AUDIT TASKS

Auditing a Community of Ownership & Interest (COI) can be structured in various ways and in accord with the circumstances 'on the ground'. The only thing that needs to be achieved is some form of documentation that demonstrates to the COI that the process was inclusive – given that it is, it will be a useful ongoing reference.

Consequently it is important to not only identify 'the owners' but also the context of their relationships to 'the place' and each other. The veracity of a claimed ownership and/or interest will always depend upon the context within which it is claimed.

By engaging a broad church of interested parties, a wider audience is canvassed leading to increased probability of useful innovation. An ideal group to participate in a positive direction for the institution would be the COI itself. In terms of methodology, all people need to be considered and ranked equally. Likewise power relationships need to be set aside to create the most participative and open atmosphere.

AUDIT PURPOSE

Building opportunities and creating options for a place's/governance's is the key implied outcome of a 'place audit'.  At its most fundamental level, an 'institution' operates on an implied contract that exists between investors – tax/rate payers, tax collectors and distributors (governments) – and those charged with governing the institution and operating the 'enterprise' – management & staff – to deliver value in exchange for monies, sponsorships, etc. received.

When financial and other pressures build, a straightforward and low risk way to explore and develop opportunities is to open a dialogue with all of those who have an interest in the institution,  its potential and the dividends it was devised to deliver. 

OWNERS & INTERESTED PARTIES

Identifying and being relatively exhaustive in the listing the individuals, groups, institution et al who have a relationship of some kind with the institution/place is an imperative. The list needs to be inclusive and one that allows for a member/membership to have multiple, even conflicting, relationships and attachments to the institution. Ideally the ’identifiers’ should be drawn from the wider community working in collaboration with management – without privileging management memberships in the process. A useful technique for identifying ‘owners & interested parties’ would be a community workshop facilitated by an independent facilitator – but not by necessity. Whatever strategy is employed, to be useful, it needs to be inclusive rather than exclusive. 

OBLIGATIONS RESPONSIBILITY & BENEFITS

All too often the various roles and obligations of COI members become blurred and ambiguous. Likewise, the benefits being sought by members are often poorly understood. Rectifying this in a non-confrontational way is a useful aspect of a COI audit. Unless there is a balance between obligations and benefits, and that the nature of them is acknowledged, management strategies are likely to be defective and/or inefficient. Consequently, there are benefits in being inclusive in identifying the obligations, responsibilities and benefits relative to membership of an institution’s COI. 

 CONTEXT

The veracity of a COI membership will inevitably rely upon the context within which the relationship is asserted and/or deemed to be. It is important to understand a COI memberships’ context in order to: 

• Put in place suitable and appropriate management strategies; 
• Develop appropriate and targeted programming; and 
• Effectively market the institution Museums and art galleries belong to places, regions and communities – and unless they do their ‘purpose & relevance’ is open to question.