NWA 2012 Strategic Planning Survey Results

1. NWA 2012 Strategic Planning Survey Results NWA Annual Meeting Salem, OR April 2012

2. Survey Results • NWA has 202 active members • Survey was sent to 209 members • 74 survey responses were received and analyzed • A36% response rate!

3. Question 1

4. Question 2

5. Question 3 NWA does these things well re: Continuing Education: • Hosting SAA workshops (EAD and DACS, etc.) • Mentoring program • Annual meeting sessions re: professional development • Holding workshops in various places around the Northwest • Holding workshops at various times of the year • Being present when called upon

6. Question 4 NWA could do these things better re: Continuing Education: • List of local / national experts to call with specific issues • Focus on innovative skills development • Listen to members’ wants / needs • Better mentoring / helping new archivists get jobs • More offerings throughout the year • Offer workshops toward DAS certification • Partner with other local / regional groups to increase offerings • Bring in SAA training at times other than annual meeting • Alternative methods of delivering training (online, etc.) • Develop comprehensive plan that includes topics / instructors • Develop a funding model • Distribute training throughout the region • Advertising and outreach • Increase frequency of offerings • Give support to institutions / subgroups needing assistance • Need general workshops for beginners / new archivists • Have at least 1-2 SAA workshops available at each annual meeting • Develop home-grown workshops that are less expensive than SAA’s • Include non-members

7. Question 5

8. Question 6

9. Question 7 NWA does these things well re: Advocacy / Outreach: • State representatives • Archives Month • Manageable membership fees • Emails and new member welcome • Active interest of new members • Sense of community among members • Mentor program • Legislative advocacy • Represents entire region • Easy Access

10. Question 8 NWA could do these things better re: Advocacy / Outreach: • Partner with libraries, museums, historical societies • More activities within each state to galvanize members (AK) • Provide guidance in how to recruit new members • Outreach to students and new professionals • Partner with other archival organizations more often • Better promote our scholarships, mentor program, awards, and grant programs (via website) • More efforts toward local issues / advocacy / crises (budget, etc.) • Encourage NWA members to get together locally • Benchmark other regionals to learn new things • Give members a break in cost for meeting and workshop registration – make it close to or above cost of membership • Aim for national impact like MARAC and MAC • Bring in general public and professional groups as allies • More involvement in History Day, Archives Month, other groups with interest in preserving records • More inclusive outreach • Identify ways to lobby / promote archives’ funding and support in state and local govt. • Work with SAA on national issues • Communicate more effectively with membership about what’s being done avocacy-wise • Demonstrate advantages of professional development and opportunities • Outreach to programs that train archivists • Approach members who rarely serve on committees to become involved

11. Question 9

12. Question 10

13. Question 11 NWA does these things well re: Organizational Structure: • State reps engaged with local members • Recruiting young professionals into positions • Clearly defined officer positions • Organizational guidelines clear and easy to use • Fair and well-publicized elections • Good mix of elected and appointed service opps • Regional news in Easy Access

14. Question 12 NWA could do these things better re: Organizational Structure: • Encourage more people to participate in leadership • Better use of state reps – expand their duties / highlight their contributions • Add a Board position representing students / new professionals • More communication between Board and membership throughout year • Interact with state agencies • President should communicate more with membership – discuss initiatives and work being done for NWA • Share the workload to prevent burnout • Add a Board position of “NWA Archivist” for knowledge management and outreach • Put one Board member on every NWA committee • Establish Board-member-only committees as well – Finance Committee with Treasurer / state rep(s) – Compliance Committee with Secretary / state rep(s) – Member Outreach Committee with Member Coordinator /state rep(s) – etc.

15. Question 13

16. Question 14

17. Question 15 NWA does this well re: Committee Structure: • Targeted, project-based committees • Current committees sounds good in theory • Committee goals get accomplished • Recruiting new people for committees • Use of committees to address needs and issues • Great = local arrangements, program, mentoring • Guidelines and expectations are very clear • Doing fine = publications, awards, nominating • Always have enough members

18. Question 16 NWA could do these things better re: Committee Structure: • Keep track of standing committees and keep them functioning • More activity in committees – have phone conferences, etc. • Need progress reports from committees • Publicize all committees and member opportunities to increase involvement • Strategically tap new people to serve • Recruit more new professionals for committees • More formal integration into NWA organizational structure • Board member on every committee • Committees need formal mandates, charges, timelines, accountability • Committees need structure, direction, monitoring • Form new committees for special projects • Don’t let committees get lost from one administration to another • General awareness of which committees are active, including ad-hoc

19. Question 17

20. Question 18

21. Question 19 NWA does these things well re: Communications / Publications: • Website • Easy Access (electronic) • Emails / Listserv • Social media • Facebook page • Responsive to correcting errors • Multiple methods to reach diverse membership – good balance • Creating member interaction for fun and bonding • Website for job vacancies • Website for paying membership dues

22. Question 20 NWA could do these things better re: Communication / Publications: • Enhance awareness of and use of Listserv • Newsletter is difficult to read in current format • More member contributions to Easy Access re: projects and challenges being faced • Update website more frequently • Publish annual meeting details earlier • Give less attention to social media – too time-consuming • Empower people to communicate • Website is hard to navigate – how to find Board minutes? • Make “News from the Northwest” more concise • NWA blog – is anyone using it? Shall we keep it? • More communication from officers on regular basis • Social media being under-utilized • ALL communication should go out via Listserv to create dialog between all members

23. Question 21

24. Question 22

25. Question 23 NWA does these things well re: Annual Meeting: • It’s a good length • Rotating meetings around wide geographic area • Well-organized • Excellent content • Very welcoming • Sessions feature innovative projects and professional content • Registration is affordable and process is easy • Sessions feature variety and appeal to the entire demographic • Involving students • Local interest at meeting site • Meeting minutes are helpful • Local Arrangements Committee always does a great job • Makes good use of alliances • Well-promoted

26. Question 24 NWA could do these things better re: Annual Meeting: • Have archival researchers as speakers • Hold the meeting during the work week – not on weekend • Give advance guidance to local arrangements committees • More sessions about practical problems – donations, state archives, processing • Problem with distance and lack of funds • Explore other meeting collaborations • Hotel with free wi-fi • Sessions should appeal to all types of repositories • More sessions on records management • Stop having meetings with non-archival groups – especially ones devoted to a single state • Hold meetings in centrally-located venues (most members are in the I-5 corridor) • More sessions to promote networking and getting to know one another • Better coverage on website regarding what to expect at meeting • Experiment with session formats • Have ALL states present on general topics • Offer three sessions per time period in “tracks” – 1) how-to sessions from beginning to advanced, 2) theory, philosophy, history, 3) showcase state in which meeting is held • Coordinate between Education Committee and Program Committee on sessions and workshops • Put a student / new professional on annual meeting committees • Put chairs of Local Arrangements Comm. and Program Comm. on 3-year cycle to gain more experience • Session ideas – panel of State Archivists; open forum where members interact over current issues

27. Question 25 NWA should also address these areas: • Align with libraries and museums • Address digital collections • Address future of archives • Need to boost membership in Idaho • Diversity in employment AND in the historical record • Better communication between members outside annual meeting • Designate a repository for the NWA Records • Highlight accomplishments of members more often • Determine role NWA plays within larger scope of archival organizations – collaborate! • Address finances • Address growth plans for next 5-10 years

28. Survey Priorities – Most Important • Continuing Education / Professional Development – 77% very important • Communications / Publications – 67% very important • Annual Meeting – 64% very important • Advocacy / Outreach – 40% very important • Organizational Structure – 17% very important • Committee Structure – 13% very important

29. Survey Priorities – Most Improvement Needed • Committee Structure – 6% not well • Continuing Education – 5% not well • Advocacy / Outreach – 3% not well • Annual Meeting – 3% not well • Communications / Publications – 2% not well • Organizational Structure – 0% not well