Planning a history #1: People
This is the first of a three-part post providing strategies and tips to help you embark on writing the history of your organisation.
The posts are based on my experience of managing large projects for a variety of clients from associations and corporates to not-for-profits and government departments. The posts are not intended to be an exhaustive examination, but to provide some top-level guidance that I hope will help get your project underway.
The three posts will cover:
People: Staffing your project so that you have the best chance of achieving your milestones
Writing: The structure of the history and writing, and
Images: Sourcing and scanning images to a suitable quality for printing
1. PEOPLE
Editorial committee
The most important element when planning, researching, and writing your history is to establish a project management process. At the centre of this is an editorial committee. Their purpose is:
To decide upon the scope and objectives of the history,
To make editorial decisions while the book is being researched and written and ensure it remains on schedule, on track editorially, and on budget, and
To ensure the original objectives of the history are achieved.
Members of the committee are invited because of their position in the organisation, professional experience, judgement, insight, expertise, or their ability to assist with aspects of strategy or research.
The editorial committee comprises various roles to ensure that the required work can be delivered on time and to budget. From experience I have found that a useful structure for the committee is as follows:
The editorial or project manager. It is ideal to appoint one person to drive the project and be ultimately responsible for its delivery.
The editorial committee. Where there are several divisions in an organisation it’s useful to have an editorial team that includes representatives from various areas of the organisation, one person with company-wide knowledge and contacts, and perhaps a long-standing employee with a deep knowledge of the organisation's past.
These committee members should discuss the overall progress at regular meetings to ensure that the project remains on track. I would suggest monthly meetings is ideal. That way, any area that is falling behind can be assisted or receive additional resources.
Skills required
You will most likely find several types of research are required to produce your history, so it may be useful to appoint people with a variety of skills to the editorial committee. For example, consider who might have the best contacts or skills in the following areas:
Sourcing and collecting stories and photographs from archival materials within the organisation
Compiling lists of products, events and personnel to be covered or acknowledged in the work to ensure nothing critical is omitted
Compiling a list of people who can provide details of important historical events and activities
Interviewing contacts or employees to gather stories about key topics
Contacting past friends of the organisation, public figures, and the media for photos of historical events, people, or products.
Workload
Whether you are a volunteer-based organisation or have salaried employees, it is useful to be aware of how much work you are asking each member of the editorial committee to contribute, because usually the history project will be additional to their existing workload.
On all the corporate or organisational histories in which Longueville Media has been involved, one member of the client's team has been the passionate driver of the project. This person has conceived the publication, obtains the internal buy-in, and has the passion to see it completed.
From my experience, it is relatively easy to find enthusiastic people to take part in a history project and it can be an immensely rewarding undertaking. However, from a management perspective is prudent to discuss the potential workload upfront so that everyone involved is aware of the additional work to be asked of them.
Many functions, such as editorial, design, and overall project management can be outsourced and it is in those areas that Longueville Media has provided assistance, but it is important to have a core team in house.
Writing a history is a large undertaking and all involved should understand and be realistic about how many hours are required for researching editorial, photographs, speaking to contacts, and collating the research. As long as you are realistic about this upfront and have the support of the appropriate senior staff, the project will be a success and a great showcase of your organisation's history for decades to come.
Other ideas: Strategic alliances
Financial
Think about what companies or other organisations could benefit from being associated with your book and invite them to sponsor the publication in return for their logo inside and a quantity of books to give away to their customers or members.
Think also about your members and readers. Do you have enough members or friends to create a sponsorship package? These people could be listed in the book as, for example, Gold, Silver, or Bronze, Supporters of the history, based on how much they contributed.
Editorial
Think about what skills and resources you will need to produce your book. For example, depending on the depth of your history, it may be of value to consider employing a professional historian for your editorial committee, not necessarily to write, but to advise on content, research, and to help you gain access to the appropriate historical resources.
Longueville Media is always here to provide advice on how to make a success of your history and provide project management and publishing services.
