Context and Placement: The WHERE
As much as possible, Vroom Content should complement efforts underway in your community.
Vroom can supplement ongoing work or fill gaps in early childhood programs. It is helpful to understand the early childhood development (ECD) landscape you are working in.
Who else is working in your community and how?
Your organization can identify opportunities in your context by asking the following questions.
1. What is the typical day like for a child 0-5 years old in this community?
2. Beyond what our organization provides, WHERE do young children in this community usually get adult interaction?
3. WHO are the adults most commonly associated with this interaction?
4. What do these interactions focus on? Is there typically a learning element?
5. What programs are designed to support young children’s development in this community?
6. What programs are designed to support parents and caregivers in this community?
7. Across programs, what ECD supports does the community have access to?
8. Across programs, where are the ECD opportunity gaps for families?
Understanding the Context and Landscape
Vroom works best when it is shared through trusted channels and in familiar places. It is important to understand the context parents and caregivers are living in, socially and geographically. Also, what networks—in-person or technological—are they already part of?
You’ll want to anchor this thinking in the context of your existing programming as much as possible. When you think about the work you are already doing, what virtual and in-person networks are most relevant and easiest to tap into?
To better understand the social landscape for caregivers in your community, take a moment to reflect on the following questions:
- What are the main in-person social networks caregivers in my community are a part of?
- How do people get their information and how do they share information?
If your organization isn’t already working in these spaces, other existing networks and platforms may be options too. It is important to know which networks – in-person and technological – parents are already a part of and where else they might be looking for support.
Technology
Technology can be a powerful tool for reaching parents and caregivers, but choosing the right technology (or no technology at all) requires some thoughtful consideration.
To choose the right technological delivery channels, you will want to think about the platforms that are already established among parents and caregivers in your community.
- What platforms are familiar to them? WhatsApp? Facebook? Something else?
- What devices do caregivers typically have access to? (e.g., smartphone, simple phone, television)
- Are there other technology-based communities that parents and caregivers trust?
In-Person Networks
When thinking about Trusted Messengers and delivery channels, you should begin to identify the social supports and systems families are already engaged in and then zero in on key relationships.
- What social supports and systems are families in your community already engaged in?
- Can you identify key relationships in these systems?
This is a great place to start when thinking about Trusted Messengers and Delivery Channels.
These in-person networks might include:
- Family networks
- Tribal or ethnic structures
- Religious communities
- Education communities
- Cultural communities
When you complete your application, you will want to include an understanding of the main social networks in your community. In your Vroom Content License application, you should demonstrate an understanding of the social networks in your community, including the ways parents and caregivers exchange information. These might include technological tools, in-person networks, or more likely, a mix of the two.