Development Wisdom is a nonprofit organization based in Ottawa, Canada. We research, develop, manage, implement and evaluate innovative, educational and entrepreneurial approaches, models, programs and services to facilitate stakeholder engagement, communication, knowledge-sharing, partnerships and capacity-building across diverse contexts, populations and cultures in Canada and internationally. We are partners with Customer Discovery Pros, a consulting and coaching firm focused on entrepreneurship and customer / market development.
Our Approach
We bridge the public and private sectors to propel innovative and sustainable solutions to long-standing challenges. We bring a unique combination of development experience ranging from intimate knowledge of some of the poorest communities in the world to practical working experience in government, multi-governmental, business and international organizations.
We also have a strong, pragmatic and technical experience that is feasible and relevant to overcoming resistance to change and systemic challenges. Imagine using bush radio for learning in the remotest regions; collaborating with aboriginal / First Nations and tribal elders to get buy-in and greater participation; designing e-learning for local languages and contexts; devising appropriate ICT solutions that build skills, engage people and build capacity; such as 60-second lessons for busy officials with limited literacy skills and too little time.
We bring creative thinking to old ways of acting + respects local people, traditions and practices to build on and leverage what works well. Simply, we design solutions that empower women and men, adults and youths in their communities. We see ICTs, mobiles and green technologies as an enabler (not an end-result) and encourage development perspectives that support behaviour change, scalable practice and sustainable economic and community futures.
We also have a strong, pragmatic and technical experience that is feasible and relevant to overcoming resistance to change and systemic challenges. Imagine using bush radio for learning in the remotest regions; collaborating with aboriginal / First Nations and tribal elders to get buy-in and greater participation; designing e-learning for local languages and contexts; devising appropriate ICT solutions that build skills, engage people and build capacity; such as 60-second lessons for busy officials with limited literacy skills and too little time.
We bring creative thinking to old ways of acting + respects local people, traditions and practices to build on and leverage what works well. Simply, we design solutions that empower women and men, adults and youths in their communities. We see ICTs, mobiles and green technologies as an enabler (not an end-result) and encourage development perspectives that support behaviour change, scalable practice and sustainable economic and community futures.
Our Expertise
- Education Research & Evaluation: environmental scans, needs assessments, gap analysis, literature reviews; evaluation of education programmes & report-writing
- Education Technologies & E-Learning: instructional design, learner support, learning management systems (LMS), use of ICT and mobiles, MOOCs, open source / education resources (OERs)
- Education, Training, Capacity-Building & Certification: train-the-trainer and end-user programmes
- Educational Awareness & Outreach: Messaging, dissemination, social media and digital engagement
- Stakeholder Engagement & Communications: Employees, Opinion Leaders, Funders, Alumni & Volunteers
- Knowledge Events & Learning Forums: planning, coordination and facilitation (i.e., Salons, roundtables, public / private fora, communities-of-practice)
Unique Value
- Our focus on culturally-appropriate human and ICT solutions (open source & proprietary).
- Our ability to build and collaborate with interdisciplinary teams on multi-sectoral challenges.
- We are experts in education - open and distance learning, face-to-face, e-learning, MOOCs and quality assurance.
- Practical, systems approach - for individuals, organizations and governments
- Focused on knowledge-transfer/mobilization, local capacity-building and organization change / development
- Collaborative and agile, innovative and responsive - very reliable to work with.