How great to meet colleagues and discuss key issues related to our common professional practice! The Professional Knowledge Exchange  event on February 5, 2015 in Montreal, which we organized with the kind help of ArtExperts.ca and Louise J. Poulin, ACCA Founding Member, was an interactive peer discussion of innovative and actual topics related to the arts consulting practice. In only 2 hours, we generated and exchanged a lot of ideas, techniques and information with fellow arts and culture consultants, trying to enrich our knowledge and experience in the field. We also presented what the Arts Consultants Canada Association (ACCA) is about and we explored what might be the benefits for members from Quebec to join the association. As a current ACCA Board member and being a member since 2010, I believe that we have to work hard towards increasing of ACCA membership across Canada, enriching the activities of the association and making the profession of arts consultants well recognized by decision-makers, clients and professionals in the arts.

Our lively discussion was focused around the following questions:

• What is great about being a consultant in the field of arts and culture?
• What does not work? What is really bad and frustrating?
• What are the trends in the arts consulting profession?
• Why to join Arts Consultants Canada? What would we expect as potential new members?

Here are some highlights of our Knowledge Exchange gathering:

The great things about being an arts consultant:

• —Freedom and independence
• Flexibility of the working schedule
• Variety of themes and topics-each client is different
• Ongoing intellectual challenge – every next project is different and needs upgrade and advancement
• Possibility to earn more than just “a salary”
• Having a better control over your professional life
• Possibilities for networking and constantly meeting new people
• Gaining knowledge from the practical experience
• Researching all the time
• Diversity of practical cases and clients
• Possibility to help clients by assisting them to look at their own projects and organizations from a different viewpoint

The not so happy things about being an arts consultant:

• There is an issue with the recognition of the profession “consultant in the arts” in Canada – many clients do not understand the  value of our work.
• Some clients do not pay on time.
• Consultant’s work is irregular-there are periods where many projects should be managed at once, and periods of no projects at all.
• There is a need to be able to work in an environment of ongoing uncertainty.
• It happens that the client has different viewpoint than the consultant and a high level of diplomacy is required to sort out diversity of opinions and rich common agreement.
• The synergy between the consultant and the client might not work.
• Sometimes a consultant spends a lot of time to apply for a project and does not win it at the end.

The trends in the next few years that reflect arts consultants’ work:

• Public financing for the arts is diminishing in Canada – this reflects on clients’ budgets and possibilities to hire external consultants
• The new generation of artists and art managers is very entrepreneurial-they like working independently and on project basis rather than on salary. The competition in the arts consulting field is therefore increasing.
• There are more and more cross–connections between arts and other fields such as environment, health care, social sphere, education, etc. Arts consultants need to be aware of all related areas.
• Copyrights, especially in the digital era we live in, is an issue that also reflects consultants’ work especially related to creative industries.
• Global connectivity is a trend which reflects the way we produce, consume, participate and enjoy different art forms.
• Development of multi-purpose platforms online is another trend reflecting the arts that requires consultants to understand more the new technologies and online tools in the arts.

Arts Consultants Canada / Consultant candiens en arts (ACCA) is a peer vetted association for consultants working in the arts and cultural sector in Canada. Its objectives are to advance professional arts consulting and, by extension, arts development in Canada by:

• Supporting networking and shared learning among consultants;
• Providing a forum for discussion and resolution of issues of shared concern;
• Recommending qualifications, ethics and practices for arts consultants;
• Representing and advocating for the profession;
• Promoting the use of experienced and qualified professionals in the field; and
• Demonstrating leadership within the field.

During our Knowledge Exchange gathering, we discussed also the expectations which potential members have if they join ACCA in the future:

• Sharing of best practices
• Exchange of expertise
• Having an accessible and widely disseminated database of experts
• Improving the accreditation and the visibility of the arts consultants as a recognized profession
• Group insurances provided by the association
• Tools and models of management in the arts
• Professional development and improvement

An opinion was expressed that “arts consulting” sounds very narrow as a term, and we need to open the ACCA wider, including also culture and creative industries sectors. We also discussed an option to set-up “satellite” arts consultants groups in different regions of Canada so that ACCA events and outreach could be better spread across the country (as currently it is mainly concentrated in Toronto). All in all, we had a rich and engaging discussion, which will hopefully continue, both online and offline.

Here are some useful tips for consultants – have a look:

• Consultant Journal – http://consultantjournal.com/
•  BNET  – Consultant: resources and blogs:  http://www.bnet.com/topics/consultant
•  Consultant Resource Center :  http://developer.force.com/consultants
• Arts Consulting Group, USA newsletter: http://www.artsconsulting.com/artsinsights/index.html
•  Management Consulting Business: Independent consulting bootcamp:  http://www.independent-consulting-bootcamp.com/
• Personal benefits of being a consultant:  http://softwareconsultingbook.com/?p=66
• Being a consultant: FAQ:  http://unixwiz.net/techtips/be-consultant.html
• The guide to be a consultant:  http://www.ganssle.com/consulting.htm

Sincere thanks to ACCA Board of Directors for helping in the organization of this event by sharing expertise about similar Knowledge Exchange events across the country!