Tracking performance across the MuseumNick Poole, CEO, Collections Trust

Why track performance?• Creating a culture of continuous improvement

• Strategic resource planning/management

• Identifying and mitigating risk on current activity

• Informing future development

• Evidencing Return on Investment

• Demonstrating value and supporting cost/benefits

• ‘What gets measured, gets managed’

Strategic Management

• About developing integrated and holistic management methodologies and indicators which support:

– The delivery and evidencing of public value

– The need for accountability

– Organisational resilience (resource management)

– Collections sustainability

Conceptual model of an organisationConceptual model of an organisation

People use systems to implement processes which generate information.

It is an holistic view – each of these elements acts on the other.

Efficiency comes when they exist in balance.

Value comes when they are motivated towards an external purpose.

Sustainability comes when they can adapt in response to emergent needs.

Conceptual model of museum functionsConceptual model of museum functions

Museums have traditionally been presented as a balance between access and preservation.

This misses both the emergent/ dynamic nature of what we do, and the intellectual capital which is generated.

Cultural value emerges from the interaction of caring for material, acquiring and developing collections, promoting their use and developing new knowledge from them.

Putting it togetherPutting it together

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Organisation’s Mission StatementOrganisation’s Mission Statement

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Organisation’s Mission StatementOrganisation’s Mission Statement

Collections Management PolicyCollections Management Policy

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Organisation’s Mission StatementOrganisation’s Mission Statement

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CareCare UseUse LearnLearn DevelopDevelop

UsersUsers PoliticsPolitics FundingFunding CultureCulture

Putting it togetherPutting it together

Organisation’s Mission StatementOrganisation’s Mission Statement

Collections Management PolicyCollections Management Policy

CareCare UseUse LearnLearn DevelopDevelop

UsersUsers PoliticsPolitics FundingFunding CultureCulture

PeoplePeople ProcessesProcesses SystemsSystems InfoInfo

Putting it togetherPutting it together

Organisation’s Mission StatementOrganisation’s Mission Statement

Collections Management PolicyCollections Management Policy

CareCare UseUse LearnLearn DevelopDevelop

UsersUsers PoliticsPolitics FundingFunding CultureCulture

PeoplePeople ProcessesProcesses SystemsSystems InfoInfo

Evaluation & improvementEvaluation & improvement

Putting it togetherPutting it together

Organisation’s Mission StatementOrganisation’s Mission Statement

Collections Management PolicyCollections Management Policy

CareCare UseUse LearnLearn DevelopDevelop

UsersUsers PoliticsPolitics FundingFunding CultureCulture

PeoplePeople ProcessesProcesses SystemsSystems InfoInfo

Evaluation & improvementEvaluation & improvement

Rich, meaningful experiences for usersRich, meaningful experiences for users

A management frameworkA management framework

Organisation’s Mission StatementOrganisation’s Mission Statement

Collections Management PolicyCollections Management Policy

CareCare UseUse LearnLearn DevelopDevelop

UsersUsers PoliticsPolitics FundingFunding CultureCulture

PeoplePeople ProcessesProcesses SystemsSystems InfoInfo

Evaluation & improvementEvaluation & improvement

Rich, meaningful experiences for usersRich, meaningful experiences for users

External performance measures

Internal performance culture

Integrated performance measures

Impact/value/qualitative indicators

Efficiency/quantitative indicators

Management indicators

External impact/value indicators

Models adopted by museums• Use indicators (quantitative data on loans)• Balanced scorecards• Value/impact indicators for specific activities (learning, outreach)• Quantitative indicators for specific activities (web stats)• Footfall• CPA2005 Local Authority Performance Indicators• DCMS Key Performance Indicators• Significance assessment• ‘Advocacy’ indicators (eg. NMDC ‘Museums Deliver’)

CPA 2005 Indicators• Incorporation of museums into Local Authority performance

assessment – indicators:

– Volunteers (quantitative)– Participation by priority groups (quantitative & qualitative)– Participation – online access (quantitative)– Learning (quantitative & qualitative)– Satisfaction (qualitative)– Value for Money (cost per user)– Accreditation (assessment)

DCMS KPI• Performance monitoring of DCMS sponsored bodies:

– Access (visitor statistics incl. online)– Audience Profile (socio-economic & demographic)– Learning & Outreach (quantitative by profile)– Visitor Satisfaction (% of visitors who would recommend)– Income Generation (proportion of income by source)– Regional Engagement (distribution of loan agreements)

Conclusions• No single coherent approach to performance measurement

• Performance frameworks need to be proportionate to the scale and complexity of the organisation

• Combination of ‘soft’ qualitative and ‘hard’ quantitative indicators

• Increased emphasis on public value/social return on investment

• Tension between ‘honest’ performance reporting and ‘advocacy’ stats – internal and externally-facing frameworks

• Dealing with increasingly diverse delivery models and business activities

Nick PooleCEOCollections Trust

http://www.collectionstrust.org.ukhttp://www.collectionslink.org.uk

@NickPoole1

Thankyou!