Case Studies
Here are a few examples of the kind of work we do for our clients and the impact we have on their organizations.
USASBE
Diversifying member benefits through a course planning hub, powered by Syllect, utilizing existing quality content that had greater potential.
CHALLENGE
USASBE, the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, saw an opportunity to do more with the valuable learning material it had but lacked the infrastructure to make the content more accessible. Through workshops, the annual conference, and special interest groups, USASBE members had a vetted set of syllabi, experiential exercises, video, and other resources that could support entrepreneurship teaching, one of USASBE’s main priorities. Yet the content was housed in multiple locations and difficult for members to access. This limited USASBE’s ability to support members and reach new audiences in the field.
As a result, USASBE had three main questions: 1) How do we put all of our content of varying formats in one place, 2) How can our members access it easily to use and integrate for teaching and learning 3) How can we maximize member benefits from this?
SOLUTION
West End Learning made it easy for USASBE to deliver a centralized digital teaching hub that provides a USASBE-branded experience. Using our intuitive Syllect platform, we populated it with USASBE’s resources and a curated library of 3,000 open entrepreneurship learning materials. West End Learning supported the project from beginning to end, offering not only the platform but also the publishing support to add content, develop editorial policies, and collaborate on member engagement. Based on member feedback, the USASBE Teaching Hub offers the ability to upload, recommend, and export resources–creating a convenient course-planning database that will continuously grow. The collective expertise of USASBE members on the Syllect platform creates a central location for trusted, innovative content to refresh an existing course or design a new one.
RESULTS
Launched in late 2023, the Hub is now in use with all USASBE members who are adding recommendations and curated collections of material. Together we are imagining other markets and audiences for this collection that could diversify revenue streams for this innovative association.
"With an intuitive platform and the team’s years of expertise in publishing, West End Learning will make it so much easier for our members to find the rich teaching materials we have in USASBE and co-create many more."
– Julienne Shields, CEO of USASBE
NEUROSURGICAL ATLAS
Developed and executed a growth model to ensure this globally respected nonprofit resource can flourish for years to come.
CHALLENGE
Celebrating both the art and science of neurosurgery, The Neurosurgical Atlas uses award-winning technology and visuals to train the next generation of neurosurgeons. Led by Dr. Aaron Cohen-Gadol, the Atlas had grown beyond original expectations, reaching an audience of 73,000 members globally. Created to address the practical knowledge needed in neurosurgery’s most complicated procedures, the Neurosurgical Atlas was filling a need in the community but needed a more sustainable financial model to support its rapidly growing audience.
SOLUTION
Working directly with Dr. Cohen, we understood the vision of the organization and researched several different models to financially sustain the mission. Balancing the need to have a continued educational impact and expand the resources required for continued growth, we recommended the transition from a fully open resource to a subscription model for medical libraries. This would allow the Atlas to be integrated into the curriculum and accessible to residents, practicing neurosurgeons, radiologists, anesthesiologists, and others affiliated with the library.
Applying our publishing expertise, we developed the strategic and operational plan that helped this nonprofit client scale. We secured start-up philanthropic funding with Dr. Cohen and were invited to stay on and lead the launch as a fractional Executive Director to execute the growth strategy. We hired and developed the core team including finance, sales, marketing, product management, and additional software development resources to make the site library-ready. We transitioned the organization during the process until it was ready to carry it forward independently.
RESULTS
The Neurosurgical Atlas launched successfully to the library market in early 2023 and is on track to meet its financial goals and become a sound, scalable operation that will continue to serve surgeons and patients for generations to come.
Andrea did a tremendous job applying her deep expertise in academic publishing and eLearning to plan and execute a growth strategy for the Neurosurgical Atlas. She has a unique ability to balance the mission of the organization while making essential changes for it to have a lasting impact. As a surgeon with extremely high expectations, I'm glad to say she exceeded them. I not only respect her work but also deeply value her integrity and wisdom. It was a pleasure working together."
– Dr. Aaron Cohen-Gadol, Founder and President, the Neurosurgical Atlas
EMCARTS
Launching a digital workshop series and LMS empowered this nonprofit to adapt during COVID and expand programming reach.
CHALLENGE
EmcArts, a leading nonprofit in the arts sector, needed to convert in-person interactive workshops on adaptive leadership to a digital experience in order to reach an online audience and expand to have a broader impact. With limited staff, the team needed outside support to move more quickly and in new directions.
SOLUTION
Working collaboratively with the team and visionary founder, Richard Evans, we applied instructional design concepts to create an online workshop series using both synchronous and asynchronous interactions. We sourced and managed a team of developers, voice-over actors, content experts, and other collaborators to develop new multimedia content, a Moodle-based learning management system, a content library, and a mix of synchronous and asynchronous course delivery. Working in uncharted territory during COVID, we advised on how to proceed by balancing the need for change with the original vision of EmcArts. As the organization itself went through a period of significant change, we took on a fractional program leadership role for 3 years to scale the program.
RESULTS
The program was successfully delivered to arts and community organizations in Toronto, Detroit, Seattle, Charlotte, Houston, and more. It captured the interest of CultureSource, a member association for non-profit arts and cultural organizations in Southeast Michigan, which acquired EmcArts and continues its programming today. During the course of our work together, Richard Evans unfortunately passed away after a short battle with an aggressive cancer. One of the most meaningful results of our collaboration is an archive of Richard’s vision, which is able to have a lasting impact today.
Working with Andrea and West End Learning helped us adapt to new ways of designing and delivering our services. Andrea is an experienced professional who saw not only the programming changes needed, but also helped us organize internally to deliver a new kind of experience online. As our primary audience is leaders in the arts sector, we knew we needed to distinguish our digital work through a creative approach that was intriguing and different. Andrea helped us deliver!"
– Richard Evans, Cofounder and President Emeritus of EmcArts
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