Agile Project Management for Museums, Arts, Heritage and Culture - August

Agile Project Management for Museums, Arts, Heritage and Culture

Date: Tuesday 19 August

Time: 10:00 AM – 13:00 PM (BST)

Location: Online via Zoom

Overview

Join us for a practical, half-day online workshop designed specifically for professionals in the arts, heritage, and creative sectors. This session introduces Agile project management, a flexible and collaborative approach that helps teams navigate change, manage resources effectively, and deliver impactful work.

Why Agile is Made for Arts, Heritage and Creative Work

Agile is a people-first, flexible way of working that supports creativity, collaboration and change, making it a perfect fit for the arts, heritage and creative sectors.

Whether you’re planning an exhibition, running events, managing a learning programme, or coordinating volunteers, your work often involves shifting timelines, tight resources and a need to adapt as you go. Agile helps you manage all of that, without losing sight of your values or your vision.

It gives you practical tools to plan and deliver your work in manageable steps, communicate clearly with your team, and stay focused on what really matters, even when things get messy or uncertain.

If you care about working well with others, delivering meaningful projects and making the most of what you’ve got, Agile can help.

“I found the Being Agile training very useful, especially the canvas. The clear method to organise my big giant list of all of the things that need to be done, with some practical ways to prioritise tasks is helpful. Belinda is really approachable and understands that museums can have some unique challenges, and her experience with small businesses allows for the exchange of ideas.” Zara Matthews, Museum Manager Network

What You’ll Gain

• Understand Agile Principles: Learn the core concepts and benefits of Agile methodologies.

• Apply Agile Tools: Discover how to implement Agile thinking and tools in your projects and teams.

• Enhance Collaboration: Improve team communication and adaptability, whether working remotely or on-site.

• Practical Application: Use the Being Agile Canvas to apply Agile practices to your current work during interactive exercises.

Who Should Attend

This workshop is ideal for individuals and teams involved in:

• Project management

• Exhibitions and events

• Curation and archive projects

• Marketing and communications

• Operations and management

• Funded programmes

• Innovation and improvement initiatives

No prior experience with Agile is necessary. Whether you’re managing a small team or coordinating large-scale projects, this workshop will provide valuable insights and tools.

Included in the Workshop

• FREE Project Planning Canvas: A printable canvas to help you apply Agile methods to your own work during the workshop. (Print 8 x A4 pages to create your own A1 Project Wall Planner.

• Online Resources: Access to the Being Agile Online Hub, including slides, templates, stories, and videos.

• Session Recording: A recording of the workshop for your reference or to watch on replay if you are unable to attend live.

About the Facilitator

Belinda Waldock is a business coach, trainer, speaker, and author of Being Agile in Business. Over the past 7 years she has worked with museums, heritage, and arts organisations internationally to adopt Agile approaches that enhance well-being, productivity, and growth.

Book Your Place

Spaces are limited to ensure an interactive experience. Reserve your spot today:

If you need assistance or have questions about the workshop, feel free to reach out to me, Belinda at belinda@beingagile.co.uk.

5 Reasons Agile Works in Museums, Arts & Creative Organisations

1. Supports Collaboration - Agile brings people together. It helps teams, freelancers, and volunteers stay on the same page, share ideas, and move forward with clarity and confidence.

2. Adapts to Change - Projects in the arts often shift, new partners join, funding changes, ideas evolve. Agile helps you respond to changes without losing momentum.

3. Works with Limited Time and Resources - Agile is all about doing what matters most, first. It helps you focus your energy and make steady progress, even with small teams or tight budgets.

4. Encourages Creativity and Experimentation - Agile supports trying things out, learning as you go, and refining your ideas, making it ideal for creative work, exhibitions, and engagement programmes.

5. Fits Your Values - Agile puts people first. It’s built on trust, openness, care and continuous learning, values that already run deep in arts and heritage work.Agile Management for Arts, Heritage and Creative Organisations.

A practical introduction to agile management, the mindset and its methods, practices and tools

“Thank you – one of the best training sessions I’ve been on in a long time. Really productive, pragmatic and helpful” Chloe, Cornwall Museums Partnership

About Belinda Waldock

Belinda is a business coach, trainer, speaker and author. She supports individuals, teams and organisations to adopt an agile way of working to enhance their well-being, productivity and growth. Belinda has worked with Museums, Heritage and Arts organisations internationally to adopt agile approaches since 2018. Her favourite subjects at school were English, Art, History and Geography, so it makes sense her career has led her to work in the sector.

During that time she has worked with organisations including; Arts Council England, National Trust, Cornwall Museums Partnership, Museum Managers Network, The MERL, Media Majlis (Doha), Falmouth Maritime Museum, Durham Cathedral, and the Wildlife Trust. She enjoys sharing her experience and knowledge, speaking at events, including being a keynote speaker at AMA. She has worked with a variety of sectors during her 25 year career as a Business Growth Coach.

Belinda’s book, Being Agile in Business is a popular non-technical introduction to agile thinking, approaches and culture, her work has been published in the Times and featured on BBC Radio 4.

When she's not being agile in business, you'll find her enjoying the countryside with her pony Murphy and Jack Russell Jed. She is a supporter and avid user of the Heritage Clay trails in Cornwall with Murphy and Jed, and the co-director and prompt for her local Amateur Dramatics Group. Belinda brings her agile mindset and approach to everything she does, both on and off stage, alongside her passion and enthusiasm for embracing the new, and preserving the old.

Course Reviews

Probably the best training I’ve ever done!

The most useful training I’ve been to to actually help with workload

Excellent, really clear and methodical approach that I can apply

Very useful and timely, some excellent specific outcomes.

Thank you very interesting and positive. Look forward to bringing this to the workplace 😀

Fantastic session so helpful and clear mix of theory and practice. Lots of to take good sense of humour and atmosphere trick/tip with the post its is a revelation !

Enjoyable and interesting day different way of thinking and learned how to use a Post-it note!

Great to be out of the office getting more perspective on managing workload effectively😀

Really useful like the canvas appreciate (online) course as follow-up

Very clear and accessible

Values and principles that feel intuitive tools that will be immediately helpful.

Concise, useful, interesting and interactive

Exceeded expectations, gave a structure to lots of ways that were familiar. Really useful and practical advice, well tailored to the sector.

Practical, succinct, relevant, and relatable. Thanks. PS Post it knowledge is mind blowing!

Museum Managers Network South East

“A really interesting session giving tips and tools on how to become more agile as remote teams. There was a lot of helpful content and ideas that I will be thinking about how to take forward in my own work, that of my team and wider project teams in which I participate. I really appreciated the links to free tools that can support agile working in practice and the nugget of advice to take an ‘agile’ approach to start to work in an ‘agile’ manner i.e. small and meaningful change.” Gaye Kirby, Head of Development & Strategy, Durham Cathedral

“Invigorating, timely and informative training. Given me confidence to try some of the ways of agile working, firstly as an individual and then across the organisation. Liked having access to the training material in advance of the training. Did not use jargon. Highly recommend. Can’t wait to try an agile approach.”Amanda Anderson, Chief Operating Officer , Durham Cathedral

“The course linked theory/mindset and practice and the conversations were flowing well. I’m going agile! Practical tools, but more importantly a clearer sense of how to relate them to my personal style and our working culture. This course is simple, well delivered and incredibly practical.” Guy Baxter, Museum of English Rural Life, Associate Director

“Belinda gave us an excellent introduction to the concept of Agile and the applications in managing teams and projects, demonstrating the potential benefits to our organisations of adopting Agile working. The workshop gave us practical methods to take away and apply to managing workflows and assessing current projects. I am using my board to manage my personal workflow as well as the ACE project overall and in the short term to manage the planning of a forthcoming event with colleagues.” Alison Hilton, Museum of English Rural Life, Marketing Manager

“Positive ideas for how to manage workload. I was impressed that from a one hour introduction I learnt 2 practical techniques for managing workloads as an individual and as part of a team. I like the fact that it is very visual but also transparent as other colleagues can see the workload of the team.” Caroline Gould, Museum of English Rural Life, Principal Archivist

“Agile can help free up space in your brain and help you track a rapidly changeable project, task or role more effectively. Belinda was the ideal person for opening the eyes of our stressed colleagues to the potential of Agile in their day-to-day work. The half-day workshop is a concentrated introduction to Agile concepts, methods and practical applications which left everyone who attended inspired to immediately order a million post-it notes. I enjoyed the emptying of my head onto the project board and the movement of tasks across it. The transition worked well to reinforce how project boards help. I have already made a personal and project board, and we are trialling Agile for my own project and with those who attended the workshop. We have plans to potentially expand it to more people in both institutions.” Adam Koszary, Museum of English Rural Life and Reading Museum, Project Manager

“The Agile workshop was a real invigorating experience. I left feeling enriched for life. it has given me a life tool to use not only in my professional life but also in my private life so much so that I have now passed on my newly acquired knowledge and skills to my immediate family members and friends. I think success is guaranteed for anyone who is equipped with such powerful knowledge and skills. Honestly speaking, I think it should be taught to all of us who aspire to do better and be instilled into young minds from very early on.” Nitisha Ramrekha-Heeramum, Museum Diversity Team, The Museum of English Rural Life, University of Reading and Reading Museum

“I have found the ‘Learn Act Reflect’ board to be very useful for my own workload and collectively with the project team. It is a step up from writing down your tasks on a ‘to-do’ list or in a diary. With this plan you can really analyse everything that you are doing which can help to ease the pressure of working on a number of tasks simultaneously. It’s a great feeling when you see your tasks gradually move into the ‘Done’ box!” Charlene Marriott, Museum Diversity Team, The Museum of English Rural Life and Reading Museum

“Thank you – one of the best training sessions I’ve been on in a long time. Really productive, pragmatic and helpful” Chloe, Cornwall Museums Partnership

“A really productive thought provoking session packed full of material and good ideas.”

“Great blend of talking and activity.”

“very practical examples which everyone can relate to.“

“Relaxed and informative presentation style which enabled everyone to contribute.”

“Although I’ve been to an Agile workshop previously, this time everything slotted into place more clearly. I think it was being able to plot everything (first with the boat diagram and then moving on to our boards) and also being able to compare mine to everyone else’s boards as a team.”

If you would like to book an agile course customised for your team please contact belinda@beingagile.co.uk