After the opening party....

or what you need to bear in mind for the long haul

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Getting the hardware in place is often only the beginning of the story!

The question is:

Is this child going to be an orphan within the organisation, or will it be loved and nurtured by all (or at least enough people to make it work).

What do we mean?

Take a couple of case histories. We'll call them Corporation A and Corporation B.

A was sold the idea of educating the future users of its products, and due to budgetary considerations, installed its educational area in another facility devoted to the preservation of its corporate history.

B similarly decided the young should come to understand at an early stage the mechanics of power distribution which it oversees. It chose to lease a space in the city centre fitted out for this purpose.

In both cases, education was not the core business of the organisations funding the exercise, and in both there were people in the heirarchy who didn't see the point, or understand how the facility would work.

The one that has worked best is the one where the manager of the facility (a former teacher) made sure that key personnel from the rest of the organisation were brought in and run through the course which the facility was designed to offer. They came out understanding its purpose and if not converted into active supporters, were at least no longer hostile.

The other, due partly to budgetary considerations, could not be managed by an educational professional. Instead, it was left to curatorial staff who had enough on their plate already. Without the same level of dedication and enthusiasm, it has languished and not fulfilled its promise.

If what you are installing is a refit of an existing facility, or this is otherwise familiar territory for you, then this is probably beside the point. But if you are not primarily in the education business, think carefully about how you can (a) sell the virtues of the facility to the rest of your organisation, (b) maintain enthusiasm for it and (c) adequately staff it.

The last thing we want to do is sell you a white elephant!

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