Cobblestone Consulting Delivers Five Custom Cultural Competency Learning Modules On Budget

It's really a perfect combination that they're personable, approachable, interested in the work that you're doing, seem to take a genuine interest in a wide variety of subject matter, but then back that up with really strong technical skills ⁓ and they listen to their clients. My name is Simon Sutherland. I'm a manager in the Education and Training Branch with the Métis Nation of Ontario. So we're a Canadian-based political organization that represents Métis people, who are one of the three constitutionally recognized Aboriginal peoples in Canada. Our role is to serve citizens of the MNO ⁓ with direct programs and services and also to advocate for more inclusive policies in government. In the context of our work with Cobblestone, ⁓ where we had had some issues, is that we were tasked with designing some learning modules for some cultural competency training for health care workers in Ontario. We had some in-house support with that individual, who then went on maternity leave. So we were left without internal ⁓ expertise on how to proceed with building out the modules. ⁓ So that was our challenge. We were fortunate enough to find Cobblestone Consulting. We went through a pretty fast process. We connected with our LMS platform, Talent LMS, and asked them directly for a recommendation on whether they typically worked with individual firms to build out these modules. And they referred us to Cobblestone. Early on in our interactions with them, it was very clear that they were professional, kind, interested in the project that we were into, and our budget, which is always a pretty critical thing. They've stayed within that budget. And then further, in the initial discovery phases, it was very clear that they're a professional, caring outfit. And so it was quite an easy decision to pursue a relationship. We do a lot of project management. Cobblestone really stands apart. They're very well organized. Their process was very clear from the outset. They're how they like to work. ⁓ It was adaptable to our needs, but also still very structured so that they know how to manage this space and to conduct these projects. So what's really been nice is that there's a genuine interest and a general personal connection with almost everybody on the team. ⁓ Everybody knows their role. Everybody knows at Cobblestone how to stay within that role. ⁓ We had very regular check-ins, very responsive to requests for change as we work through the storyboarding process, all the way through the construction of modules, the changes involved with that. ⁓ Although they're not ⁓ subject matter experts on the Métis Nation of Ontario, they've been very willing to learn and to take feedback and to accept that they don't know everything about our subject matter. And so we've been very, it's been a very nice relationship in that we've been able to defer to each other's areas of expertise very effectively. Where the project is nearing completion and it is coming on time and on budget. They look great. They fit our branding. We're just coming to the conclusion of having five ⁓ modules that go from stem to stern of what we were looking for in terms of our output. So it couldn't be happier. The experience with Cobblestone really was eye-opening and enlightening in that it demonstrated the way that this should be done. They have a really solid model of how they produce, go from text and idea to discovery, all the way to conclusion given us some thought about how we will proceed if we were to continue with our relationship with Cobblestone or if we were to revert back to our internal structures and supports. They've given us a really given me a really clear indication of how to do this work in the most efficient and timely manner.