As I am gearing up for a
strategic planning project, I have been thinking about some of the usual planning
steps and how they might be charged to do more work both as a part of the
planning, as well as in moving the museum forward.
Every museum has
stakeholders whether or not it recognizes them, serves them well, or enlists
them in the life of the museum and community. Stakeholders are the people, groups,
constituencies, and institutions who are likely to affect or be affected by a
museum, its vision, plans, or projects. Not every museum is deliberate about
identifying, understanding and engaging its stakeholders; some approach
stakeholder engagement in a generic way, without considering stakeholders and
their interests in relation to the museum and its interests. This is a missed
opportunity.
Along with many museums, over
the years I have expanded my view and appreciation of stakeholders, ways of engaging
them, relating that engagement to the museum’s long-term strategic interests, and
integrating stakeholders into the museum’s culture.
Especially when a museum
anticipates significant change, careful examination of its stakeholders is
critical. Strategic planning is an opportunity for a museum to think
realistically and deeply about its stakeholders as it sets
its future course. In preparing for a
major expansion–an addition, renovation, new construction, or relocation– a
museum must think about expanding its stakeholders and how to activate them
around its vision.
A stakeholder engagement audit advances a museum in becoming more magnetic like the museums described by Anne Bergeron and Beth Tuttle in Magnetic: The Art and Science of Engagement. In all these situations, a stakeholder engagement audit involves the museum in listening and responding to and being inclusive of its closest partners.
A stakeholder engagement audit advances a museum in becoming more magnetic like the museums described by Anne Bergeron and Beth Tuttle in Magnetic: The Art and Science of Engagement. In all these situations, a stakeholder engagement audit involves the museum in listening and responding to and being inclusive of its closest partners.
Stakeholder
Engagement Audit At-a-Glance
A
stakeholder engagement audit is a deliberate process for studying
the individuals and groups across the community who share the museum’s
interests and value its work and how it involves them. Strictly speaking, this is not a plan, but it does guide
planning and decisions across the museum. Through gathering information, identifying common
and consistent themes, and framing initiatives, the audit assists the museum in activating
a stakeholder community around a compelling idea with positive outcomes.
Each
museum has its own particular emphasis for a stakeholder engagement audit:
widening its circle of stakeholders, better understanding community organizations, becoming
more relationship based, or sustaining involvement. Depending on how formal or
extensive the audit is, it can be done by an in-house team, strategic
planners as part of their scope, or a
firm specializing in this work. And, whether a museum takes this on in a big or small way, doing it is more important than doing it in a particular way.
Conducting a
stakeholder engagement audit addresses four broad questions.
• How does the museum currently view its
stakeholders and how does it engage them?
• Around what significant, strategic idea does the
museum hope to engage its stakeholders?
• What can the museum learn about its stakeholders
to serve them and enlist their interests?
• How can the museum move forward by activating a
stakeholder community?
How does the museum
currently view its stakeholders are and how does it engage them? A practical starting
step is developing a current and realistic picture of the museum’s stakeholder
engagement. This background work looks
at the stakeholders, both internal and external, who are engaged with the
museum and benefit from its efforts. Board, funders, members, and visitors usually
lead the list, but there are also partners, policy makers and gatekeepers. Push
for 360ยบ engagement. Stakeholders with shared interests who don’t (yet) fit in
an obvious group can be carried forward: advisors or research partners from
past projects or vendors and service providers with related interests. Capture
regional and national as well as local stakeholders.
As part of identifying
current stakeholder groups, the museum will also note how it currently serves
and engages them through events, activities, communication, benefits, etc. Keep
track of these along with opportunities for increasing their involvement at each step. Typically, this set of discussions shifts between what the museum currently does and what it could do in the future. The
museum may gain insights in exploring what stakeholders of peer organizations
look like–a museum of comparable size in its city or another city. This can introduce
fresh perspectives including new ways to look at, cluster, and engage
stakeholders.
In wanting to activate a
stakeholder community around a compelling idea, a museum must explore the
significant idea–or ideas–around which it currently engages them. Typically
this is the mission, a slogan, or what the museum considers to be its brand. Often
this conversation reveals that the museum lacks clarity around the set of ideas
and what it represents or it has a limited way of talking about them.
Around what significant,
strategic idea does the museum hope to engage its stakeholders?
Most museums know that its
stakeholders are motivated by its focus, track record, the population it
serves, or personal relationships with top leaders. But most museums are not clear
about what, in particular, this means given its
community, mission, audience, and peer institutions.
Clarity about its own
public value precedes communicating it and aligning around it. A compelling,
strategic idea that is more than a slogan serves the stakeholder audit directly;
it is also critical in making the museum’s case for support, coordinating
messages internally, writing grants, hiring the right staff, and achieving
museum-wide alignment.
Perhaps memorable and
succinct, a tagline is generally not sufficiently compelling to activate and
engage groups of stakeholders. It neither lends itself to a powerful agenda nor
gives the museum traction to be a catalyst for action. Generally museums must
look deeper into what they bring to their communities that others also recognize and
value. A compelling idea is often located at the convergence of: the mission and
vision with which it currently engages stakeholders; emergent
opportunities pursued with greater rigor; and community priorities.
A helpful discussion at
this point focuses on how the interests it shares with stakeholders could be
more focused and relevant. Stakeholder interest might be framed around: strong families; learning through play; connecting
art and the creative processes; transformative experiences through art; children’s potential; or authentic experiences related to place.
Realistically, most
museums will refine this focus throughout the audit process itself:
starting with an idea, framing questions for stakeholders, listening for what’s
important to them, and following themes and threads. If a museum is fortunate,
this work will continue beyond the audit because more staff will be attuned to
big, resonating ideas that connect with stakeholders.
What can
the museum learn about its stakeholders to serve them and enlist their
interests? Now,
get ready to listen to stakeholders and think about the relationship between
them and the museum.
Individual
interviews and facilitated conversations incorporate stakeholder perspectives
and convey the museum’s willingness to listen. While there is no set number or mix of
interviews, clearly, not all interviewees should be insiders-board, staff, and
good friends. Varied perspectives and voices, including outliers, generate the rich
information and new insights capable of providing strong direction. Typically
these interviews are not confidential so interviewers can be selected based on
warmth, clarity about the purpose and message, and good listening.
Face-to-face
interviews and group conversations are opportunities for understanding how the
museum’s strategic idea resonates with stakeholders; whether it is clearly
expressed; and how it is meaningful to them. The museum will also hear how stakeholders see themselves as partners; who they view as other stakeholders and why; how
much engagement they are interested in; what a fulfilling relationship
involves; and the degree and source of the museum’s credibility in its area.
Organizing and distilling information from the interviews occurs
in successive steps, looking at groups and approaches; themes; strengths and challenges.
Forming stakeholder groups is more than sorting by demographic or external attributes.
It involves finding and articulating meaningful distinctions among
groups related to mutual interests, shared connections, and preferences for
engagement so the similarities within and differences between the groups are
easier to see and plan for.
Clustering
stakeholder groups by internal (staff and board) and external stakeholders (i.e. visitors,
members, community-based partners, civic leaders, donors, media, peers, gatekeepers) is a good
first sort. Readiness to play with clusters, however, helps find meaningful
groups and a manageable number. Interview material and the museum’s strategic
idea for engagement are tools for customizing groups around relevant
and specific interests. For instance, every museum has enthusiasts, but
a museum may find designating enthusiasts
for the riverfront is helpful.
Interviews
also reveal recurring themes such as a lack of clarity about the museum’s
strategic idea, other community priorities, perception of the museum’s track
record, concern about advocacy, or interest in the work of peer institutions.
These themes can add definition to stakeholder groups, inform communication, or
help shape engagement.
In
effect, the interviews have tested the museum’s strategic vision and how
compelling and clear it is for the stakeholders it hopes will invest in it with
interest, time, and resources. This feedback should guide the museum in
strengthening the idea, making it more tangible or relevant, or sharpening
intended outcomes.
How can the museum move
forward by activating a stakeholder community? Museums typically view stakeholder
engagement as broad categories of involvement supported by a variety of
activities and events. Participation occurs through visiting, volunteering,
and attending events; learning through training, web content, or
accessing resources; sharing through word-of-mouth, media coverage, or social
media; support through funding or endorsing; and networking by opening
doors, or social media. While stakeholder involvement very likely presents
itself as these activities, activating a stakeholder community is more than assigning
stakeholder groups to types of involvement.
Developing
a strategic-level framework can help the museum consolidate
the audit’s information and insights and integrate it into its work. The
framework also helps build alignment among its strategic idea, approaches to
serving and enlisting stakeholders, and the internal capacity needed to support
stakeholder engagement. A framework might include:
An institutional statement of the museum’s
strategic idea around which it intends to activate stakeholders. This becomes helpful in messaging to stakeholder groups.
A working definition of stakeholder engagement. Consistent with the museum’s strategic idea, it
also identifies what stakeholder engagement helps accomplish for the museum,
and highlights characteristics of the museum’s approach to stakeholder
engagement, such as relationship-based, interactive, reciprocity; etc.
Three-to-four
stakeholder initiatives for serving, engaging, and enlisting stakeholders. Initiatives
focus on how the museum will activate engagement: opportunities it will provide;
how it intends to build and sustain relationships and retain stakeholders; and the benefits it hopes
to give and receive. A single initiative may involve multiple stakeholder groups.
A
logic model for each initiative to lay-out activities, resources, and short and long-term
outcomes. A logic model also helps adjust the museum’s internal
capacity to support, implement, and monitor stakeholder engagement considering: needed expertise, responsibility for implementation,
coordination, communication channels, digital resources, etc. The logic models become action plans for stakeholder engagement and tools for monitoring progress.
Just
More Work?
Is an audit just more work
or does it put a museum ahead strategically? Museums can’t do well for
themselves or their communities without investing in their stakeholders. Any
time a museum focuses on its stakeholders thoughtfully, from a variety of
perspectives, and in the context of long-term interests, it will be better off.
There are other benefits as well. A stakeholder engagement audit can give a
sense of how large and active the museum’s base of support is; surface new
questions to explore about its stakeholders; identify new stakeholder groups;
strengthen relationships with stakeholder groups; and identify stakeholder
activities to drop because they are not valuable.
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