Charting a future for engagement at the Sea Museum
CLIENT : Sea Museum (Australian National Maritime Museum)
LOCATION: Sydney, Australia
YEAR: 2021
THE BRIEF
The Sea Museum is the custodian of the Australia’s maritime heritage and culture; collecting and sharing stories about people, objects and events to engage, educate and inspire Australians about their relationship to the sea. At a time of significant change in funding, operations and leadership and the delivery of a new brand strategy the Sea Museum commissioned me to review of the development and delivery of its public engagement functions and provide high level advice on possible models and strategies to inform development of high-impact, integrated, multi-platform experiences (across onsite/offsite temporary exhibitions, permanent gallery renewals, onsite/offsite programs, online content (including formal learning programs)); short, medium, and long-term ROI.
APPROACH
Focusing on understanding the Sea Museums current context, culture and capacities for public engagement I reviewed existing governance and policy, process and protocols across key business areas as well as conducting in-depth interviews with 17 staff including the Executive and leadership teams. Analysing the findings of this review against strategic objectives and sector best practice I outlined four high level interventions to focus creative development, decision making, master planning and resourcing, and implementation on the development and delivery of a unified, multi-platform, experience agenda that builds on and extends the Museums award winning to Exhibition programs to bring the new brand to life across an integrated audience experience.
IMPACT
Through this work, I developed a vision for the future of MMV that spoke to contemporary concerns of current and potential supporters. Articulated as a new value proposition and strategic forward agenda I provided a focus and a framework for the Board to clarify and recommit to MMV and identified a targeted stakeholder engagement plan to enable sustained growth and a secure future for the organisation.