Five Steps to the Ultimate Global Service Platform

One of our Northwestern ENGAGE Uganda students celebrates with his team after concluding a five-week afterschool program they designed in conjunction with the Global Youth Partnership for Africa.

In a couple weeks, I'll be speaking on a panel at the Clinton Global Initiative University program. I'll be discussing the responsibilities of nonprofits and universities in empowering the next generation of global citizens. This is a topic that's near and dear to me; since I was an undergraduate at Northwestern University, I've been developing programs that close the gap between student's desire and ability to do good. I think that the immense passion that the global millennial generation have for social change is, if harnessed properly, the single greatest force for good in the world today.

In this context, I think a lot about how the university experience becomes, in part, a platform for global service. Simultaneously, I think about the digital tools that can be harnessed to truly unleash the creative potential of undergraduates around the world. The buzz around social media tools has gotten university programs and youth service focused nonprofits to think more and more about online architecture, but what's really required I believe comes down to a few simple elements:

Better program matching and guidance: As the service learning marketplace expands, its more important then ever for students to have access to streamlined information sources rich with tools for matching and program discovery. A week-long, faith-based service program is very different than a ten-week summer immersion is different than a year-long individual nonprofit internship. Each offers different types of learning. The week long trip could have a transformative impact on the way a person understands their relationship to their faith or values. The year-long program could prepare someone with substantive skills for a career in international development. By having better program information and guidance, the idea is not to prescribe one program type as better than another but to help participants find the right program to meet their needs. A searchable, filterable database with well-constructed matching algorithms and a captivating user interface would go a long way to solving this problem.

Content for Learning: Probably the biggest differentiator between a pat-yourself-on-the-back, this-was-fun-but-didn't-do-much service trip and a transformational, lifelong-quest-launching, small-but-real-impact-having service experience is the content that people have to complicate their perspective before, during, and after engagement. At the Center for Global Engagement, we spend a huge amount of time hunting for content that provides background on the places students will travel and the issues that they're working on. But we also look for content (you could also call it curriculum) that challenges students to unravel the layers of their motivations, challenge their perception, and generally enter their experiences as humble and self-aware. The fact is that right now, the state of content for service is in sorry shape. There are some wonderful resources out there, and must-read articles (for us its Ivan Illich's "To Hell With Good Intentions"), but there aren't good spaces where content relevant for service is organized in smart, coherent ways.

Organizing Tools: Service experiences, whether big or small, student-run or formal college program, have an immense number of moving parts. Students regularly ad-hock it to plan logistics, find and communicate with partners, share content and preparatory curriculum, communicate with other members of their programs, and undertake vital fundraising campaigns, but there's a need (and an opening) for someone who brings many of these tools together under the same roof with an eye towards their use for service-focused groups. The most important tools include messaging services, fundraising tools, simple database management, and perhaps volunteer coordination systems.

Coherent review systems and open feedback loops: Creating value for all parties involved in service trips is not an easy task. There has to be a system for capturing information about the good and bad experiences of participants in different service programs from the perspective of all stakeholders, and methods of translating reviews and reflections into communicable best practices that produce better programs. A common review system that utilizes something like the model of university course ratings systems or Great Nonprofits would be a huge step in the right direction.

Tools for next steps: One of the things that most service initiatives lack is a coherent strategy for keeping people engaged. The answer is NOT (just) a niche social network. Service initiatives need to continue to provide new value for their alumni, which means helping them better connect and network with one another, creating avenues to support student projects, and helping students find jobs and internships that help them on the path towards careers in social change. I think assetmapping tools which help students find one another based on common interests and complimentary needs are essential. And I think there's no more important "next step need" than job and internship finding support.

This framework is propelling much of our thinking at Change.org, the Center for Global Engagement, and Assetmap. But as the demand for global serivce opportunities increases, I think this framework will be essential for maximizing our opportunities and unleashing the power of a generation of change makers.