The 2008 Economic Recession in New England Museums:
Executive Directors’ Response
Executive Directors’ Response
Click here to download a .pdf of the report.
The 2008 Economic Recession in New England Museums: Executive Directors’ Response
Kate Viens, Executive Director of the New England Museum Association
June 2009
Background
Between March 23 and April 1, 2009, 102 executive directors and senior administrators gathered at seven locations throughout New England for open and frank conversations about the effects of the recession on their institutions.
They discussed the ways in which the economy has taken its toll on them, personally, as executive
directors and senior managers, and options for guiding their institutions through the current crisis.
Five past presidents of NEMA and two current board members facilitated the conversations. In preparation for the meetings, they met via conference call to discuss the ways in which they would keep the conversations positive and focused and accommodate the needs of colleagues from institutions of various sizes and disciplines.
They also discussed how to position the conversations to yield useful results that colleagues could take
back to their institutions. The facilitators knew that they needed starting points for discussion but didn’t wish to cut off any avenues of conversation or prescribe any outcomes or solutions.
The following aggregated conclusions are based on notes submitted by the facilitators or participants. We hope that they will help other museums in several ways:
Click here to download the entire paper.
The 2008 Economic Recession in New England Museums: Executive Directors’ Response
Kate Viens, Executive Director of the New England Museum Association
June 2009
Background
Between March 23 and April 1, 2009, 102 executive directors and senior administrators gathered at seven locations throughout New England for open and frank conversations about the effects of the recession on their institutions.
They discussed the ways in which the economy has taken its toll on them, personally, as executive
directors and senior managers, and options for guiding their institutions through the current crisis.
Five past presidents of NEMA and two current board members facilitated the conversations. In preparation for the meetings, they met via conference call to discuss the ways in which they would keep the conversations positive and focused and accommodate the needs of colleagues from institutions of various sizes and disciplines.
They also discussed how to position the conversations to yield useful results that colleagues could take
back to their institutions. The facilitators knew that they needed starting points for discussion but didn’t wish to cut off any avenues of conversation or prescribe any outcomes or solutions.
The following aggregated conclusions are based on notes submitted by the facilitators or participants. We hope that they will help other museums in several ways:
- By showing museum leaders, including boards of directors, the common ways in which museums are being affected by the recession
- By allowing executive directors to share in what their peers are experiencing
- By offering specific ideas about institutional change that may help museums emerge from the current economic crisis as stronger institution
Click here to download the entire paper.