Training programme, or a series of workshops: revolution is a marathon, not a sprint!

You want to bring about change within your team, your organisation, or perhaps even in society at large. Yet, true change rarely happens in a single meeting or through a one-off, attention-grabbing action. Sometimes, a brief intervention or a quick refinement is exactly what’s needed, perhaps you want to brush up on "atmosphere management" skills just before a demonstration next Tuesday? Give us a call! At other times, however, the skills you wish to develop require more than just a one-day training session: they may call for time to practice and reflect, guidance on how to apply new techniques, or strategic advice for management. Or perhaps there are ten more demonstrations coming up in various cities, and you want to mobilise local volunteer teams, all of whom need to be properly trained.

Consider a labor union transitioning to an "organizing" model. Or a movement seeking to define a shared focus, followed by guidance on building a campaign strategy around it. A network organisation might need a meeting that brings all its member organisations on board, along with follow-up evaluation sessions. Perhaps your team found the workshops on "regenerative activism" or "countering disinformation" so valuable that you anticipate members from your organisation in several other cities wanting to participate. Or maybe addressing online hate has become a new priority, and your organisation wants to host a session to help all its members prepare to tackle it. Structured programs are also an highly effective way to engage and train volunteers.

If it requires a significant amount of time, we can help ensure that this time is spent in a way that is caring, effective, and enjoyable. For issues that require three or more meetings, we can design a tailored programme.

In addition to training sessions, we can provide various other forms of support, such as:

Peer consultation (intervision);
Advice based on the observation of meetings or actual work practices;
Facilitation and design of organisation-wide gatherings, such as kick-off events or off-site strategy days involving multiple teams;
A flexible "prepaid" (or "punch card") arrangement for ongoing advice or facilitation of discussions;
Team coaching;
Supplementary workshops where participants can apply the skills and knowledge they have learned, with professional guidance.

When should you opt for a structured programme rather than individual sessions? This can be a good choice when, for example...

The challenge is complex;
You want to learn something that requires multiple training sessions, such as campaign strategy, facilitation skills, addressing disinformation, or the various facets of media.
Multiple groups are involved, for instance across different cities or within different teams.
There is a need for guidance on practical application, and participants wish to practice their new skills between sessions.
You want to work on guidance or change across several different themes simultaneously.
Your organisation wants to learn ‘on the go’: learning and implementation happening at the same time.

A training programme can look as follows

Change, what does that cost?

We prepare a tailored proposal for each engagement, based on our standard rates per "day-unit" (a fixed block of time). Initially, we assess what can be accomplished within the hours included in a standard day-unit and determine whether the development fee needs to be charged only once. Any work exceeding these standard hours is billed at an additional hourly rate. Services offered upfront, ranging from a flexible "block-of-hours" arrangement for campaign consulting or conflict mediation to facilitating large-scale meetings, are provided at a lower rate than the standard additional-hours fee.

As a standard practice, we provide a proposal outlining three options: an extensive approach, a recommended approach, and a minimum-scope approach. Following a verbal walkthrough, you decide which tools from our "toolbox" best align with your specific needs and requirements.

Each day-unit consists of a fixed number of hours, specifically, 26 hours of work in total. For large organisations, we charge a one-time design and development fee, followed by billing for the actual hours worked. Any time spent beyond the hours allocated to a standard day-unit is invoiced at our additional-hours rate.

When multiple day-units are involved, we work with you to determine how to utilise the available time and budget as effectively as possible. This might mean, for example, recommending repeated sessions to allow for greater depth, or dedicating a portion of the time to coaching or implementation support.

We may offer a discount greater than those specified in our standard rate categories, provided we have sufficient capacity and the organisation aligns with our current strategic priorities for the movement. At present, this means that a group working on issues related to ableism, for instance, might be more eligible for such a discount than a climate-focused group. This is not because one cause is inherently more important than the other, but rather because the climate movement generally has greater access to resources and funding, allowing them to secure support elsewhere or at a lower cost.

Solidarity prices

For organisations with an annual budget exceeding €500,000, we charge rates consistent with the commercial pricing of professional training firms. For smaller organisations, Stichting Stroomversnellers applies a "solidarity pricing" model. This means we can offer discounts or, in some cases, provide our services free of charge, to groups with little or no formal budget. This is made possible because our movement trainers charge a uniform rate for every hour worked, supplemented by grants and donations.

Due to the intensive nature of our programs, we do not currently offer them through the Education Fund. Does your movement require support spanning multiple half-day sessions, but lack a formal budget? If we have the capacity, we would be happy to explore the possibility of collaborating on a joint grant application.

Wondering if a training programme might be the right fit for your specific challenge?

Tell us about the challenges you are facing. We will then help you think through an approach that suits your people, your goals, and your day-to-day reality.

Request a training programme