FAQ's
Why do we need re.volution?
Many of the challenges we face running any kind of organisation seem overwhelming on an individual level – an experience described as needing ‘bigger than self’ responses in times of unprecedented changes. The simple idea behind re.volution is that professional arts and culture producers and the public and private funders that support them all want to achieve one common goal - resilient people and organisations who know how to overcome the challenges of over extension and under capitalisation - doing too much with too little, too often and alone.
What is re.volution?
re.volution is a peer learning network that enables leaders working in all sizes of arts and cultural organisation (although we are targeting leaders of small and medium sized organisations especially) to share their passion, experience and expertise with others to address challenges and grasp opportunities. re.volution draws on the successful experiences of peer networks which have sprung up round the world to tackle what seemed insurmountable problems for individual organisations. Peer learning has been shown to be one of the most powerful means of understanding and solving problems and achieving change on both a personal and organisational level. For one outstanding and inspiring example of what a peer network can achieve have a look at the RE-AMP network—comprising 125 nonprofits and funders across eight states in the USA.
How is it managed and who is involved?
re.volution has been designed by Mission Models Money (MMM) in collaboration with many of the sector’s lead agencies, Arts Council England and Creative Scotland. It is coordinated by MMM who manage both the online and face-to-face network components with the support of a Steering Group whose membership is drawn from industry lead bodies, Peers and MMM. Between them they represent thousands of people and organisations working across the arts and cultural ecology and beyond.
How does re.volution work?
re.volution has five key areas of activity:
- It recruits and develops a network of Peers. Peers who join the network are experienced people leading at many different levels within arts and cultural organisations (including museums) which are primarily concerned with delivering broad public or social benefit .
- They are complemented by a small pool of additional expertise drawn from the Steering Group's network who can offer support in a range of areas that MMM's previous work has identified as being a priority for the sector, including strategic finance, asset development and new business development.
- It brings Peers together through a brokering service to support one another in resolving key challenges in both a mutual space and if peers want it, a trading space;
- It provides access to free-to-use resources and tools and a programme of on line and face to face events like expert seminars allowing people to join in larger group discussions and peer exchange on line around key themes sometimes with international partners;
- It encourages shared learning among the network through publishing evaluation and research from MMM and others;
- It spreads the word about best and next practice.
In its start-up phase, re.volution does not aim to serve start ups (defined as trading for less than eighteen months), or sole traders. Its membership does aim to reflect all sizes of building and non building based organisations in both rural and urban contexts, and leaders running infrastructure organisations (e.g. studio providers, and audience development agencies) as well those as delivering art and cultural programmes directly.
Why should I join?
If you are running an organisation committed to tackling any of the following questions then re.volution is for you:
- What is our real value and to whom?
- How can we change the way we operate to secure our longer term artistic and financial health?
- How can we develop new sources of income? What intangible as well as tangible assets do we have and how might we develop them to help secure a more resilient future?
- How can we encourage our audiences to become even more involved in our organisation as donors, sponsors, micro funders and active participants in our programmes of work?
- What are our options for using technology to transform how we present, produce or distribute work generate new income, or encourage user involvement?
- Who is out there with whom we can collaborate to purchase in bulk, share services or build audiences and new markets and how can we do we do it successfully?
re.volution isn’t designed to help people solve a crisis. But it can help to avoid one developing the first place by matching you with other people who have recognised and solved equivalent challenges. It is for proactive people who want to take the long view and are confident and generous enough to recognise that what goes around comes around – in due course – the principle of mutual aid. As a Peer you can provide peer assistance and you can also request it for yourself.
What kinds of challenges can it help me tackle?
re.volution puts you in control of diagnosing what you need on a step by step basis and guides you through the options to draw on peer experience. Examples of some of the many challenges re.volution might help you with include:
- Demonstrating value
- Mission renewal and development of governance
- Managing collaborations between different scale set ups
- Understanding and using assets better(tangible & intangible)
- Setting up a social enterprise
- Introducing e-commerce
- Sharing audiences
- How to manage complex international working and globalisation
- How to influence the localism agenda
What are the benefits of being a peer member?
At an individual level re.volution brings support from colleagues, professional development opportunities, an enhanced peer network, enhanced problem solving skills, new ideas, perspectives and tools. For organisations re.volution offers cost effective external review and advice, assistance and challenge from trusted peers, innovative thinking, the opportunity to reflect and to develop greater awareness of assets and opportunities, collaborative possibilities and enhanced ability to renew the business model. For the whole sector re.volution will offer a route to greater self reliance and improved cultural leadership; renewed models which are not over extended and undercapitalised and better connectivity between both individuals and organisations.
As this is a mutual assistance scheme what would I need to provide for the network?
If you become a Peer you would need:
- To be willing to share your profile for on-line read only purposes in a secure area of the re.volution website accessible only to other Peers
- To participate in a one day orientation event with fellow Peers from across England and Scotland
- To be willing to share your expertise, skills and experience with Peers for up to three days per year, on the basis that your travel and accommodation costs would be paid by your host (a simple contract guides this exchange)
- To sign up to the re.volution charter – your code of practice
- To invest a small amount of time to help us evaluate the programme
How do I join? Simply click join the re.volution and complete the simple profile form. We will use the information you provide to help us match Peers and to make sure that the network has a balance of skills available.
How is the quality of re.volution controlled?
By you – the Peers who make up the network and who contribute to its quality and effectiveness. Over the next three years, re.volution will capture and share your feedback and draw on the experience built through providing Peer review, to inform the next stage of development of the network.
