Building Champions for the Community: a Train the Trainer Model for Digital Research in Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

During 2018 the national collaborative Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Data-Enhanced Virtual Lab (HASS DEVL) delivered a multi-faceted project aimed at increasing accessibility of data and digital tools using shared infrastructure, and lowering barriers to entry for digital methods and tools. Consultation with researchers demonstrated that training and supporting user pathways is an essential component of improving accessibility. Inspired by a successful program for the ecology community, the HASS DEVL team delivered a HASS Digital Champions program. This train the trainer program recruited twelve researchers from diverse disciplines, spread around Australia and at diverse career stages. Team members developed content around the workflows supported by the project – Transcription, Text Analysis, Geocoding – as well as complementary segments on digital HASS pedagogy. A two day workshop took place in late October 2018, with the intention that Champions would be empowered to re-deliver content in either mainstream teaching or workshop formats. HASS DEVL team members will share their experience in this presentation, sharing observations on this model of training, including feedback from participants. Six months after the initial workshop we will review the ongoing engagement with the Champions, and reflect on whether the outcomes of the training have been as expected