We have developed a self-assessment professional development tool to help you explore some of your development options and needs.  More information about the concept behind the tool and the tool itself is available below.

 

You can print off this page, or download it as a pdf.  If you would prefer to be sent a paper version for yourself or to distribute to others email us.

For people managing in arts and cultural settings.

 

A self-assessment tool designed by Janet Summerton and Madeline Hutchins as part of the research programmes of All Ways Learning.

 

Professional Development Planning (PDP) provides a structured approach to increasing your skills, knowledge and understanding in order to do your current work better and to plan for the future.

 

For most of us, our abilities to do a range of tasks, and our depth of knowledge and understanding are at variable levels. Day to day, we work across a spectrum of confidently operating as an expert to being adequately competent through to being a less than confident novice in some regards.

 

Intuitively we may think that we might improve our performance and confidence by doing various things. These come about as a result of a particular incident, recurring patterns we notice, a chance opportunity triggered by conversations with peers, new information about the book, a short course or conference, or more formally (for those working in organisations) through job reviews and appraisals

 

This PDP tool is designed to prompt you to review and reflect - to analyse your professional competencies and come to some decisions about your own professional development. You may choose to complete this on your own or with the help of a colleague, manager, learning advisor or mentor.

 

It's not designed to identify exactly what you should do, but rather to help you understand yourself, the knowledge, attitudes, values and skills you have, and to think about them in relation to your current role(s) and responsibilities, as well as plan for your future. The planning process starts with reviewing and analysing. This tool will help you to start the process, or perhaps provide additional clarity to ideas you might have had already.

 

With learning and development for work (continuing professional development or CPD) increasingly recognised as important, various organisations have developed templates and listings of skills & knowledge related to management. A number are available on the web or as free publications. There are also some excellent books. We have provided some information about these. But in the first instance we would like you to help us test this, and ask that you feed back comments to us about how useful you found it, and any ways in which you think it could be improved. (See separate questionnaire)

 

The style is meant to be inclusive of the many people who have managerial responsibilities in a wide variety of arts and cultural settings, without necessarily having the title of 'manager'.