Managing a Complex Partnership Project Museums and the Web 2009 Carolyn Royston, NMOLP

Aims of the Workshop Focus on 3 areas: Understanding your partnership Gaining commitment and working with constraints Legacy and sustainability

Focus on 3 areas:

Understanding your partnership

Gaining commitment and working with constraints

Legacy and sustainability

About me F irst time I had worked in the public sector Previously 10 years experience as Head of e-Learning in a UK new media agency Teacher

F irst time I had worked in the public sector

Previously 10 years experience as Head of e-Learning in a UK new media agency

Teacher

What question(s) about partnership working have brought you here?

What question(s) about partnership working have brought you here?

About NMOLP

NMOLP – what is it? Large-scale UK digital learning project Audiences are students, teachers & lifelong learners 9 UK national museums working in partnership First time national museums have worked together collaboratively on public facing project 3 year project launched March ‘09 Funded by the UK Government – Treasury Dept British Museum Imperial War Museum Natural History Museum National Portrait Gallery Royal Armouries Sir John Soane’s Museum Tate Victoria and Albert Museum Wallace Collection

Large-scale UK digital learning project

Audiences are students, teachers & lifelong learners

9 UK national museums working in partnership

First time national museums have worked together collaboratively on public facing project

3 year project launched March ‘09

Funded by the UK Government – Treasury Dept

British Museum

Imperial War Museum

Natural History Museum

National Portrait Gallery

Royal Armouries

Sir John Soane’s Museum

Tate

Victoria and Albert Museum

Wallace Collection

Funding Criteria ‘Invest to Save’ budget: No new website or portal No new digitisation or curatorial content Must be sustainable for at least 3 years post-launch

‘Invest to Save’ budget:

No new website or portal

No new digitisation or curatorial content

Must be sustainable for at least 3 years post-launch

What have we delivered for our audiences? Resources for schools (WebQuests) Resources for lifelong learners (Creative Spaces) Linking together 9 national collections via a cross-collection search Resources that can be used & shared across all 9 national museums Engaging new and existing audiences with museum digital collections

Resources for schools (WebQuests)

Resources for lifelong learners (Creative Spaces)

Linking together 9 national collections via a cross-collection search

Resources that can be used & shared across all 9 national museums

Engaging new and existing audiences with museum digital collections

This is what we made WebQuests Creative Spaces

WebQuests

Creative Spaces

Issues when I started

Issues when I started Implementation plan written and funding provided Partnership already determined by project funding T echnical solution promised but implementation not scoped out Content deliverables outlined but not fully defined

Implementation plan written and funding provided

Partnership already determined by project funding

T echnical solution promised but implementation not scoped out

Content deliverables outlined but not fully defined

Issues when I started Visited every partner for fact-finding Discovered d ifferent expectations about what the project would deliver for each partner: I nstitutional D epartmental Individuals

Visited every partner for fact-finding

Discovered d ifferent expectations about what the project would deliver for each partner:

I nstitutional

D epartmental

Individuals

Focus on Partnership Decided initially to focus on partnership and ways of working rather than technology and deliverables

Decided initially to focus on partnership and ways of working rather than technology and deliverables

Most important lesson I learnt: It’s not about technology, it’s about people.

Most important lesson I learnt:

It’s not about technology, it’s about people.

Focussed on … Developed c ollective aims and objectives for project M anaging expectations from the start W hat this project will deliver and what it won’t deliver Establishing people’s commitment to the project Not just showing up at meetings – active participation What were the potential barriers to success for: Institution Departments Individuals

Developed c ollective aims and objectives for project

M anaging expectations from the start

W hat this project will deliver and what it won’t deliver

Establishing people’s commitment to the project

Not just showing up at meetings – active participation

What were the potential barriers to success for:

Institution

Departments

Individuals

Focussed on … Setting up clear lines of communication Understanding that milestones and deadlines have to be met otherwise they impact on everyone Gaining advocacy – being a project champion in your organisation How will you embed the project – think about sustainability and legacy early on

Setting up clear lines of communication

Understanding that milestones and deadlines have to be met otherwise they impact on everyone

Gaining advocacy – being a project champion in your organisation

How will you embed the project – think about sustainability and legacy early on

Why was this important? Partners needed to take responsibility for the project in their own institutions I couldn’t solve their institutional issues What I could do was provide space in the project for those issues to be shared and discussed Enabled us in many cases to find collective solutions and offer support Built relationships between partner representatives Ownership of project brought more commitment from partners

Partners needed to take responsibility for the project in their own institutions

I couldn’t solve their institutional issues

What I could do was provide space in the project for those issues to be shared and discussed

Enabled us in many cases to find collective solutions and offer support

Built relationships between partner representatives

Ownership of project brought more commitment from partners

Building commitment How do you gain commitment from people in the project? Assigning different roles and responsibilities for people Having different types of meetings e.g. practical workshops – giving people opportunities to input into developments and ideas Creating resources so they understand the challenges Setting realistic deadlines – gaining momentum and keep project moving forward Acknowledging achievements along the way – however small Being transparent about your decisions, not afraid to course correct when things don’t work out Be the leader of the project – the vision holder

How do you gain commitment from people in the project?

Assigning different roles and responsibilities for people

Having different types of meetings e.g. practical workshops – giving people opportunities to input into developments and ideas

Creating resources so they understand the challenges

Setting realistic deadlines – gaining momentum and keep project moving forward

Acknowledging achievements along the way – however small

Being transparent about your decisions, not afraid to course correct when things don’t work out

Be the leader of the project – the vision holder

Activity 2 On the basis that it’s about people not technology What do I need to do differently in my partnership? M eetings C ommunication E xpectations of people and what they can deliver Represent the project in my organisation

On the basis that it’s about people not technology

What do I need to do differently in my partnership?

M eetings

C ommunication

E xpectations of people and what they can deliver

Represent the project in my organisation

Working with Constraints

Working with constraints Lots of constraints on this project: Number of stakeholders and meetings D ifferent capabilities and capacities T echnical differences C opyright restrictions Brand conflicts M arketing and PR conflicts S ustainability issues

Lots of constraints on this project:

Number of stakeholders and meetings

D ifferent capabilities and capacities

T echnical differences

C opyright restrictions

Brand conflicts

M arketing and PR conflicts

S ustainability issues

Working with constraints Build in time to deal with each issue and be decisive about ways forward – need agreement on how to tackle these issues

Build in time to deal with each issue and be decisive about ways forward – need agreement on how to tackle these issues

Q&A Questions about gaining commitment and working with constraints?

Questions about gaining commitment and working with constraints?

Legacy Needs to be built into original project plan R e-visited throughout project S ustainability plan for technology Sustainability plan for partnership H ow will the project continue to be managed? A nd who will do it? How will decisions be made? What happens after the evaluation? How do you disseminate what you have learnt? How does the project impact on future developments both within the sector and outside?

Needs to be built into original project plan

R e-visited throughout project

S ustainability plan for technology

Sustainability plan for partnership

H ow will the project continue to be managed? A nd who will do it?

How will decisions be made?

What happens after the evaluation?

How do you disseminate what you have learnt?

How does the project impact on future developments both within the sector and outside?

Post-its Have we covered all questions that we asked at the beginning?

Have we covered all questions that we asked at the beginning?

New thoughts What new thoughts have you got about your partnership projects?

What new thoughts have you got about your partnership projects?

Carolyn Royston [email_address]