Communities  of Practice

 

What is it?
Informal and structured, informal in the sense that the cohort participating defines the terms of their interaction, and structured in the sense that it will be led by a facilitator(s) who keeps conversations and interactions meaningful.  A community of practice is a group of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do, and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.

What are the current communities?
NEMA  has communities of practice for:

• First-time Executive Directors
• Interpreting Histories of Enslavement and Freedom
• Environmental Community of Practice

Why participate?

The goal is to support a group of museum professional who can rely on each other for learning and support, build their professional skills portfolio, and bring greater sustainability and success to the institutions they represent.

First-time Executive Directors Community
Geared toward first-time executive directors with less than 5 years in the role, this community provides on-going, facilitated peer learning and support to enhance careers and museum effectiveness. The community of practice will help develop skills and solve problems of the participants. The group will meet online monthly, collaborate on solutions, participate in directed learning, and meet face-to-face at the NEMA conference. Open to NEMA institutional members that have an annual budget of less than $800,000.

Program Structure

The NEMA First-Time ED Community of Practice (EDCoP) program will have the following characteristics

• EDCoP will include a maximum of 14 museum executive directors with 5 or fewer years in their first ED experience. They must maintain NEMA institutional membership and have an annual budget of less than $800,000.

• EDCoP will be facilitated by someone who will also manage the schedule and discussion content.

• EDCoP will meet monthly on a regular schedule. Every meeting will include time for participants to share issues, concerns, and problems that their peers will help address. We will offer at least one face-to-face meeting at the NEMA annual conference.
  
  
• EDCoP participants will determine other aspects of the group such as additional meetings, ground rules, methods of communication/collaboration, agenda items, etc.

 

What does it EDCoP cost?

EDCoP participants must maintain a NEMA institutional membership. In addition, participants must also pay an annual fee to pay for administrative expenses, and ensure a sense of investment and commitment in the program. In order to keep the program affordable, we are offering two tiers of pricing. Choose either:

• $250 annual fee OR
• $500 annual fee, which includes registration to the NEMA conference.

How do I sign up?

Participation will be capped at 14 people.

Click here to sign up.

 

For more information contact NEMA at scarlett.hoey@nemanet.org, or 781-641-0013.