Designing learning that reflects real work
Lutheran World Federation’s Journey to create a new course on Fabo
Procurement might not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about engaging learning, but the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has proven that it can be both relevant and compelling—especially when the course design is rooted in real-world practice.
At Fabo, we are thrilled to highlight the Basic Procurement course developed by LWF, which has already welcomed over 545 participants since its launch at the end of 2024.
With more than 480 completions so far, it’s clear that the course is meeting a real need across roles and teams.
The course was designed to be inclusive of different roles within an organisation. Rather than focusing solely on technical compliance, the learning journey explores how procurement supports good project management, accountability, and trust.
“We realised early on that procurement is part of nearly every project activity,” says Anna Yavorovska, Learning and Development expert at LWF. “It’s not just for procurement officers. Programme and finance staff also play key roles, and we wanted everyone to understand the principles that guide transparent, effective procurement.”
But getting there wasn’t simple.
“The biggest challenge was finding the right balance—going deep enough to do the topic justice, while keeping it engaging for those who don't live and breathe procurement every day,” Anna explains.
The breakthrough came with a new design concept: following a fictional project throughout the entire course. This narrative structure guides participants through the stages of a real-world project, showing how procurement activities connect to each phase and how responsibilities are shared across teams.
It transforms abstract theory into something tangible and recognisable.
The course culminates in a practical final task: learners create a procurement plan for the fictional project. This hands-on assignment encourages application of new knowledge and reflects the course’s commitment to learning that sticks.
“We’ve had fantastic feedback,” Anna shares. “Participants told us the course helped them see procurement in a completely new light—as something that supports the whole organisation, not just a process to follow.”
At Fabo, we celebrate learning experiences like this—where innovation, reflection, and collaboration come together to build stronger organisations. Congratulations to the LWF team for showing how a well-designed course can turn even the most technical topic into a meaningful learning journey.
How to Access the Course
Please note that the course is only available to staff from the Lutheran World Federation.
Accessing courses on Fabo is simple and free of charge. To get started:
- Create an account or log in on the Fabo Learning Platform.
- Go to the Procurement course of LWF