2011-02-02

Exploring the Evidence Base for Museum Value

As museums argue their case for sustainable funding in an increasingly challenging economic climate, the requirement to prove their value will be rigorous. But the concept of value is an evolving one and developing an evidence base is a challenging task. This article examines the concept of value as an emerging phenomenon, how we describe the value of museums and what evidence we have to support our claims. It uses recent literature and research in the UK and Australia.

Introduction

. . . measuring and articulating the value and impact of the sector is more than an academic exercise: given the policy, financial and business structures in which most cultural organizations operate in England, rightly selecting, rigorously measuring and powerfully articulating the value and impact of the sector is one of the key pre-requisites for its sustainability (Stanziola 2008, 317)

Stanziolas call to action is the subject of this article, and I have organized it into four sections. In the first section, I explore the contested and evolving terrain of value in relation to museums. Second, I examine what recent public value studies contribute to how we describe and articulate the value of the sector. In the third section, I suggest a set of values indicators to guide the collection of evidence and, in the final section, I examine the current evidence base with regard to instrumental, institutional, intrinsic and use value.

Value is emerging as an overarching framework with which to articulate, advocate and substantiate the importance of museums in the Twenty-First Century. Though it seems to hold out an alternative to the instrumentalism of the past decades, the concept of value is a contentious area characterized by many unresolved issues. This section examines the emergence of value as an organizing principle around which advocacy for the sector is coalescing. It explores some of the current debates, as well as the promise that a values paradigm seems to hold for the future of museums.

Download the full article: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content%7Edb=all%7Econtent=a913153666

Some other articles can also be accessed via the following link: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/rmmc and by clicking on free articles.

An article by Carol Scott, Museum of London, UKFirst published in: Museum Management and Curatorship (2009, Routledge)

Comments (0)

There are no comments for this content yet.