From the time you apply to experteer to the time you complete your project, we’ll guide you through each stage of your journey — helping you create a bigger impact, and realize your own transformation along the way.
Our process, and the resources needed for each stage, is outlined in greater detail below. We’ve divided the process into 7 stages, taking you from first joining our platform all the way to successfully completing your first project:
There are two ways for professionals to Experteer through MovingWorlds:
Help create a more sustainable and equitable economy by supporting social enterprises with your skills, expertise, and network. Learn more here.
If your company has partnered with MovingWorlds to offer a custom program for its employees, you can log in and create an account using the link sent to you by your employer.
Invest the time to complete your profile. It will help you be discovered by host organizations that have not yet posted projects — seeing your profile may inspire them to assess how your skills can support their work and then recruit you to co-design a custom project together.
For tips, check out our FAQ explaining what factors about you go into the matching process.
Engage with an organization to help teach a specific skill or resource (like training Excel skills, accounting best practices, git methodology, HR best practices, or marketing analytics to name a few). Usually, Experteers are expected to help develop the content and then conduct the training or workshop, with workload estimated at < 10h/week. See sample project here.
Support an organization to get clarity about a certain area and better understand their needs around it. Have a 30-60min call to share your expertise about a specific skill and/or industry area, in a short one-off initiative. See sample project here. See sample project here.
Support a team with a specific task that has a clear deliverable, like designing a new website, setting up an accounting system, developing a marketing plan, creating an engineering schematic, or other skills-based projects. It can also be an opportunity to immerse yourself around a specific opportunity or challenge area. Give yourself enough time to learn community and cultural contexts, and then propose (and potentially implement) a plan to accelerate impact. Projects can vary greatly on duration and workload, so the scope should be well aligned between the Experteer and the Organization. See sample project here.
Be a coach to help social entrepreneurs develop their leadership skills, by using your skills and experience to support them to overcome their challenges. As a coach, you are not a subject matter expert but you will focus on the social entrepreneur and help them think through ways to grow as a leader and improve their social enterprise. This is usually done with a 30-60 min call per month and email exchanges, over 3-6 months.
Be a mentor to help social entrepreneurs grow their organization, by using your skills and experience to support them to overcome their challenges. As a mentor, you are a subject matter expert in the social entrepreneur’s industry and will help them think through ways to grow and mature their social enterprise. This is usually done with a 30-60 min call per month and email exchanges, over 3-6 months.
Browse organizations on out platform, and then message them directly to suggest a new project that aligns with their mission and your skills.
Not all volunteer projects are created equal. Make sure to find one that fits your skills and availability.
Our search tool helps you find projects that match your skills and interests. You can apply different filters to narrow the results down to just what you’re looking for. Don’t see the perfect project right away? We recommend that you:
After browsing, saving, and following projects and organizations, you’ll get a better idea of what’s out there or what’s missing. Don’t be afraid to suggest your own project if you don’t see what you're looking for listed! Our most successful Experteers take a collaborative approach with organizations to co-design projects that align with both parties' objectives. We recommend that you:
When you find a project or organization that you’re interested in, the next step is to request an introduction. Click “request an introduction” on the project or organization description page to send a simple message where you:
Here's a template you can use when you're ready to start requesting introductions.
Keep in mind that you can request an introduction to ANY project or organization - even if it's not an exact fit. While our organizations have gone through the effort to post a specific project to MovingWorlds, often times they are only posting a fraction of the projects they actually need help with.
As such, if you read about a project and/or organization that is interesting, but not quite the right fit, you can still request an introduction to get the conversation started! Just make sure to be clear about your skills, availability, and what type of project you're hoping for instead.
In addition to requesting your own introductions, organizations seeking support can also request introductions to you. When they do, be sure to respond within 48 hours with clear action steps. When you respond, we recommend you set up a time to talk as soon as you're able to keep the momentum going.
When an introduction request is accepted, MovingWorlds will send an email introducing you to the organization representative directly. As the Experteer, you are responsible for “project managing” the process forward. Start by emailing with the Host Organization to set up an introductory call.
First: Gather helpful information about the Host Organization (mainly through its website and external resources) including:
Second: Take time to review the opportunity profile and project description. It’s normal to have questions, so write them down and prepare to ask the Host Organization on your call to ensure that you have a clear understanding of:
Share information about yourself like your career goals, motivation for going Experteering, and other interests. During this phase, you and the organization representative are getting to know each other- help them picture how you could be an asset to their team!
Learn as much about the Host Organization and its needs as you can – think of it like an informational interview. MovingWorlds has already gathered information on the Host Organization and clarified the project and its initial scope of work, but it is still important for you to fill in the details that you need to determine if it is a good match for you.
At the center of every engagement is communication. If you can’t communicate clearly, the project engagement won’t work. Use this time to get to know each other and trade stories. You can start off by asking about the motivation for starting the organization, and learning more about the team behind the mission. Remember to ask about cultural differences and communication styles so you can be prepared to maximize your time on-site.
After your virtual meetings, you should have enough information to determine if the project is a good match for you. If you’ve decided to commit to moving forward with that organization, it’s a match! You will be prompted to confirm the match officially so we can update our records and best support you by submitting a form.
Below are some helpful templates to communicate your intention with the Host Organization:
Congratulations! Let the Host Organization know by sending the representative an email similar to this e-mail template.
Write to the Host Organization, thank them for their time and inform them why you felt it wasn’t a good match. Please be honest so that the organization can improve and our Matching Team can better support them in future searches. Also remember to reject this match by submitting the form, so our records can be updated. You can use this e-mail template to get you started..
That's OK! Plan another call to ask more questions and discuss it further. Here is a template to request more information. In your second call, learn more about the following:
Once you confirm a match, our system will invite both you and the organization representative to work on the Project Planning Guide together.
Take the on-demand MovingWorlds Experteering Best Practices training, which you can access through our learning platform via your dashboard.
In addition, you can connect with other Experteers, alumni, and MovingWorlds staff on our Community platform. Here you can learn first-hand from others who are currently in the field or have recently returned, work through challenges in real time. Our Matching Team is also available on the forum to respond to any questions you have!
Work with your host organization representative to complete the Project Planning Guide that was shared with you when you confirmed the match. This document covers important topics that you'll need to align on together to ensure a successful engagement, including:
Note that you don’t need to work on all aspects of the guide, just the ones that are relevant for your experteering project with the organization.
Once complete, sign and submit it to MovingWorlds via email at match@movingworlds.org and start your Experteering Engagement!
If you’ll be completing your project virtually, set the stage for effective collaboration by agreeing to schedules and availability. Even just a short conversation up front about what technology to use and how you’ll use it can save a lot of time and headaches down the road. Make it easy to set up time with each other, even for just a quick check-in call, by using scheduling tools like Calendly or Zoom. By addressing ideal times and methods to communicate, you’ll make it easy to empower and support each other. The planning guide referenced above will provide you guidance to confirm these details.
In our learning management platform, you’ll have access to certificate-bearing courses in topics like Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) factors, Human-Centered Design, & Best Practices for Partnering with Social Enterprises.
Through monthly webinars and ongoing dialogue on the community forum, you will learn about the social impact ecosystem, the role that social enterprises play in global development, and the specific challenges they face as they scale.
Engage with current and past Experteers on the Community forum and MovingWorlds LinkedIn group. Better yet, take your interactions into real life and join an in-person meetup with other Experteers! Don’t see one in your city? Plan an event and we'll help you get it posted on the Community calendar.
In addition to the supplemental guides given to you for your Experteering project, use these additional resources to effectively integrate human-centered design best practices:
Whether you’re experteering locally, virtually, or overseas, there are many ways that your network, family, and/or friends can support your impact. But don’t jump at your first idea. Like everything related to your Experteering project, this should be done in partnership with your local organization so as to not distract local resources, create dependencies, erode dignity, and to ensure sustainability.
In addition to your own network, the MovingWorlds community is here for you, too. Make sure to take advantage of conversations in the Community forum related to human-centered design.
Perhaps more than any other contribution you will make, transfering skills and insights to the local team is one of the best things you can do while Experteering.
We’ll send you a survey when you get back. PLEASE complete this - it helps us improve and better support Experteers, like you, and the Host Organizations you work with. And who knows, your input could be included in our next thought-leadership piece (with attribution, of course!) and shape the future of the social impact landscape.
When your project ends, we will invite you to share your story for a potential feature on the MovingWorlds blog. This is a great way to showcase your professional and personal growth, and reflect on how to translate your learnings going forward!
Once a MovingWorlds Experteer, always a MovingWorlds member. Your project may have ended, but your experience with MovingWorlds and experteering doesn’t have to. Upon completion of your project, you will be invited to join our alumni network of changemakers. Continue to learn and grow while building your network through conversations, meetups, and more!