[Dialogue] ICA Global Archives Fall Sojourn Invitation and Spring Report

[Beret Griffith via Dialogue]

Announcement of 2016 fall sojourn dates

Monday - Friday, September 12-16, 2016

And

ICA Global Archives 2016 Spring Report

In memory of Gordon Harper and Steve Harrington



Introduction

Work on organizing the rich legacy of work of the Ecumenical Institute, the
Order:Ecumenical and Institute of Cultural Affairs, residing in the ICA
Global Archives, has been in process for many years. This work has come to
feel like an endless marathon and we have felt the need to recast the work.
Those of us working on the task are in the process of looking toward the
future; coming to terms with the limits of our capacity to continue the
work; and creating ongoing processes to respond to requests for access to
archival materials.

As we engaged in deep conversations about the future of the global archives
we decided to engage Bruce Williams to guide us in creating an action plan
for the next 18 months. We will be mining the common memory of people
familiar with historical documents to determine which of the 20,000
documents currently on file in the archives need to be added to the 2000
existing digital documents. The creation of an intern program will increase
the core of people working on the archives and make it possible for archive
work to continue. The creation of a dynamic archive website will create
access to archive collections.We will build a research support system for
documenting and distributing outcomes of current ICA initiatives.  Robust
operations will provide the underpinning for these efforts.

There is a growing awareness among people of the need for radical,
significant and structural change on planet Earth. Making available the
historical residue of EI, O:E and ICA experiences around the world, the ICA
Global Archives is a research treasure which has the capacity to empower
and enable dialogue within current awakening movements.
Digitization of Critical Documents

Team Members: Beret Griffith*, Steve Ediger, Jean Long, Marge Philbrook,
Wendell Refior

There are 20,000 documents in the ICA Global Archives. Only 2,015 documents
have been digitized. The Document Digitization Team will develop a plan to
scan and digitize the most important documents within the FileMaker Pro
database of 20,000 entries.

We will begin by asking select colleagues to determine categories in the
Category List with which they are familiar. They will be given a section
from the FileMaker Pro database. They will select individual documents for
scanning.

To enable this process FileMaker Pro has been printed and put into
notebooks to track the work. The system of pulling, scanning and re-filing
materials will be refined. Criteria will be developed for determining
document selection based on societal need. People will need to be trained
in the scanning process. Jack Gilles and Frank Knutson tested the selection
process and selected documents which are in line for scanning.

Individual and ICA archive collections around the world will be catalogued.
It will be necessary to gather collection information for each of the
collections. The ICA Global Archives location in Chicago will maintain a
list of all global digital resources.

Finally, digitized documents will be analyzed and collection decisions made.

Victory is the digitization of critical documents by the end of 2017 and a
listing of EI/ICA archival material around the globe.
Creating A Dynamic Website

Team Members: Paul Noah*, Frank Knutson, Steve Ediger, Wendell Refior, Doug
Druckenmiller

The task is to design and implement over the next year and a half a website
which appeals to multiple user groups i.e. religious groups, students,
casual observers or the curious. The steps to doing this are:

   -

   Research existing websites that meet the needs of identified generic
   user groups.
   -

   Write user stories about how the sites are used.
   -

   Build a site map for our content.
   -

   Find a designer to build the website from the user criteria we have
   developed and is compatible with ICA objectives.
   -

   Figure the cost impact of maintaining the site into the future.
   -

   Develop and refine the content.
   -

   Hand the completed site over to ICA.

Victory is a completed website.
Research and Funding Strategies

Team Members: Doug Druckenmiller*, Jack GiIles, Oliveann Slotta, Steve
Ediger, Jim Wiegel

The Funding strategy for the archives depends on reorienting our strategy
from digitizing the archives to building a research support system for
documenting and distributing the outcomes of current ICA initiatives.  This
allows us to build infrastructure for fundable projects that will as a
matter of course provide the necessary mechanisms to collect, archive and
disseminate project results.  Major project grants are always required to
provide a plan for this activity.  As a first prototype and example of this
an archival component for the Town Meeting Climate Change Action being
undertaken by the ICA will be developed as the model for other types of
research initiatives.  Thus, the archives is a critical research component
of ongoing programs.  Once an archive component has been envisioned, it
will be captured in a concept paper to be presented to an international
conference as a first step in identifying funding targets for a research
effort.  Academic research networks will have a stake in the research
effort and provide contacts and collaborative support. They will also
identify, collaboratively frame, and network the funding targets. Once a
prototype grant is developed and submitted, other specific grant
applications can be written for at least 5 major programs.

Victory is a funded and established research partnership.

Archives Operations, Interns and Volunteers

Team Members: Steve Ediger*, Wendell Refior, Tim Wegner, Douglas
Druckenmiller, Sally Fenton
Operationalize the intern program

We identified two ways to increase human resources as the core of people
working on the Global Archive by developing internships and creating
alliances with interested project-based groups.  Both of these can be
accomplished with minimal expenditures on our part.

We already have begun to develop connections to intern programs. In
addition to providing pre-professional work on the archives, our collection
will become known around the academic community and potentially attract
graduate level students that want to use the collections as research
material. Last semester, Dominican University provided two interns that
have been working on the Town Meeting collection to provide material for
the planned Town Meeting Climate Change Action project.  An additional two
interns signed up for this semester.  Additional universities to contact
include DePaul, UI-Chicago, UI-Urbana-Champaign and possibly others.  One
key concern is the cost of intern supervision. A strategy to minimize
undergraduate intern supervision is to have graduate student interns take
on an active management role as part of their internship.Then we can begin
identifying projects, recruit interns and work the program each semester.
After a few rounds, we will evaluate the program.

Another method for increasing our work capacity will be to engage groups
already working to further ICA projects. A number of groups are coalescing,
including some folks working on the New Religious Mode and others working
on Training Inc.  In particular the Training Inc group has been meeting
virtually for over a year, participated in the Fall 2015 Sojourn and plans
on participating in the Fall 2016 Sojourn. We believe that by identifying
and connecting with these groups and offering them the infrastructure of
our archive tools they can develop their own work.  In order to do this,
we’ll start with Training, Inc., identify group members, develop a liaison
function between them and the Archives Advisory Council, have them
participate in the archive process for their materials, and evaluate the
pilot.

Victory is an operational intern program and working relationship with one
project-oriented group.
Archives Operations

All objectives hinge on a well-thought out and defined set of standard
operating procedures and a robust technology foundation.  We need to update
documentation for operational procedures and plan for sufficient technology
capacity.  Archival documents both physical and digital are distributed
across the world and Internet requiring standardized operations in
technology and process.  We will document our technology infrastructure and
create a capacity building plan to sustain future operations.

We will inventory our operations and add missing elements and update them.
This set of tasks would make a great project for a grad student.

Currently, certain aspects of the technology are well-managed and coming
into focus. For instance our work on the FileMaker Pro archives database
has been enhanced with the ability for users to access the database from
any Internet connection in the world through a hosting service that
Archives Advisory Council members are currently funding.  Beyond that we
have bits and pieces stored all over the place, some in a website managed
and paid for by Tim Wegner and other pieces on the ICA Server.
Unfortunately, the ICA server is just about out of room and we are unable
to replicate the digital documents stored elsewhere.   We will create a
plan outlining tasks necessary to address all aspects of the technology
infrastructure.

Victory is a completed Operations Manual and Technology Plan.
Conclusion: A New Paradigm

The Archives Team has documented its plan and commitments for bringing the
ICA’s historical assets into an accessible, interactive research dynamic.
We foresee new relationships with groups and individuals that will bring
both opportunities and support for the ICA. New people have stepped forward
to replace two giants of our team’s journey, namely Steve Harrington and
Gordon Harper. We have given ourselves an 18 month window to bring the
archives operations into a working virtual reality. We look forward to
having continuing support of the ICA-USA as a vital resource for ICA
programs, relationships, support and reputation.

During the summer of 2016 the Archives Advisory Council will plan for the
fall 2016 sojourn.


You Are Invited

to the

ICA Global Archives Fall Sojourn - On Site & Virtual

 Monday - Friday, September 12-16, 2016

Contact Jean Long: Cell 720-633-5008
Email: jean.long512 at gmail.com
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