Measuring Museum Meaning: A Critical Assessment Framework

Worts, Douglas

doi:10.1179/jme.2006.31.1.41

Cited by 15 publications

(17 citation statements)

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“…This is in keeping with discussions that define culture as a pervasive and evolving suite of values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviours [14,15,[24][25][26][27], as opposed to equating it with activities that generate economic activity through the cultural sector [28][29][30]. We also assume that, defined in broad terms, culture can provide an effective perspective for sustainability work, because it is rooted in the values that drive our individual and collective behaviours, and it responds and contributes to the complex systems that govern so much of our increasingly globalized world [24].…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 73%

“…As trusted cultural institutions, museums use community engagement both to shape public policy [8,9] and for public education [10][11][12]. There are many ideas about how museums can better engage their publics to enhance wellbeing, and some of these ideas have deep roots in museology, including writings and projects that focus on community engagement and the relevance of heritage work to human lives and global demands [13][14][15][16][17][18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fostering Cultures of Sustainability through Community-Engaged Museums: The History and Re-Emergence of Ecomuseums in Canada and the USA

Sutter

Sperlich

Worts³

et al. 2016

Sustainability

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Abstract:In recent decades, communities around the world have been reacting to the forces of globalization by re-focusing on the local, leading to the democratization of culture, heritage, and related concepts. By attempting to reconnect locals with their own sense of belonging, to reinvigorate a pride of place, and to foster wellbeing, communities have increasingly and successfully turned to features that make their local history, heritage, and environment unique or distinctive. In turn, democratization processes have led to sustainable forms of economic and community development through ecomuseums and other examples of community-engaged museums. This paper aims to deepen our understanding of relevant community-based culture and heritage initiatives by reflecting on the development of ecomuseums in Canada and the USA. As part of the larger museum community, ecomuseums tend to be accessible entities that are not affiliated with political or other convictions or viewpoints. This makes them uniquely positioned to foster creative change and adaptation aimed at sustainability, yet their evolution in North America has not been examined from this perspective. To address this gap, this paper will highlight the Haute-Beauce Ecomuseum in Québec and the Ak-Chin Him Dak Ecomuseum in Arizona, which have long histories as North American ecomuseums and represent two very different cultural and geographic contexts. We also reflect on the history of ecomuseums in Canada, and their recent emergence in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 73%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fostering Cultures of Sustainability through Community-Engaged Museums: The History and Re-Emergence of Ecomuseums in Canada and the USA

Sutter

Sperlich

Worts³

et al. 2016

Sustainability

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“…The Canadian Working Group on Museums and Sustainable Communities 9 has developed a planning tool to help museums seize the opportunities available to them through embracing the sustainability challenge. The Critical Assessment Framework (Figure 4) uses a stratified approach that helps planners develop public engagement strategies designed to address the needs and opportunities related to: individuals, communities, the museum itself, and the global reality (Worts 2006b). When considering a range of possible public program options, members of a planning team can use the Critical Assessment Framework to ask themselves whether the various strategies under consideration are capable of achieving certain goals.…”

Section: Cultural Feedback Loops and Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Culture and Museums in the Winds of Change: The Need for Cultural Indicators

Worts¹

2011

CLG-CGL

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How individuals live their lives, within the context of personal and collective values, expresses their living culture. Societies may be made up of people with different ethnocultural backgrounds, socio-economic profiles or spiritual orientations, but they share certain common cultural frameworks (e.g., democratic governance, rules of law, conventions of business, principles of equity for all, etc.) of what is increasingly a globalized, pluralized, and urbanized present. Culture is often thought of as either the historical traditions of a group, or else as certain types of activities (e.g., dance, theatre, celebrations, rituals, etc.) and objects (e.g., art, artifacts, clothing, etc.). Meanwhile, cultural organizations are characterized as specialized places of expertise that provide selected kinds of experiences and services to the publicnormally available for consumption during leisure time. This article argues that the heart of living culture is to be found not in specialized types of objects, leisure-time experiences, ethnocultural traditions, or cultural organizations but, rather, in its processes of human adaptation in a changing world. The author uses the lens of culture to examine how humanity understands and attempts to manage change within its sphere of influence. How can we best measure the cultural well-being of our societies, our organizations, and ourselves? The overarching notion of global/local sustainability provides the grounding point for considering how best to foster a ‗culture of sustainability'. organisations culturelles se sont constituées en des espaces sociaux où qui procurent certaines expériences and services au public -normalement disponible sous forme de loisir à consommer. Cet article suggère que la culture ne se réduit pas aux artefacts, aux loisirs, aux traditions ethnoculturelles ou encore aux organisations culturelles, mais plutôt, elle serait reconnaissable dans les processus d'adaptation à un monde changeant. Les auteurs utilisent la notion de culture pout comprendre comment l'Humanité appréhende et tente de changer sa sphère d'influence. Comment pouvons-nous mesurer le bien-être culturel de nos sociétés, de nos organisations et de nos êtres? La question centrale du développement global et du développement local représente le point d'ancrage de cette réflexion sur les stratégies permettant de créer une culture du développement durable.

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“…Worts has spent more than a decade exploring the opportunities open to museums that seek to serve the cultural needs of individuals and communities, and how museums measure their successes and failures in this field. His article 'Measuring Museum Meaning: A Critical Assessment Framework' (Worts 2006) discusses the development of evaluative approaches and performance indicators, such as the extent to which the museum addresses vital community needs and acts as a catalyst for action. The Inspiring Learning for All initiative in the UK (www.inspiringlearningforall.gov.uk) uses 'Generic Learning Outcomes' (GLOs) and 'Generic Social Outcomes' (GSOs) to evaluate the impact of museum programmes on individuals.…”

Section: Museums As Institutions That Evaluate Their Own Actionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Embedding civil engagement in museums

Black

2010

Museum Management and Curatorship

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Initiatives over the last decade on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond have sought to reposition 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 21 st century, but will only be achieved if there is a change of culture across the profession.

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Measuring Museum Meaning: A Critical Assessment Framework

Cited by 15 publications

References 0 publications

Fostering Cultures of Sustainability through Community-Engaged Museums: The History and Re-Emergence of Ecomuseums in Canada and the USA

Fostering Cultures of Sustainability through Community-Engaged Museums: The History and Re-Emergence of Ecomuseums in Canada and the USA

Culture and Museums in the Winds of Change: The Need for Cultural Indicators

Embedding civil engagement in museums

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