New Toolkit Offers Tips on Designing a 2Gen Convening

Two-generation (2Gen) convenings have the potential to create change for whole systems and the lives of the families they serve. This planning guide is the first step. Having planned and supported more than 100 2Gen convenings, Ascend has cultivated a depth of knowledge for the practical elements and nuanced factors that result in successful convenings.

This new toolkit considers concrete examples from many 2Gen convenings, and illuminates the lessons learned and best practices developed with the aim to at once maximize the impact and minimize any inefficiency in developing and hosting convenings. Our hope is that the toolkit will support 2Gen practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and philanthropists across the country in more effective convening outreach, partnership, and impact.

From ensuring parent voice is at the center to choosing whether to include plenaries and panels, a convening requires thoughtful planning and months of preparation. The Toolkit is divided into three sections: The Why, The What, and The Impact. Ascend offers six criteria to assess the conditions that communities seek to develop in order to implement a 2Gen approach:

• Explicit outcomes rooted in family strengths;
• Racial equity lens;
• Parent participation;
• Anchor partner;
• Cross-sector engagement; and
• Evaluation and assessment strategy and tool.

Find out more about each key component, what materials to distribute to participants, and how to drive long term change after hosting a convening in the toolkit. Hosting a successful convening is a great way to continue building this collaborative 2Gen movement.