In Summer 2020, the BCMA and Heritage BC embarked on the joint research project “Future Perfect: Developing Effective Models for Digital, Physical, and Blended Conferences” funded by Canada Council for the Arts Digital Strategy Fund.
Through Future Perfect, we developed a comprehensive framework for a new breed of digital conferences that are more accessible, more affordable, and minimize the digital divide that impedes communities with less access to high-speed internet from participating fully online. This new framework can be adopted by other disciplines, such as performing and visual arts organizations that present and share knowledge through conferences, and other events.
We assessed existing online collaboration tools, video conferencing and cloud-based information repositories and looked at how they could be integrated or used to deliver an excellent equivalent conference experience. We gathered information on what makes digital engagement and participation worthwhile for speakers and participants. We also explored behavioural dimensions of the use of digital tools for work during this pandemic to learn what the persistent behaviours might be beyond the present crisis.
The project is ongoing and we will update this toolkit as resources and findings from our research become available.
Streaming Technology Kit for Speakers: How to Look & Sound Great Online
Participants on Awesome Online Experiences
Online Does Not Mean “On the House”: Financial Considerations: Cost Drivers and Revenue Streams
Fundamentals of Great Online Conferences: A Practitioner’s Perspective
Online Conferences Thrive on Attendees’ Participation: From ‘Attendee’ to ‘Participant’ in 7 steps
Accessibility and Inclusion: Creating Better Conference Experiences for More People More Often
Our sincere thanks to our partners at BC Museums Association and the wonderful team of consultants: Inga Petri (Strategic Moves), Lynn Feasey (Points North Creative) and Jason Guille (Stream of Consciousness).