Europeana Network Association Activity Plan 2022

1. ENA aspirations for 2022

In 2021, the Europeana Network Association (ENA) began to consider its future role within the Europeana Initiative (EI), alongside the Europeana Foundation (EF) and the Europeana Aggregators Forum (EAF), by developing our strategies to contribute on more equal terms to several new EI ‘cross-initiatives’ around digital transformation, diversity and inclusion and other important issues.

As we enter 2022 - and as the renegotiation of Europeana’s contract with the European Commission (due in spring 2022) approaches - the ENA looks to understand further how a diverse, 3,200+ strong network of professionals, with access to an enormous body of knowledge, expertise and potential, can both contribute more actively to and further benefit from being part of the Europeana family. And in the process, provide an exemplary model for the whole cultural heritage sector and beyond.

ENA has some powerful instruments: a Members Council, Communities, Working Groups and Task Forces are already present and in many cases, delivering excellent results. How can we build on these - and the several initiatives launched during the period of Susan Hazan’s chairing of ENA - to extend ENA’ s potential as a two-way receptor and provider of transformational expertise?

We will address this question through our activities in 2022. In short, our main efforts will be directed towards:

continuing to develop, refine and deliver ENA’s strategy, in the context of the overall Europeana strategy and its wider context, such as the Green Deal and Climate Action, New European Bauhaus and a Digital Space for Culture;
defining more clearly what digital transformation means for ENA members and how Europeana can contribute to building capacity;
strengthening communications with the wider network membership in general to ensure more transparency, participation and democracy;
working with EF to improve the knowledge and information flow about our members preferences and responses;
improving ‘onboarding’ guidance for new members;
building on the recommendations of the New Professionals Task Force to pilot new support mechanisms for the active participation of many more ENA members;
developing a cohesive paradigm for a long-term customer journey, professional engagement and progression of members within ENA and EI - drawing together existing and new thinking on things like buddying, mentoring, an academy and fellowships;
identifying and assessing new sectors which are potential Europeana users or stakeholders and engaging professionals from them, if appropriate;
encouraging and supporting diversity, representation and involvement of many kinds within the ENA membership and all its organisms.

2. Main areas of activity

Throughout 2022, the activities of the ENA will be organised as follows:

Members Council

The Members Council, a body of 36 elected ENA representatives, will aim to actively help the Europeana Initiative implement its Strategy and support the digital transformation of the cultural heritage sector. 2021’s elections will result in 27 new or re-elected members joining the Council. The Council will meet three times to discuss the ENA’s priorities and progress towards the Europeana Strategy in line with activities of the Europeana Foundation and Europeana Aggregators’ Forum. Councillors will evaluate and steer the activities of the communities, Task Forces and Working Groups, and actively work to ensure their progress, as well as the state of ENA governance and budget. Councillors will also actively engage in activities supporting and expanding ENA’s communications efforts.

Management Board

The Management Board will continue to lead the development of the ENA’s strategic vision. At the end of 2021, four members of the Management Board will step down as their term will come to an end. New members will be elected by the Members Council to replace them in January 2022. The new Board will continue to oversee ENA governance, policies, budget and membership provisions. They will provide guidance and a governance framework for ENA Communities, Task Forces and Working Groups, including on evaluating the progress of their work in line with the strategic direction of the ENA. The Board will meet monthly and communicate regularly beyond that.

ENA Communities

The communities are the ENA’s most important instrument in addressing the challenges faced by cultural heritage institutions as they undergo digital transformation. The following six ENA communities have been active since 2018: EuropeanaTech, Research, Education, Copyright, Impact and Communicators. Additionally, in November 2021 another ENA community was introduced - the Climate Action Community. The communities will continue to function as trans-national networks of professionals and experts who come together to cultivate and share knowledge and practices around these topics. The members of a community can sign up to receive community newsletters, join various communication channels and social media groups, and attend community-related events and meetings. The major focus of the communities will be on implementing their 2022 work plans, including Task Force activities. The progress of these work plans will be monitored by the community Steering Groups, the Management Board and the Members Council.

ENA Membership

Active engagement and empowerment of ENA members has been and will remain our key priority. In 2022, we will keep focusing our efforts to expand the ENA by attracting professionals from various backgrounds, working in areas related to cultural heritage, while keeping the existing network engaged and active. We expect to start 2022 with around 3,300 members. Based on the trend we have seen in 2021, we expect to gain on average 80 new members every month, and the overall membership number to increase by around 900 members by the end of the year. New members will be approved by the ENA Management Board on a monthly or bi-monthly basis.

ENA Working Groups

The Governance Working Group remains responsible for recommending to the Management Board and Members Council, as well as any changes in the underlying governance principles and procedures for ENA governance. A Membership Working Group was established in 2021 and has a central role in assessing and implementing the recommendations of the New Professionals Task Force. All the ENA Working Groups will report on their progress at Members Council meetings, including the General Assembly.

ENA General Assembly meeting

Our members will have the opportunity to come together at the ENA General Assembly, which will most likely take place in November 2022. During the ENA General Assembly, they will be able to express their opinions on governance matters, approve key documents, and launch the 2022 Members Council elections and voting. The communities will have an opportunity to present their key activities.

ENA Communications

The Europeana Pro website is the main source of information about the ENA and its activities. Throughout 2022, we will highlight the work of ENA communities through Europeana Pro news and continue with a dedicated series called ‘Professionals in Focus’ to profile current Members Councillors. We will continue to work with the EF to improve the interface and navigation on Pro, and to make information about ENA more easily accessible.

We will continue to send out a monthly Network Newsletter to subscribed ENA members. It will be endorsed each month by the Members Council with different Councillors taking their turn as Editor-in-Chief. The Europeana LinkedIn Group (6,166 members as of October 2021) will continue to provide a discussion forum for ENA members.

We will also promote our communication efforts and dedicated campaigns on Twitter using new ENA hashtags. #AllezCulture shows support for digital culture and the cultural heritage sector and can be used to promote digital culture in action or as a rallying call. The hashtag #EuropeanaCommunities brings the ENA, its specialist communities and other Europeana-related networks together. We encourage you to use, follow and share these hashtags in your discussions and networking.

3. Overview of activities and events per quarter

Q1: January to March 2022

Management Board elections

In January, four of the current Management Board members will step down and the Council will elect new Board members from among themselves to replace them. The main milestones will be: call for candidates (early December 2021), announcement of candidates (early January), voting period (mid/late January) and announcement of voting results (late January). The election process will be overseen by the 2021 Elections and Voting Committee, which will report to the Council and be discharged at their first Council meeting in March.

Communities: Task Forces and work plans approval

Following an open call for and approval of Task Forces in October - December 2021, the communities will have until January 2022 to estimate their budget requirements and finalise and publish their work plans for the year.

Members Council meeting

The first meeting of the Members Council will take place in March 2022 with a focus on discussing issues of strategic importance for ENA within the Europeana Initiative, and setting up governance and projecting activities for the coming year.

ENA strategy update

The ENA strategy will receive its annual update in time for ratification to be requested at the March Members Council meeting.

Q2: April to June 2022

Task Force and Community Steering Group meetings

Community Steering Groups or running Task Forces may plan their own meetings and events in this period.

Q3: July to September 2022

Members Council meeting

In early July 2022, the Members Council will hold its second meeting. The agenda will focus on the work of the communities and formalities related to ENA governance, budget and membership, as well as strategic issues such as ENA’s role in digital transformation of the sector and alignment with priorities of the rest of the Europeana Initiative.

Task Force and Community Steering Group meetings

Community Steering Groups or running Task Forces will have an opportunity to organise separate community meetings also in this period.

Start of the 2022 elections and voting preparations

In August 2022, the Governance Working Group will nominate the annual Elections and Voting Committee, which will start preparing the 2022 voting and elections process. A communications plan and timeline will be drawn up in collaboration with the ENA Secretariat. Various announcements around the voting and elections campaign process, championed by the Chair of the Committee, will be featured on Europeana Pro news and on social media.

Start of the 2022 General Assembly preparations

In September 2022, the Management Board, in collaboration with the Elections and Voting Committee and the ENA Secretariat, will begin the preparatory process for the 2022 General Assembly meeting. This includes setting the agenda, preparing documentation, convening the General Assembly and managing all communications surrounding the meeting.

Q4: October to December 2022

Community work plan evaluation

Community work plans will go through a process of evaluation by the Management Board and the Members Council, and the community chairs will be asked to present their main deliverables and milestones achieved in the ENA annual report.

Delivery of Task Force recommendations

The running Task Forces will be required to submit their final recommendations to the Members Council by the end of November/December 2022. Once reviewed, the Task Force chairs will be asked to promote their outcomes through Europeana Pro news, Network newsletter and social media channels.

Members Council meeting, Annual Europeana Conference and General Assembly 2022, and community Steering Group meetings

In November/December 2022, the ENA Secretariat will organise the third Members Council meeting of the year, as well as the General Assembly meeting. At the General Assembly, ENA members will formally approve the annual ENA documents and launch the 2022 elections and voting process. The events will be promoted via Europeana Pro as well as through dedicated email campaigns, the Network Newsletter, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Launch of the 2022 Members Council elections and voting

The voting and elections period - expected to last for a week - will be launched by the Management Board at the General Assembly meeting, and will be overseen by the Elections and Voting Committee. The main campaign milestones will be: call for candidates (September), announcement of candidates (October), and announcement of voting results (December). They will be communicated through Europeana Pro news, dedicated email campaigns, Network Newsletter, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

2022 elections and voting results announcement and preparations for 2023 Management Board elections

After the announcement of the results, the wrap-up of the voting and elections period will take place in December 2022. In early/mid December, the newly elected Councillors will have an opportunity to step up and become candidates in the forthcoming Management Board elections, where three open seats will be available in January 2023.