Developing your strategy, part two
Understanding your capacity
Institutions have varying levels of comms support and internal infrastructure to support this work. Don’t feel pressure to act like a bigger, more resourced institution if you’re not. Similarly, if you work within a larger organisation, reach out to other departments to build capacity to support the project. Your size can be your strength whether big or small.
Reach beyond your department to find who is meaningfully interested in this work. Where possible, bring them into the decision making and delivery process to share the labour across the institution. Trust that those doing the work will do it well but find allies across the institution.
Bridging your institutional brand and core values
Connecting your project’s communications with the institutional core values and principles is essential. By connecting a decolonisation project or practice to your long-term strategic goals, you form a stronger foundation for your messaging and insulate yourself from criticism. Understanding how your project relates directly to the long-term strategy also helps your team build an agile messaging system for your project.
It’s about trying to make it more inclusive. Telling different stories that could have been told in the past but weren’t.
Case Study: “Treatment of Dead Enemies” – Pitt Rivers Museum
Between 2017 and 2020 the Pitt Rivers undertook an ethical review of its collections and displays, incorporating new museological practices and audience research. Coinciding with the pandemic and museum closure, 120 human remains – including the Shuar Tsantsas, the museum’s collection of ‘shrunken heads’, previously displayed in a case called “Treatment of Dead Enemies” were removed from the galleries in time for the reopening in September 2020.
As part of its media relations the museum worked with two trusted journalists to place features in the national broadsheets. In return for full access to images and spokespeople, the features offered accurate, sympathetic and detailed reporting and drove good quality coverage in the wider media. The story was covered in 300 outlets including major broadcasters, BBC, Sky, Fox News and CNN; and was syndicated by the Press Association to outlets worldwide. The most significant criticism came from the local press which lamented the loss of the ‘shrunken heads’ to local heritage; but wider coverage was overwhelmingly positive or neutral.
Staff wanted to be transparent and proactive in engagement with the public through its own channels. Following the announcement, over 12,000 words were exchanged by followers on Twitter and Facebook, both for and against decolonisation. While initial responses in social media and correspondence were negative, comments to the museum’s ongoing posts became increasingly positive, a trend which persisted to the end of 2020 after the Pitt Rivers reopened.
The museum used its channels to facilitate discussion, sometimes just posting links to further information about decolonisation and the work underpinning the ethical review. This mitigated criticism and positioned the museum as open and receptive to a range of opinions.
The ethical review was a complex and emotive project and communications were integral to its reception. The team used high-profile legacy media to articulate key messages; and its own channels to offer information and engage with debate. This helped maintain the museum’s public profile and has established the Pitt Rivers as a sector-leading organisation in decolonisation.
Writing key messaging
Developing simple, memorable key messages will help you deliver against your objectives and overcome any fluctuations in capacity. They will also help you manage media coverage and control your institution’s role in the story.
In keeping with the MA principles of decolonising museums, it’s especially important to acknowledge your power and privilege at this planning stage. Don’t exaggerate the potential impact of the project or its importance to the institution — make the truth easy to understand. Consider who is centred in your storytelling and who you’re leaving out. Many organisations advocate for doing this work directly with members of affected communities. If you’re working with partners, let them influence and contribute to the messaging and comms strategy.
We have to be so respectful and that’s a key part of decolonisation and repatriation work. Maintaining respect and a dialogue.
At this point it is also useful to explore what specific language you want to use to talk about the projects. Don’t assume that the language you’ve been using internally will be appropriate externally and vice versa. For more support in crafting your messages, try the Building a Shared Impact Narrative exercise at the end of this document.
Image: Connecting with Yemeni Elders Heritage project at House of Memories © National Museums Liverpool, Robin Clewley