Our world is demanding that we change at an unprecedented rate, together. Regardless of where you live or which system you work in, the collective learning curves we face have never been steeper. If we're to make these changes we'll need learning that builds agency and adaptability, connects multiple perspectives, and centres strong, peer-to-peer relationships.

Deepen, broaden and accelerate the change you're designing. If you work with cohorts, teams, communities, organisations, networks or movements, this training immersion will help you multiply the generative potential of these groups. Hosted by experienced Huddlecraft practitioners, and rooted in a practice-based approach, we provide you with the tools, methods and confidence to craft your own collective learning processes.

What our participants say:

Headshot of Charlotte Bailey

“The training was welcoming and inspiring. It prepared me to understand the needs of peers and how to engage them playfully. I leave with practical activities, games and visual frameworks.”

Charlotte Bailey
Visual Storyteller
CIVIC SQUARE

Headshot of Rob Shorter

“I learned about the many design considerations for creating the conditions to support peer-to-peer learning. I gained practical tools that will support our internal processes and our programmes.”

Rob Shorter
Communities and Art Lead
Doughnut Economics Action Lab

Headshot of Christina Watson

"Huddlecraft 101 is one of the best trainings I've ever been on! I loved the balance of evidence and research underpinning the work, with creative framings and use of metaphor to explore big ideas."

Christina Watson
Assistant Director of Design
UK Youth

    In a nutshell:

    • Who is this for?
      This is for you if you work with groups of any size, for an organisation or independently, in any sector. You'll already know, or sense, the value of peer-led approaches, but you want to multiply your ability to put them into practice.

    • Time commitment:
      3 days time commitment over 5 weeks, including a break week. There are 7 scheduled, facilitated sessions, as well as self-paced learning resources. See our 'training in detail' tab for more info.

    • Key dates:
      Our next training programme takes place from Nov 7th - Dec 5th 2023. Booking is now open, and will close at midday Oct 31st.

    • Location:
      The training takes place online on Zoom, so you can join us from any location. All sessions start at 1.15pm UK time.

      Organisations:
      We offer a discount if you'd like >3 employees to join. If you'd like >6 employees to join it may make more sense to run this training in-house. Get in touch to discuss.

    5 levels of peer-led approaches:

    Huddlecraft 101 diagram: a spiral showing 5 levels of peer-led approach, from the self out to the ecosystem

    Trusted by:

    psfg
    uk youth
    LearnJam
    KCL
    Jo Cox Foundation
    LGBT Foundation
    Asthma and Lung
    Lankelly Chase
    RSPB
    Nesta
    DEAL
    Power to Change

    Why join Huddlecraft 101?

    Huddlecraft 101 will prepare you with the mindset, tools and confidence to design and deliver impactful collective learning initiatives that harness the power of peer-to-peer relationships.

    Why now?

    We are hyped to be offering Huddlecraft 101 training. Here's why we think this is so important, right now:

    1.

    Humanity has never needed to learn so much, within such a short timeframe.​

    We want to spread approaches that encourage all participants to be active agents of each other's learning.

    2.

    How we learn needs to embody thechange we want to see in the world.

    We need learning that adapts todifferent contexts, includes more people and builds greater emotional, social and collaborative skills.

    3.

    No work towards sustainable futures can ignore social justice.

    Peer-led approaches actively distribute power and are structurally more equitable than many traditional approaches.

    What our participants say:

    Headshot of Jahnvi Singh

    "I loved how playful the activities were, and how we weaved in and out of personal reflection and group conversations. The digital collaboration activities were particularly well designed."

    Jahnvi Singh
    Delivery and Engagement Manager
    The RSA

    Headshot of Jo Sayers

    “Huddlecraft 101 helped us implement a peer buddy system at LearnJam: part of our move away from a hierarchical organisational structure. The training was expertly facilitated.”

    Jo Sayers
    Director
    LearnJam

    Julie Doherty with her team at Avon Wildlife Trust

    "I'm going to cascade this learning throughout the Trust to help us transition to more peer-led learning both internally and externally - it will be a key part of our work going forward."

    Julie Doherty
    Head of Communities and Engagement
    Avon Wildlife Trust

      Outcomes

      You might be looking to top up your professional practice, invest in your organisational culture, or design and deliver a people-powered intervention. Here's what you can expect to take away:

      For you:

      For your organisation:

      A deeper understanding of the potential of collective learning for amplifying impact in your specific context, and how to realise that potential.

      Invest in needed capabilities: the pandemic has highlighted how the skills of gathering and relating effectively, are essential for everyone to thrive.

      Greater understanding of where you can apply the power of collective learning to support your aims, objectives and live challenges.

      Reinvigorate organisational culture by supporting a culture of ongoing learning and collaboration, and by doing so build wellbeing, satisfaction and agency.

      Confidence bringing people together as peers, online and offline, to create 'new power' spaces even within 'old power' organisations.

      Use cutting edge approaches to learning, community, culture and change for your programmes, ventures and initiatives.

      Greater ability to articulate a strong case and advocate for the value of peer-led approaches in your setting.

      Make cost savings by adopting a distributive, peer-to-peer mentality in place of a service-provider mindset.

      Connect with a cohort of practitioners (and wider network of alumni) grappling with their own context, and exchange multiple perspectives and ideas.

      Create resilience for an uncertain future, by placing relationship-building at the heart of your approach.

      Training structure

      We run Huddlecraft 101 twice a year in May and November.

      Huddlecraft 101 live sessions and content requires 3 days' time commitment over 5 weeks. This included 7 scheduled, facilitated sessions, as well as self-paced learning resources. All session times are in BST (UK time zone).

      Accessibility information:

      Our live sessions will take place via Zoom, using a variety of online tools like Mural and Google Jamboards, but you will also be sent videos and resources to use on your own time. A good internet connection will ensure the best experience. There will be an option to turn on live captions during sessions.

      This is an experiential programme, so participants will be expected to actively participate on multiple occasions, and there will be a mix of solo, pair and group exercises throughout.

      After signing up, all participants will be contacted and there will be a chance to create an access plan together if needed. If you have any access questions before signing up, please contact [email protected].

      Training content

      We'll focus on 5 levels of peer-led approaches, starting with the self and building gradually, finishing by looking at the wider ecosystem.

      The self segment: a hand-drawn person on a lime coloured cut out

      Self

      In collective learning, the individual cannot be a passive recipient, and intrinsic motivation matters. How can we help people step into new roles?

      • Self as an 'ingredient' of relationships
      • Fluid roles and adaptability
      • Growing intrinsic motivation
      The pairs segment: two hand-drawn people on a tomato coloured cut out

      Pairs

      Groups and communities are built on the strength of their smaller units. How can we design with pairs as a powerful building block?

      • Formats for structuring pairs (buddies, mentors, stewards etc.)
      • Relationship intention setting and foundations
      • Becoming coach and coachee
      The groups segment: a small group of hand-drawn people on a melon coloured cut out

      Groups

      The power of small groups for multiplying potential cannot be overstated. How can craft be applied to navigate group dynamics and pitfalls?‍

      • Roles and responsibilities in peer groups
      • Group dynamics: challenges and opportunities
      • Crafting equitable spaces
      The interventions segment: a large group of hand-drawn people on a grape coloured cut out

      Interventions

      This level is all about the strategic application of peer-led approaches to achieve objectives. How can the power of peer-to-peer fuel your goal/s?

      • Peer power as a strategic approach
      • Network structures for change
      • Designing peer-led interventions and solutions
      The complete spiral, from self to pairs to groups to interventions to the ecosystem

      Ecosystem

      No peer-led intervention exists in a vacuum. What is going on in the wider context, and how can you work with this intentionally and strategically?

      • Mapping culture and power in your context
      • Articulating the case for peer-led approaches
      • Fractals: connecting to larger currents of change

      Some snapshots & resources from our training:

      Our Huddlecraft 101 personal map tool
      A screenshot of a Huddlecraft 101 activity on mural, where participants map different attributes of people in a peer group.
      A screenshot of Huddlecraft 101 participants on a zoom call
      Our 'what's in the pot?' tool to help people make design decisions for peer-led interventions.

      Your Hosts

      Huddlecraft 101 will be hosted by the Huddlecraft team - with lots of contributions from our Host Community too.

      Zahra Davidson

      Zahra has been geeking out over the power of peer groups since 2016, although she suspects her interest has roots in childhood experiences of alternative education and Islamic gatherings. Zahra is co-founder of Huddlecraft and hosted our first 3 peer groups. Since then, Huddlecraft has hosted hundreds of people through peer-led experiences. Zahra’s background spans service design, system change and visual communication.

      Anneka Deva

      Anneka is a campaigns, partnerships and marketing professional with 17 years experience in establishing ventures and building communities. She has worked with TEDx, Impact Hub, and the University of Birmingham. Anneka set up Huddlecraft’s first Huddle outside London and she’s now leading on Money Movers, applying peer-led methodology to a complex challenge: how to support women to take #ClimateAction through their personal finances.

      Daniel Ford

      Daniel has spent the last 7 years working in the field of futures and systems change. His passion lies in designing change processes that centre co-learning and collaboration, with experience from Forum for the Future, Deep Democracy and Healthy Human Cultures. Daniel will be the lead facilitator for Huddlecraft 101.

      Imani Clough

      Imani is a Host Mentor for Huddlecraft and previously hosted her own Huddle ‘Education for Liberation’. Imani works with people to co-create communities, youth programmes and social impact programmes. She is also Curator of Partnerships and Community at Act Build Change.

      Huddlecraft Host community
      A hand-drawn photoframe with a grid of 25 little photographs of members of our Host community

      Training dates

      We've schedule all facilitated sessions at 1.15 - 3.30pm GMT/BST so that people in a wide variety of time zones can participate.

      Dates for November 2023

      Week 1
      • Session 1:
        Opening Session
        Tuesday 7th Nov
        1:15-3:30pm GMT
      • Session 2:
        The Self
        Thursday 9th Nov
        1:15-3:30pm GMT
      Week 2
      • Session 3:
        Pairs
        Tuesday 14th Nov
        1:15-3:30pm GMT
      • Session 4:
        Groups
        Thursday 16th Nov
        1:15-3:30pm GMT
      Week 3
      • Rest Week
        20th Nov - 25th Nov
      Week 4
      • Session 5:
        Interventions
        Tuesday 28th Nov
        1:15-3:30pm GMT
      • Session 6:
        Ecosystems
        Thursday 30th Nov
        1:15-3:30pm GMT
      Week 5
      • Session 7:
        Closing Session
        Tuesday 5th Dec
        1:15-3:30pm GMT

      If you are interested in Huddlecraft 101 training you can express your interest by filling out this form.

      Pricing

      We've created options to make Huddlecraft 101 accessible to a wide range of people. Please get in touch with any questions via [email protected].

      Organisations
      Price: £1415 + VAT per employee
      We offer group discounts for 3+ employees.
      To sign up as part of an organisation, email [email protected]
      Individuals
      Price: £995 (including VAT), payable upfront, or via 3 or 6 monthly instalments.
      We offer group discounts for 2+ individuals (let us know via the booking form if you're signing up as a pair or a group).
      Book your place

      Note: We have some bursary places available. You can apply for a bursary when you sign up via the booking form.

      We'll get back to you to let you know if we can offer a bursary. There is more information in our FAQs. If you have any questions, please get in touch with Daniel on [email protected].

      FAQs

      What level of experience is needed to participate?
      Is there a selection process?
      What is the time commitment for participants?
      I'm not based in the UK?
      The training times don't work for me. Are there other options?
      Can you run this training exclusively for my organisation?
      Can I send several employees or a whole team on this training?
      Can you help me get support from my employer to participate?
      I’ve spent so much time on Zoom... How will you keep this energising?
      What are your criteria for bursaries?
      Can I pay in instalments?
      Will this training meet my access needs?
      How do you approach diversity, inclusion and anti-oppression?
      How do I get in touch?

      Join our November cohort

      Booking for the November 2023 cohort is now closed.

      If you'd like to find out more or chat to a member of the team, you can book a slot for a 1:1 call with Daniel here, or send an email via [email protected]