Capacity Building

Communication Capacity Building Training for WWF

Project Description

In June 2023, VA was invited to provide team communication skills training to WWF to enhance the internal and external communication skills of all staff. The training focused on "what is good storytelling" and "how to tell a good story".

Key activities

Conducted a questionnaire survey of all employees to understand the communication scenarios and problems in order to improve the relevance and practicality of the training
Designed training content and facilitated training to help employees understand the concept of good storytelling and how to build a good story through conceptual explanations, group exercises and Q&A sessions
Post-training follow-up: Collected feedback on this training and summarized the direction of the organization's future training needs

Project Management Training for Natural Resources Defense Council

Project Description

To enhance the project management skills of the team, VA was invited to conduct a project management workshop for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The workshop covered project management concepts, project definition and design, implementation and testing, summarization, and evaluation.

Key activities

Collected training needs to understand staff's knowledge and the challenges of project management, and designed the training content in a targeted manner
Helped staff master the key points of project management through theoretical lectures, case sharing, group exercises and Q&A sessions in the one-and-a-half-day training
Followed up after the training by collecting employee evaluations through anonymous questionnaires and communicating with management on the results

Capacity Training in the Post-Epidemic Era Project for WWF China & SEE

Project Description

In April 2021, VA was invited by WWF China and SEE to provide strategic services for the "Capacity Training in the Post-Epidemic Era" project, with the aim of deepening the understanding of the strategies of its 17 partner organizations in the marine sector, and initially shaping the strategic framework for the future of their respective organizations.

Key activities

Shared the development direction of marine conservation issues in the post epidemic era, including opportunities and challenges in the field of marine conservation, key areas of marine conservation, and the status and trend of multi-party cooperation in the field of marine conservation
The training is based on the practice-oriented mode of group exercise, interactive discussion and tutor's review. The content includes the methodology and tools of strategic planning (what is strategic planning, how to determine the strategy of the organization), as well as a large number of practical cases in the nonprofit sector

"Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship" Course for Tsinghua University

Project Description

In April 2021, for the fourth consecutive year, Robin Zhang, founder of VA, was invited to teach the course "Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship" at Tsinghua University. Through the innovative format of combining traditional lectures and marathons, and closely correlating theory and practice, to better inspire Tsinghua University students to understand and engage the real world with empathy and entrepreneurship.

Key activities

Introduced concepts related to sustainability and social innovation and explained the use of tools such as Design Thinking, Theory of Change, Impact Assessment, Business Canvas and Business Thinking, Brainstorming, etc.
Grouped students according to points of interest, refined research questions, conducted questionnaires and data collection and other research methods
Provided 1-to-1 counseling on the preliminary research results, and proposed feasible solutions and guiding suggestions

Rapid Diagnostic Consultation for Social Enterprises in Chengdu

Project Description

From May 8 to 10, 2019, VA was invited to provide one-on-one rapid diagnostic consulting to 12 social enterprises in Chengdu, aiming to identify their bottlenecks for sustainable or scaled-up development, and to explore solutions for the enterprises.

Key activities

Provided a list of questions for social enterprises in advance, covering most of the strategic and management issues of social enterprises, in order to enhance the consulting efficiency
Guided the social enterprises to think about their strategy and management situation through four major questions, including social impact, business model, revenue situation and team status
Provided a complete summary of the consulting process for each organization

Strategic planning workshop for CFRD

Project Description

In January 2015, VA was invited to provide strategic planning services for the China Foundation for Rural Development (formerly the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation) and facilitated a strategic planning workshop to ensure all stakeholders can fully understand the institution's strategic system and future development plan.

Key activities

Reviewed the foundation's development history, resources, and current challenges
Introduced the strategic plan for the next cycle, including the topics of potential opportunities for the organization, project life cycle management, and implementation of key sectors

Strategic planning for Vanke Foundation

Project Description

In August 2022, VA was invited to provide a workshop for strategic plan review for the Vanke Foundation. Solutions were provided regarding the challenges faced during the implementation of the previous strategic cycle, and suggestions were prepared to prepare for the development of the next cycle's strategic planning.

Key activities

Analyzed the problems of project design, project outcomes, and topic development in strategic implementation
Facilitated discussions on result-driven project design, project management, and ecosystem building, as well as providing reference cases and high-level suggestions