[Please read the following information before submitting your expression of interest - applications will close 17:00 Friday 20 December]
About the course
This free online course, led by the The Audience Agency, will help archive staff develop the skills, understanding and confidence you need to successfully advocate for digital activity, systems and change to senior decision-makers. This course will help you advocate to decision-makers for the digital capacity, skills and resources your archive needs. It will set you up to be informed, evidence-driven change-makers, giving you the understanding and tactics you need to make the case for digital in your archive’s context. This training is a chance to empower colleagues to effect strategic change and in larger organisations could also be an opportunity to strengthen working relationships across different teams.
Learning objectives
By the end of this course, you will have:
- improved your own digital literacy and understanding
- a fuller understanding of the opportunities and challenges around digital for your organisation and of the priorities within those
- specific next steps for digital advocacy around your key digital priority
- framings, process and tactics for more general digital advocacy, to apply going forward
- a range of pragmatic and relatable case studies
- a new network of peers all tackling similar issues
- signposting to further free online resources.
Who should attend
This course is designed for early and mid-career archives staff, and/or team members or volunteers in any role, who need buy-in from senior colleagues and decision-makers around digital systems, tools, skills or resourcing. Two members from each participating archive must attend to ensure that they are able to enact and embed change more effectively within their organisation.
Course structure
Workshop 1 – 10am to 12pm - Wednesday 22 January 2025
Workshop 2 – 10am to 12pm - Wednesday 29 January 2025
Workshop 3 – 10am to 12pm - Wednesday 12 February 2025
Follow-on support session, one hour per archive, March 2025.
This online course is designed for up to 24 delegates from 12 archives. You will be asked to undertake a small piece of self-led coursework in between sessions. After the third workshop, each pair of delegates will have a follow-up, hour-long support session with one of the course leaders to help you apply and embed what you have learnt.
How we will assess your expression of interest
Due to limited numbers on this course, we are asking applicants to submit a short expression of interest. Your application will be assessed on your eligibility (UK based archive with two participants) and the quality of your answer to question 4 which will be rated from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent).
Where archives are both eligible and equally high-scoring, priority will be given to archives that have not been successful before in securing a position on our training courses related to digital skills that have required an expression of interest, namely: Creative Storytelling, Digitally Literate Leadership, and Digital Exhibitions. This is to ensure that the widest range of archives can benefit from our training offer.
Once we have reviewed the applications, we will contact you directly to let you know the outcome on 13 January.
All responses will be stored securely and treated confidentially. Any personal information you chose to provide will be handled in accordance with The National Archives' privacy policy.