Museum note: mission statements

Overview

As a museum operator, learn how to write a mission statement and comply with the Governance Standard outlined in the Standards for Community Museums in Ontario.

Standards enable community museums to:

• provide the appropriate care and management of collections
• meet visitors’ expectations
• be accountable and transparent to the community, funders and donors

Objective of the Governance Standard

A community museum must be governed according to standards and be open and accountable to the public for its decisions.

Requirements

1. A community museum must be:
   1. governed by a publicly accountable body^{footnote 1[1]}
   2. established by a written document(s) which include(s) descriptions of:
      • authority for the museum
      • museum’s mission statement that
        • defines the museum’s purpose
        • makes a commitment to the museum’s role in the public trust
        • identifies who the museum serves
        • identifies what the museum will collect
        • identifies the impact it will have in its community
      • how the museum will dissolve its assets and liabilities should it cease to operate

Objective of the mission statement

The mission statement is the centerpiece for an institution. It explains the museum’s purpose and is the guidepost for institutional planning, development, and positioning for the future.

A well-conceived mission statement provides the foundation for leadership to shape institutional vision, values and strategic plans as well as other operational documents, such as policies, that guide the work and direction of the institution.^{footnote 2[2]}

Gail Anderson, Museum Mission Statements: Building a Distinct Identity

Many museums are operating with mission statements drafted in the early 1980s. These often describe what museum staff do – "collect, preserve, educate, exhibit, research" – and then conclude with a vague purpose "for the benefit of future generations."

Such a narrow focus impedes a museum’s public accountability. A museum’s mission statement should be:

• specific
• developed by the museum’s governance board and staff, in consultation with the community
• unique to its purpose
• community-focused, not internally focused

A mission statement should answer the questions:

• What business are we in?
• Who do we serve? The community or audience we want to serve.
• Why do we exist? The difference the museum makes in its community and what it will provide the community (audience) it serves in support of the end goal

If a museum is also a designated heritage property, such as a national historic site, its mission – to protect and conserve the site – is established by the designation.

A museum’s challenge is to work with the community to define its mission statement as something other than empty words. For example, the mission statement of a local museum in a nationally designated post office can be to build a sense of place and identity, helping to define the town, village or hamlet.

Examples of appropriate mission statements

The mission statements below clearly identify the museum’s purpose and end goal, as well as the relationship to its audience and community:

Museum of Ontario Archaeology

Through stewardship, research, and education the Museum continually strives to advance our understanding of Ontario’s archaeological heritage. We bring the human past to life, make it relevant to understanding the present, and inspire an appreciation of, and respect for, Ontario’s cultural diversity.

Textile Museum of Canada

The Textile Museum of Canada's mission is to engage the public in the discovery, appreciation and understanding of diverse cultural experiences through the art and craft of textiles, both past and present, and through this rich lens advance understanding of local and global issues.

Waterford Heritage & Agricultural Museum

Waterford Heritage & Agricultural Museum (WHAM) offers a vibrant public space where community members can gather to learn, to create, to discuss, to perform, and to socialize. Through its collection, research, exhibitions, and programming, WHAM creates opportunities for connections and participation.

Put the mission statement to work

A well-crafted mission statement should guide all aspects of museum operations and decisions.

The governing board’s investment of time and critical thinking will pay off for the success of the museum in its community.

The mission statement will help the museum make governance (e.g. policy) and operational (for example staff) decisions about its:

• collections
• exhibits
• programs
• organizational (strategic) planning
• research
• community focus
• new initiatives (for example project grant funding, partnerships)
• work plans and performance indicators

Evaluating success

As an organization operating in the public trust, a museum’s governing board and staff must regularly review and evaluate its success in carrying out its mission.

In the long run, it is these outcomes that matter – not good will, not an accumulation of resources, not good process, and not even highly acclaimed programs, but actual outcomes, impacts and results.

Stephen Weil, “From Being about Something to Being for Somebody: The Ongoing Transformation of the American Museum” in Daedalus, Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Summer 1999, p.240.

Recommended resources

• Alberta Museums Association Standard Practices Handbook for Museums, third edition. 2014. Excellent Governance and Operations resource which includes Purpose “The Reason for Being” and Drafting a Mission Statement, pp.68-70.
• Anderson, Gail (ed.). Museum Mission Statements: Building a Distinct Identity. Washington, D.C.: American Association of Museums, 2000

CMOG Standards Resources

• Linton, Jon. Archived OMA webinar and notes on Mission and Vision Statements. March 2013
• The Uncatalogued Museum, Mission Accomplished blog post.