Ray wrote: >hmm...this variety of needs/approaches to >problem-solving is why a website devoted to >exhibition planning would be perfect I agree. I went to a session at the ASTC conference in St Louis in October on working in teams to develop exhibitions and the thing that really struck me was that whilst there are things we can all share and learn from each other in the way we work, this will always need customising. The speakers in the session all came from a democratic team approach to start with. I work in a more traditional museum where we have curatorial subject specialists who, until recently, have headed exhibition development teams and we're still working towards a democratic team model. What struck me was the aspects of democratic working which they were complaining about (too many cooks spoiling the broth, indecision, design by committee, compromise leading to blandness) we have so far avoided by keeping some vestige of our hierarchy and having clear decision making responsibility tied to accountability (and budget holding) reflected in our job descriptions/team roles. Our dilemnas have been more about how to plan exhibitions that are visitor centred and, in my case, what the role of an audience advocate should be in that. There are now 3 aas working on our project (covering the three main project teams: each devoted to an exhibition or floor) and we work primarily inside the teams as integral team members This has helped to ensure that the visitor centred advice we offer is not seen as a tension pulling against the team's development of contnet ideas but as part of the development process. We have had to work hard at getting this approach to work and it would be great to have a web site where we could share some of the ideas we have come up with. Has anyone found one yet? Jo Graham Audience Advocate (Early Years) Jo Graham Audience Advocate (Early Years) Wellcome Wing Exhibition Development Team Science Museum Exhibition Road LONDON SW7 2DD Tel: 0171 938 8128 Fax: 0171 938 8079