Why Choose Edify Learning Forum

The foundational MAPS Framework course  Mapping power & authority, Authority & legitimacy, People & stakeholders, Systems & context. The core analytical toolkit for operating in any complex environment. 

How to identify who holds real power in any organisation or community formal and informal. Reading authority structures, influence networks, and the unspoken rules that shape how decisions are made. 

 How to see and work with complex systems  understanding interdependencies, feedback loops, and leverage points that aren't visible from a linear cause-and-effect view of the world. 

The essential orientation for teams entering unfamiliar terrain. Power mapping basics, informal systems, cultural navigation, risk awareness, and stakeholder engagement in a single intensive day. 

 Leadership decision-making when the environment is complex and unpredictable. Adaptive leadership, ambiguity management, real-time decision frameworks, and building team confidence.

Adaptive leadership

 The full ELFA MAPS framework — decoded, translated, and practised through live field simulation. Risk & scenario planning, stakeholder strategy, and an actionable team playbook.

MAPS™ framework in depth,  Risk & scenario planning 

 For senior leaders navigating complex multi-stakeholder environments. Advanced power analysis, political economy mapping, crisis decision simulation, and a strategic advisory session.

Advanced power analysis, Political economy mapping

 Three-day intensive covering the MAPS Framework from a facilitation perspective — plus practical tools for designing and delivering context intelligence programmes. Includes MAPS Practitioner accreditation and access to the ELFA Practitioner Network. 

 How to identify and suspend the assumptions, mental models, and default patterns that become liabilities when you move into an unfamiliar environment. The cognitive pre-work for effective field performance. 

 A focused pre-departure briefing for students heading to Africa. Cultural dynamics, practical context, safety essentials, and what the first two weeks will actually feel like. 

 Beyond cultural awareness checklists. Real frameworks for navigating hierarchy, communication styles, and social dynamics in African and emerging market environments — with concrete examples. 

 Specifically designed for students on short-term placements (4–12 weeks). How to make a contribution quickly, navigate the organisation, and get the most from a limited time window. 

 An accessible introduction to the MAPS Framework designed for students and early-career professionals. Power, authority, people, and systems — the four forces shaping every environment you'll work in. 

 Ethical frameworks for working in communities and organisations that are not your own. Positionality, power imbalances, responsible engagement, and how to avoid common mistakes of well-intentioned outsiders. 

 How to observe, document, and make sense of what you're experiencing in an unfamiliar field environment. Building a reflective practice that turns experience into learning.  

 How health systems function beyond formal structures  the informal networks, community trust dynamics, and political pressures that shape whether interventions succeed or fail on the ground. 

 How political economy, institutional interests, and informal power dynamics shape health policy and delivery. Advanced course for health practitioners navigating complex systems. 

Understanding how trust (and mistrust) shapes health-seeking behaviour and community uptake of health interventions. Practical tools for building trust with communities in diverse contexts. 

How to design, prepare for, and conduct research in African and global health contexts with contextual sensitivity, ethical rigour, and practical awareness of what actually limits field research. 

A targeted pre-departure module for students and practitioners going on health placements. Health system context, safety protocols, and the relational dynamics of clinical and community health settings 

 M&E beyond the logframe how to measure what actually matters, navigate the political pressures around programme data, and use evidence to improve rather than to report 

 Real market entry barriers and opportunities beyond the surface-level analysis. Practical frameworks to align global strategy with on-ground action in complex environments. 

From strategy to execution across borders. How to align headquarters thinking with on-ground realities in markets that don't behave like your models predict. 

Decision-making frameworks for environments where the rules are unclear, the information is incomplete, and the stakes are high. Essential for anyone entering a new market. 

Identify who holds real authority, how influence flows, and how to build the right relationships before making critical decisions. Grounded in the MAPS Framework 

Practical negotiation in environments where cultural dynamics, informal power, and incomplete information all shape outcomes. From deals to partnerships to stakeholder buy-in.  

 How to assess risks and opportunities in emerging markets accurately without the noise of generic country-risk frameworks that miss what actually matters on the ground 

What NGO programmes actually look like on the ground versus how they're designed. How to close the gap between logframe and reality, and operate effectively in complex aid environments. 

 The practical pre-departure checklist for anyone deploying to the field. Health, safety, cultural protocols, stakeholder dynamics, and the first two weeks — what to expect and how to navigate it. 

 How informal power, unofficial processes, and unwritten rules shape how organisations and communities actually function. Essential for advisory staff and programme managers in the field. 

 Building trust with communities ethically and sustainably. How to engage without imposing, influence without formal authority, and create genuine participation rather than performative consultation. 

 How to advise effectively when you're operating outside your own institutional authority. Influence, credibility, and practical advisory skills for consultants and field personnel in high-stakes environments. 

 Practical safety awareness for field deployments  identifying, assessing, and managing security risks, health hazards, and operational threats in complex environments.