On the 28th of September 2021 we at Enactus Netherlands launch the Enactus Connect platform. This online platform brings all that Enactus Netherlands brings to its strength together in one. How did Enactus Connect come about? And what does the future behold for the platform? We have asked Program Manager Chiara Schlösser and Enactus Connector Alexander Lerche.
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How did the idea and concept of Enactus Connect come about?
Chiara: For the past years, our Enactus students, alumni, and network told us their need to connect & collaborate with the community. Along with that there was a need within Enactus Netherlands to design a leaner & more efficient organization. Putting our community & knowledge accessible for everyone active in Enactus Netherlands has been the key to developing the platform.
Alexander: I was a project member at Enactus UvA working on a project called Ecotrippers which helped tourists in Amsterdam (previously Impacked). This project was hit hard by COVID and we had to shelf it. So, for the entire summer we were trying to figure out what everyone else were doing with their projects in Enactus. We quickly found out that a lot of people wanted to know what we knew about other teams’ solutions. Now without a project, we figured we would start a new project; Enactus Connect, a supporting organ to support inter-Enactus communication. Our first goal was to create a comprehensive project catalogue to figure out what people were up to. This goal perfectly aligned with the vision of Enactus Netherlands to develop an online platform for the Enactus community.
What is Enactus Connect aiming for?
Chiara: We believe that Enactus Connect creates more community involvement and increases knowledge sharing, an element we think is integral to sustainable impact. We are proud of our community: the impact our students make, the expertise our alumni have, our valuable connections, and the work we as Enactus Netherlands do. Enactus Connect makes this visible through its features such as the project catalogue.
Alexander: Enactus Connect helps Enactus to start talking. It is about cooperating and making impact together in the Netherlands. This is our most ambitious attempt to provide free and efficient communication in the organization. Members can with ease look up the latest update on similar projects in other cities, figure out which partners other projects have, who to contact and to show off what progress they have made themselves.
Chiara: We not only that believe that for example the academy and our business coaches will accelerate impact as it facilitates the development of projects and individual students. We now have a better idea of who is in our community and where they are now. This helps us in being able to reach out and create long lasting connections for the upcoming years.
Alexander: The member overview page on Enactus Connect also allows board members to login and check host their local administration. This substantially cut down the paperwork and emails needed by board members! The work process is now more intuitive.
How did the Enactus Connect platform got build?
Chiara: To create our vision, we’ve had focus groups with the team, our students, and alumni. Then, we consulted other Enactus countries for their best practices and resources.
Alexander: In the very beginning when Enactus Connect was simply a project catalogue, we would spend a lot of time on the phone, calling all project managers and interviewing them about their projects! Now however, we have built Enactus Connect as an expansion on our internal administration. This means that any change that project leaders or managers make to their projects are automatically updated in the project catalogue. The same applies to member administration, your event submissions and the content in the Enactus Connect Academy.
Chiara: Now after months of hard work, we are very proud to launch Enactus Connect. But… we’re not done, the platform is and will be an ongoing project tailored to the needs of our community. If you see an opportunity for Enactus Connect, let us know!
What are the main features of Enactus Connect?
Alexander: The most important features on Enactus Connect is the Academy, Project Catalogue and the Member overview. The Academy is our way of sharing all the resources we have in Enactus! Here you can find our resources on how to write a CV, checklist on data compliance, tips and tools for project managing and much much more. If you have nice resources that you would like to share you can submit it to the academy as well! It’s made by and for Enactus members for all stages of the Enactus Roadmap!
Chiara: The project catalogue is where you can browse active and inactive projects, sort by project stage, team or partners. Figure out if you have similar projects you can collaborate with or go back and update a project you used to be managing!
The member overview is where you can browse active members, this feature is expanded for board members who can sign in to keep track of their internal administration, event management, projects and to find contact information on other active Enactus members!
Alexander: An honorable mention goes out to the calendar where you can find out if you are about to miss a deadline or event hosted by Enactus Netherlands or one of our partners.
What does the future behold for Enactus Connect?
Chiara: Enactus Connect started as a project at Enactus UvA and is growing all the time. We want as much feedback we can to make it the best tool for any Enactus member, current or alumni.
Alexander: A lot of students join Enactus to kick start their career or CVs and many businesses want to hire Enactus members! The next big thing we have in store will be a bank of vacancies where Enactus Members can apply for jobs and opportunities among Dutch business – truly building and support a diverse network of enthusiastic social entrepreneurs and partners.
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We, at Enactus Netherlands, are extremely proud and also super excited to see what impact the Enactus Connect platform will on the Enactus journey. Firmly we believe that the platform will definitely help to strengthen the impact our students and network make towards a more sustainable and social world. Go check out the new Enactus Connect platform!