Distance Learning Course
Organizing for Health’s distance learning course offers a unique opportunity to deeply engage in organizing and apply its core leadership practices to health care system transformation.
Adapted from a course offered by Organizing for Health Director Kate Hilton and Marshall Ganz at the Harvard Kennedy School and tailored to the unique challenges encountered in health sector, the 14-week session is designed to engage teams in project-oriented learning that is actively supported by live lectures, real-time class sections and discussions, readings, peer support, teamwork, reflection, feedback and faculty coaching.
The course is taught by a team of experienced professors and practitioners: Kate Hilton, JD, MTS, Director of Organizing for Health; Marshall Ganz, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard University; Chris Lawrence-Pietroni, MPA, Campaign Coach to the National Health Service of England; Dan Grandone, MPP, Organizing Director of Leading Change; Ruth Wageman, PhD, Director of Research for ReThink Health; and others.
Web technology supports this interactive and collaborative community of practice. Each section is supported by an experienced teaching fellow.
OfH Curriculum
What is organizing for health?
Module 1 – 2/6: Organizing & Systems ReThinking
Module 2 – 2/13: Your Organizing Project – Purpose, People, Power, Path
What is my purpose?
Module 3 – 2/27: Public Narrative & Choosing a Motivational Goal
Who are my people?
Module 4 – 3/12: Building Relationships – Actors, Interests, Resources
Module 5 – 3/26: Building a Leadership Team – Team Structure
Where is our power?
Module 6 – 4/9: Strategizing, Theory of Change & Mapping Relationships
What is our path?
Module 7 – 4/23: Motivational Action – Timing, Tactics & Commitments
What did we learn?
Module 8 – 5/7: Evaluation & Celebration – Adaptive Leadership
Participants take the course in teams of 3 to 5 people. The teams initiate and develop a specific organizing project over the length of the course.
Class lectures address the core practices of organizing, while interactive class sections push participants to reflect on their application in team projects. A key element of class is modeling, practicing, and debriefing skills.
The varied experiences and backgrounds of participants allow for a community of practice where attendees can witness the same fundamental principles applied to a vast constellation of projects. The cross-contextual learning that participants engage in allows them to see their own segment of the health care system in a new way, as well as build lasting connections to practitioners and collaborations across practice areas.
OfH Course Schedule
February 6, 2012 to May 11, 2012
OfH Course Requirements
1. Applicants are encouraged to apply as a team of 3-5 members. Individuals may also apply and work with their own teams on organizing projects. Although teams will be given preference for open slots in the course, individuals with similar interests and organizing projects will be grouped together in sections and on peer learning teams.
2. Student teams base class work on their experience conducting an organizing project. They may choose a project on which they are working or initiate a new one so long as it achieves a clear measurable outcome by the end of the course.
3. Students learn organizing by practicing organizing, not talking about it. The course requires a 10 hours/week commitment, including: 1.5 hours biweekly lecture, 1 hour biweekly reading, 1 hour biweekly response paper, 1.5 hours biweekly team practice, 1.5 hour biweekly section meeting, and at least 5 hours a week making the organizing project work.
4. As an online learning course, students will use Blackboard Collaborate web conferencing technology to participate in “live lectures” and “sections.” Students must have a stable internet connection, working microphone and headphones connected to a computer. Students will also need a webcam to join the live sessions.
5. Course fee of $1995 per student.
The spring 2012 session of the distance learning course is now closed to new applicants. The course will be offered again in September, 2012. Please check back soon for updated information about the next course session and how to apply.
• Questions and answers about the course.