Engagement Explained Live: Building resilience

Across Europe, community-driven news organisations with collaborative approaches at their core are emerging and evolving. They are clear on who they are serving, and are redefining what it means to engage people in the process of journalism.

The mission of the Accelerator is to support these news organisations to become resilient: being able to not only sustain their current work and fulfil a demand or need for content from their communities, but also make a profit, grow over time, and adapt quickly to changes and exploit new market opportunities.

If we consider resilience as a recipe, what ingredients are needed, both internally within a news organisation and externally from communities, and at what stage, and in what order, should they be added? To answer that question, we’re hosting Engagement Explained Live: Building resilience, a participatory one-day event to help news organisations on the journey of creating more positive, impactful and financially sustainable relationships with the communities they serve.

Taking place in Budapest, Hungary, the free event brings together 50 forward-thinking news organisations from across Europe, and your organisation could be one of them.

The day will consist of half-day masterclasses led by expert trainers, as well as lightning talks and dedicated networking opportunities, held in an open and inclusive environment.

Topics that will be the focus on the day include:

- No product manager? No problem: A 101 guide to product thinking for community-driven news organisations
- Funding journalism through reader revenues: A checklist for sustainability
- What does it take to build and lead resilient teams?
- Be the change you want to see: Creating an internal culture of community, participation and inclusion in your organisation
- Pathways for participation: How to turn your community members into the best advocates for your work

We’re also offering 15 travel allowances to event participants to help with the cost of travel and accommodation. More details can be found in our FAQs and in the registration form.

The deadline to register has now passed. Participants have been informed of their masterclass and whether they have been successful with a travel allowance. Email info@engagedjournalism.com if you have any questions.

Masterclasses (descriptions are subject to change)

There will be five three-hour masterclasses running in parallel during Engagement Explained Live: Building resilience. Participants are asked to specify the session that they are most interested to attend when completing the registration form.

No product manager? No problem: A 101 guide to product thinking for community-driven news organisations

The best products try to meet people’s needs and solve their problems. So how do we absorb this way of thinking into community-driven journalism? Learn how to incorporate product thinking and lean methodologies into your organisation’s routines and your own daily work to create journalism that serves users’ needs and brings more value back into your organisation.

This masterclass is for you if you:

• are planning to develop a new product
• are thinking of how to monetise an existing offering (a vertical, a project)
• don’t have a product person in your organisation and need a practical guide for incorporating product methodologies and techniques into your work

Funding journalism through reader revenues: A checklist for sustainability

Asking your community to support your journalism isn’t only about getting their credit card details. Whether you’re developing crowdfunding, membership or subscription, learn how to create a clear value proposition, market your product, drive loyalty and retain customers.

This masterclass is for you if you:

• have committed to pursuing reader revenue but don’t have a strategy or resources to implement it
• have reader revenue (on a basic or advanced level) and want to evolve/expand your offering

What does it take to build and lead resilient teams?

News organisations that collaborate with their communities require different skillsets, motivations and internal structures than traditional news organisations. Learn how to structure, grow and lead your team to create impactful and resilient relationships both internally and with your community.

This masterclass is for you if you:

• are in charge of personnel or managing a team in the organisation
• are conduct training or facilitate learning in your organisation

NB: This masterclass is not focusing on the skills required to be a good leader. It is about good leadership as a result of the actions a team leader can take in regards to team structure and skills.

Be the change you want to see: Creating an internal culture of community, participation and inclusion in your organisation

A healthy internal culture is important for any news organisation - not least those that want to reflect internal practices with how they work within communities. Learn effective approaches that you can adopt and share so that everyone in your organisation can contribute to decision-making, business development and other processes in an open, adaptive and collaborative environment.

This masterclass is for you if you:

• are working on a project that will benefit from new processes, input and participation
• are in a role that requires extensive communication and collaboration across teams
• feel you don’t have the confidence or ability to contribute to your organisation beyond your direct role

Pathways for participation: How to turn your community members into the best advocates for your work

People support an organisation for a variety of reasons and, in turn, supporters have different expectations and needs in regards to what they get in return for their involvement or financial investment. Learn simple but powerful approaches to encourage community members to engage in, and advocate for, your organisation’s work in more meaningful ways.

This masterclass is for you if you:

• want to better understand the needs and expectations of community members and the reasons why they are supporting you
• want to more effectively move your community members from being ‘passive’ to ‘active’ supporters

Criteria for participation

This event has been designed to benefit news organisations that put community engagement (geographical or topical) at the centre of their ownership, reporting, distribution, impact and revenue. As such, we expect participating organisations to:

- Demonstrate a community-driven approach to journalism
- Send two colleagues in order to make the most of, and participate in more than one of, the masterclasses
- Undertake a short pre-event activity (no more than one hour) which will help participants get the most value during the event
- News organisations from anywhere in the world can register to attend, however, we will give priority to organisations from Europe as necessary