Engaging your Community

Selection Criteria

 

As part of the museumsuccession project funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation,the OMA sought applications from museums interested in working through the Engaging your Community process.

In August 2015, the OMA used the selection criteria below to select four partner sites: Art Gallery of Mississauga, Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre, Museum on the Boyne and North Lanark Regional Museum.

 

Are you Ready?

 

Community engagement is an objective in my museum's strategic plan and I need help translating that into action
 		 OR I am starting a strategic planning process and I need to bring my museum’s goals into alignment with the community’s goals
 
I am willing to provide feedback to the OMA throughout the process and to share the experience with others through a presentation or article
 

I believe museums should:

  • Be connected and relevant
  • Develop meaningful and valuable programs and services within their community
  • Assess their impact on the community
  • Identify their community’s needs
  • Be better informed about their current role in the community
  • Build sustainable, long term relationships with stakeholders and groups in their community
  • Be able to articulate their desired relevance and worth within the community

  • Create an action plan to embed ongoing community engagement in their organization


The Commitment Over Six Months

From the OMA

  Support and coaching throughout the process
 

  Professional facilitation for the community consultation and meetings
 

  The opportunity to connect with other organizations going through the same process
 


From Participating Museums

 A Working Group of staff, board and volunteers (8-12 people)

  • One main contact for the project
  • Dedicated to community building across the organization (financial and operational) 
  • Willing to keep an open mind to opportunities and new ways of operating
  • Interested in thinking critically about what the museum does
  • Willing to follow through with the process honestly and openly
  • One orientation session
  Working Group participation in the self-assessment
 
  • Information gathering
  • One 3 hour self-assessment session
  Working Group Debrief
 
  • One 2 hour session
  Working Group Planning Session
 
  • One 3 hour session

 

 Join us to Engage your Community

 
Applications to participate are now closed. 
Participate in the Engaging your Community process with support and coaching from the Ontario Museum Association.
 
Download the Toolkit
Organize a Working Group within your museum to use the toolkit according to your schedule.

 

Questions?

Professional Development Program Manager
Tel. 416 348-8672 - Toll-free. 1-866-OMA-8672
 
This initiative is part of the museumsuccession project funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

The museumsuccession Project was developed to strengthen Ontario’s museum sector by enhancing governance, fostering stronger relationships between museums and their communities as well as supporting Emerging Museum Professionals.
 

Ontario Trillium Foundation

       Ontario Key         Gov-Ontario