In response to the health risks related to large gatherings, we have decided to go 100% virtual - #SEEP2020 will be entirely online! We see this as an opportunity to diverge from our traditional request for session proposals to a more experimental, participatory, and flexible model. We think of this year’s approach as co-creation – crowd-sourced and peer-supported – all of it to unlearn, learn, and take collective action.
In this Call for Learning Space concepts, we are looking for conveners of provocative learning experiences that will spark thinking and beckon participants to question, debate, and collaborate. We are counting on you, our members, to reflect on the conference theme, Disruptive Collaboration: navigating a radically uncertain world and technical streams below to co-design a program that inspires transformational learning through interactive experiences and hands-on application of innovative concepts to real work.
COVID-19 has had devastating impacts on livelihoods and employment. Marginalized and highly vulnerable households and fragile, crises-affected environments will be hardest hit. Given the complexity of a truly global crisis, a systems approach to relief and recovery is the key to building back better. Market-based programming holds potential to support local markets to rebound more quickly, restore and rebuild livelihoods, foster sustainable and decent employment, and become more resilient. Equitable and sustainable market-based solutions in the economic aftermath of COVID-19 mandates collaboration, coordination and partnerships between humanitarian, development and peace actors on a scale never seen before. It also requires continuous investment in and support of local leadership at all levels. This technical stream posits that connecting the nexus for market-based programming is no longer an aspiration - it is an imperative.
In light of the aforementioned, we have prepared a set of questions and prompts to consider as you reflect on the design of your Learning Space concept:
The global health crisis poses real risks to four decades of progress in financial inclusion. As markets falter and livelihoods are decimated, it is likely that tens of millions of low-income clients will simply be unable to pay back their loans, microfinance institutions will fail, and microfinance investment funds will falter. Moreover, unprecedented capital flight is expected from emerging markets. Some of these cascading effects are already being felt. Where will the bleeding stop? Which clients and institutions will be saved? How, by whom, and who decides? This technical stream will explore early response and recovery efforts at the level of the client, the institution and the financial ecosystem in emerging markets, and provide some suggested avenues to deal with this new reality.
In light of the afore-mentioned, we have prepared a set of questions and prompts to consider as you reflect on the design of your Learning Space concept:
The COVID-19 pandemic poses crucial health and economic risks to Savings Groups and their members. It also poses profound risks to the diverse range of programs and institutions that work with Savings Groups. Is the COVID pandemic an existential crisis for a community-based microfinance model based on frequent contact between members? And if it is, what are the implications?
We are on the cusp of a major disruption; and the near future will undoubtedly be defined by increased experimentation. How stakeholders plan, execute, document, assess and share the results of this period of forced innovation may very well determine what the sector looks like a decade from now.
This technical stream will explore how best to support Savings Groups and their members during this crisis, and how to effectively engage them in community-level response efforts. We will also explore the emerging plans of sector stakeholders to build back better.
In light of the afore-mentioned, we have prepared a set of questions and prompts to consider as you reflect on the design of your Learning Space concept:
We know that the needs of persons with disabilities, older people, women and girls, youth refugees, LGBTQI persons, and other socio-economically excluded people are severely compromised in crisis and post-crisis settings. The COVID-19 pandemic not only exacerbates existing barriers that exclude people but also introduces new barriers: a potentially fatal health threat, limitation of movement, restricted access to services, disruption to livelihoods, increased discrimination and extreme strain on social safety nets and protection systems. Furthermore, as many services expand digital delivery methods in response to limitations on in-person interaction, lack of access to connectivity (including both hardware and network access) can further accentuate the digital divide and exclude certain groups from the onset.
This technical stream will explore what considerations an inclusive response should entail under such conditions. As the COVID-19 pandemic exposes vulnerabilities and inequality in existing social, political and economic systems – including the global development system – we ask ourselves: What does building back better mean through an inclusion lens?
In light of the aforementioned, we have prepared a set of questions and prompts to consider as you reflect on the design of your Learning Space concept:
At SEEP, we’re reimagining the Annual Conference. This means we are also rewriting the rules for how Learning Spaces (previously peer learning sessions) go from conception to delivery, through an iterative process that relies heavily on collaboration and co-creation.
Here are three principles, based on which we are crafting the conference experience. We think of these as the non-negotiables of the #SEEP2020 social contract:
Based on your judgment and best efforts, your Learning Space concept will meet all or most of the parameters below. Your concept will (ideally) need to:
Bingo Night (45 minutes)
Attendees receive a list of 25 statements or questions that elicit “yes” or
“no” responses. For example: “You conduct assessments to determine the potential impacts of your intervention on the local economy over the short, medium, and long
term.” Each question will be assigned a number. Those with a “yes” response can match the number on the corresponding bingo square when it is called. Each card winner
receives a prize or can choose from among several prizes.
Discussion Garden (ongoing, propose and lead a channel)
Live, asynchronous, online discussion over the course of conference week. Nurtured by ideas and opinions on a specific topic, question or challenge. Topical and provocative discussion among peers is facilitated with prompting questions, followed by wrap-up notes and next steps.
Focus15s (15 minutes)
These are inspiring solo presentations like a Ted Talk featuring the wisdom, experience and enthusiasm of SEEP members. Individual Focus15s can be linked by a shared theme, topic or trend, with each group of three presentations taking place in a one-hour time block, to be followed by 15 minutes of [moderated] Q&A with the presenters.
Keynotes (30 minutes)
Inspiring and galvanizing thought leaders to share ideas and opinions on a subject close to their heart and related to the conference theme, “Disruptive Collaboration: navigating a radically uncertain world,” and one or more of the technical streams.
Insider Networking (10-30 minutes)
This is a component of your convening, not a session in and of itself. When crafting your Learning Space, think about ways to integrate networking among participants. Consider connecting people in small sub-groups through a short exercise, case study, challenge, game or problem. Give them a set amount of time to work together, and add each other as contacts on the Conference Hub once time is up to continue the conversation during and beyond the event.
Design Sprint Rooms (60 minutes)
Spaces where institutions pose a current challenge and invite peers to help ideate and design solutions, sharing from their existent knowledge assets, etc. Final solutions can then be pitched for funding or requests for collaboration/partners in order to implement/bring to market.
Peer Learning Sessions (60 minutes)
Yes, they are back! Peer Learning Sessions feature between three and four practitioners sharing perspectives and opinions on a technical subject, making for lively and instructive
conversation. These sessions can be moderated, but must be interactive, provocative, and present the experience of multiple organizations tackling complex issues and unforeseen challenges
with nimble solutions.
Workshop for Training Expo (2-hours)
The training expo is an opportunity for participants to invest in their education, so they can emerge stronger and smarter. During these expert-led workshops, new tools and concepts are tested and critiqued. Each 2-hour training is led by highly skilled facilitators, experienced in a range of thematic topics.
Voices from the Field (collection of 2-3 minute videos)
Collage of short videos from group members, local leaders, and field staff about their lived experiences over the past few months.
July 31 Your Learning Space concept must be submitted by this date
August 15 A shortlist of 7-8 conveners per technical stream are invited to develop a more in-depth plan for their Learning Space concept
Mid-August - End-September Sub-committee members will be paired with conveners for Learning Space coaching
October 26-30 Conference week!