Supernova Award Category
The Problem
Recognizing that today’s youth are “digital natives” because of their comfort and skill with technology, BGCA’s youth development impact model prioritizes digital engagement and the development of digital literacy as an essential component in helping young people to become globally competitive, 21st century leaders. As such, BGCA has defined the “Youth Development Strategic Framework,” which envisions a bleeding-edge experience to attract, engage and retain youth. This visionary technology platform would allow users to create self-directed, high-impact learning experiences that develop digital literacy through connected learning opportunities, social media, digital recognition/badging, gamification, and digital content from key strategic partners.
BGCA wants Members to have a consistent experience across Clubs, but BGCA Clubs vary in demographics and technological advancement. The Movement faces a number of challenges that need to be addressed, such as: lagging equipment and infrastructure in the Clubs; non-uniform cellular or Wi-Fi coverage between Clubs; varying abilities for Clubs to fund their own infrastructure; and some Club experiences are standard, but many Club activities are not.
The global platform would need to aggregate data to analyze engagement, impact and outcomes. While in-club engagement is a key metric, this Framework requires innovative ways to measure anytime, anywhere engagement for Members and non-members.
The Solution
BGCA decided to invest in an innovative digital solution called “My.Future.” My.Future will advance youth Member development for BCGA using a ground-breaking approach to connecting Members with content and each other. BCGA members, parents and guardians, mentors, local Club Professionals, and national staff can use a cloud-based solution to connect, consume, create and share content on entirely new dimensions, including: Club-to-member, Club-to-guardian, mentor-to member, and member to member connections. Coupled with anytime, anywhere access, the solution provides a level of data and analytics that neither the Clubs, nor National has ever had.
Since most of the Clubs’ Members access the internet primarily via mobile devices, the tool will use a Mobile-First approach, meaning the navigational design of My.Future will be optimized for phones and tablets. Desktop accessibility is a given, but a disruptive access model that uses Microsoft’s X-BOX is also planned.
The results
The disruptive benefit of the My.Future platform will naturally mean rethinking parts of BGCA’s business model. My.Future will pave the way forward for a shared service approach to standardizing certain capabilities, policies, and processes for all BGCA Clubs. For example, where some Clubs may currently have a “no cell phone policy,” these policies will need to be re-considered. Additionally, by providing automated, aggregated reporting capabilities, BGCA’s headquarters will have more visibility into the program effectiveness, which will allow the organization to bring to reality the ability to make data-driven decisions about programming and funding at a national level.
BGCA’s organizational goals are to increase BGCA membership from 2 to 4 million Members by 2018, and to improve retention of the Boys & Girls Clubs’ members. Current statistics show the average BGCA member is involved for 3 years, and the highest attrition rate is when members reach the age of 13. By allowing Members to seamlessly connect no matter where they are physically located, BGCA believes the solution contribute to the development of the next generation workforce by keeping members engaged through high school and beyond. The additional benefit will be a system that can fully network the Club ecosystem worldwide, enabling members, staff, and over 6 million alumni to connect, collaborate and create on an unprecedented scale.
Metrics
The primary metric by which BGCA will quantify the success of My.Future will be the adoption of the platform and its positive impact on organizational goals. The goal for My.Future is to have at least 50% of the BGCA’s members engaged on the platform by the end of 2018. BGCA believes in the direct correlation between adoption of My.Future and the organizational goals of increased enrollment and engagement.
The Technology
BGCA and many BGC affiliates are migrating to Office 356, donated by Microsoft. BGCA intends to migrate most of its data center workload to Microsoft Azure, which will bring the power of scalability. BGCA also plans to use Microsoft Dynamics to enable Data, Analytics and CRM abilities, and SharePoint to allow collaboration. Several other best in class services are being considered for other features, including: file storage, digital badging and recognition and a mentoring platform.
Disruptive Factor
BGCA has operated in a federated model with each Club operating as an independent 501(c)(3) organization. Until now, each club has largely been responsible for its own operational and business systems, fundraising and policies. This move to digital will transform the way that each BGC has managed development for kids. Many Members are not benefiting from technology because they’ve not been shown how. My.Future will fundamentally change the way that learning programs are administered within The Movement and will open the doors for opportunities that many young people would not otherwise be afforded. These new learning opportunities have the potential to level the digital playing and learning field to drastically improve Members' future leadership potential and competitiveness in the global digital marketplace.
Additionally, the increased availability of aggregate data will impact operational decisions, as well as the roles and responsibilities between National and the Clubs going forward. This will require a significant business shift in processes and procedures.
Shining Moment
After seeing a presentation on the future state vision, two staff members from the Metro Atlanta Boys & Girls Club had an overwhelmingly positive response to the My.Future roadmap. Their reaction was captured in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSnEXP0n7lE