You run programs that create empowerment, engagement and impact.

We are a global network of program directors, L&D managers, community organizers, civil servants, marketing and CSR professionals who support each other in creating, leading and managing high-impact programs.

We will help you:

• Increase the impact and efficacy of the programs you run.
• Enhance your career by increasing your knowledge, skills and global professional network.
• Advance your organization's objectives by supporting you in making more strategic and mission-driven decisions for the programs you develop, manage and support.

Our goal is to make the world 🌍 a better place through programs...

Programs have the power to change lives, address major societal challenges and create opportunities within the communities they serve. In order to do this, program professionals must constantly toggle between focusing on big-picture mission-driven thinking and tackling the day-to-day operations that make programs work.  

In these times of tectonic, global transformation, we come together to learn from one another and seek more innovative, sustainable and responsive ways of creating and leading programs.

We focus on topics that make a difference to how you run programs.

Monthly topics drive the focus for workshops, seminars, challenges, resources and peer-to-peer sharing.

1. Program Experience

• Culture & Community
• Diversity & Inclusion
• Organizational Psychology & Sociology
• Youth & Adult Learning

2. Innovation & Design

• Program Architecture & Content Design
• Creative Problem Solving
• Cross-Industry Comparison
• Cross Cultural Inspiration

3. Data & Digital Trends

• Digital / Virtual Transformation
• AI / Machine Learning
• Data & Analytics
• Future Proofing
  

4. Leadership

• Leadership Styles
• Leading Teams
• Strategy & Change Management
• Coaching & Career Development

5. Sustainability

• Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG)
• Resource Management
• Finance & Accounting
• Fundraising & Sponsorship

6. Impact

• Modeling Success
• Measuring & Analyzing Impact
• Reporting
• Multimodal Storytelling

Network Features

The rhythm of our community consists of: monthly topics, weekly recorded live calls and daily asynchronous sharing, discussions and peer-to-peer solution building. 

Monthly Topics

Topics gives direction and structure to the year. You can trust that over the course of a yearly cycle you will get balanced and well-rounded exposure to important professional development topics that will help you increase your program's impact, enhance your career and advance your organization's objectives. See sample list of topics above.

Expert Live Sessions

Each month we invite an expert to give a live, interactive session aligned to the month's topic. The expert shares his or her knowledge, practical advice, strategies or tools you can take back with you. Experts have significant experience and come from across the globe.

Community Case Studies

We're putting YOU in the spotlight. Each month different community members get to share a success, challenge or both from their work and engage the rest of the community. This is a great opportunity to engage with peers from around the world in focused sharing, co-problem solving and solution-building.

Professional Networking

We help you expand your professional network both through the platform and through a monthly live networking session. These sessions go beyond the surface of traditional networking and help you form strong professional relationships with your peers around the world. Your global colleagues are a wonderful source of inspiration, information, job referrals and support. 

Peer-to-Peer Advisory, Research & More

The interstory community has a dedicated section devoted to asynchronous collaborative brainstorming and problem solving. Our team works carefully to facilitate discussions and to help connect peers with relevant expertise. Each month we also post research aligned to the month's topic.

But there's so much information out there, how is interstory different?

interstory is first and foremost a global network of program professionals who support each other in solving problems, making better decisions and increasing our programs' impact.

There are many issues that come up when running programs from the existential to the mundane. We help each other tackle the easy stuff and the challenging stuff that doesn't have obvious or clear-cut answers. We all dedicate time each month to learning and sharing with the community.

Problems We Tackle

Existential - Does my program make a difference? Are we really helping people? Are we making progress? How do I build further support for my program within my organization or community? How will we fund ourself in these uncertain times?

Logistical - How do we properly look after our program's participants when we are so short-staffed? What systems do we need to put in place? How can we improve our operational efficiency while improving program delivery and impact?

Technological - How can we take our program virtual? What platform should we use? LMS, CMS, surveys, diagnostics, learning records, etc. Is our platform secure? How can we improve the participant experience online? How do we build human connection online?

Psychology & Sociology - Are we following best practices? How do we deal with participant emotional and social challenges? How can we be more motivating? How can we encourage real behavioral change? What's the best way to lead this cohort of participants?

Teaching & Learning - What's the best way to structure learning content? How can we make our content more engaging and exciting? What are current best practices in instruction for adult, adolescent and child learners? How can we better differentiate learning for each program participant's needs? How should we assess participant growth and progress? How can I more effectively train my facilitators?

Organizational - How do I build a coalition of support for my role and program? How do I manage and influence my organization's leaders? How do I communicate internally about my program? How can I ensure people understand the effort I and my team are putting into this program? How should I build my team?

Communication & Marketing - How do I recruit participation for my program? How do I tell the story of my program to the world? What's the best way to collaborate with other departments on my program (Marketing, Comms, Finance, etc.)? When and how should I engage 3rd party agencies?

KPIs, OKRs, Reporting & Metrics - What should we be measuring? How do we demonstrate ROI to our stakeholders? How do we measure something that is intangible? Reporting takes so long, how can we streamline the process? What tools should we be using?

Project & Time Management - How do we manage our time when it feels like there is always too much to do? How can we stay better organized as a team? How can I spend more time doing strategic work and less time putting out fires? What are the best tools to use as a team for project management, collaboration and accountability?

Support We Provide

Advice - Ok, not advice. But experience and idea sharing. We encourage learning from the experience of others. Here's our guarantee. We will share our experience with you. The community will do the same. If we still can't help you, we will go out into the world and find someone who can!

Creativity & Innovation - One of our absolute favorites. We will brainstorm alongside you helping you come up with wild and crazy ideas which you can filter and use directly in your work.

Global Professional Community - Today's world is so globally interconnected, it is critical as a professionals to be globally connected to each other and on top of global trends. Our goal in setting up this community is to bring together people from all geographies to talk about all things related to program creation, development, management and more.

Relevant Topics & Research - Everyone in the community knows that it is like to create and run programs. Each month we focus on practical topics that are directly related to increasing program impact, growing our careers or helping advance our organizations’ objectives. Topics guide our weekly live calls, the research articles we share and the discussions we have. If the monthly topic is not aligned to your immediate need, start a discussion around what you need and we will jump in to support.‍

Challenge - Each month our visiting expert will challenge you to try something new or to bring more awareness and intention to your professional practice.‍

Ongoing Support & Accountability - We go further in community. We invite you to use interstory as a place to challenge yourself, to share your goals and update us on your progress along the way. Have a question that isn’t easily answered by Google? Share it with our thoughtful community. We will ask questions, share experiences and keep you accountable when and if you ask for it!

Access to Anna & Chris - For twenty years each, interstory co-founders Anna and Chris have been involved in creating, leading and running learning programs for adult and youth learners from across North America, Asia and the Middle East. We have helped launch and run programs for clients like Google, Microsoft, CISCO, Canon, ADNOC, world expos, regional governments, foundations, universities and non-profits. We are excited to learn along side you and to co-create solutions with you.

We look forward to working together! 🙏