Tell us a little bit about your working relationship with BSI, how long you’ve been partnering with us and why you selected us initially?
Victoria Legal Aid’s (VLA) working relationship with BSI Learning started in 2017, when BSI was engaged to build VLA’s ‘Family Violence Law and Practice’ e-learning module. In 2019, VLA partnered again with BSI to develop and build VLA’s Conflicts of Interest e-learning module.
BSI were selected, as they we able to demonstrate a strong understanding of the work VLA does, VLA’s vision, and our lawyers as learners. BSI Learning also demonstrated expertise in producing innovative instructional design concepts and working within strict budget constraints.
What three words would you use to describe BSI’s team capabilities?
Collaborative, Adaptable and Creative.
What are some of the key learning projects and digital challenges you have had for us to solve?
BSI Learning had the challenge of converting existing face to face Family Violence course into an e-learning module format. The existing content contained a lot of information and discussion was an important part of the face-to-face course. In converting the training into an e-learning format, BSI used a variety of activities, videos, case studies, real-life examples, active learning checks and moments of reflection to achieve the same learning outcomes as the face-to-face course and deal with this important subject matter sensitively. The stories of lived experience were unexpected in a digital piece of learning, and very well received by our audience and helped them to apply the learning principles.
As a client, what has your experience been like working with us through the design and development process?
There was regular communication and scheduled meetings that assisted the project team to track and manage deadlines and, allowed us to quickly clarify requests and resolve issues. The team at BSI were easy to work with and, were receptive and responsive to our feedback.
Our lead was always prepared and had solutions and options at hand – she was always open to new ideas and feedback, took critical points in a positive way, and was constructive and stable. There was a lot of movement on the team, and BSI was able to provide a good background and stable approach and learning expertise to deliver a fantastic result.
How did BSI deal with setbacks, challenges, or bumps in the road?
During challenges, BSI maintained a positive composure, proactively problem solved issues and were accommodating where possible. A lot of time was spent capturing and representing the VLA workforce and client base appropriately – representing scenarios and people from a diverse background – notions around formality and busting a few assumptions about the legal profession. So, it was important to understand how clients of VLA operate to appeal to learners and to represent diverse members of the community in representation. Learning the culture at VLA is a little different, as longer form learning contributes to continuous professional development (CPD) and this needed to be factored into the learning design.
What has been your biggest learning or highlight from working with our team?
A greater understanding and insight into the importance of instructional design.
After publishing and promoting the Client Safety Framework programme, a lot of external interest has occurred from other organisations (non-legal background) and we feel it is a very useful tool for the legal and community support sector.
Is there anything else you would like to mention?
There is such a benefit collaborating with an external learning organisation – the expertise that an BSI was able to bring to the table when discussing and composing the solution enhanced the educational quality and creativity of the final training solution.
Sharika Jeyakumar
Associate Director, Family Violence Response, Victoria Legal Aid
David Cleary
Senior Lawyer, Family Violence, Victoria Legal Aid