CCI has a New Director General!

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CCI Newsletter, No. 34, December 2004

CCI has a New Director General!

CCI was pleased to welcome our new Director General on June 21, 2004. Jeanne Inch brings to the Institute a strong background in management, a long professional interest in science, research and development, and a personal interest in cultural heritage. We hope everyone will be as excited to get to know her as we are.

What originally sparked your interest in cultural heritage?

Well, it goes back a long way. I come from a family that never threw anything away. And so I find myself with a home full of objects from my family's past. There's a rocking chair in my living room that my Boyer ancestors brought to New Brunswick before the American Revolution. There's an old tea box that I believe belonged to my great-grandmother MacFarlane who was born in India in the mid 1800s. The set of leather-bound Shakespeare plays that my grandmother Inch collected in rural New Brunswick in the early 1900s. The 1850s sewing machine. The oil painting by my grandmother Gowling. The 1890s Limoges china. A china doll. And the books, photographs, letters, from previous generations. These objects represent, for me, tangible evidence of my family's history, where my parents, grandparents, great-grandparents came from, their day-to-day lives, their experiences. So my interest in material cultural heritage began subconsciously, simply because my family valued and treasured objects from the past.

When did you first become aware of CCI and the work carried on here?

I became aware of CCI when I first joined the Department of Canadian Heritage in February 2003. But I did not really begin to appreciate the uniqueness of the Institute until I saw the poster advertising the position of Director General. I was amazed at the scope of the Institute, its expertise and its international reputation, the fact that it has a fleet of trucks!! I am still amazed. I occasionally pinch myself when I remember that, in 2001, I decided I wanted to move away from science and technology policy and to manage a scientific or research organization. And then there's the point that a conservation research institute is much, much more interesting to me than a micro electronics or biotechnology research institute would be.

How would you describe your initial approach to the job?

I would say I began in a listening mode. CCI has a unique culture, given its expertise, and its history. So, I have tried to take it very slowly, meeting as many staff face-to-face as possible during my first few weeks. Asking questions. Listening. Trying to be sensitive to the way CCI has operated in the past. Introducing my ideas slowly, testing them. Backtracking when staff explained that I'd misunderstood. I saw myself as the stranger, and knew that the most important thing for me to do was to build relationships and gain the trust of staff.

At the same time, I'm a doer, so I was really eager to get into the job and start doing things. My management style is very much results-oriented. Which is a good thing, because there is enormous pressure in the Government of Canada these days to be accountable, and to demonstrate results, value for money, relevance of programs to the needs of clients. I've also got to make sure that the work we do here is consistent with the strategic objectives of Canadian Heritage. CCI is one of the Department's key instruments for ensuring the preservation of Canada's moveable cultural heritage. All of this means having a sound basis for making decisions and setting priorities on what research projects to undertake, which site visits to make, what treatments to provide, what books to publish.

What things have impressed you most about CCI and its staff?

Their passion for their work. Their expertise... incredible expertise. Their competence. Their humanity. Not to mention, the great softball players.

Do you have any special goals you would like to accomplish in your first 6 months/1 year with CCI?

Yes, yes I do. Certainly, my top priority is to ensure the renovations to the building are completed by next fall so that we can get back to full operation.

One short-term goal is to get a good understanding of CCI's clients — both current and potential. I want to know what their needs are and what services we are providing them. Which heritage institutions we are serving and which we are not serving. Beginning in September, I will be going out across the country to meet as many clients as possible. I want to understand for myself what the challenges are for museums, archives and art galleries, and how CCI is contributing and can continue to help them address these challenges.

My second goal is to establish a decision-making framework as a basis for setting research priorities over the next few years. Research is an international activity. We certainly contribute to the world's understanding of the science of conservation. And we certainly benefit from our international activities, in which we bring back to Canada new knowledge that we can share through our treatments, workshops, etc. But, given our mandate within the Department of Canadian Heritage, our research must focus on unique Canadian challenges, whether they are the special needs of Aboriginal communities, the risks to collections posed by our climate, the financial constraints of museums and art galleries that need cost-effective solutions for managing their collections.

Over the next year, I would also like to look at what services we offer and what's missing. How we deliver services to clients. How those services are marketed and to whom. What partnerships we could create to leverage other resources and to increase efficiencies. Always keeping in mind our mandate — which is conservation and preservation — and our highly specialized expertise.

I can't forget, in all of this, that having happy and healthy staff and having the right staff in the right place is central. I realized long ago that executives have a responsibility to support their employees, just as employees have a responsibility to support their executives. It just doesn't work otherwise — not in the short term and certainly not in the long term. So, ensuring a balance between personal life and work life. Ensuring people are appreciated, that their good work is recognized. Saying thank you ... many times a day.

CCI is exceptional in that it brings together conservators and scientists. How do you see this evolving in the future?

Well, two heads are better than one. Two perspectives on an issue lead to a better solution. One of the things that intrigues me about CCI is that it is so diverse: under one roof (almost), we have world-renowned scientists, photographers, librarians, technicians, an engineer, an education professional, editors, administrative and human resource staff, and some of the best conservators in the country. It's quite remarkable for that... and it's an opportunity and a strength to have such a diversity of skills and perspectives in one place. I'm hoping to take advantage of that.

CCI is known both as a knowledge organization based on a strong research and development program, and as a service provider offering a wide range of conservation, scientific and training services. Do you see any challenges in maintaining both activities in the future?

None at all. Our research provides the knowledge and expertise that are the basis of every one of our services. And our services to clients provide an opportunity to apply that knowledge and to get feedback on what further research needs to be done — and, going farther, sharing this feedback with our colleagues at Canadian Heritage who do the broader program and policy development. CCI's strength is this interdependence, the feedback loop that research provides for services and vice versa. It helps us to constantly review our services and how we deliver them and to whom.

It is important for CCI to be sensitive to the needs of the Canadian heritage and conservation community so that it can meet these needs effectively, yet within the constraints of resource allocations. How do you see your role in promoting dialogue between CCI and its clients?

As I said earlier, I'm going to be out among the clients, asking questions, listening. One of my strengths, if I may say so, is building relationships with clients, relationships in which everyone benefits, relationships that are there for the long term. One thing I would like to do is a thorough analysis of our clients needs, and of the various resources in Canada, including CCI, that can support them. CCI cannot meet every conservation challenge in Canada. So it's a question of building partnerships. More importantly, we need to look at how we can build the capacity of heritage institutions to address their own needs. CCI does this now through our workshops, publications, site visits, etc. I believe we need to strengthen our efforts in this regard.

What is your vision of CCI in the future?

Generally speaking, my vision is that CCI continues to be a centre of excellence for conservation in Canada, recognized worldwide for our research, appreciated by the heritage community in Canada for our services, focussed on measurable results, and a fun and satisfying place to work. Not forgetting that a vision for CCI must be shaped within the broader policy agenda and priorities of Canadian Heritage.

Have you developed a long-term plan to ensure CCI becomes the Institute you envision?

It is far too early for me to develop a long-term plan. This year, I am going to concentrate on developing a realistic three-year business plan, with a few key priorities and measurable results. That work, plus other efforts — the strategic research framework, the review of client services, the thinking that needs to be done about strengthening the conservation capacity of heritage institutions — will feed into a long-term plan. All of this needs to be done, not slowly, but at a pace that allows opportunities for CCI staff, management and clients to share their views.

What is your personal philosophy of life... and work?

Simply, I want to do interesting work, work that is challenging, involves lots of contact with people, and is intellectually stimulating. If my work is interesting and fun — and it certainly is at CCI — then it is a lot easier to have a sense of well-being and good health. And energy after hours to devote to what's most important: family and friends.