…the messiness and emergence of interorganizational collaboration may be partially overcome through enacting deliberate structural choices; for example, making appropriate choices between small partnership forms for relatively contained projects, and broader, enabling or capacity building network forms for more exploratory collaborations such as research consortia, communities of practice and best practice networks… (Hibbert and Huxham,…
No-one steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and you’re not the same person. (adapted from Heraclitus) As we begin September after months of seismic change in all aspects of our lives, a new set of challenges and opportunities present themselves. There is no question we are living in a…
We’re all makers Lockdown reminded us that we’re all makers – and that could change everything. An inspiring and thoughtful piece from Antony Gormley in the RA’s series Artists in Isolation Latest Visitor Sentiment Research Latest set of visitor sentiment research from Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) and Decision House. Lots of valuable insights…
We were all waiting to go into the room, one by one. The structure charts had been published, consultations held, and we had a pretty good idea of what was coming for each of us. As Emily left the room, she was ashen and tearful. She knew what was going to be in the letter…
I spoke to two creative sector coaches recently who both had work postponed almost immediately as lockdown began in the UK, they are yet to know if it will return. A friend gave up a full time job to go into freelance event organising just weeks before everything shut down. Many, many creative practitioners have…
A failure to plan is a plan to fail. Planning remains a key element in organisational success but it is a lot harder than it was before Covid-19 began creating uncertainty everywhere. Past performance is no longer a reasonable guide to future performance. Old assumptions of cause and effect may no longer hold. In such…
Having fun exploring business models The creators of the Business Model Navigator have made an interactive version of their work on 55 different business models available online for free. It is a really great tool if you are thinking about business model change and want some inspiration. The Portable Antiquities Scheme has recorded 1.5m archaeological…
If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first fifty-five minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes. Albert Einstein As some of you know I ask…
On Monday Dawn wrote about the central importance of behaviour in determining how, and how well, we can weather the current storms. Perhaps particularly in challenging times, when people’s ability to tolerate disconnects and dissonance is lower than usual, we are judged by what we do rather than what we say. To help with the…
On Monday we wrote about why thinking about business cases rather than business plans could be a helpful shift in mindset. Today we want to share a tool that we are developing to support you in designing outline business cases creatively and quickly. The Business Case Canvas Susan The Business Case Canvas (BCC) is…
It is likely that most of the sector is looking at a period of substantial transition over the coming months. Given the extent of the crisis created by Covid-19 it is also unlikely that the required response will be a case of simply tweaking the current business plan. In most instances it will require a substantial…
Five tips for re-opening your office As organisations are starting to think about and plan for a return to work, this is a really timely reminder that along with new equipment we will have to establish some new habits. Keeping employees and customers safe and healthy while doing business in an ongoing pandemic will not…
Another collection of goodies to amuse, intrigue and inspire. NASA If you want some perspective, or just to look at amazing photos from space, I really recommend signing up for the NASA Earth Observatory weekly email. From thinking about the next normal to making it work: What to stop, start, and accelerate A really useful…