April 11, 2013
CCI members and their professional support staff at the CCI office are constantly exploring new ways to do things better, together.
One of these ways is called the CCI Healthy Arts Enterprise (HAE), a project that started in the fall of 2010 with five participating presenting members and later expanded to six. The six participating organizations are St. Catharines Performing Arts Centre; Kingston Grand Theatre; Victoria Playhouse Petrolia; Burlington Performing Arts Centre; Showplace Performance Centre, Peterborough and Meadowvale Theatre, Mississauga.
The purpose of the project has been to introduce these members to new planning processes that provide them with insight into their professional and organizational challenges in order to develop foresight.
Based in complexity theory, the process was developed over a number of years through Arts Action Research by The Creative Trust and more recently by the Theatres Leading Change initiatives led by AAR’s Jane Marsland.
Healthy Arts Enterprise Planning Intensive, February, 2013, Stratford, ON
The process uses a blend of professional facilitation, reflective retreats, visual mapping, and individual writing to help each member gain key insights into their organizational equations, their operating environments and their key progress challenges (as well as opportunities).
Throughout the process, the project participants were guided by a professional facilitator and met twice to work on their plans using tools such as the Business Model Generation, business modeling canvas and FutureScape’s™ visual mapping tool that triggers strategic thinking.
Here are few quotes from three of the HAE project participants:
“The size of the intensive played a major role in the experience. With only select theatres in attendance, I had numerous opportunities for in depth conversation around current/future industry issues, ideas and thoughts. Knowing how to communicate the value of what we do to internal and external stakeholders is essential.” - Julie Miller, Supervisor of Theatre Program Development, Meadowvale Theatre, Mississauga
“When we gather with members and staff of CCI, I always get recharged, and learn more of what we all share in our careers. It includes challenges, hurdles, launching careers, and bringing people together with a passion and a love for live theatre that is always my motivation. Having the time to discuss, share, listen and make a list of a goal, or goals, a profile and work it out , take it apart, and put it back together with really good discussion and feedback from our groups and our people in the group.” –Ray Marshall, General Manager, Showplace Performance Centre, Peterborough
“Having the chance to get out the office to have focused time with the leadership team of the new St. Catharines Performing Arts Centre was an amazing opportunity. Not only did the three of us have great conversations and strategy sessions about our next steps, but we also laid the ground work for next steps in completing the new Centre’s organizational profile with help from Jane Marsland and Judy Harquail.” - Sara Palmieri, Sales & Marketing Manager, Centre for the Arts, Brock University
Now concluded, the project is available as a full-fledge service program to all members on a cost-recovery basis. For more information on how to sign up for the Healthy Arts Enterprise program click here or contact Mila Ovchinnikova, CCI Member Services & Communications by e-mail or telephone at 1-866-209-0982 ext. 1 (local 416-703-6709 ext. 1).