docs.rockarch.org
Rockefeller Archive Center Documentation

Content Strategy for the Research and Engagement Program

To be reviewed annually. Last approved 11/23.

Research & Engagement Program Vision

Consistent with the Mission, Vision, and Values of the Rockefeller Archive Center, the Research & Engagement Program envisions a broad and diverse community engaged in archival practice, primary source research, and historical understanding.

Values of R&E

  • Center equity, diversity, and accessibility
  • Communicate with transparency and foster trust
  • Build from user needs
  • Empower each other and collaborate across programs
  • Create from a foundation of research

R&E Program Goals

  • Invite global engagement with RAC collections and the body of research using them
  • Empower educators to help learners of all levels to develop their media literacy, research, and critical thinking skills
  • Engage in conversations with communities represented in and impacted by our work

Guiding Principles of R&E’s Work

  • Public and Accessible
    • We build, use, and share open-source tools, records, systems, and content wherever possible.
    • We ensure our products are compatible with common software applications and digital tools.
    • We adhere to accessibility practices for typefaces, icons, images, and other design elements.
    • In our education work, we partner primarily with public institutions.
  • Digital First
    • Our work is conceived, managed, designed, edited, discussed, and delivered in a digital environment.
    • We aim to do more with less. A digital-first approach means that we have the potential to reach more user communities than we could using our physical space or traditional forms of research, communication, and dissemination.
    • Working digitally allows our team to be productive, inclusive, and respectful of social-emotional well-being.
    • In our projects and programs, we don’t assume physical access to our spaces, records, people, or products.
  • Always Evolving
    • Our team fosters learner curiosity, encourages experimentation, and provides a safe space to try new tools and approaches.
    • Our work is never “finished.” We iterate, adjust, rework, and reinvent.
  • RAC Goals, not External Goals
    • We publish and promote research conducted through or related to our programs and goals.
    • We do not partner with individuals or institutions whose primary goals are commercial.
    • We do not promote the strategies or missions of our donor/depositing organizations.

Communities We Serve

  • Educators and the learners they serve
  • Not-for-Profit Practitioners
  • Professionals in Archives, Archives-Adjacent, and Historical Fields
  • Researchers
Community Who They Are What They Want How we Engage with Them
Educators and the learners they serve Educators (elementary to university faculty), archivists, librarians, and others who use primary sources in their teaching. “Grab and go” materials - Togetherness Archival Educators Roundtable Listserv - Downloadable Resources - Videos - AER Meetings - Educator Workshops
Not-for-Profit Practitioners Staff, volunteers, activists, and leaders involved in not-for-profit organizations. Specific information on a topic, usually relevant to their current work or institutional needs - Contextual summaries, visual assets for presentations and projects Donor Services - On-Site Visits - History Presentations - Exhibits - Online Articles - White Papers
Professionals in Archives, Archives-Adjacent, and Historical Fields Staff and leadership at archival institutions, historical societies, and other public history contexts Community - Examples of work we have done that relates to theirs - Learning opportunities Professional Conferences - Archival Educators Roundtable - Social Media Content - Blog Posts - Online Articles
Researchers Researchers who have used or might use RAC collections. They often hold academic posts or are in graduate school, and write for fellow academics. Information about what the RAC holds, what others have written, how to access collections - May seek to participate in the conversation about their fields of research How-to Videos - Research Reports - Bibliography of Scholarship - New Research Summaries - Email Messages - Conferences - Research Stipend Program

Tone

Our content should be:

  • Helpful
  • Informative
  • Approachable
  • Inviting
  • Friendly
  • Research-Based
  • Humble

Editorial Process

We are a small team of individuals who wear many hats. There are key roles we play to carry out RAC and R&E goals through our content creation – most of us hold more than one role and some of these roles extend beyond the R&E team. This makes cross-programmatic teamwork and clear documentation essential to the success of our program.

Our aim is to insitute an editoral process that applies to all content produced across all platforms, regardless of publication venue, audience, or production tools.

Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Content Officer

  • Oversees the content process, including budgeting and strategy
  • Works with President to approve content strategy (reviewed annually)
  • Approves content plans (produced quarterly)
  • Shares content plans with President quarterly

Editorial Director

  • Educates team and stakeholders on content strategy, style guide, and tone
  • Supervises the development and regular updating of the style guide
  • Manages editorial calendar, including every step of content creation, from planning to editing, publication, and promotion
  • Approves individual content items
  • Leads the team in annual review of content strategy
  • Reviews all content for SEO
  • With team, produces templates, checklists, glossaries, and examples to ensure consistency across all channels

Content Creator(s)

  • Pitches content ideas, produces content, which may include writing, curating and captioning photographs, building an exhibit, recording audio or video, writing communications, and broadly, creating resources for the communities we serve
  • Content creators can include writers, copywriters, illustrators, video producers, photographers, archivists, educators, and graphic designers

Editor

  • Tasks range from proofreading to line editing to content editing
  • Content curation (newsletter compilations, home page collections, social media features)

Visuals Editor

  • Develops and updates style guide
  • Creates visuals, which may include editing archival photographs, taking photographs, producing data visualizations, and more
  • The visuals editor is a content creator but also approves the visual assets used across all content channels

Fact-Checker

  • Ensures content meets the RAC’s quality standards, including eliminating typos, factual errors, or misleading or confusing language
  • Can also make suggestions for additions, keeping in mind the program goals, tone, and communities served

Analytics Specialist

  • Analyzes data to inform content strategy and to assess whether content is meeting micro and macro goals
  • Collects audience data, web analytics, user feedback, information about peer projects, and other performance feedback
  • Keeps Editoral Director apprised of analytics

Outreach Specialist

  • Coordinates publicity once content is published
  • Identifies appropriate venues for sharing our content

Technical Supports

  • Back-end development
  • Technology problem-solving
  • Integration with RAC systems and practices

Editorial Calendar

The editorial calendar is developed with SMARTIE goals in mind. (Strategic Measurable Appropriate Realistic Time-bound Inclusive Equitable.) The team will draft a quarterly content plan for approval by the Director of R&E. Individual pieces of content are developed and managed through Asana.

The quarterly content plans will include:

  • The content R&E will produce, and plans for distribution
  • Micro and macro goals for each piece of content
  • Which staff members will handle each project and task
  • Deadlines for each project and task

Tools

Content production will be managed in Asana but as a general rule, will be produced and published in-platform. This practice may need to be revised and platforms and tools change.

Measurement

We are a learning team; we strive to be responsive to meet the needs of our communities through our content. Measurement plays a crucial role in our editorial planning and annual strategy discussions. We draw on the following metrics:

  • Web analytics
  • Social media engagement metrics
  • Persona development
  • User testing
  • User feedback

Commenting Policy

  • Comments that include hate speech will be removed and the offending accounts blocked.
  • We comment to answer questions or express support for ideas that align with our values and goals.
  • We “like” posts that relate to our work or the subjects of our holdings. Likes do not mean endorsement.
  • We align our content practices with the RAC Privacy Policy and with RAC Mission, Vision, and Values.