Sponsor Spotlight: Drucker Institute Bendable initiative
Interview by Allison Egan, enFocus Director of Civic Innovation
Tell me about your relationship with enFocus and how you have worked together on your project to meet a community need?
As the first intern for enFocus and later a member of their leadership team, I was very familiar with enFocus and the value they deliver to regional organizations. I worked with the Drucker Institute while at enFocus, and later was drawn to join their team by my passion for education. As we were "building something from the ground up" with the Bendable learning platform, I immediately recognized the strategic value of continuing our work with enFocus team. They were the perfect partner to help us meet the need for relevant and radically accessible learning opportunities for every resident in our community.
Now let’s talk a little about the project collaboration and process – the various activities we’ve done together. It’s sure been a lot since Bendable was conceived of back in 2018!
Initially, enFocus helped with community relationship development. enFocus leveraged existing relationships and also helped us forge new relationships. Most importantly, enFocus solidified our already strong relationship with the St. Joseph County Public Library through collaborating on a social media and communications plan.
The platform we launched is Bendable – a lifelong learning system with over 1,000 learning opportunities where anyone, from any background, can take online courses from trusted national partners and other resources right here in South Bend. Some learning opportunities are geared toward improving everyday life, others toward developing workplace skills endorsed by local employers.
How would you characterize the impact enFocus has created for the Drucker Institute and the community at large?
Bendable is a better product because of enFocus. They helped us reach into pockets of the community we wouldn’t have otherwise. Because of this community engagement, it has been very well received. The numbers speak for themselves. We have had over 11,000 South Bend users, and over 1,800 return users. Most importantly, nearly 40% of our user base live in communities with high poverty and low education levels. We are reaching the communities that need it most.
enFocus also helped us build a foundation for platform expansion into other communities. We now have a clear understanding of success factors – community size, location, institutions that need to be there, to bring Bendable to other communities.
What is the greatest value enFocus has delivered to you?
As a past enFocus team member, they helped me develop a number of leadership skills required for my role – fundraising, community relationship development, project and people management. The entire enFocus extended team including mentors and partners and past Fellows continue to support our efforts at Drucker.
How would you describe future opportunities for collaboration?
We certainly anticipate future projects with enFocus, but bigger picture, we value enFocus as a true partner in building a better region. Though the Labs for Industry Futures and Transformation (LIFT) initiative our region is focused on elevating industry, and learning is a key component of workforce development. There may be an opportunity to collaborate in helping employers elevate to Industry 4.0 or in designing systems to advance organizational learning. I fully anticipate Drucker and enFocus will be working to deliver a better future for all in our region.
Learn more about enFocus' work with regional organizations in our next Sponsor Spotlight.