Flexible. Responsive. Specific. 

During my first year as a learning content developer on NRPA’s Professional Development team, those three words came up time and time again. Through our feedback surveys, conversations with NRPA members and anecdotes during our in-person events, it was clear that NRPA had a learning gap.  

We needed products that offered variety in the presentation of content and the ability for learners to engage with it away from their computers (flexible). Learners wanted offerings that could be developed at a faster rate and focus on topics that are unique to this moment in time (responsive). Most importantly, they wanted it to be highly focused and actionable (specific).  

With these three words cycling through my head, the concept of a new learning product category began to take shape. I enlisted the support of two of my colleagues, Kelby Rose, NRPA director of education operations, and Taylor Jeromos, NRPA senior manager of learning strategy, and, much to their (good-natured) chagrin, set up biweekly meetings for us to find a way to fill this gap. While I won’t bore you with the tedious aspects of this process (deep-diving into what we currently offer, continuing to review member feedback, debating the semantics of how this category was different from what we currently offer, etc.), I assure you that a lot of time, effort and careful planning went into developing this new product category.  

Our final decision resulted in a new category that contained three sub-products. These three sub-products were decided on very intentionally because they allow us to: 

• Produce content at a faster and more responsive rate 
• Offer content in shorter time commitments for learners with a busy schedule 
• Set prices for this content that were budget-friendly, especially for members who are younger and newer to the field 

Now, as someone who loves a good dad joke or pun, we entered what was probably my favorite part of this process: naming. I knew the overall category would be called Skill Builders, as it accurately reflected the goal that this category would support professionals in building and strengthening their skills. But we had the opportunity to have a bit more fun with the sub-product categories. I wanted to stick with NRPA's Professional Development tagline, “Your Path Forward,” and while Kelby and Taylor politely vetoed some of the names that made me laugh (such as Skill Bites, Path Nuggets or Peak Achievement Programs), we were able to come to an agreement. So, without further ado, I am very excited to share that in response to your feedback, NRPA now presents Skill Builders, which includes: 

• Stepping Stones – Highly focused content that can be completed in 15 minutes and provides skill development that you can implement right away. This content may focus on one aspect of a larger skill, or a skill that is highly procedural in nature.
• Mile Markers – Focused on a single skill, these opportunities are designed to take one to one and a half hours to complete. You will gain the knowledge of a new skill, strengthen a current skill or the ability to implement a new tool.
• Skill Summits – Develop several skills to achieve a specific goal, such as advocating within your community. Requiring less demand on your time (two to four hours) and budget than NRPA’s certificates, these offer the opportunity to scale your efforts and leadership skills. 

As an NRPA member, our Stepping Stones are available to you for free and you have exclusive access to our Mile Markers and Skill Summits either for free or at the discounted member CEU rate. I encourage everyone to check our Skill Builders page regularly, as new products are launched frequently. Please also be sure to fill out our feedback surveys, as the topics you suggest are the topics we will build Skill Builders around! 

See Current Skill Builders Offerings

I’d like to take a moment to thank the entire NRPA Professional Development team for supporting this initiative (and listening to me talk non-stop about it for months). If you have any questions or would like to collaborate on turning your expertise into a Skill Builder, please email me at equinn@nrpa.org. 

Elyse Quinn is NRPA’s learning content developer.