Reinventing the Radio-Canada Archives to transform the business and pursue innovation in production

This paper describes a strategic planning exercise conducted by the CBC/Radio-Canada French Services’ Media Libraries and Archives department to address the challenges arising from the broadcaster’s digital transformation and impending relocation. Innovation and client engagement were key pillars of this initiative, which sought to redefine the department’s mission, vision and shared values. The new operating structure optimises the department’s relevance so that it can embrace opportunities proactively, while providing agility to assign staff to business requirements and ongoing projects. The structure also enhances employees’ versatility and professional development. The result will be a stronger, more strategic positioning within the organisation, and will help make the department’s expertise indispensable to its business partners. This paper provides an overview of the thinking and process behind the department’s repositioning from various perspectives, including: the participatory process behind the strategic planning exercise; the role of innovation in the transformation process; the new organisation structure and goals; the change management and team engagement approach used to implement the structure; the outreach approach using client hubs; and the organisational and human challenges faced thus far.