Beginning in September, Prospect Research Institute will offer online trainings that take best advantage of the working adult’s learning environment. Pressed to find large chunks of time, distracted by the stresses of work and family, but well-educated and curious, students will discover natural ways to assimilate existing knowledge and skills with new ideas and skills. Brief video lectures will be combined with workbooks, assignments, student interaction and problem-solving class meetings.
Prospect Research Institute was born out of a prospect researcher’s desire to create “complete” trainings, especially for those starting out. “If not completely self-taught, everyone in the field to date has been completely self-guided in his or her learning – including me!” says Jen Filla, CEO of Prospect Research Institute. This self-guidance inevitably results in learning gaps, information overload, and difficulty staying current with trends.
“Prospect researchers are some of the smartest people I know. They deserve to receive continuing education that respects that and builds on it,” Jen emphasizes.
Yet the prospect researcher often stands alongside fundraisers in the overworked, resource starved nonprofit world. “Even when prospect researchers take advantage of existing trainings like webinars, they get back to their desks and, overwhelmed by the job and the flood of new knowledge, often never make it to the next step of figuring out how to apply the new knowledge to their environment,” says Jen.
“Prospect Research Institute focuses on demonstrated skills. When you finish a training you will have performed the skill and can apply it to your work.”
Common frustrations are trainings that are too simple or too complex, can’t possibly teach everything they said they would in an hour and half, or just don’t represent anything close to what the prospect researcher experiences at work. Prospect Research Institute focuses on demonstrated skills. When you finish a training you will have performed the skill and can apply it to your work.
If you are interested in joining a Course Review Panel to review developing content, or want to find other ways to get involved, contact Jen Filla at jen@prospectresearchinstitute.org or by calling 727 202 3405.
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