way of working is how we have been developing and bringing to life all Kaospilot+ Berlin programmes and educational formats since the summer of 2020. And this approach, way of working, designing and creating, is what we convey to and train our learners in as well. To get going, move fast at times and then slow down again, to make up our minds and respond wisely and strategically to what is to come next.
Our work is alive and changing, and so are our programmes: alive, transforming and growing — just as the world around us is.
Are you curious to hear more about our programme? Then come and join us for our info calls (July 3rd & 15th) or other events! You can sign up here.
Applications are open until August 4th, 2024.
The programme begins on October 10th, 2024.
