Addressing the Opportunity Gap Across the US

With its rich 120-year history, 4-H has addressed the opportunity gap for generations of young people across America. Because while talent is everywhere, opportunity is not.

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Guided by this core mission, 4-H equips young people with essential life skills, confidence and a sense of belonging through after-school programs, clubs and camps in over 9,000 locations across the country.

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The recent pandemic highlighted the need for innovative digital solutions to supplement in-person learning, but it was only the catalyst for something much bigger. It unveiled an ongoing need for digital transformation to ensure continued equal access to educational opportunities.

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Recognising this imperative, 4-H set out to launch CLOVER, an e-learning platform, to digitise its educational programs and uphold its commitment to Positive Youth Development (PYD).

The Transformation of an American Heritage Brand

CLOVER is not just a website; it is the transformation of an American heritage brand.

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4-H has had multi-generational impact since 1902, already serving 6 million young people yearly. But that’s just the beginning.

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The transformative impact of CLOVER sets 4-H on a trajectory to continue positively shaping the lives of generations to come. The platform significantly widens reach across the US, in particular in previously underserved communities and geographies.

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4-H aims to reach over 10 million youths, and CLOVER is a vital tool in this mission.

Objectives

Through CLOVER, we set out to dramatically expand 4-H’s learner base, break down barriers, and reach young people across broader geographies and socioeconomic backgrounds. Ultimately, this sets up 4-H to impact more lives for the better.

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Our vision for this project was to digitalise 4-H’s offering, open access to wider audiences and actively bring proven Positive Youth Development (PYD) principles into CLOVER by 4-H, along with a best-in-class learning experience and engagement tactics.

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Achieving this goal in CLOVER represents long-term enablement and a lasting impact for learners that is far greater than the sum of individual lessons.

Digitising Positive Youth Development

Rooted in PYD principles, 4-H's mission is to provide young people with a lasting sense of competence, usefulness, belonging, and empowerment.

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CLOVER, as a digital platform, extends this mission by offering high-quality content to a diverse and digital-savvy generation, who would have otherwise been unable to benefit from 4-H, which has less physical representation in urban areas and inner-city communities.

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The platform serves as a container for experiences that allow youth to explore their passions in areas such as STEM, agriculture, healthy living, and civic engagement.

CLOVER's unique strength lies in its digitalisation of 4-H's mission. By incorporating key tenets of PYD and best-in-class experience design principles, the platform ensures engagement through bite-sized lessons, interactive elements, and gamification.

The CLOVER Learning Hub

The learning hub serves as a central point, guiding users seamlessly between sections and lessons. By leveraging user data, 4-H can predict and tailor content to keep learners engaged in their educational journey.

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Given the non-linear nature of 4-H learning, we replaced traditional level-based motivation with an advanced system of accomplishment and encouragement based on key Positive Youth Development principles.

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Lessons were broken down into manageable tasks using visual aids and user-friendly language to enhance competence. The learning interface is dynamic, incorporating various mediums like video, imagery, and polls to involve users and reinforce learning actively.

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Users are encouraged to identify and revisit areas of interest, fostering retention and engagement—a key aspect of the Hooked Engagement model. This approach ensures learners actively participate, making the platform valuable, engaging, and fun.

Fostering Community Impact

In designing CLOVER, we focused on the seamless connection of curriculum, content, and activities, ensuring a continuous loop back to the local community.

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By incorporating proven learning models like the experiential learning model, which emphasises hands-on learning, CLOVER encourages critical thinking, reflective opportunities, and real-world application of knowledge into the communities young people are part of.

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As a result, CLOVER becomes the bridge between the 4-H offline and online experiences, ensuring that the impact of 4-H's programs is deeply embedded in the communities we serve.

Enhancing Equity

Recognising that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not, 4-H is committed to reflecting the diversity of communities it serves.

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CLOVER plays a crucial role in this commitment by providing inclusive and relevant content developed by educators from diverse backgrounds, making the programs applicable and equitable.

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The platform enhances equity by offering additional opportunities for engagement. It becomes a vital avenue, especially for those facing transportation or technology barriers, ensuring accessibility to 4-H experiences for a broader audience.

Since its launch, CLOVER has surpassed expectations, exceeding the goal of broadening geographic reach and engaging previously excluded socio-economic groups.

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• The platform's month-on-month growth rate of 32% has contributed to a significant increase in learners
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• Penetration among minority groups in previously untapped geographies has grown by over 8x - one of our key objectives
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• Notably, CLOVER has so far raised over $10 million towards 4-H's mission to reach more young people