MCN2015

Over the last few years, museums have developed strategic plans to leverage technology in support of goals such as community engagement, institutional alignment, scholarship, media production and artistic excellence. Multiple museums have created Digital Strategies (or other tools such as Road Maps or Guiding Principles) to guide these efforts. Museum technology departments have been reorganized and comprehensive back-end strategies and museum wide processes created to activate their world-class collections, connect art with people, and drive on-site and online attendance. HOWEVER, the big questions remain: How are museums implementing these strategies? What processes do they use to support and approve digital initiatives? How do they measure success? How do they keep strategies current and top-of-mind? How do they get support from management and donors? What works and more importantly what doesn’t?

This session will look at how The Cleveland Museum of Art, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The National Gallery and Philadelphia Museum of Art are approaching digital strategy and implementation. Panelists will explore the scope and core elements of each museum’s digital strategy; staffing requirements and the interdepartmental steering team put in place to guide digital strategy; the backend systems put in place to support flexible access, both in theory and practice; and the effort required to pull everything together. As an added bonus, panelists will describe any missteps along the way and how hurdles were overcome effectively.Purpose and objectives - attendees will:Learn several different but overlapping approaches to digital strategy, with the pros and cons of each.Learn specific methods for thinking and acting strategically to deliver digital and technology initiatives.Learn practical approaches to developing a meaningful technology and digital media strategy.Learn communication skills and how to develop buy-in across the organization.Learn how to build strong and effective partnerships across an organization.Plus: plenty of opportunities for questions and answers.Format: Multi-presenter panel, with Q&A woven in throughout the session.Theme: Leadership