Learning/Strategy

	Mozilla Learning strategy working group
	Owner: Mark Surman, Ben Moskowitz	Updated: 2015-05-23
	planning process for what is colloquially called 'Mozilla Academy'

What we are talking about

Within 10 years there will be five billion citizens of the web. Mozilla wants all of these people to know what the web can do. What’s possible. We want them to have the agency, tools and know­-how they need to unlock the full power of the web. We want them to use the web to make their lives better. We want them to know they are citizens of the web.

Building on Webmaker, Hive and our fellowship programs, Mozilla Learning is a portfolio of products and programs that help these citizens of the web learn the most important skills of our age: the ability to read, write and participate in the digital world. These programs also help people become mentors and leaders: people committed to teaching others and to shaping the future of the web.

In 3 Years

By 2017, Mozilla has established itself as the best place to learn the skills and know­how people need to use the web in their lives, careers and organizations. We will have:

• Educated and empowered users by creating tools and curriculum for learning how to read, write and participate on the web.
• Built leaders, everywhere by growing a global cadre of educators, researchers, coders, etc. who do this work with us. We’ve helped them lead and innovate.
• Established the community as the classroom by improving and explaining our experiential learning model: learn by doing and innovating with Mozilla.

At the end of these three years, we may have established something like a “Mozilla University / Academy” ­­ a learning side of Mozilla that can sustain us for many decades. Or, we may simply have a number of successful learning programs. Either way, we’ll be having an impact.

In 2015

Our focus in 2015 will be to consolidate, improve and focus what we’ve been building for the last few years. In particular we will:

• Improve ­­ and grow ­­ our local learning networks (Hive, Maker Party, etc.).
• Build up an engaged user base for Webmaker product on mobile and desktop.
• Prototype a leadership development program, and test it with fellows and ReMo.

The short term goal is to make each of our products and programs succeed in their own right in 2015. However, we also plan to craft a bigger Mozilla Learning vision that these products and programs can feed into overtime.

Our Goal

By the end of Q2, have a well-documented learning & community strategy that all of Mozilla understands and in which partners & funders see opportunity for impact.

To understand the foundation for this work, please begin by reading the 2015 Mozilla Learning plan.

You can also watch Mark Surman's presenting the early vision and Plan for Mozilla Learning in Portland (December 2014) here.

Resources

• Master list of events + people consulted in this process
• Overall Mozilla Foundation 2015 plans

Blogs to date

• Mark Surman: Building an Academy
• Phillip Schmidt: A Mozilla Developer Institute
• Justin Crawford: Learning experiments on MDN
• Matt Thompson: Mozilla Learning in 2015

FAQ

Q: At what level of ambition are we thinking?

• What could Mozilla’s next 5 years look like?
• Dream big, but be realistic about where we’re starting from
• Want to build on what we’ve got, not start over

Q: What is the role of the strategy working group?

• Develop clearer direction, together
• Identify points of consensus and dissent
• Help Mark prepare for Whistler + lay groundwork for 2016

Q: What is the nature of exercise / what are we trying to address?

• All programs (and program partners) operating on unified vision
• We have a sustainable path to scale.
• More effective allocation of resources across initiatives
• We can justify donors’ investments with evidence of impact

• We eliminate confusion about what we advocate vs. what we deliver
• Then finally — brand simplification

Q: What is the timeline /urgency?

• By June 4th, preview / key questions to the board
• By June 22nd, presentation + co-design sessions at Whistler
• Over the summer, extensive consultations, research, and adjustments
• Over the summer, brand discussion
• October, budgeting and granular planning
• So — need to be efficient with time with next few meetings

Working Groups

Mozilla Fellows Working Group (chair: Dave)

• Build a shared definition of what it means to be a fellow at Mozilla
• That aligns with Mozilla’s top line org goals and strategies
• Attracts and gives talent deep experiential learning, while maintaining what each community of practice needs.
• Attracts new investments with evidence of the impact (collectively and individually) of Mozilla fellowships
• Unlocks scale benefits and increase return on each dollar spent
• Makes life easier on program leads — shared application, fellows support & administration, on- boarding, and alumni communications across focus areas