In a major upgrade to Circles USA’s body of educational materials, the Members portal on www.circlesusa.org now offers a specially designed Big View training course. Because removing the barriers that keep people in poverty is one of the primary goals of Circles, the Big View is an entire wing of our model. CUSA’s long-term goal is for every chapter to have a dedicated Big View Team. The Big View training course provides the tools and framework for Circles chapters to effect widespread systems change in their communities by centering those closest to the challenge.
“We’re very proud of our new Big View Training Course,” says Chief Learning Officer Kris Alexander. “We’ve built the program using feedback and data we received from our community of practice to take Big View Team members through the entire process from start to finish. It teaches participants key mindsets and practices for their Big View work—basically, everything chapters need to reduce poverty and move the needle on core issues of our Big View Policy Platform wherever they live.”
This curriculum, open to anyone involved with the Big View Team, offers a host of useful media including:
Videos with a slide deck for each unit
Transcripts for all units and the entire training
a Companion Guide to support learning through the training. This fillable PDF/printable document is available in color or black-and-white.
a Glossary of key Big View terms.
Executive Director Kamatara Johnson says: “With more chapters engaging in the Big View than ever before, our chapters now have a robust core of knowledge and experience mobilizing key stakeholders to address Big View policy issues. Our course has synthesized their findings and best practices into this comprehensive course that supports the Big View process from thinking to action. We can't wait to see how our chapters will use this new resource to fuel up their Big View Team efforts into a wave of transformation that impacts the collective!”
The Circles national office recommends this training course for all staff (including those already engaged in Big View work at their chapter) as well as volunteers and/or Circle Leaders looking to engage with Circles USA’s Big View initiatives.
To learn more about Circles USA’s Big View work, check out our podcast: The Big View: Ending Poverty in Your Community, available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. The video version is available to watch exclusively on our Youtube channel.
Just announced: Season 2 will be streaming in 2025!