Embedding civil engagement in museums

Abstract

Initiatives over the last decade on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond have sought to re-position museums at the heart of their communities as agents for civil engagement. This paper explores the principles involved in making the role possible, using the example of urban history museums. It argues that this will take time, commitment and careful planning, and will impact on every aspect of the museum's activities. It is an essential task, however, reflecting the direction museums should be taking in society in the twenty-first century, but will only be achieved if there is a change of culture across the profession.

Keywords:

• museum management
• civil engagement
• community empowerment
• governance
• social responsibility
• evaluation
• visitor experience
• shared authority

Acknowledgements

With thanks to Julie Finch, Director of Bristol Museums, and Kevin Osbon of Focus Consultants for starting me on this journey. Real and email conversations with Katja Mieth, Director of Museum Affairs of the Free State of Saxony, Germany and Mette Boritz, of the National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen added extra dimensions to the article. Carolyn Batstone of the Open University read and raised important issues on the final draft. I owe a particular debt of gratitude to the three anonymous reviewers whose comments made a considerable difference to the final article.