This time last year I was nervously biting my nails. I’d taken over the Editorial Working Group from the mighty Alicen Nickson, who had steered the august members’ magazine, The Protagonist, for many years, producing a beautiful and informative periodical that was a wonderful shop window to our profession.
And I’d only gone and ripped it up, figuratively if not literally. No wonder I was nervous.
Why? Well, whilst The Protagonist was beautiful and informative, it was only produced twice a year. Our profession was moving much, much faster than that. Articles sometimes appeared dated as soon as they were published, and there was a lag in addressing contemporary issues. We needed to keep up.
In addition, people were generally gathering their news online — and usually on their mobiles. A pdf or hard-copy magazine just didn’t fit people’s lifestyles or working patterns.
That was what I thought, anyway. But I needed to evidence it. To do so we took soundings. At the beginning of 2023 we undertook a survey of ARMA members, as well as looking at the wider member surveys from 2020 and 2021. We followed this up with a focus group.
The results seemed to confirm what I had feared. Whilst those who read The Protagonist appreciated it, there was relatively low engagement (both as readers and authors), and respondents wanted something that was online, accessible, and published more often.
On that basis we got to work, exploring different online platforms and structures. The ARMA Office (shout out to Nicole and Amaka!) were brilliant in helping us with this, and the working group as a whole gave their time generously, discussing and exploring all the different options.
Finally, we launched it in February 2024. It was a ‘soft launch’; we wanted to take on board people’s views and adapt the new magazine in light of these. And we’re still doing so. The nature of an online magazine is that it can — and should — change and adapt to the needs of its readers.
After a year, I think it’s safe to stop biting my nails. We started publishing slowly, but have accelerated as the ‘publication pipeline’ has begun to flow. We’re publishing new content on a weekly basis, and have had over 10,000 views from over 7,000 users. It’s more than I could ever have hoped for, but I know that there’s still further we can go.
For a start, it would be good to ensure that we get a balance of voices from across our profession. Research management and administration encompasses so many different specialisms, and I’m conscious that some haven’t been fully represented in ARMA Insights.
For instance, it would be good to hear more from colleagues in finance and reporting, to understand the issues around due diligence and doctoral training management, and to get insights on concordats and knowledge exchange.
However, now that we have a platform that isn’t limited by page count, we can incorporate these voices. We’re working with the special interest groups (SIGs) and those involved in training and ARMA qualifications to identify possible areas that are ripe for coverage, and we are always looking for new avenues, new ideas, new issues, new questions.
But we want to hear from individual members too. If you haven’t done so already, do get in touch with us with your ideas for stories — whether that be offering to write them yourself, or as a topic you would be interested in. We are a magazine that is for members and by members: this is your magazine, and it would be nothing without you.
Finally, I wanted to close by saying a huge thank you to the Editorial Working Group for all its work in identifying interesting and relevant issues to cover, commissioning authors, and working with them on the articles. As well as offering a huge dose of sanity and humour. If you want to write for Insights, you couldn’t be in better hands.
