In addition to wrapping up processing the collection materials, finishing the workshop day is an opportunity to reflect and share experiences and lessons learned from the day. Leave some time at the end of the day to gather everyone to have a de-brief about the day, pass out evaluation forms to get feedback about the workshop, and simply clean-up the space.
De-Briefing
Attendees can discuss the collections, specific items that they enjoyed, any challenges, surprises, and other thoughts about their experience during the workshop. Below is a list of possible questions to facilitate the discussion:
- Overall, what was your experience of the CAW? How did you feel about your role?
- In terms of process, what were some of the strengths of the CAW workflow? Are there things you would change?
- What worked in terms of the welcoming and orienting of CAW participants? Are there things you would change?
- What worked in terms of the presentation and instructions? Are there things you would change?
- What worked in terms of the inspection and inventory process, especially for those new to the process? Are there things you would change?
- Did you think the scope and scale of the collection worked well? Why or why not? Did you think the template worked for both the participants and the organization? Why or why not?
Evaluations
During the discussion, a short, three-question evaluation form is passed out for attendees to complete. Below are the questions on the evaluation form:
- What did you like about today’s workshop?
- What would you like to see improved for next year?
- Do you have any general comments about the workshop?
Clean-up
There are always some loose ends at the end of a hectic workshop day. Collection materials, workstations, and the space need to be organized, so processing and regular business can resume as soon as possible for the partner organizations. Below are some clean-up actions to consider before leaving the workshop space:
- Make sure collection materials are returned to Partner Organizations.
- Discuss briefly with each Partner Organization about the deliverables from the workshop.
- Confirm what will be delivered and when.
- Make sure everyone has the necessary contact information and understand who is responsible for delivering what.
- The host organization will contact the participant list if any items are left at the location.
Post-Workshop Roles
Immediately following the workshop, post-workshop roles need to be clarified and assigned. The following tasks should be considered:
- Who is going to analyze and summarize data and how will that be shared? Will they also scan and share all evaluations?
- Who is going to combine all of the data templates, then do data clean up, and maybe some analysis and ready for partner?
- Who will ready a summary report with recommended resources (and maybe next steps) for partner?
- Who will share the report and meet with the partner once they are ready to discuss?