Over the past months of virtual meetings – and there have been plenty of them – there has been much testing and experimentation with technology. One such technique has been the Chat feature; all virtual platforms have it and most of us use it. For me, the Chat feature has helped to enliven and enrich […]
I could never have imagined I would start a meeting with personal images of joy… But, I did! You have to understand, I was planning a tough meeting. It was a meeting to discuss common challenges and issues that have come up over the first year of one of our projects. I had no illusions: […]
Gratitude can be wonderfully affirming, surprisingly life-giving, noticeably motivating, and importantly respectful. Human beings need gratitude. However, many of us need to learn to give and receive it. In these times of increased isolation and speed of work, Global Learning Partners would like to suggest that the giving and receiving of gratitude is more needed […]
The number one desire in online learning is to engage each individual present. Quizzes and polls are two quick and easy features that can help boost the energy, add some fun, and help learners connect to the content and each other. When to Use As a warm-up to learn something relevant about the people who are there. Example: What […]
Many people are afraid of sitting in silence with a group in a Zoom room. Don’t be afraid. Silence can be extremely helpful and needed if timed well. Here are reasons to design for silence: to give people time to think to make space for off-screen work before coming to the large group to consider content, ideas, […]
The Chat box is highly underrated. All meeting spaces have this feature, but it is not often used. And even more rarely, explored. Here are some great reasons to use the Chat box: to invite in all voices Rarely does everyone have a voice in a session (in-person or virtual). Since meaning-making is personal, every […]
Much has changed since pre-COVID. And in my view, our monthly all-staff meetings are better now that everyone is on a separate screen. It used to be that everyone in the International Budget Partnership Washington DC office would be in one room and on one screen while the rest of our staff in country offices […]
In mid-March, the Tax Equity team at the International Budget Partnership was faced with a dilemma – continue planning a two-day convening of researchers, staff, and civil society scheduled for May or take it completely online. Like many organizations in the face of COVID-19 uncertainty, we ultimately decided to turn the convening into a series […]
When my kids were very young, I would take them with me to run errands. They’d say, “Momma, what’s our plan today?” with excitement in their voices. They wondered what our adventure to town would include! I would list things such as stopping at the post office, the bank, the library, etc. During our outings […]
In the past few weeks, organizations around the world have faced the challenge of converting their in-person meetings to virtual ones. Our organization, the International Budget Partnership (IBP) is no exception. Every month, IBP holds an all-staff meeting via Zoom, a virtual meeting platform that has recently seen its popularity soar; half of our staff […]