Exploring Nonprofit eLearning Success: The Value of Internal Expertise

The appetite for online learning is higher than ever and responsive nonprofits and associations are identifying eLearning as a strategy for scaling their impact and educational offerings. The challenge is nonprofits are not the only educational providers who are adopting this strategy. The upskilling market is chock-full of online courses and programs made by individual experts, corporations, universities, continuing education centres as well as other comparable nonprofits. So how can an organisation stand out to their local, regional, national and even international target audiences? Why would an individual or a group take an eLearning course made by a nonprofit instead of by an expert influencer on Coursera, for example? In this blog we explore one way of answering this question. In short, the answer lies within the organisation’s own subject matter experts (SMEs) – their own staff.

The Value of Nonprofit SMEs for eLearning

In nonprofit organizations, true treasures lie within the wealth of knowledge developed by their internal SMEs over time. These individuals, often at the forefront of the organisation's missions, are the embodiment of passion, expertise, and an intimate understanding of the beneficiaries they serve. Recognizing and tapping into this internal expertise is paramount to the success of any educational strategy, especially when transitioning to the realm of eLearning. 

The Unparalleled Insights of Nonprofit SMEs

The experience and insights gained by SMEs through years of delivering in-person or virtual workshops to diverse audiences are unparalleled. These seasoned professionals possess the ability to connect with learners, adapting the approach, content, communication style to cater to varying needs and learning preferences. As the face of the organisation's educational initiatives, they bring a unique blend of empathy and firsthand knowledge that resonates deeply with the target audience. Having experienced the scope of needs learners have regarding different topics and skill-areas, they are well positioned to inform key steps of the eLearning process.

eLearning Development Process

Let’s examine how the SME can make use of their insight to accomplish the two first phases of the eLearning development process:

1) Analyse Phase: At this phase, internal SMEs will be able to provide detailed understanding of the learner personas including the learner’s prior knowledge, motivations, needs, typical challenges, preferences, and mindsets. They will be well-positioned to craft useful questions to survey or consult with target learners to gather the appropriate information for the Design Phase.

2) Design Phase: At this phase, the SMEs is using their knowledge of the learners, the content, and their prior experience to outline the ideal course – duration, format, assessments, multimedia, tone, resources, brand – the SME will have a strong intuition of the best approach. In addition, they’ll have trusted relationships with real beneficiaries (learners) to get input or feedback from.

To play the role described in the Analysis and Design phases, the SMEs will likely require some support. They may need to understand the eLearning process, have access to the necessary tools and standard operating procedures, and receive some professional development.

Nonprofit SMEs as a Key Differentiator in eLearning

The key to creating eLearning content that stands out is leveraging the expertise, lived-experience, and the wisdom of the people on the ground. Nonprofit staff’s hands-on experience, honed through years of direct engagement, becomes a strategic asset when transitioning to the digital realm of eLearning. By empowering nonprofit organizations to build instructional design capacity for eLearning within their teams, their teams can produce new ideas for courses based on assessed needs and be able to produce courses independently, increasing efficiency in the process. The ability and agility to identify new needs and generate new courses can set an organisation and its content library apart from the rest.

By providing nonprofit SMEs with professional development, organizations can harness the collective wisdom of internal SMEs and create eLearning content that not only meets the highest educational standards but also resonates authentically with their audience. This approach not only ensures a seamless transition from traditional workshops to eLearning but also fosters a sense of continuity and trust among learners, as they recognize familiar voices and perspectives in the digital educational landscape.

Transformative Journey to Skilled Instructional Design

Pure & Applied is committed to guiding nonprofits through this transformative journey, helping them unlock the full potential of their internal Subject Matter Experts. In doing so, we aim to elevate their educational impact, enabling them to reach wider audiences and make a lasting difference in the lives of their beneficiaries. Recognizing the value of SMEs is not just about acknowledging their expertise; it's about harnessing it to propel educational impact in the ever-evolving landscape of eLearning.

Harnessing the Power of Nonprofit SMEs for Educational Impact

Depending on your organisation, you may be considering different approaches to developing eLearning, using internal expertise or a mix of internal and external support. To bring SME’s into the eLearning process, we offer hands-on training workshops, available both in-person and online, customised to hone teams’ and managers’ expertise in instructional design, educational content development, and learning management systems.

Teams receive specialised instructional design training tailored to the organisation's specific needs. From crafting eLearning courses based on the science of learning to mastering needs assessments, multimedia development, we guide teams in building robust eLearning operations, systems, and content. 

Organisations can transform their staff into skilled instructional designers and transition from delivering much-loved workshops to scaling education through eLearning. As a strategic partner – we not only deliver training but can also seamlessly integrate an eLearning business unit/department into your organisation, ensuring you build capacity and manage transformation effectively. Together, we can create distinctive programs, elevate learning experiences, and drive fundamental change through our collaborative partnership.

We’d love to help you build your internal capacity for eLearning.

Schedule a meeting with us. Select a time here.