Susan Zwerling, the Museum Assessment Program Officer​ of the American Alliance of Museums, discusses the different types of Museum Assessment Programs, the assessment program process, and why assessments are important for your institution to undergo. Case studies from the African American Firefighter Museum​ and the Janet Turner Print Museum​ are presented.

1. Recalculating, Recalculating...​
Using the Museum Assessment Program (MAP)
As Your Museum’s GPS
on the Road to Excellence
serving small & mid-sized museums
since 1981
in partnership with IMLS

2. Susan Zwerling
Museum Assessment Program Officer
American Alliance of Museums
Michelle Banks
President, Board of Directors
African American FireFighter Museum
Laura Nice
Director of Special Projects
Janet Turner Print Museum
California State University Chico

3. • Overview of MAP
• Two Museum Case Studies
• Two Questions
• Open Discussion

4. TITLE SLIDES ARE
AWESOME
I LOVE TITLE SLIDES

5. Why Assessments?
• Facilitate working together
• Re-energize boards and staff
• Establish shared goals and priorities
• Build community credibility and support
• Provide non-judgmental support
• Improve confidence

6. MAP Museums can be…
• Children’s Museums
• University Museums
• Specialized Museums
• Zoos & Aquariums
• Tribal Museums
• Science Centers
• Nature Centers
• Botanical Gardens
• Art Museums
• History Museums

7. • Self Assessment
• Peer Reviewer
• Site Visit
• Assessment Report
• Year Long Commitment
MAP
Components

8. MAP Assessment Types
•Organizational
•Board Leadership (New!)
•Collections Stewardship
•Education & Interpretation (New!)
•Community & Audience Engagement

9. • Submit Application
• Complete Workbook,
Activities & Online Modules
as a Team
• Undergo a Site Visit
• Take Actions Steps all year
• Review Assessment Report
& make Action Plans
Process &
Timeline

10. • Nonprofit (private or public)
• At least one professional staff or
FTE
• Located in a U.S. state or territory
• Open at least 90 days a year
• Care for/owns/uses tangible
objects for exhibition
• AAM membership is not required
Eligibility

11. • $125,000 or less $300
• $125,000 – $400,000 $500
• $400,000 – $1 mil $700
• $1.1 mil – $5 mil $1000
• Greater than $5 mil $1500
Fees

12. •Over 5,000 museums have
participated in MAP since
1981
• Over one-third have
participated more than once
• 60% of Alliance Accredited
museums have participated
in MAP
Impact

13. Impact

14. Impact

15. •Sample (pdf) Now Available
• Online Application is Open
•Deadline: December 1, 2019
Application

16. Burning Brightly:
Building A Practice of Organizational Sustainability
African American Firefighter Museum
Los Angeles, California
Presented by: Michelle Banks, MA, EMT-P

17. Burning Brightly:
Building A Practice of Organizational Sustainability
Mission:
Collect, preserve and share the heritage of African-American Firefighters through education and collaboration.
Organization:
Volunteer, donation-driven non-profit
Founded: 1997
Location:
Historic Los Angeles Fire Station #30
LA City Historic-Cultural Monument #289
National Register of Historic Places
Grants:
Institute of Museum and Library Science
American Alliance of Museums (2014 – 2018)
• Museum Assessment Programs-1 – 3 & CE 2nd Visit Follow-up
Annenberg Foundation Capacity Grants
Catchafire, Taproot Foundation, & UCLA Social Enterprise Academy
African American Firefighter Museum

18. Burning Brightly:
Building A Practice of Organizational Sustainability
MAP - A Powerful Alignment and Engagement Tool
MAP Recommendation
Collection Stewardship – Policy & Conservation
Organizational Assessment – Capacity Building
Community Engagement - Triples & Tourism
Alignment
Common Language
Framework
Museum Best Practice Standard
Core Document Production
Collaboration
Museum Resources
Sustainability
Partnership
Engagement
Triples
Target Audience
Tourism

19. Goal
Enhance long-term sustainability and stewardship
Recalculating: It is a Process!
Resilience
Adaptability
Alignment
Common language for Board of Directors, Advisory Council &
Docent Volunteers
Collaboration
Annenberg Foundation Funded Consultant & MAP-
Community Engagement 2nd Follow-up Visit
Implementation
Burning Brightly:
Building A Practice of Organizational Sustainability

20. Goal
Enhance long-term sustainability and stewardship
Sustainability
Annenberg Foundation Funded Consultant, MAP & UCLA SEA
New Operating Model
Social Enterprise
Website Redesign
Brand Refresh
Inspired Engagement
Unpack and expand storylines
Activate new & existing volunteers
Activate community partnership & participation
Implementation
Burning Brightly:
Building A Practice of Organizational Sustainability

21. Thank You!
Michelle Banks, MA, EMT-P
President, Board of Directors
African American Firefighter Museum
www.AAFFMuseum.org Email: Banks123@aol.com

22. The Janet Turner Print Museum at
California State University Chico
Who we are: A print museum founded in 1981 by
artist and professor Janet Turner, with a collection
of over 4,000 prints spanning six centuries, by
artists from more than 40 countries.
What we do: The museum is free and open to the
public, and mounts unique exhibitions,
programming, and outreach events that showcases
the collection and trends in printmaking. The
archive is available for individual or group study.

23. MAP Organizational Assessments: 2001-2002; 2017-2018
Key findings from 2017-2018:
• The Self-Study Workbook and Peer Reviewer’s site visit facilitated productive conversations with
stakeholders, clarified museum priorities and made visible the distinct roles of university faculty/staff
members and the community-based advisory board of directors
• Helped create a culture of professional museum practices by updating key documents
• Provided momentum to strategic planning and fundraising efforts, and increased a spirit of
collaboration

24. Founder Janet Turner (1914-1988)
Outcomes:
• Leveraged MAP Final Report to increase
curator position to full time/12 month
• Clarification of key priorities in Self-Study
Workbook helped identify grant opportunities
• Museum received a 2-year $100,000
grant from Henry Luce Foundation to
digitize the collection
• Increased profile on campus and in the
community
• Strategic planning efforts 2018-Present
• Updated Mission Statement
• Clarified priorities
• Energized stakeholders
• Benchmarks for success

25. Te
“Going through the Museum Assessment Program was enlightening. As a board member I
thought I knew the workings of our museum, but this process really gave me further insight.
Most importantly the conversations that we had because of MAP made our priorities clear and
created an exciting path to future growth.”
-Advisory Board Member

26. “MAP energized our community of stakeholders
and gave us a strong understanding of our identity
and the places we want to focus our attention.
Because of MAP we have plans for increased
community engagement and have powerful
leverage to grow the program, including the
elevation of staff positions.”
-Museum Staff Member

27. Our next steps:
• Collections Stewardship Assessment
• Community & Audience Engagement Assessment
• Accreditation

28. ➢ How Did You Get Buy-in From Your Stakeholders?
➢ What is One Tip or Piece of Advice You Would Give
Other Museums Considering MAP?

29. •Sample (pdf) Now Available
• Online Application is Open
•Deadline: December 1, 2019
Application

30. Questions?
Susan Zwerling, Museum Assessment Program Officer​
AAM
szwerling@aam-us.org 202-218-7714​
Michelle Banks, Board President
African American FireFighter Museum​
Banks123@aol.com
www.aaffmuseum.org
Laura Nice, Director of Special Projects​
Janet Turner Print Museum​
California State University Chico​
lnice@csuchico.edu
www.csuchico.edu/turner