Museums „Museum for People” project and team working

Project. Has a specific target group that is easy to describe. Is generally in line with mission – has specific goals. Has specific deadlines, staff, own and external resources... Enables dynamic work, ongoing evaluation of its results, ambitious reform and change.

Project Management. Time management. Deadline, time axis, breakdown into stages, assigning tasks to time slots and people. Team management. Allocating tasks, responsibility, benefits. Motivating team Members, teamwork, information flow, discipline. Managing information: internal and external. Funds. Own funds, subsidies, ticket sales, shops, restaurants. Patronage and sponsoring. PR and publicity. Using barters, media relations, producing and distributing your own publicity materials, the Internet etc. Education, becoming familiar, promoting attitudes, shaping views, provoking discussion, creating stars (art as show business, museum as the big screen) etc.

Team management. A good team is: Competent Creative Motivated Dynamic Resistant to stress Able to improvise Positive in attitude Open to comments, knowledge… Searching Modest Polite … Methods of influencing a team: Recruitment Good information distribution Motivating with responsibility, review, encouragement, example, fairness, benefits Training and development opportunities Proper hierarchy Mutual communications – feedback Success – artistic, commercial, personal

Stages of Project Work: 1.analysis / internal research – own needs, mission, tasks, goals... 2.defining / redefining Museum mission 3.plan concerning ideals to be implemented 4.analysis / external research 1 5.museum strategy 6.analysis / external research 2 7.museum tactics - projects

Museum Tactics. Unit - PROJECT. 1.Project – exhibition, educational programme. 2.Creation. 3.Consultations, research, conclusions, modifications. 4.Implementation. 5.Information flow. 6.Organisation – content / logistics / funds / marketing – Recipient. 7.Summary – analysis, conclusions, distributing know how.

Brain Storm. Group composition – varied, neutralise or eliminate persons who don’t fit in. Manner of work: enthusiasm, openness, eagerness, faith. Facilitator. Work stages: I. brief; II. creative session – associations should be as remote as possible, looking for metaphors, visualisation, breaking stereotypes, just taking down notes without criticising or analysing; III. break; IV. critical analysis, choosing best ideas. According to the same scheme – detailed sessions developing selected ideas. Instruments: examples, props, flipchart, activating games.

Brain Storm Stages and Rules: 0. Always a group of at least 3 persons, at most 6 persons. The facilitator takes down notes, stimulates the group, praises, ensures that no single person dominates the group, encourages timid people but without being too insistent. Brief – clear definition of task, describing important circumstances and possible factors. Creative session – we look for the most remote associations possible, metaphors, we visualise whatever we can (gestures, sketches, pictograms), we break stereotypes. MAIN RULE: all, even the dumbest ideas must be taken down, absolutely no criticism or analysis at this stage. Break – take a breath, distance yourself. Critical analysis, choosing best ideas.

Brief. Brief is a clear presentation of the expectations of the museum with regard to a project (or strategy). The following things need to be stated very precisely in a brief: –work timetable; –content-related, PR, artistic, educational goals etc.; –recipients; –budget; –required features, conditions, principles. You must know what you WANT! You must be able to explain this precisely to those who execute the brief – staff, Commissioner...

Mind Map. It is a method of presenting complex processes, procedures or structures clearly. It allows to fit many pages of hard to understand notes on one page in an ordered and appealing way. A Mind Map helps us to order, remember, recall and inspire. Almost everything can be represented using a Mind Map.

How to Create it? The initial concept – keyword, problem No. 1 – is put in the middle of the page – it’s best to represent it with the help of a visual association. We determine the most important groups of issues related to it (subjects, associations, tasks). We draw them, placing them evenly around the keyword. We draw rings around the concepts we’ve drawn; we connect rings with “trunks.” Subsequent trunks (groups of concepts) grow from the centres determined earlier. We have a map of associations, of cause-and-effect relationships. A well-drawn Mind Map will be our Advisor and Assistant, Guide and Enforcer of Order.