UNEARTHING THE IMPACTS OF UNCONSCIOUS BIAS AND MICROAGGRESSIONS
This session is designed to better understand unconscious bias and microaggressions in our everyday. By increasing self-awareness and encouraging a deep reflection of our own behaviour, we can fine-tune strategies to mitigate the impacts of unconscious bias and microaggressions.
Session facilitators:
Dr. Rohini Bannerjee, Associate Vice-President, Diversity Excellence, Saint Mary’s University
Deborah Brothers-Scott, Diversity and Inclusion Advisor, Saint Mary’s University
This FREE session is co-hosted by ANSM and Saint Mary’s University. It will be held virtually on January 17, 2023 at 10:30 am ADT.
Please note, this webinar is not available for museums not participating in TRACK.
Previous Training Opportunities
11/09/2022 Mi’kmaq Community Engagement Day with Theresa Meuse at the Mi’kmaw Friendship Centre (Halifax, NS).
09/14/2022 Accessibility and Museums with Kiera Sparks Lucas. View the recorded session here. The PointPoint presentation can be downloaded here.
08/17/2022 Introduction to EDI with Chrysalis Human Rights Agency. This virtual session was not recorded.
04/29/2022 Museums as Agents of Change with Mike Murawski. View the recorded session here.
TRACK Registration
TRACK
Training, Resources, Assessment, Coaching and Knowledge-Sharing
Release Date: March 10, 2022
Introducing TRACK Info Session
Rewatch or view the presentation on the virtual information session on ANSM’s new TRACK program.
Summary
The TRACK program will use a hybrid-model (training and assessment) to build on the success of the Museum Evaluation Program (MEP) with the addition of increased focus on coaching, identifying needs, and providing more capacity building.
Many museums identified the value of original MEP in helping them update their standards of operation and guiding them on how to become stronger, more engaged organizations.
The new program will expand beyond museum standards to include EDI, accessibility, responding to climate change, and addressing more community needs. This program will continue to be operated by ANSM who will contract additional professionals to provide content specific training and advice. Museums participating should notice a decrease in work required to participate and improved capacity building through an increase in training resources provided and a more personalized approach.
We encourage you to read the letter of support from CCTH for more information.
New Program Components
- Training: ANSM will offer an increase in training in various ways, including:
- Webinars
- Workshops
- Updates to existing ANSM Training
- Connecting with other sources
- Resources: ANSM will develop resources which address topics identified in the assessments.
- Coaching: Museums will be offered one-on-one coaching sessions. This will include a visit to their museum by an ANSM staff person and a content expert (consultant in EDI, climate change, etc.).
- Knowledge-Sharing: Museums will be invited to learn from each other by sharing their successful programs and projects via webinars, social media, the Beacon e-newsletter, networking events, and as case studies in workshops and courses.
- Assessment: Museums will continue to be assessed on a 4-year cycle. The new assessment will remove numerical scoring, increase the focus on qualitative information, and infuse the program with EDI, accessibility, responding to climate change, and addressing community needs. Assessment will include three types of questions, all done through submission rather than site visits:
- Standards Questions: These specific questions will focus on museum standards and be infused with the new perspectives.
- Expert Peer Review: Museums will submit requested examples of work. A review team will provide feedback in the form of reports, which should be seen as a tool for capacity building by sites, and a needs assessment for ANSM training.
- Self-Reflection: Questions will include rubric and short answer formats and will not be rated. The goal of this section is museums will use the process to identify where they require training and ANSM will use this information to support training needs.
Advantages of New Program for Museums
Museums will continue to build on the success of the MEP with improved museum practices. Due to the reduced resources required to prepare for this new program, museums will have more resources and increased capacity to focus on issues such as EDI, accessibility, responding to climate change, and responding to community needs. Museums will also see an approach that is more responsive to their individual needs.
Next Steps
ANSM will continue to lead this work with the support of its working group (MEPWG) and approval from CCTH. Museums, and specifically NSM sites who are scheduled to be evaluated this summer, are anticipating an announcement about the new program in March 2022.
- Summer 2022: Pilot launched with approximately 6-8 museums. Virtual training sessions offered to all ANSM members on new areas of infusion to help prepare them for full program launch next year. ANSM continues to work with pilot sites and content experts on final document.
- Fall 2022: Readiness survey with ANSM members. Plan training offerings for 2023.
- Winter 2022-23: Continue work on TRACK document to move to final version with consultation from communities of newly introduced components, and develop schedule for future years.
- Spring 2023: Launch full TRACK program (proposed NSM year).
