NORRAG Annual Retreat in Washington DC
The annual NORRAG team retreat took place on 23-24 February 2023 in Washington DC. The strong presence of the team at the CIES 2023 was a perfect occasion to gather all NORRAG personnel in one location. The growing team met for two consecutive days to reflect on the past year, generate ideas and share on the plans for the year ahead.
NORRAG staff doing a mapping exercise
The first day was dedicated to looking back at 2022: what did NORRAG achieve, what projects flourished and what thematic areas expanded. This review was done in parallel at the network and project levels. Reflecting on these accomplishments brought rich discussions on what works best, areas of improvement, and opportunities for synergies.
On day two, the different teams shared the main milestones for 2023 on their respective projects, including timelines, value chains, and needs. That was followed by a feedback session where the ideas and synergies identified on day one found a home.
NORRAG team retreat session in a meeting room
In between work sessions, the regional coordinators, theme leads, and the support team enjoyed some team-building discussions over breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
With the heavy decentralisation of the team and the democratisation of remote working, this was the opportunity for most of the team to meet in person in 2 years!
The two days enabled the team to (re)connect, make sense of the growth achieved last year, and get energized for the upcoming activities. Everyone left the retreat even more committed to NORRAG’s mission: promote participatory, evidence-informed policy decisions that allow equal access to quality lifelong education and training.
Collage of NORRAG 2022 employees