Phase four, option 3 - Team-Based Inquiry (TBI)
Pros: learn a new, simple methodology that you can use and apply across different areas of your work, as well as in evaluating your impact assessment evaluation; work with teams; improve your data collection skills; focus from the outset on improvements you can make; the method was designed for a museum context; focus on specific areas of improvement.
Cons: it takes time to learn a new method; some colleagues may not want to take part in something new; more challenging to evaluate your approach at a high-level; better for specific areas where you want to improve; it takes more time and effort compared to the previous two options.
Introduction
Throughout the different Phases of the Impact Playbook, we emphasise the importance of involving your team and the value that multiple perspectives from different frames of reference can bring. Team-Based Inquiry (TBI) is one way to grow, learn and improve together as a team. This four-step approach helps you to isolate a key question, investigate it, reflect on your progress, and prioritise improvements as a result. It’s a perfect tool in the toolbox for Phase four, as the TBI process is designed to lead to actionable improvements which you can embed straight away into Phase one - impact design or other parts of your work.
We draw on the Mingei project’s approach to TBI which was in turn drawn from the original creators of the TBI process, Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE Net), who created it more than a decade ago. Mingei is a project dedicated to digitising and finding ways to represent both the tangible and intangible elements of heritage crafts. The Mingei partners adopted TBI as a method to help them support organisational change (impact) for the heritage and technological partners involved.
About Team-Based Inquiry
Team-Based Inquiry (TBI) was created in a heritage education context. It was designed to be effective and light-touch. While you might think it’s difficult to add on another process to the impact phases, TBI can be run as a part of each of the four phases. We introduce it here and illustrate how it can be used to help you evaluate your impact approach in a focused, low risk, light-touch and team-based setting.
It requires more effort than the two options presented above but it may also lead to greater return. In addition, you and your colleagues will be able to apply the methodology to different areas of your work.
The four TBI steps: Question, Investigate, Analyse, Improve
Mingei project visualisation of the TBI cycle. CC BY-NC-SA.
Using TBI to evaluate your impact assessment process
Download the worksheet
Key steps
Tip.
See guidance about stakeholder mapping in the Mingei Hands-on Guide to Increasing the Impact of Digital Heritage Projects.
Read more about how Team-Based Inquiry helped museums improve the museum visitor experience
In summary, some of the outcomes that resulted from the Mingei TBI cycles included:
Attracting new users and those interested in heritage craft.
Improved communication within the museum settings.
Improved communication in the Mingei project setting.
Potential future impact as a result of the wider awareness of the Mingei project’s developed resources.
Better communications, dissemination and exploitation planning and delivery in future projects.
New solutions to tricky problems (because the TBI cycles are a new tool in the professionals’ ‘toolbox’).
Improved user experience for museum visitors using the digital applications and exploring the museum setting.