Dear Colleagues

I am following up on many formal and informal discussions over the course of
our meetings in Vienna - many suggestions, new ways of looking at
challenges, and very specific encouragement for ICOM to both sustain its
traditions but to also look at new ways to work in our rapidly changing
environment. Starting with the 2008 ICOM Budget, we want to involve and
support actions across the network in a more tangible way. In order to do
this, we need your help.

This message is essentially about ICOM's Triennial Budget for 2008 - 2010
but rather than being simply about money, it is more about how the new
Strategic Plan can be put into effect in ways that capture the real
strengths of ICOM's network (a word that I will use throughout, as it is
used in the Strategic Plan, to include all ICOM''s various parts: National
Committees, International Committees, Regional Alliances, Affiliated
Organizations etc).

For those of you who were able to be present in Vienna, you will remember
that the Strategic Plan has four Strategic Objectives (either refer to the
tri-lingual publication Our Global Vision, widely available in Vienna or see
http://icom.museum under Resources, and then at the bottom of Strategic Plan
2001-2007 you will find Our Global Vision: Strategic Plan 2008-2010 and the
detailed Plan). The Triennial budget has been reconfigured to respond to
each of these Objectives, in large part so that we will all know what the
specific costs of each objective are. For some of you who are accustomed to
working on a 'program budget' model, this is very similar.

The four objectives are:


1:      Strengthen ICOM's global impact 
2.      Provide leadership in advocating the value of heritage 
3.      Champion effectiveness and high standards in museums 
4.      Ensure the resources required to effectively implement the Strategic
Plan.

Within each of the objectives, there is a list of broadly described
strategic actions to be undertaken across the network, plus a description of
what we expect will have been accomplished in this area within the three
year period.

Between now and the middle of October, I will be meeting with the
Secretariat to more firmly establish the Triennial Budget and more
specifically the 2008 Budget, in time for its presentation to the Executive
Council meeting in early December. During a short meeting on this topic in
Vienna, I outlined how I hoped it would be possible for ICOM's network to
have input into this work. True, there have been many quite focused
suggestions about what the needs of the network are but now we need to be
able to put these within the framework of the Strategic Plan.


In order to prepare the budgets, we would welcome suggestions/ideas of areas
where ICOM's programs and projects (new and/or existing) can be delivered by
the network (see again the definition of the network at the end of the
second paragraph above), or in partnership with the Secretariat. Are there
ways to bring enable better cooperation between the two? At this point, we
are only looking for ideas, NOT proposals - I hope that will come later and
in a very open format. The goal is to have each part of the network see
where and how it can be better supported in its work under one or more of
the objectives. In addition, a suggestion came forward in Vienna that we
provide a few examples of what type of activities one might expect to find
under each of the objectives. A couple are listed below, but please feel
totally free to expand beyond these. What is your committee currently doing
- would like to do .... that is part of any or all of the following.


1:      Strengthen ICOM's global impact

Meetings of the network outside Paris .................... much improved
electronic communications/we b sites for all .......... collaborative
networks ................. evaluation and extension of the mentoring grants
(what format and for whom?) ........... rethinking our partnerships both
locally and globally .............. new forms of publications


2.      Provide leadership in advocating the value of heritage

increase the profile and visibility of the work of ICOM's network across the
heritage sector ................. a research database available to all
............ major (local and global) symposia .....champion the Code of
Ethics through .................. expand on International Museum Day by
.............courses and workshops run in collaboration with national and
international committees, or several together ....


 3.     Champion effectiveness and high standards in museums

publications, in all and all formats .........case studies .............
special sessions at Advisory etc. on ........................


4.      Ensure the resources required to effectively implement the Strategic
Plan.

a fully operational interactive membership data base ........... a clear
plan for a full information platform for the entire network
.......................ensure that the Advisory Committee is effective and
....................... ensure that dotMuseum meets the needs of ICOM
members and ICOM. Make sure that ICOM has the financial resources to do what
the network wants it to do .....................

Please remember these are only examples; some may not fit your interests at
all but others could be pertinent. feel free to change, alter or delete.

What to do now?

We hope that the development of the 2009 Budget can be started much earlier
and can in fact be a working part of the June 2008 Advisory meeting, if the
Advisory wishes.

For now, please send any ideas, suggestions, priorities for your part of the
network to both the Secretariat and to the Treasurer at the following addresses:

Treasurer:       [log in to unmask] 
Secretariat:     [log in to unmask]

Our first working session on the budget is on September 25th and the second
on in mid-October. One important area that I believe must be resolved is a
specific set of recommendations on the basis for the 'allocations' for the
International Committees, and this in time for the 2008 budget. We recognize
that this puts pressure on the Standing Committee for International
Committees, perhaps on the Committees themselves, and also on the Executive
but I am strongly in favour of moving forward in this area.

We very much hope to hear from you.

Nancy Hushion

Treasurer, ICOM

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