CASE STUDY from ASToN (2019- 2022): Pivoting to more virtual delivery, the impact of COVID-19

As a consequence of the lockdowns imposed across the globe at the start of 2020, ASToN was forced to put a pause to all physical events. And while we managed to hold nine out of the eleven planned city visits and to hold the network kick-off meeting in Kampala, by the end of March 2020, all ASToN meetings and activities were moved online.

With regards to programme delivery, one of the negative effects of the COVID-19 crisis was the immediate unavailability of in-person events. Throughout the programme, it should have been possible to visit the cities that were experiencing a downturn, to help them revitalise their local project, to re-legitimise them in the eyes of their elected officials, etc. This was not possible.

Despite the distress and pain it caused, pivoting to more online delivery due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the long run benefited network activities:

• It allowed us to maintain momentum by organising short calls and exchanges with city leaders on specific topics;

• It forced a learning curve among our partners – online meetings were the only way to exchange internationally;

• It made us space out the in-person meetings, making them true celebrations of the cities coming together as a network; While initially and following the URBACT methodology, we had considered a rhythm of closer in-person meetings, which, upon reflection, would have worked in Europe but not in Africa given distances and the time and resources needed to plan such events.

• We tested the best ways to come together as a group online considering the needs and specificities of each one of us (time zone differences and time slot during the day when people did not have meetings or were not in traffic, connectivity issues and choice of platforms that were lightest to load);

• The only online platform that allowed interpretation was zoom so we started using it – for the first group meetings we did a lot of explaining on how to use the tool, collectively adhered to a number of principles for conducting effective online meetings. Within zoom we tried out various tools (pre-registration, webinars). We also tested various tools to facilitate meetings (jamboard, mentimeter, miro). We learned to be flexible, accepted that people sometimes had to cancel last minute, called to attend senior meetings;

• Having a learning routine of learning and reflection sessions at the end of each quarter allowed all to build on the network collective learning and become more experienced in using online tools.

COVID-19 has also set in motion a huge shift in the way we interact, communicate, learn, and share. There is an opportunity to accelerate the pace at which we build communities virtually, in a way that is catalytic and human. We will continue to assess the situation and work together to understand the best ways to continue the work