Museums+Tech 2020: Museums in a crisis Digital champions: a lockdown silver lining? Sian Shaw, Westminster Abbey During lockdown and as we enter the new normal, it’s been overwhelming to see how traditionally ‘non-digital’ colleagues enthusiastically took up the challenge of using digital as a tool to work with their audiences. These colleagues have not only experienced the power of digital, but are now advocates of this approach – they are newly acquired digital champions. We should ask ourselves, has the pandemic fast tracked the appreciation and respect that digital deserves within cultural settings amongst staff? Or are we just experiencing a honeymoon period? Telling the story using well-known phrases on Zoom, this presentation will consider how to support and develop wannabe digital champions through the experiences of Westminster Abbey’s Learning Team during the crisis and beyond. I’ll explore how the bottom-up sign up to digital can be as crucial as senior management support, the importance of ‘tech to non-tech’ relationship management and how to hold on to this momentum for ‘business as usual’.

1. Learning
Westminster Abbey
1
©2020 Dean and Chapter of Westminster
Digital Champions: a lockdown silver
lining?
Sian Shaw, Digital Learning Manager, Westminster
Abbey @SianLShaw

2. Westminster Abbey
Learning
During the pandemic:
• Welcome all ideas
• Drive change from the
bottom-up
Beyond the pandemic:
• Encourage the ideas to
keep coming
• Ask together for top-
down backing
Send me a link

3. Westminster Abbey
Learning
Sorry, you’re on mute
During the pandemic:
• Validate any digital
experience
• Find common ground in
content first
Beyond the pandemic:
• Translate experience to
audiences’ experience
• Keep content first in
longer-term strategies

4. Westminster Abbey
Learning
Would you mind sharing your screen?
During the pandemic:
• Say yes and solve
problems
• Convert mistake making
into test and learn
approach
Beyond the pandemic:
• Keep saying yes and
solving problems…
• Redefine polish vs
personality

5. Westminster Abbey
Learning
It’s time to make you the host
During the pandemic:
• Shout about digital
champions’ journey
• Applaud every win
Beyond the pandemic:
• Prepare for more
informed, more
beneficial conversations
• Don’t look back!

6. Learning
Westminster Abbey
6
©2020 Dean and Chapter of Westminster
Digital Champions: a lockdown silver
lining?
Sian Shaw, Digital Learning Manager, Westminster
Abbey @SianLShaw