Looking forward - new ways to be resilient
After more than 25 years as the largest dedicated grant funder of the UK's heritage, we are continuing to help boost the sector's resilience.
As part of our Business Support and Enterprise Development initiative, we're hosting regular webinars with grantees to share best practice and ideas about forward thinking.
At our most recent webinar, we were joined by five external professionals from across the UK. They shared their top tips from some of the many projects that had to adapt and change during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Here are some of their thoughts.
You are not alone
Running a project can be challenging and can feel lonely. It’s important to remember that there are others feeling the same so remember to reach out.
Make sure you have helpful systems in place for wellbeing – yours, colleagues' and participants'.
We love the idea of Creative Care Kits, especially for those working remotely.
Try out tools that are new to you
Be creative and explore tools that you haven’t used before. For example, Spotify can be a great way to successfully engage new recruits by creating Q&As and polls along with playlists to encourage conversations. There are some good resources available from Heritage Digital.
Smaller groups in an online world
Planning and delivering a session online is very different to running one in person. Engaging in smaller groups enables everyone to be heard and keeps participants’ attention. Find out more in our Top tips for hybrid working article.
Buddy up
At some point, everyone feels overwhelmed, especially as we continue to recover from the pandemic. Creating a buddy system enables colleagues to support each other. Participants in the webinar were paired together and encouraged to chat on Teams, on WhatsApp and even a face-to-face meet up when possible.
Think about your foundations
Take a pause, go back to the start and remind yourself what it is you’re trying to achieve. Having a solid foundation to your project means that any turbulence is better supported. Have a project plan, with clear targets and desired outcome. If you feel like you are moving away from this, use this plan to reset.
Evaluate as much as possible
Remember the importance of evaluation and reflection. Do a baseline survey at the start. If you have the budget, get an external evaluator to capture the impact and outcomes for future. It is not about getting your homework marked but about understanding the process and what did and didn't work.
Building capacity and resilience
Our Business Support and Enterprise Development campaign is supporting organisations working with heritage to build their capacity and resilience.
We have invested over £4m in training programmes across the UK.
To stay up-to-date about these and other projects and opportunities:
