Brittany Jill Cohen - Provincial Programming Project

At a Glance

Organization: Girl Guides of Canada
Role: National Programs Lead (2018–2020)
Scope: Designed and led the Provincial Programming Project — a national initiative to align provincial programs with the new Girls First framework and strengthen collaboration across the country.
Scale: 10 provincial councils, hundreds of legacy activities
Outcomes:
- - Established the first national system for program review and alignment across 10 provincial councils
  - Streamlined and standardized 10 provincial websites, improving clarity and consistency for thousands of members
  - Led national redesign and integration of programs with partners such as Valour Canada, Ocean Wise, and WWF

Background

When Girls First launched, it represented a major shift for Girl Guides of Canada — a national, digitally accessed, competency-based program that put girls’ voices at the center of learning.

However, each provincial council still maintained its own legacy programs and initiatives — many of them meaningful, but inconsistent with the new framework. The immediate challenge was integration: With launch approaching, hundreds of activities had been created, but hundreds more lived across provincial websites, developed independently by dedicated volunteers over years.

Initially, my task was simple: review provincial programming to identify opportunities for integration onto the new national platform. I drafted the first proposal for what became the Provincial Programming Project — a living plan to streamline collaboration and guide integration efforts across the country.

As I began reviewing programs, it became clear that the issue wasn’t just quantity — it was alignment.

Challenge

Provincial programs varied widely in format, tone, accessibility, and alignment with Girls First standards. Some contained outdated or exclusionary language; others lacked clear learning outcomes or step-by-step guidance written directly for girls. In many cases, duplicate programs explored the same topics with uneven quality. The real challenge became clear:

How could we bring provinces along in this transformation — maintaining goodwill and shared ownership — while ensuring that every Girl Guides program reflected the same commitment to quality, inclusivity, and meaningful learning?

This required balancing diplomacy with decisiveness and designing a system that supported collaboration rather than enforcement.

Approach

With support from my director, I reframed the project from a “content integration” task to a national–provincial partnership initiative centered on program quality, inclusion, and long-term sustainability.

Assessment and Framework Development:

Created a comprehensive evaluation and self-assessment toolkit — including instructions, rubric, scorecard, and criteria — to help provincial advisers determine whether programs should be integrated, updated, or sunset. The toolkit established a fair national standard, surfaced duplicate topics for potential merging, and enabled evidence-informed conversations about next steps.

◾ Preview: Provincial Program Review Rubric
(Modified for Portfolio Display)

Rubric table showing criteria and rating scale used to assess provincial program alignment with the Girls First framework.

Excerpt illustrating how the rubric was used to evaluate and align provincial programs with the Girls First framework.
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Collaborative Review:

Conducted a full analysis of all provincial programming, then facilitated one-on-one consultations with each council to review findings, discuss discrepancies, and identify next steps. Discussions emphasized respect for local ownership and supported shared decision-making.

Several reviews raised sensitive EDIA concerns — such as tokenizing or culturally appropriative content — requiring careful facilitation to help councils recognize and re-envision their materials in alignment with organizational values.

◾ Preview: Program Review Conversation Framework
(Developed for Portfolio Display)

Diagram outlining the collaborative process guiding provincial program decision-making during alignment discussions.

Excerpt illustrating the collaborative process used to guide provincial program decision-making during program alignment.
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Capacity Building and Relationship Development:

Provided targeted coaching and practical resources to help provincial program advisers strengthen their design skills and inclusive practice. This transformed what could have been a compliance exercise into a developmental experience — one many advisers later described as among the most meaningful of their volunteer tenure. The process strengthened trust across the network and reinforced a shared commitment to program quality.

◾ Preview: Collaborative Growth Framework
(Developed for Portfolio Display)

Visual framework illustrating how inclusive practices, coaching, and dialogue fostered confidence, trust, and collaboration among program advisers and other volunteers.

Excerpt illustrating how inclusive practices, coaching, and dialogue fostered confidence, trust, and collaboration among program advisers and other volunteers.
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Digital Streamlining and Integration:

Partnered with provincial communications teams to streamline ten provincial websites, aligning content with national programming, removing redundancies, and improving navigation for members seeking consistent, accurate information.

◾ Preview: Webpage Alignment Overview
(Developed for Portfolio Display)

Table comparing sample “before” and “after” layouts to illustrate how provincial websites were standardized to match the national Girls First structure.

Excerpt illustrating how provincial websites were standardized to mirror the national Girl Guides of Canada website structure.
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Communication Streamlining:

To support clarity during the transition period, developed a communications template that provincial advisers could use to respond to new program development requests. This ensured clear and consistent messaging nationwide.

◾ Preview: Provincial Program Communication Template
(Modified for Portfolio Display)

Sample message template demonstrating consistent, values-based responses to member inquiries during program transition.

Excerpt illustrating how the communications template maintained consistent, values-based messaging during the alignment period.
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Co-Development and Expansion:

Led the redesign and integration of existing programs in partnership with multiple provincial councils and external organizations. As the primary GGC representative, I secured and managed partnerships, coached provincial advisers, and guided each program through redesign to ensure alignment with the Girls First framework. These initiatives broadened opportunities for girls in civic recognition, environmental stewardship, and sustainability, while strengthening national–provincial collaboration.

Examples include Canadian Women of Valour (Alberta Council × Valour Canada) and Aquatic Ambassadors (Nova Scotia Council × Ocean Wise), along with additional programs developed in collaboration with partners such as the World Wildlife Fund.

◾ Preview: National–Provincial Program Overviews
(Developed for Portfolio Display)

Excerpt showing examples of co-developed national–provincial programs created through collaborative partnerships, including Aquatic Ambassadors, Canadian Women of Valour, and Plastic-Free Party.

Excerpt illustrating how national–provincial partnerships translated collaborative design into new program offerings.
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Impact

The Provincial Programming Project established a scalable system for program review, inclusive design, and national–provincial collaboration — creating a lasting foundation for how Girl Guides of Canada could assess, adapt, and evolve programming across the country.

The New Tools and Processes:

Established clear standards for EDIA alignment, accessibility, and tone.
Equipped provincial teams with the skills and resources to apply those standards to program adaptation.
Strengthened trust and transparency between national and provincial levels.
Laid the groundwork for consistent, high-quality program experiences for members coast to coast to coast.

Key Outcomes:

Capacity & Skills: Provincial advisers were equipped with tools, training, and support to confidently assess and adapt programs within their own contexts.
Participation & Alignment: All 10 provincial councils engaged in the review and revision process, creating transparency and shared ownership across the network.
Program Evolution: Hundreds of legacy activities were evaluated — sunset, integrated, or reimagined through inclusive design to align with the Girls First framework.
New Programming: Three national–provincial programs and dozens of new activities were co-developed and launched nationwide.
Partnerships: External collaborations strengthened, including a national partnership with Valour Canada and continued work with Ocean Wise and the World Wildlife Fund.
Digital Consistency: Provincial websites were streamlined to reflect a unified national structure, improving navigation and information accuracy for members.
Collaboration & Trust: Relationships between national and provincial teams deepened, establishing the conditions for sustained partnership and continuous improvement.

Together, these outcomes reframed program quality as a shared purpose — setting a new precedent for national–provincial collaboration and program development within Girl Guides of Canada.

Iteration — Countrywide Program Alignment

Building on the lessons of the Provincial Programming Project, I developed a strategic alignment framework — the Countrywide Program Alignment Project — to connect local innovation with national program development. This next phase reflected a forward-looking vision for how Girl Guides of Canada could sustain collaboration and quality long term.

The model reimagined the provincial program adviser role to emphasize consultation, testing, and member engagement over independent program creation. It outlined clear processes for aligning expertise, reducing duplication, and strengthening the pipeline from girls and Guiders to the national program development team.

While the framework was not implemented due to the onset of COVID-19, it represented a scalable, future-ready model to enhance collaboration, safeguard quality, and promote a unified approach to programming nationwide.

◾ Preview: Countrywide Program Alignment Framework
(Developed for Portfolio Display)

Excerpt from the Countrywide Program Alignment Framework comparing the traditional model of program development with a proposed national–provincial collaboration model designed to strengthen quality and inclusion across all programming.

Excerpt from the Countrywide Program Alignment Framework — outlining a proposed model for national–provincial collaboration to ensure quality and inclusion across all programs.
[🔗 View Full Preview]

Recognition & Reflection

This project remains one of the most complex and rewarding experiences of my career. It demanded both systems thinking and human connection — balancing structure with empathy to guide a national volunteer network through significant change.

While the full framework was not ultimately implemented due to the onset of COVID-19, the work reflected a careful balance of innovation and accountability — aligning provincial and national efforts around a shared goal of delivering high-quality, inclusive programming.

It reinforced that effective frameworks emerge not only from design expertise, but from listening deeply and empowering contributors to co-create solutions — an approach that continues to guide my systems-level work in higher education.

Ultimately, I learned that meaningful transformation in education isn’t achieved through directives, but through partnership, clarity, and respect.

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