Developing the Nicehearts Neighborhood Mothers program
Making the Neighborhood Mothers program more impactful and volunteer-friendly with service design
Neighborhood Mothers is a network of volunteer women who support migrant women in promoting community, integration, and inclusion. Although the activities are already well-established, Neighborhood Mothers aimed to develop their processes, improve the quality of training and communication, and strengthen the volunteers’ ability to organize successful events.
Goals of the project
- Build a shared vision: Define clear steps to help achieve the program’s objectives.
- Understand the current situation: Identify challenges and strengths of the program from the perspectives of volunteers and the target group.
- Ideate solutions: Develop the volunteer program and brainstorm concrete improvement ideas to enhance training, event organization, and communication.
”You listened to our wishes, considered the target group’s needs, and designed the service design process and workshops accordingly. Michelle engaged with our volunteers warmly and enthusiastically, and her instructions were clear. The participants were very pleased with the workshop, and we were thrilled with the entire process!”
– Anni Susineva, Director of the Neighborhood Mothers program
Methods used
Mapping the current situation: To make improvements, it’s important to first understand how things are working right now. We worked together to map out the current process and then identified the challenges tied to it as a group.
Concept development: Through a participatory process, we co-created concrete solutions to the identified needs and challenges. During the workshop, we combined different perspectives and developed initial concepts related to training, communication, collaboration networks and developing volunteer activities, providing a foundation for the future of the Neighborhood Mothers program.
Workshops: The workshops brought together volunteers, Neighborhood Mothers, coordinators, and the program leader. The first workshop was held in person with 30 participants, and we facilitated the sessions in both Finnish and English to suit the participants’ needs.
Co-creating the vision: At the end of the project, we crafted a shared, future-oriented vision for the Neighborhood Mothers program. This helped establish a common understanding of the program’s direction and the next steps forward.
Key findings and outcomes
Improving training and participation
We identified challenges in the practicality and accessibility of the training. As a solution, we co-created recommendations for developing more interactive training sessions and designed a ”starter kit” for new volunteers to support their engagement in the program.
Improving communication and visibility
We identified what volunteers need to create effective communication materials and social media posts. Together, we co-created the foundation for a communication strategy to better reach the target audience.
Shared vision and roadmap
We worked together to create a vision for the future of Neighborhood Mothers, along with a roadmap of concrete next steps. These included clarifying core values and expanding networking opportunities.
We uncovered challenges related to the program and highlighted volunteers’ suggestions and ideas for improvement. This gave us a clear picture of the steps we need to take to reach our goals.
– Anni Susineva, Director of the Neighborhood Mothers program