The i-Team® is delighted to have received the UK Technical Communication Merit Award with judges’ commendation from the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators (ISTC) – the largest UK body representing information development professionals. The award was for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Horticulture Manual and Training Guides. The manual and guides were developed as part of the Commission’s new global training programme to improve and standardise the maintenance of the two World War cemeteries and memorial sites across 150 countries, reflecting their ongoing commitment to honouring the memory of those who sacrificed their lives. This award is a testament to the important role of technical writers and their work, often behind the scenes, that can go unnoticed. Technical writing extends far beyond the creation of documents. It has a profound impact on public safety, environmental protection, scientific advancement, and, in this case, the respectful remembrance of history. The i-Team®’s commendable work exemplifies how technical communication can influence society positively and support endeavours of historical significance.
Background to the project
Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is a global leader in commemoration. Founded by Royal Charter in 1917, CWGC works on behalf of the Governments of Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom to commemorate the 1.7 million individuals from the Commonwealth who lost their lives in the two World Wars. CWGC’s vision is that every lost life is commemorated equally: as their sacrifice had been common, their commemoration should also be common. The production of a comprehensive horticulture manual and training guides to ensure equal standards are applied across every site and headstone is paramount to that vision.
The i-Team® played a fundamental role in CWGC’s vision, materialising the manual’s objective to bring together modern technology, the latest scientific discoveries and the Commission’s experience over the last hundred years to define ‘best horticultural practices’.
Spanning over 12 months, The i-Team® researched various areas of horticulture, reviewing existing literature, articles, web content and blogs, as well as videos and lectures, to identify and document best practices in horticulture. A new manual was created, supported with professionally-created illustrations and photographs. The manual was also translated to multiple languages. Accompanying training guides with activities and tests were subsequently produced to support CWGC to train its global staff effectively. For ease of navigation and to reduce the need for printing, a complete responsive HTML manual was also delivered, that can viewed online or standalone from smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops.
Not only was the manual aesthetically pleasing, with colourful images of principal plants, shrubberies and ornamental features, but it was also designed to be accessible and comprehensible by audiences with varying skills, qualifications, knowledge and literacy levels. As such, the manual and training guides presented technical information in a simplified way, using graphics, real photographs and illustrations.
Contribution and impact of the deliverables
The revised manual and accompanying training guides are now essential components of CWGC’s global training programme. They offer not only practical support for the upkeep of these historical sites and their irreplaceable design and architectural features, but they also fulfil a duty of care that is far greater than just the preservation and safeguarding of heritage.
The training guides, covering three levels, allow training to be customised depending on individual job requirements and expertise, providing support to beginners and opening further opportunities for the Commission’s experienced staff to excel in their preferred area of horticulture.
Recognition and award
CWGC summarises the benefits of The i-Team®’s work through this testimonial:
“Motia and her expert team have been amazing, providing a clear project plan, regular catch ups and excellent communication. The project was relatively complex with a mix of old and new material needing to be pulled together into a professional technical manual. The team developed and refined a superb resource for us, utilising our brand guidelines but developing a professional identity for our resources.” Adam Blunt, Senior Technical Training Consultant, Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The outstanding work of The i-Team® was undoubtedly recognised by the UKTC Award judges in their praise for the “impressive” project and “exciting entry”. Awarding across a number of attributes including, background, design, graphics and text, praise for The i-Team®’s “effective, consistent and well-executed” work was echoed as repeated feedback throughout the commentary. The judges also notably recognised both The i-Team®’s passion and work ethic, noting that the team “felt very strongly about the value of the entry” and rounded off their comments by duly mentioning the “incredible” amount of work poured into the project.
The i-Team® is truly honoured to have been given the opportunity to contribute to the great work of the Commission and winning the UKTC award not only affirms The i-Team®’s belief in the important contribution technical authors make to society, but that it also exhibits The i-Team®’s unfaltering dedication, spanning over two decades, to a service that provides professional, consistent and effective technical information.
