Steering Group
9th February 2005
9th February 2005
Present: Cllr. George Cooper (Chair), Mrs Raj Chopra, Mrs Trisha Grimshaw, Mr John Kidd, Ms Anna Nightingale
Apologies: Mrs Eileen Bowlt, Prof Steve Hodkinson; Ms Mandy Mordue, Ms Paula Palk
In attendance: Mr. Azam Magre; Dr. Gillian Collins; Lady Chisholm, Ms Carolynne Cotton.
Introduction and Welcome
The Chair welcomed members to the first meeting and invited all attendees to introduce themselves.
The Project
Received: the background briefing notes on the project, bound booklet entitled Heritage Builds Bridges and a copy of the brochure describing the project.
The role of the Steering Group was confirmed as being to ensure that the Heritage Builds bridges project goes to plan and delivers the outcomes to which it is committed.
The Project Plan
Received: a PowerPoint presentation of the Project Plan from Ms Carolynne Cotton, (copy attached).
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) had donated 247K towards the costs of the project. It was noted that permission to start was given by the HLF as from 19 January 2005. This was a very significant date, as the project would need to be completed 2 years from this date. (We have been subsequently notified that 30 June 2007 will be the last billing date, which means the project will need to have been completed at least 8 weeks from that date).
The project would employ 4 staff, of whom one would be part funded from Council funds. The projects aim was to catalogue, preserve and make accessible the archives and artifactsowned by the three partners, Hillingdon, BFSS and Brunel, to national archive standards. Its success would be largely measured by the extent to which it could serve a wide range of audiences, from international scholars to local schoolchildren. It would also be measured, in part, by whether it could attract contributions and involvement from a more diverse population.
It was noted that the BFSS archives were already catalogued and that list was on the web (see http://www.bfss.org.uk/archive/catcontents.html).
Phase 2 concept
Received: an oral presentation from Lady Chisholm on the concept for the proposed second phase of the project.
Steering Group members were informed that second phase was still just a concept. The idea was to put a proposal to HLF to create a permanent and appropriate home for the archives and the artifacts to be located on Brunels Uxbridge Campus. The vision would be of an accessible building, a Museum and cultural centre for Hillingdon, acting as a symbolic and actual bridge between University and Community. Any building would need to be capable of being financially self-sustaining. Current thinking is that we would need to add to the museum and archive functions something like a very high-tech mini-conferencing facility, which could generate income. This would be used by the University for meetings as well as available for community and business use.
The timetable for a bid for phase 2 to be put to the HLF was not yet fixed. The point was made that it would need to be done well before the end of Phase 1 if we were to ensure continuity of staff, but at a point at which success for phase 1 could be suitably demonstrated to HLF.
Project Update
Received: the Project Timetable (tabled and copy attached for information).
Although there had been some slippage due to delays in receiving the permission to start, the project management team was confident that the project could be delivered on time. Advertisements for the staff were ready to go and staff should be in post within 3 months.
In discussion it was noted that the project needed to engage and address a very diverse audience. For example, the timetable for moving the BFSS archive was critical as it attracted serious scholars, many from abroad, who would expect continuous access.
The look and feel of the material on the web would be critical for schools and teachers. Making the material genuinely accessible, relevant to the curriculum and compatible with the National Grid for Learning (NGfL) and other national standards was essential to the projects success. Including activities such as history trails and encouraging new material to be added about more recent history and family history, particularly for minority groups would be seen as most useful.
It was intended that the project would build on oral history and other local projects such as Bridging the Gap.
Action Plan, including circulation lists, Focus Groups and outreach activities.
Members expressed their need for further clarification of the role of the Steering Group and their individual roles within that. Whilst members were happy to be involved and also to help spread the word about the project, they wanted more guidance on how best to achieve that and what groups they should be targeting.
The rationale for focus groups and for a group of friends of the project was questioned. In discussion, it was noted that focus groups would be most useful when we would be able to test options for the look and feel of the website. The project would need volunteers as well as staff. Indeed 4 volunteers had already started work. A group of Friends of the project could act as ambassadors, as well as a pool of volunteers. Maintaining such a group would require regular communications and involvement.
Agreed:
i) that the management team would prepare a paper defining the roles and responsibilities of the Steering Group for circulation before the next meeting; this should include a clear description of the focus groups and group of friends;
ii) that the management team would prepare a communications plan for the next meeting;
iii) that members would begin informal exploration of interest in the project amongst their own contact groups;
iv) that members would be sent more copies of the leaflet.
Any other business
The chair asked for comments on the quality and usefulness of the first meeting. He emphasised that it was important not to have meetings for their own sake, but to have meetings that gave value to the project, were helpful to the management team and also useful to members.
Members commented that they wanted clear and specific goals for their involvement, with deadlines where possible.