Forget matching museum programmes to the school curriculum and focus instead on inspiring curiosity in kids and teaching critical thinking.

That’s one of the ideas from a keynote speaker at this week’s MA16 Museums Australasia Conference in Auckland.

Museums Aotearoa Executive Director Phillipa Tocker says MA16 – the first joint conference with Museums Australia – has brought together experts from around the world to share ideas about what is working well in the cultural sector and to tackle the challenges that lie ahead.

“To collect, preserve and protect will always be at the core of what we do but the way we make our content available and the way we interact with our communities is evolving all the time.”

Tocker says advances in technology continue to be adopted to create new and exciting experiences in our museums and galleries but, interestingly, personal interactions and community involvement in exhibitions have been at the centre of some of the most innovative recent programmes.

“We have seen some very original and successful public programmes in the past year that have centred on a hands-on, community-driven approach where the museum or gallery is inviting the public in as a co-curator and asking people to bring their own ideas to the space,” says Tocker.

MA16 keynote speaker Elizabeth Merritt, founding director of American Association of Museums program and Center for the Future of Museums, says the future of the sector should be about building on its strengths and examining and challenging traditional thinking that may no longer be relevant.

For example, Merritt says, museums are very good at ‘informal learning’ which teaches the sorts of skills that are increasingly recognised as vital for our future workforce, such as curiosity, critical thinking and how to work collaboratively.

“Constraints of funding and politics and tradition, and a focus on tests and facts, make it hard for schools to teach these skills but [museums] can knock it out of the park,” says Merritt.

For that reason, museums shouldn’t get too caught up on matching their school programmes to the national curriculum, says Merritt, and instead should use their content and collections to get kids curious, encourage them to ask questions and ‘learn how to learn’.

Merritt says another consideration for the future has to be how museums connect with audiences beyond their walls and share their content more broadly, something made much easier by technology and the option to digitise content and share it online.

Some of the bolder statements from the opening day of the conference, being shared via #MA16 on Twitter, have included keynote Robert Janes’ request for museums to “move beyond neutrality to help address climate change” and Moana Jackson’s comments that museums are dangerous if they fail to tell indigenous stories.

Other MA16 keynote speakers include Dr Dawn Casey, former director of the National Museum of Australia and the Western Australian and Powerhouse Museums, Boon Hui Tan, the former director of the Singapore Art Museum and now Director of the Asian Society Museum in New York, and Moana Jackson (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Porou) co-founder and director of Ngā Kaiwhakamarama i Ngā Ture the Māori Legal Service, and David Garneau Associate Professor of Visual Arts at the University of Regina, Canada, who is part of a five-year Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council-funded curatorial research project “Creative Conciliation”.

Another challenge likely to be debated at MA16 is looming cuts to funding – in a sector already operating with typically tight budgets. A decline in revenue for the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board means Creative New Zealand will have less to share with the sector and it has warned applicants to budget for a 10% drop in funding.

“Funding is a critical issue right now,” says Tocker. “Museums and galleries in this country rely to a huge extent on lotteries grants, philanthropic funding, and all those other sorts of funding which are not public core government funding.”

Tocker says the nature of funding in New Zealand makes it very hard to plan.

“It’s a huge challenge when the funding is not constant or reliable and when it’s dependent on things like lotteries income where the drivers for that are completely outside the cultural sector.”

Despite the tight budgets Tocker says New Zealand can be very proud of the quality of the exhibitions and programmes on offer around the country. The best of the best will be announced at this year’s New Zealand Museum Awards later this week.

MA16, the Museums Australasia 2016 conference, is running in Auckland from 16-18 May. It is the first joint conference of Museums Aotearoa and Museums Australia and the theme is Facing the Future: Local, Global and Pacific Possibilities. 

The winners of the ServiceIQ 2016 New Zealand Museum Awards will be announced in Auckland on Wednesday 18 May 2016.

Museums Aotearoa

Museums Aotearoa is New Zealand's professional association for public museums and art galleries, and those who work in or with them. New Zealand museums and galleries care for more than 40 million items relating to our history and contribute to our national identity. Generating in excess of 1000 public exhibitions and publications and attracting over 8 million visits each year, museums and galleries are a top attraction for New Zealand's overseas visitors.

This media release was sourced directly from Scoop Independent News.

The Energy Management Association of New Zealand (EMANZ) today announced who will take over the reins from outgoing Executive Officer Ewan Gebbie.

After a thorough search and selection process, Dr Mike Hopkins has been appointed to the role.

Mike is a dual (NZ and UK) citizen whose background is in consulting. Before moving to New Zealand, he worked extensively in the energy sector in the UK, delivering advocacy and public relations guidance to organisations such as the British Wind Energy Association, The Electricity Pool (the clearing market) and Innogy, a European based sustainable energy venture capital fund.

Mike has also worked on market research and product development projects in the energy industry and on branding projects with the Engineering Council.

After seven years as Executive Officer, Ewan Gebbie has chosen to stand down and let someone else take EMANZ forward.

“The organisation is in great health, and there is no better time for the organisation to go through a transition such as this” Ewan Gebbie said. “I can thinking of no better person to take on the role.

Mike’s previous energy sector involvement, business background and PhD in Finance make him perfectly qualified and experienced”.

EMANZ Chair Scott Noyes added “The Board is thrilled to have such a high calibre individual to take over the great work Ewan has done to broaden EMANZ’s influence in the energy services sector. Mike’s strengths in marketing, advocacy and financial acumen will position EMANZ to serve its members well in a market poised for growth and opportunity”.

Mike Hopkins also commented “Ewan is leaving a huge pair of shoes to fill. He's done a great job over the years and I'll be continuing that work as well as bringing my own ideas to growing EMANZ. With a progressive Board steering EMANZ, the future looks bright and I'm looking forward to playing my part in delivering it."

Mike will be returning to New Zealand from Sydney to take up the role, where he has spent the last few years in the university sector. He will be on board full-time in early July and will be attending the EMANZ annual conference on 17-18 May in Auckland. Ewan will continue to work with

EMANZ to manage business continuity and to assist Mike as he settles in.

This media release was sourced directly from Scoop Independent News.

A ‘can-do’ combination

Every five years, the Australian Institute of Radiography and the New Zealand Institute of Medical Radiation Technology come together for the NZIMRT-AIR Scientific Meeting. What’s the reasoning behind the joint event? “Open-mindedness,” says David Leach, Conference & Events Manager at the Australian Institute of Radiography. “There will be a regular group of people that attend the conferences every year and for them to network with different people who do similar work but with regional differences helps expand the delegates' thinking and conference experience. You find out the latest in teaching and training at local universities, new research, how new technology is being implemented and how this affects interdisciplinary teams. You also get to experience an array of speakers you haven’t seen before. I think it is exciting for people to go to an international meeting as well. You can learn so much from each other.”

The most recent event took place in Wellington in July 2015, but Leach’s journey began back at the MEETINGS trade show in Auckland 2013 as a fully hosted buyer. “We met a lot of good suppliers face-to-face, it was very personal. I then went to Wellington post-event to look at options. It was very successful.”

It was the start of a positive working relationship with Tourism New Zealand. “The support from Helen Bambry, Business Events Manager Australia, and the rest of the team in Australia and New Zealand was fantastic. They were very approachable and provided a tailor-made approach to make this event a success.”

Dollars and sense

Leach says that one of the keys to success was to maximise the number of delegates attending from Australia. “An online push was in our best interest. Tourism New Zealand supported the creation of a new website for the conference, one that emphasised the pre and post offering and had a greater destination focus. We also had a number of people over to present and get people interested in attending.”

Beyond funding support, Leach also benefitted from local knowledge about suppliers and off-site activities. “They pointed us in the right direction. We held our conference dinner at Te Papa, The Museum of New Zealand, which was excellent and added a cultural setting. Those choices help to attract delegates. We ended up with more than 750 attendees in Wellington, including more than 300 from Australia. That was a good result.”

Organisational assistance even included ensuring a solid business case for the event. “Tourism New Zealand organised some financial meetings in Australia outlining changes to GST and doing business internationally in terms of conferences. We needed to work out how that affected tax, rebates, currency and pricing. It was good to see Tourism New Zealand being proactive with that and it helped us put a better system in place to make the process easier,” Leach adds. “At the end of the day, those figures make a significant difference to your bottom line.”

Positively Wellington

Wellington had the combination of suitable venues, good access to international flights and a local pool of sector specialists to be a fitting host. “In an area like Wellington there is a significant pool working in medical imaging and radiation therapy, and we had a very enthusiastic local committee. Their local knowledge helped greatly to flavour the programme, along with their knowledge of funky little cafes for local breakfast meetings which added a real Wellington flavour,” Leach says. “Wellington is a very easy city to get around, the venues and accommodation are close and it is very walkable. We were blessed with very nice weather and it was wonderful, there was no need to bus delegates around. It made a huge difference to the whole experience.”

Pre-conference events included a mix of learning and leisure: a meeting at Victoria University provided the opportunity to learn from local academics; while a Lord of the Rings Tour with Flat Earth New Zealand Experiences was a very popular ice-breaker. Leach says: “Post-event, Tourism New Zealand gave us ready-to-go itineraries with good options that people could choose to undertake independently. They were a good teaser for people to take the time to explore.”

The overall feedback was overwhelmingly positive and Leach praises multi-purpose venue the TSB Bank Arena. “Positively Wellington Venues were really good to work with. It was really nice to have such a ‘can do’ attitude. TSB Arena was a basketball court when we arrived and we were amazed at how well it worked for us. We had the trade exhibition and plenary in the same area, separated with rigging, draping and temporary walls which worked really well. The exhibitors liked being so centrally located. As soon as we left, the venue became an ice rink. Hats off to them for their ability to turn it around so quickly!”

Leaving a legacy

Leach points out that the trans-Tasman relationships created are now thriving between the five-year events. “There is a research network, ANZMRRN, that was presented and promoted at the meeting and that has since gained further traction, which is great. Our Twitter journal club @medradjclub discusses research papers from our joint JMRS journal and that has been boosted since the joint event, too. I noted a number of New Zealanders coming to the Australian event this year, and I think that will happen a bit more, with Australians going to the next NZIMRT event, too. It is creating those new networks and building those relationships.”

For further information about Tourism New Zealand please visit www.businessevents.newzealand.com

Showcasing Social Enterprise

The social enterprise movement has been growing globally, and those seeking good local examples need look no further than Christchurch. When the organisers of the Social Enterprise World Forum told Alex Hannant that a bid for its annual event from Oceania would be positively received, the post-earthquake city seemed an excellent contender. “The story of Christchurch was something that provided a frame of reference globally,” says Hannant, Chief Executive of the Ākina Foundation. “On the positive side, in spite of the trauma and huge disruption, there’s been an unleashing of creativity and innovation. It’s about communities taking control of their future.”

Bidding for a major international conference is not without its challenges, however. “We were aware of it being a large undertaking. We saw huge potential but also a certain amount of risk,” Hannant admits. “The support we got from Tourism New Zealand was just exceptional. While I was primarily concerned with ensuring it was financially viable, the Conference Assistance Programme took the weight off our shoulders, setting us up with a PCO and working with Christchurch & Canterbury Convention Bureau to put together a strong bid document.” From budget considerations, to letters of support from Lianne Dalziel, Mayor of Christchurch, and Jo Goodhew, Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, and pre and post-conference touring options to attract international delegates, it placed New Zealand as a really credible and professional partner, Hannant says. Tourism New Zealand provided funding assistance for travel to and accommodation at SEWF 2015 in Milan to pitch the bid in person. “The organisers came back saying it was simply the best bid document they’d ever received. It really clinched the deal.”

Leaving a positive legacy

The Social Enterprise World Forum will take place 27-29 September, 2017. It will be the largest conference held in Christchurch since the 2011 earthquake, with up to 1,200 delegates expected from around New Zealand and the world. Attracting leading social enterprise practitioners, policymakers, business leaders, philanthropists and investors, Hannant hopes the event will be a catalyst for New Zealand’s burgeoning social enterprise sector. “There’s a lot of momentum around social enterprise and how it can be used as a tool to support results in a number of government portfolios, from regional economic development, to Māori development, to tackling persistent social and environmental challenges. We’re also seeing a groundswell of interest from philanthropic and business communities. The benefits of this event are a two-way street. It’s an opportunity for New Zealand to showcase its best work to the world, while the world’s leading social enterprise practitioners can share best practice and accelerate social enterprise development here. This event will be a platform for some of these central government organisations and private organisations to really make a statement of intent about how they will move forward. It is a natural place to announce bold actions for the future.”

Breaking with convention

Innovation will not just shape the content, but also the organisation of the event, Hannant adds: “We want to break a lot of conventions around what a conference looks like. SEWF 2017 will be more like a ‘theme park’ than a conference.” Alongside traditional plenary sessions in the Isaac Theatre Royal, events will range across multiple sites in Christchurch CBD, from the Arts Centre to the Transitional Cathedral, to give a different experience and feel. Hands-on workshops will potentially open to the public for the benefit of the wider Christchurch community, while local social enterprises will be showcased within the programme. “By having multiple streams and options on offer, we will create space and opportunities for community building, transfer of knowledge, doing business, and interacting with the city and the local social enterprise community.”

Hannant is working to ensure strong national, regional, and international representation and participation, and is optimistic about a positive turnout from further afield. “The biggest barrier to attendance is distance and potential cost. But, anecdotally, we've heard people are already saving their money. New Zealand is one of those places where everyone wants to go, and this is that one opportunity to make the trip of a lifetime.”

He now plans to work closely with Tourism New Zealand and partners in the next phase of marketing and promotion of the event, particularly at this year’s SEWF in Hong Kong. “At the handover ceremony, we have a 15-minute window to make a big impression and we’re creating a really compelling video. New Zealand sells itself in a lot of ways and we’ll be using that iconic imagery to have an impact on delegates. The support from Tourism New Zealand so far has been a great experience; hand on heart I have never felt so supported by a public sector partner. The amount of excitement and momentum this event is already generating is gigantic.”

For further information about Tourism New Zealand please visit www.businessevents.newzealand.com

So I am finding this hard to believe, but it has been 10 years since we published We Have Always Done It That Way: 101 Things About Associations We Must Change. The book is essentially a collection of 100 blog posts written by Jeff De Cagna, David Gammel, Mickie Rops, Amy Riccardi and myself, with each post raising a different issue that we felt associations need to deal with if they are to adapt to the reality of the 21st century. We talked about the danger of combining strategy and planning, the need for innovation, the possibility of getting rid of committees, the dysfunctions of our boards, and challenges associations face in areas like certification, professional development, and technology.

And here’s the depressing part: 95 of the 101 things we talk about are just as relevant today as they were ten years ago. Seriously, I looked at every post in the book this week, and nearly all of them felt like they could have been written today. I only found 6 that I felt were no longer relevant or were areas that associations had since caught up with:

• Using blogs
• Selling digital downloads
• Using social security numbers as database identifiers
• Embracing social media in general
• Using video within social
• Using RSS feeds

To be honest, I don’t really know if the social security number thing has changed, but I’m giving the community the benefit of the doubt on that one.

So congratulations, association community–6 down, and 95 to go. And I’m glad to see you handled the really tough ones, like selling PDFs online. And hey, it only took you ten years! At this pace, you’ll have caught up to the issues you were facing in 2006 by the year 2174!

And in case my sarcasm isn’t coming through loud and clear, let me state it more plainly:

I am outraged. The fact that we as a community are evolving this slowly in this day and age is simply unacceptable. This actually makes me want to give up on the association community. Seriously. If this is the best we can do in ten years, then maybe I should stop beating the drum for change and just accept the fact that this community, for the most part, is going to fade into irrelevance. There are a few associations that are evolving*, of course, and I am now at the point where I just want to get together with them and plot a new course. Forget the community as it exists today. Let’s just start redefining what association success looks like, and move forward. If you want to stick with the way you’ve always done it, that’s fine. Just stay out of our way.

That is why nearly all of my blogging about associations is on a new site, associationsuccess.org. The folks behind Association Success share some of my frustration with this slow pace of change, my commitment to innovation, and my belief in the power of organizational culture. Join me there. 

[*Disclosure – we work with several associations whose stories are linked to above] 

This article was originally sourced from Social Fish and was written by Jamie Notter.

Are you thinking of hiring a community manager? Here’s a sample community manager job description for you.

But wait! You need to think about a few things first.

For example: Note that the position can be more or less administrative/operational, more or less technical, and more or less publicly visible. You may want your community manager to be someone behind the scenes who quietly ensures the system is running smoothly and questions get answered – or you may want your community manager to be a very visible and active part of the community, posting discussions, responding and conversing with members, being a public resource. Do you need more of a people person? Or do you need more of a technical help-desk administrator? Should your CM also be a subject matter expert, someone from the industry you serve? Should your CM be responsible for creating and curating lots of content, as well as marketing the community outside the community itself? And how does this position differ from your social media manager (or how does it relate to the activities your SM manager does? Make sure you have addressed these questions before you hire the wrong person.

Once you’ve thought these things through, here are some general CM responsibilities you can use to put together the right description for the person you need.

SAMPLE JOB DESCRIPTION: ONLINE COMMUNITY MANAGER

TECHNICAL/HELPDESK/ADMIN:

• Oversees all technical and system administration aspects of the community. This includes working with the community platform vendor to address, resolve, and communicate any issues related to the features and functionality of the community. 
• Provides technical support to members and staff. 
• Manages and troubleshoots regular platform upgrades. 
• Recommends and implements new community features as appropriate.

COMMUNICATIONS/MARKETING/PR/CONTENT:

• Works with Communications Manager to develop and implement community promotion and engagement strategies and tactics as they relate to the communications division and the organization’s strategic goals.
• Coordinates with Marketing/Public Relations, Communications, Education, and Foundation and other divisions’ staff to ensure successful coordinated campaigns for communication, fund-raising, and education.
• Works with Social Media Specialist, Membership, Marketing, and other divisions to coordinate community postings as appropriate across the organization’s other digital channels.
• Communicates and promotes new community features or procedures to members and staff.
• Contributes to related communication vehicles and ensure the integration of community for promotion and awareness building.
• Promotes and evangelizes community activities internally.

MODERATION/MONITORING & RESPONDING:

• Creates/manages the moderation and terms of use policies.
• Monitors discussions, responds in a timely fashion where appropriate (or ensures relevant responders are “nudged” to respond). 
• Alerts Communications Manager and appropriate staff as issues arise and work with staff to resolve issues.
• Maintains a Responders List of members and/or staff who can be reached quickly to respond to specific questions.
• Networks with community members and identifies Community Champions.
• Works behind the scenes to ensure engagement.

TRAINING:

• Develops and maintains community training resources, guidelines, and policies.
• Trains other staff on how to participate and engage in the community.
• Provides internal and external community training as necessary.
• Trains and empowers Community Champions to participate on a more significant engagement level.

REPORTING:

• Monitors and measures the success of community engagement (i.e. number of power users, number of discussions, etc.), and provides reports for Communications Manager and executives.
• Identifies and reports on community trends to internal teams and advises on potential opportunities or risks.
• Tracks KPIs related to Social CRM goals such as recruitment, retention or outreach goals.

This article was originally sourced from Social Fish and was written by Ben Martin.

Have you tried using social media as a recruiting tool for your association or nonprofit?

If you learn how to use social media for recruiting, you’ll find it’s one of the best ways to attract top talent. Employers know this: 89 percent of them use social media to find candidates, and 70 percent of hiring managers have successfully recruited with social media. Not only that, employees are paying attention to potential employers on social media as well – 59 percent say that a company’s social accounts influenced their choice of where to work.

Plus, if you’re looking to attract millennials to your workforce, social is possibly the best method. Studies have shown that high numbers of millennials, – up to 70 percent – say they’ve found a job using social media. But social recruiting can have a downside as well. It’s exceptionally good at bringing in “passive candidates” people who were not looking for a job until they heard about an opportunity through social media. This can be a good thing – as you’ll see below, it opens up a huge percentage of the talent pool. But it presents some potential problems. 

Learn more about passive candidates and social recruiting, and see what happens when the world’s worst boss tries to implement this. To view the diagrams for this article, please click here. 

This article was originally sourced from Social Fish and was written by Maddie Grant.

Prevention is not possible, prediction is fraught, and that leaves proactive planning.

When you raise this topic your IT Manager will calmly tell you that staff should "know better" and that it is not their responsibility to check all attachments on all emails.

So, what to do in advance depends upon where the business support software and data files "mostly reside".

Stored "in the cloud":

• Check, with your IT Manager, that there exists a Backup Strategy for each of the business systems that are cloud based, in particular both their software functionality and their data files.
• Check, by planned demonstration, that the Backup Strategy can render the business fully operational without need to "connect to the cloud". If your IT Manager insists that this is impossible it will confirm that no Backup Strategy exists.
• Check, periodically, the progress of the IT Manager in resolving the above two circular steps.

Stored "on the premises":

• Check, with your IT Manager, that there exists a Backup Strategy for each of the business systems that are premises based, in particular both their software functionality and their data files.
• Check, by planned demonstration, that the Backup Strategy can render the business fully operational.
• Should this demonstration fail, check periodically, the progress of the IT Manager in resolving the above two circular steps.

So what next? Join us next month to learn more.

You can contact IVT on 03 9723 9399 and talk to our staff about your needs.

The ADA has recently launched a brand new website and the site breaks new ground in the Australian association space, with features such as: 

1. Comprehensive member self-service with the ability for members to update their information, subscriptions, directory preferences etc. All changes are written directly to our membership database.

2. A jobs board with the ability for members to post jobs, expire them, and of course search and filter open jobs.

3. Online video and audio education (CPD), with automated tracking in a CPD Logbook

Anything watched by a member on the portal is automatically tracked for them, with the ability to export to PDF or CSV.

4. The ability to self-generate a letter of good standing.

5. Access to a national online library and the Australian Dental Journal.

6. A library of HR/IR documentation.

7. A dedicated area for the public – ‘your dental health’.

8. ‘Find a Dentist’ directory service.

To view the new website, click here. 

A streamlined event strategy by the Consumer Bankers Association pays off.

Seven years ago, the events calendar for the Consumer Bankers Association looked a lot different. CBA produced eight separate meetings focused on different parts of the banking industry, including a mortgage conference and an auto-lending event.

While each was doing fine financially, CEO Richard Hunt, who was new at the time, wanted to make the most of them all, better meet member needs, and create a larger brand and event platform that would produce a higher ROI.

“I wanted to provoke a new way of thinking and challenge the status quo,” Hunt says. “I also wanted to position CBA to lead the industry through and beyond the financial crisis, helping member banks adjust their strategies to meet the needs of an ever-changing consumer.”

With the help of marketing and experience design agency 360 Live Media, Hunt discovered the solution: Consolidate CBA’s meetings lineup into one unified experience called CBA LIVE.

The three-day meeting and tradeshow attracts more than 1,300 attendees, and close to 600 of them are bankers who have decision- making authority.

“We have geometrically improved our ability to monetize the event, because the value of the audience is much more robust than it ever was,” says Hunt.

Since the launch of the CBA LIVE franchise, the association has increased event revenue 129 percent by focusing on building smart, sustainable, and customized partnerships and sponsorships.

Among the unique sponsorships are a VIP reception and dinner where a single sponsor is given exclusive access to senior banking executives, private meeting rooms so a company can meet with clients and prospects, and the ability for sponsors to give three attendees a VIP experience that includes access to an executive lounge.

CBA LIVE sponsorships and exhibits are reserved exclusively for CBA members, which means that if companies want to participate, they must first pay membership dues, which also adds to CBA’s bottom line.

Hunt attributes much of CBA’s success to the scarcity principle. By offering only five yearlong strategic partnerships, CBA has been able to increase the value of these individual packages from $20,000 to $200,000 per sponsorship in just six years.

“By telling [sponsors] they’re going to be only one of five to have that access, we are able to build buzz, and—even better—nondues revenue,” Hunt says.

CBA has been able to increase the value of these individual packages from $20,000 to $200,000 per sponsorship.

This article was originally sourced from Associations Now and was written by Samantha Whitehorne.