Four Solutions to Developing a Financial Literacy Program
Financial problems cause major problems at the community, national, and global levels. To address these issues, an increasing number of organizations have begun to develop and/or expand their own financial education programming.
Many of these organizations face the same dilemma: “Should we create a program from scratch, develop our own financial literacy curriculum, piece together material we find online, or purchase programming from another company?”
The answer depends on your goals, the expertise of your staff, and your timeline. This article provides quick, practical tips on how to locate financial literacy programming that fits your organizational and learning objectives.
Strengths
Drawbacks
Option 1: In-house Development & Deployment
Creating your own financial literacy programming is a big undertaking that will require convening a team of experts. Developing your own package can be beneficial if you have major customization needs.
You can anticipate between 30 and 50 hours of development time to complete each hour of curriculum. For example, if you plan to create a half-day course, the process will take between 150 and 250 hours of development time spread out over 6 – 12 months. Once you’ve completed the creation phase, you’ll need additional time to pilot the materials with students and make final revisions.
We suggest that you conduct focus groups and student assessments during each development stage to ensure that the presentations work (demonstrating positive short-term results using pre- and post-tests). The main goal is to conduct long-term measurement to learn whether the participants adopt lasting positive financial behaviors. The problem when you develop your own material is that you won’t know the long-term results until years after you’ve invested your time and money.
For organizations that want to brave the world of content creation, here is a list of members you should have in place on your expert team: researcher, instructional designer, content developer (instructor guide, student guide, testing, instructor resources, etc.), editor, layout designer, cover designer, lawyer (legal disclaimers and compliance review).
James Dean Brown at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa wrote a comprehensive white paper on curriculum development. His paper explains the mistakes he made during more than 35 years of curriculum development, and offers valuable solutions on how to avoid or overcome these common issues. For any organization considering developing its own curriculum, Brown’s paper is a must-read – Click here to read.
Option 2: Sponsor or Donate Materials
Organizations that want to share the gift of financial education with your community but lack the time or personnel necessary to lead the initiate – sponsoring financial literacy programming may be your best option.
With financial education sponsorships you are able to leverage the experience and infrastructure of the groups you support. Sponsoring a campaign can help your organization meet its business objectives while you serve the community in a meaningful way; however, there are drawbacks.
When sponsoring a program there is typically a higher cost per reach and your control of the programs direction is limited. Sponsoring organizations typically do not have jurisdiction over the messaging or timeline. Additionally, the ability to align the initiative to your brand is limited.
The most important aspect of sponsorships is choosing an organization that provides you benefits that align with your phototropic and business objectives. Find those organizations that are seeking a win-win opportunity and have a desire to support your organizational goals.
Strengths
Drawbacks
Strengths
Drawbacks
Option 3: License Materials
According to the International Association for K-12 Learning, “Course licensing is by far the most common means of providing a comprehensive curriculum.” Licensing provides organizations immediate, evidence-based solutions, many of which are backed up with empirical evidence demonstrating their effectiveness.
Research will be required to find the financial literacy programming provider that best aligns with your educational and organizational goals. Only a few organizations currently offer licensing service. Be sure to compare the cost, quality, and delivery options to decide which program will best help your participants reach their learning objectives.
In many cases, the cost to license material is comparable to gathering free resources. And in contrast to the free material, licensing gives you immediate access to tested, evidence-based materials. Some available programs include features such as built-in activities, instructor resources, testing, and customizing details that lend a professional touch to your program. Instructor training is also important for those educators, volunteers and others that will be teaching financial literacy.
In the past, inflexibility has been one of the biggest drawbacks of licensed financial literacy programs. Older licensing models were rigid; licensors typically required that the curriculum be delivered in their prepackaged workshop formats. However, a few organizations that now license such material have addressed that issue by creating flexible programs that can accommodate a variety of schedules and learning outcomes. This new trend toward flexibility increases the viability and appeal of the licensing option.
Besides providing curriculum, licensors also offer various services. According to the International Association for K-12 Learning, “Comprehensive service providers supply the course content, learning management system, student information system, and maybe their own teaching staff and even school management. In turnkey systems, the client contracts with the provider to run the entire program. Providers supply their own teachers, or they may train local teachers in the provider’s methods.”
The potential benefits of financial education programming licensing include a strong evidence base, high-quality materials, quick access, and easy customization. Such features may make licensing the most practical option for many organizations. You should carefully review each of the three options to determine which makes the most sense to meet your unique needs.
Option 4: Piece Together Free Material
For those organizations looking to produce shorter (say 30- to 90-minute workshops), piecing together complimentary programming options may be a good option. If you’re designing longer courses, the time required to gather “free” resources can end up costing even more than other available options.
Although you can find free personal finance materials accessible online, you still will incur personnel and/or opportunity costs. Locating complimentary material online takes time to research and compile. Since the pieces are not designed to work together, you’ll need additional time to practice the presentations, get the timing down, and work on transitions between lessons. Testing and other measurement tools also must be created to align with the presentation material.
Most complimentary financial literacy lesson plans are branded with a third-party company’s information and many include some form of advertising. Most free materials also have strict requirements regarding use and delivery methods. Be sure to read the terms and conditions closely.
NFEC Solutions: Combine the Strengths of Each Option