The Association of Nova Scotia Museums, in partnership with Forage Greenery & Heritage (Anita Price), releases a new resource for museums: The Museum Life Cycle Completion Toolkit.
As Canadian museums navigate new post-pandemic realities, conversations around changing and ceasing operations have become increasingly common. In response to this, the Association of Nova Scotia Museums, with the support of the Nova Scotia Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage, engaged a consultant to develop this toolkit for museums considering closure.
During the course of its active life, an organization will go through a series of ebbs and flows as it adjusts to changes in environment, capacity and mandate. Organizational change can be difficult as it invariably causes uncertainty and takes time, effort and resources to implement. It can also be enormously beneficial for an organization and create new energy and vision for the future. This Toolkit is offered as a resource for museums considering organizational change. Understanding the many aspects of a museum’s operation and legal responsibilities, as well as community and donor relationships and responsibilities can be daunting. While it may be clear that it is time for the next step in the museum’s lifecycle, it can be difficult to initiate the steps needed to make informed and healthy decisions for the museum going forward. The toolkit is organized in easy-to-follow chapters that cover the main areas of consideration in the decision-making process towards forward planning.
The toolkit is not a legal authority, rather it offers background information on process and options for change as well as legal considerations. It is recommended that museums work with legal counsel should they identify a need for substantive change(s) to their organization.
