SocialTech.ai commissioned The Unmudl Report: Community Colleges Powering the Skills-to-Jobs Marketplace by Dr. Holly Zanville to provide a snapshot into the development of the Unmudl Marketplace as it nears its two-year milestone. The period covered is roughly October 2019 to April 2021. There is a solid history of related work that extends long before fall 2020, and firm plans to move developments well past spring 2021. It includes insights from key stakeholders and the leadership of Unmudl’s Community College Network. The report covers the planning, design, and initial operationalization of the marketplace, plus future developments. Dig into the past, pres ent, and future of the Unmudl Marketplace!
The Unmudl Report is more than a snapshot in time. Strictly speaking, it is a type of “developmental evaluation,” given Unmudl’s approach to systemic change — a community collaborative approach that is unfolding in dynamic ways.
The Unmudl Marketplace is a social change innovation according to Jamie Gable.“Social change innovation occurs when there is a change in practice, policies, programs, or resource flows. Innovation is distinct from improvement in that it causes reorganization at a systems level and can occur at the level of an organization, a network or society at large."
Gamble notes that developmental evaluation is ideally suited for innovative initiatives that are often in a state of continuous development and adaptation, unfolding in changing and unpredictable environments. This type of investigation is useful for “emergent, exploring, learning-oriented and adaptive process[es] in which those involved discover answers to their own situationally specific questions." With so much in flux, in innovative initiatives the framing of issues can change, how problems are conceptualized evolves, and various approaches are likely to be tested.
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