Marketing & Donor Communication | Education Bridge (Fall 2020)

Project Background:

Education Bridge seeks to create flourishing South Sudanese communities through education and peacebuilding. As part of this mission, Education Bridge opened its first school, Greenbelt Academy, in Bor, South Sudan in February 2017. Led by South Sudanese Notre Dame graduate Majak Anyieth ’17, the Greenbelt Academy currently serves over 400 students in grades 9-12, and in a very short time, has become one of the strongest academic schools in South Sudan. The Greenbelt Academy seeks to provide quality secondary education as well as to develop a generation of South Sudanese who are not only well prepared academically, but who also see themselves as peacemakers and transformational leaders.

Opportunity:

Education Bridge has worked with Notre Dame DAT teams over multiple semesters on projects related to developing a peacebuilding curriculum, building enhanced opportunities for girls, and enhancing international partnerships. Education Bridge now wants to consolidate some of this work, and help map opportunities for future development, particularly in ways that raise the profile of their work internationally with key stakeholders, as well as develop a communication plan for long-term sustainability.

Definition of Success:

The development of a good system for managing regular stakeholder communication (including to the network of people who are currently committed to supporting the yearly educational costs for one South Sudanese student), with concrete suggestions on a communication strategy that helps build enduring networks and sustainable partnerships that will be relevant for Education Bridge. This could include a better plan for newsletters (possibly using mailchip), fundraising, and storytelling

Meet the Team:

Final Deliverable

Eb Comprehensive Deliverable | F2020 by DAT on Scribd

Past Development Advisory Team Review (Spring 2020)

Project Background:

A major component of both International Development in Practice I & II revolves around the Development Advisory Teams (DATs), where teams of students work long-distance with an international development organization client that has identified a specific problem or opportunity. As part of this client-based project, students work with a specific organization and provide recommendations responding to questions or issues identified by their client organization. Some students have had the opportunity to travel and work with their organization in the field or present their final recommendations in person to their client organization. Former ND students from the class have become DAT clients as well. Since the fall 2013, students have worked on 66 Development Advisory Teams with 36 different organizations, in 20 counties. 

Definition of Opportunity:

While organizations are given the opportunity immediately after the DAT project to evaluate the deliverable the students have produced, there has never been any longer term analysis of the impact of the DAT projects on the problem, the organization or the students involved. This project will allow a DAT to use a mixed methods approach to engage the partner organizations and ND graduates to assess longer term implications and impact of this work. 

What does success look like? 

It is hoped that the final project will effectively assess the longer-term impact on DAT approach on the problems addressed, the organizational implications, and impact on students.  It is meant to be forward looking in assessing what has worked well in this DAT process, and what can be improved in the future. Ideally, this review might also lead to a publication about the approach, pedagogy, and/or impact of this kind of work.  

Meet the Team: