Helpful tips from the field: Begin to plan a convening at least three to four months in advance. Though most funders are unable to provide funds on this short of a timeframe, it’s not too late to secure funds for subsequent years in advance if you already know there will be plans to convene annually. Create a shared timeline to ensure enough time is scheduled for your organization, partners, facilitators, and attendees to plan for all aspects of the convening, from logistics to developing a visible distribution strategy for the disseminating findings from the convening. Develop a visible distribution strategy for the disseminating findings from the convening, which includes involving local, regional and national networks in advance. For example, IDA’s has previously featured articles reporting out from a convening. Schedule a convening in tandem with a local or regional event, such as a festival or conference, and leveraging those partnerships for support and in-kind exchanges. Additionally, this reduces the cost of attendance if your anticipated participants will already be nearby for an intersecting event. Consider a range of potential partners to organize convening logistics and identify attendees. Partners may serve as a resource for space, funding, logistical support, and field knowledge. Make sure the convening agenda allows enough time for a rich and productive conversation. Think of this event as a dual purpose field-building opportunity to network and strategize. In order to achieve this, it is recommended to make this a full or day event to give participants enough time to build relationships, reflect collectively, and articulate pathways to a shared solution. Hire a dedicated facilitator who can assist with planning the convening, framing the day’s conversations, and devising and implementing a plan to report out on convening findings. Ensure the facilitators have enough documentation of the conversations, essential for later analysis in order to report on the stated needs and opportunities. This toolkit includes two worksheets for participants, convenient for facilitators to collect at the end of a session. Staff from other organizational partners or students from university can act as additional note takers. Identify and invite a range of potential participants, including those directly engaged with the field, those new to the conversation, as well as those with potentially untapped
Helpful tips from the field: Begin to plan a convening at least three to four months in advance. Though most funders are unable to provide funds on this short of a timeframe, it’s not too late to secure funds for subsequent years in advance if you already know there will be plans to convene annually. Create a shared timeline to ensure enough time is scheduled for your organization, partners, facilitators, and attendees to plan for all aspects of the convening, from logistics to developing a visible distribution strategy for the disseminating findings from the convening. Develop a visible distribution strategy for the disseminating findings from the convening, which includes involving local, regional and national networks in advance. For example, IDA’s has previously featured articles reporting out from a convening. Schedule a convening in tandem with a local or regional event, such as a festival or conference, and leveraging those partnerships for support and in-kind exchanges. Additionally, this reduces the cost of attendance if your anticipated participants will already be nearby for an intersecting event. Consider a range of potential partners to organize convening logistics and identify attendees. Partners may serve as a resource for space, funding, logistical support, and field knowledge. Make sure the convening agenda allows enough time for a rich and productive conversation. Think of this event as a dual purpose field-building opportunity to network and strategize. In order to achieve this, it is recommended to make this a full or event to give participants enough time to build relationships, reflect collectively, and articulate pathways to a shared solution. Hire a dedicated facilitator who can assist with planning the convening, framing the day’s conversations, and devising and implementing a plan to report out on convening findings. Ensure the facilitators have enough documentation of the conversations, essential for later analysis in order to report on the stated needs and opportunities. This toolkit includes two worksheets for participants, convenient for facilitators to collect at the end of a session. Staff from other organizational partners or students from university can act as additional note takers. Identify and invite a range of potential participants, including those directly engaged with the field, those new to the conversation, as well as those with potentially untapped day
NEA-Convening-Toolkit-for-Documentary-Career-Sustainability.docx