P R E S E N T E D B Y

BUILDING TOMORROW’S LEARNING ECOSYSTEMOctober 30, 2019

Jennifer Freeman

Andrea Juncos

Elizabeth McWhorter

Lexie Waugh

The American labor market is broken. Our rapidly changing economy demands skilled and adaptable workers, but many people lack the education and training employers require. JFF is transforming the workforce and education systems to accelerate economic advancement for all.

JFF designs innovative solutions, scales proven programs, and influences industry action and policymaking to drive the most transformative impact.

• Welcome and context setting• Background and framing

• Vision for the future• Sharing the PSN vision and theory of change

• Building the learning ecosystem• Visioning exercise• Stakeholder engagement activity

• Reflections and closing• Common themes• Key questions

POSTSECONDARY STATE NETWORK VISION

We imagine a future in which, across the country, postsecondary learning institutions work in deep collaboration with their communities, not only connecting learners to knowledge and skills, but stewarding lasting partnerships to build an ecosystem of

resources so that all learners can access, benefit from, and contribute to learning, upskilling, and economic advancement opportunities across a lifetime.

Bring together individuals and networks in a variety of formats to exchange knowledge and disseminate information

CONVENE

Deliberately connect network stakeholders working on similar strategies or facing similar challenges to one another as well as external experts

CONNECT

Test, refine, and pilot innovative experiments with postsecondary stakeholders and issue thought leadership based on learning

CO-CREATE

Advocate on emerging and proven practices that will advance the postsecondary vision and bolster postsecondary actors’ ongoing work

CHAMPION

JFF’S KEY STRATEGIES

Network members collaborate to influence institutions and policymakers, through access to best practices, innovations, policy recommendations and organizational learning.

Interstate and statewide networks are diverse, robust, and agile mechanisms for leading, advocating for, and supporting change.

NETWORKS

States and systems support the development of aligned and learner-centered policies and are collaborating across sectors in order to advance equitable outcomes for all learners.

Policy makers demonstrate greater support for all learners by implementing policies that create favorable conditions for learners to succeed and thrive

STATES AND SYSTEMS

Learning institutions are more agile, connected, and learner-centric, and are community leaders in driving equitable outcomes for learners.

LEARNING INSTITUTIONS

Individual learners participate in educational opportunities that meet their learning needs and personal/career goals.

Individual learners have improved educational outcomes and achieve economic stability

INDIVIDUAL LEARNERS

CHANGES WE SEEK

Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:Postsecondary institutions and systems must be leaders and champions of equitable, inclusive policies and practices that enable learning systems to meet all learners’ needs and address historic inequities. Tackling these equity issues requires an understanding of the underlying causes of outcome disparities within our organizations, communities, and society. Leaders, policy makers and practitioners need to apply an equity lens universally, actively and authentically engaging diverse and marginalized communities, while making the internal changes needed to create a more inclusive learning culture. They must also hold themselves accountable for closing equity gaps.

Building Adaptive Learning Organizations: Postsecondary learning organizations and their partners must be agile and responsive to their local economies and needs of all learners, across their careers and lifetimes. Systems and policies at the state and organizational level incentivize and support adaptation to changing environments. Streamlined processes and regular use of data facilitate real-time responses to changing community contexts.

FOCUS AREAS

Fostering Integrated Ecosystems: Interconnected community, employers, learning organizations, and other partners must regularly collaborate to ensure that all community members can update and upgrade their knowledge and skills throughout their careers. Cross-sector partnerships need to nurture diverse structures and services that support individual learning needs, no matter the circumstances. Policymakers must ensure that policies are effective create aligned incentives. Common metrics should support ongoing collaboration and capacity to gauge progress toward common goals within the learning ecosystem.

Supporting High-Quality Learning Experiences: People must have access to recognized, reputable, relevant, and affordable learning options at school, at home, at work, and in community settings. Learning opportunities must be designed to meet learners’ practical, developmental, and preferential needs, drawing on variety of formats, including work-based, online, and accelerated models. Connections between work, learning, and career advancement must be clearly articulated. Reliable data on learning experiences and program outcomes drive continuous improvement.

FOCUS AREAS

BUILDING THE LEARNING ECOSYSTEM

VISIONING EXERCISE: WHAT WOULD THIS LOOK LIKE FOR INDIVIDUAL LEARNERS?

Learner #1

45 years old

Single parent

High school graduate

Just lost their job at Home Depot

Learner #2

29 years old

Moved here from Senegal 2 years ago

Married with one child

Learner #3

23 years old

Dropped out in 11th

grade

Works in food service

Wants to stay near family

• Who is this learner?• What are their goals? • Where might they go for advice?• Who is in their learning ecosystem?

• What do they need from their community to achieve their goals?

• Where does learning take place for them?

Learner #4

17 years old

HS senior

Works PT in retail

Not sure how and where to apply to

college

WHAT DO YOU NOTICE?

About their goals?

Their academic and non-academic needs?

The places and organizations they interact with?

The resources they need to be successful?

How would a community learning ecosystem need to work differently to better serve these learners?

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITYStakeholders

1. Employers

2. Postsecondary Intuitions

3. Community & Cultural Institutions

4. K-12 Leaders

5. Local Elected Officials

Questions to consider

What is your role in achieving the vision?

How does this vision affect you in this vantage point?

What questions does this bring up for you?

How is your work illustrating this vision?

What could it look like to expand into this vision?

We imagine a future in which, across the country, postsecondary learning institutions work in deep collaboration with their communities, not only connecting learners to knowledge and skills, but stewarding lasting partnerships to build an ecosystem of resources so that all learners can access, benefit from, and contribute to learning, upskilling, and

economic advancement opportunities across a lifetime.

REFLECTIONS & CLOSING

What did you notice? Did anything surprise you?

How did your conversation illustrate the vision?

What questions did your conversation illuminate?

What else might JFF be considering as we work to

support this vision?

V I S I T U S T O D A Y A T J F F. O R G

THANK YOU!