Nelson Mandela’s Archive: a Case Study in Research-driven Institutional Change Management

Abstract The Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory Project was launched by the former President Mandela in 2004 as a special project of the Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF). In 2006, the Foundation’s Board of Trustees decided to adopt the Centre as the Foundation’s core operational function, a decision to be implemented in terms of a 5-year transition plan. In February 2012, the latter ended with a public announcement of the organisation’s new mandate to work in the memory–dialogue nexus and intention to unveil the Centre as a public facility in 2013. This fundamental organisational transition (with many subsidiary change management processes) was informed by four dedicated research interventions, all conducted within an overarching action research framing: an investigation of the ›memory for justice‹ tradition in South Africa and its possible institutional application by the NMF; a global benchmarking study of cognate institutions; a study of dialogue as an element of Mandela’s legacy in relation to the memory–dialogue nexus; and a marketing and branding survey. Verne Harris and Shadrack Katuu provide an account of these interventions, highlighting in each case the research designs and subsidiary research and analysis techniques. The article begins with a tracing of relevant historical and archival contexts and concludes with an assessment of the organisation’s change management process and the efficacy of the organisational research agenda.


Contexts
Mandela typified his life as a long walk to freedom from the oppression of colonialism and apartheid. The latter, a system of rule implemented formally in South Africa between 1948 and 1994, has been described, most useful, as a form of racial capitalism in which racial differences were formalised and pervasive socially, and in which a society was characterised by a powerful racially defined schism. Among the world's racial orders, South Africa was unique in its rigidity and its oppressiveness. It was declared by the United Nations to be a crime against humanity.
The apartheid regime was not overthrown. The revolution fought for by the liberation movements over nearly three decades did not happen. Instead, between 1990 and 1994, the apartheid government and     22 The literature suggests that this type of setting works best with between 6 and 12 participants.

Memory for Justice Research Project
The smaller group agreed to as best suited to the specific output requirements for the colloquium. The group began its work by providing the initial provocation to the invited speakers and delegates representing over • The work of memory is an integral part of the struggles against apartheid oppression.
• The memory practitioner is not an impartial custodian -rather, she is a memory activist, either for or against the oppressive system.

Benchmarking Study of Cognate Institutions
The • Successful promotion of a legacy hinges not on the use of a name, but purposeful action having an impact on society.
• Mandates sustainable over time tend to be purpose centred rather than person centred.
• A sustainability plan not dependent on involvement by the institutional founder is essential.
• Memory work is difficult to sustain without endowment or state support. At the same time, state support for memory work with a social justice dimension is problematic.
• Blurring of boundaries between institutional spaces and those of the founder's family invites complexity and incurs many risks.
• Absolute clarity must be secured in relation to ownership of the founder's memory resources and broader intellectual property.
• Liaison and joint endeavour with sister and other stakeholder institutions are desirable, but the institution's mandate must be distinctive.
• Beneficiary categories and target audiences must be clearly defined.
• Good governance is absolutely critical for credibility.
The findings were then woven into the draft 5-year institutional transition plan, 35  RTC submitted its report on December 2007. Its findings were wide-ranging, but four were of particular significance for the NMF: • Dialogue is a fundamental element of Mandela's legacy.
• Dialogue is a vital instrument for addressing critical social issues in the contexts of post-apartheid South Africa.
• There is »an organic relationship between ›memory‹ and ›dialogue‹.« 39 • A wide range of dialogue models and methodologies, each with advantages and disadvantages, could be considered for programme functionality at the NMF.
The report was immediately submitted to an NMF focus The research design employed by TNS was based on the NMF brief to: • Determine awareness of the NMF.
• Ascertain what people think the NMF does (without prompting).
• Ascertain what activities the NMF is involved in (prompted, including functions in the memorydialogue nexus).
• Ascertain which activities people feel it would be good for the NMF to be involved in. propositions define the perspective: • Memory is dialogue.
• Memory should always be negotiated collectively.
• The most effective vehicle for sharing a memory, for growing it, and for engaging it in the promotion of justice is dialogue.
• Dialogue demands a sustained negotiation, by all the stakeholders in a particular social issue, focused on finding sustainable solutions to problems, committed to building futures with pasts, in an environment hospitable to a hearing of ›the other‹.
• The unique strength of the NMF is its capacity to bring to the table people who do not want to listen to one another and to provide a space safe enough for people to consider saying the unsayable.
• The objectives of the NMF are best served, and its strengths are best used through an integration of the memory and dialogue functions.  • were designed to support a reimagining of the organisation's purpose and the re-tooling of its line functions;

Marketing and Branding Survey
• were connected directly and reflexively to the organisational change management process; • were positioned, either centrally or tangentially, within a memory-dialogue nexus and