Form MAP Application 1 MAP Application 1 Museum Assessment Program Application

Museum Assessment Program

APPLICATION

Deadline December 1, 2019

Questions? map@aam-us.org or 202.289.9118

The Museum Assessment Program (MAP) is supported by a cooperative agreement between the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the American Alliance of Museums (AAM).

About the Museum Assessment Program (MAP)

The Museum Assessment Program is a technical assistance program that can help your museum attain excellence in operations and planning through a confidential process of self-study and peer review. MAP is part of the Continuum of Excellence and is administered by the American Alliance of Museums. MAP is supported through a cooperative agreement between the AAM and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

About the American Alliance of Museums

The American Alliance of Museums has been bringing museums together since 1906, helping to develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the entire museum community. Representing more than 35,000 individual museum professionals and volunteers, institutions, and corporate partners serving the museum field, the Alliance stands for the broad scope of the museum community. For more information, visit: www.aam-us.org.

About the Institute of Museum and Library Services

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s libraries and museums. We advance, support, and empower America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grant making, research, and policy development. Our vision is a nation where museums and libraries work together to transform the lives of individuals and communities. To learn more, visit www.imls.gov.

This information collection is being conducted in conformance with the Museum and Library Services Act of 2010, as amended. IMLS intends to make institutional participation information provided through this form publicly available. However, information specifically identifying any individual will be protected from public disclosure to the extent permitted by law.

The OMB control number[NUMBER], expires on [DATE]. The Institute of Museum and Library Services may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

Copyright © 2019. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or media or stored by any means in any information storage retrieval system, without prior written permission of the American Alliance of Museums, 2451 Crystal Drive, Suite 1005 Arlington, VA 22202.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

About

Museum Assessment Program Overview

• What is MAP?

• Benefits of MAP

• Assessment Types

• MAP Process

• Commitment

Eligibility

• General eligibility

• Museums with Parent Organizations

• Previous MAPs and Repeating a MAP Assessment

Cost Information

• Peer Reviewer Expenses

• Number of Peer Reviewers

PART II

Guidelines

Application Guidelines

• Application Format

• Required Application Materials

• Museum Staffing and Hours - Examples

• Assembling the Package

• Submitting Your Application

• Next Steps

Glossary

PART III

Application Form

Museum Assessment Program Application

Evaluation

Application Evaluation

PART I

MUSEUM ASSESSMENT PROGRAM OVERVIEW

What is MAP?

For almost 40 years the Museum Assessment Program (MAP) has helped over 5,000 small and mid-sized museums of all types strengthen and align operations, plan for the future, build capacity, and benchmark themselves against standards. This takes place through a confidential, consultative one-year process of self-assessment, institutional activities, and peer review—including a site visit from an expert peer reviewer. MAP is administered by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM/the Alliance) and supported through a cooperative agreement with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). This allows AAM to provide museums $4,000 -$6,000 worth of consultative resources and services for a modest fee based on budget size.

In addition the information contained in this document, you can learn more about MAP, including reading case studies and examples of impact from former participants at: https://www.aam-us.org/programs/accreditation-excellence-programs/museum-assessment-program-map/

Components of MAP

The MAP process consists of submitting an application; completing a self-study workbook and activities; undergoing a site visit; receiving a final report; and documenting immediate and longer-term action steps informed by the report.

Application

To be considered for participation in MAP, your museum must submit an application which collects information on eligibility, institutional capacity, assessment objectives, who will be involved from the institution, and readiness for MAP.

MAP Portal

MAP participants use an online platform to support and guide their progression, step-by-step, through the process. Your institution will move through a series of modules that include narrated presentations, downloadable resources, and required materials.

Self-Study Workbook and Activities

The Self-Study Workbook and Activities are designed to help your institution see itself holistically and prepare the Peer Reviewer for the site visit. This self-assessment aspect of MAP:

• stimulates a review of your institution’s policies, procedures, and records

• enhances institutional dialogue and openness

• informs the peer review phase

• encourages new ways of operating

• serves as a baseline against which to measure your museum’s progress

Peer Review/Site Visit

Each MAP assessment includes a site visit by a Peer Reviewer who is a museum professional volunteering his/her time and experience/expertise to help your institution. They review your museum’s application and self-study materials; visit the museum for a 1 to 2-1/2 day site visit, and provide the museum with a report of findings and recommendations. Your stated MAP objectives help focus the Peer Reviewer’s visit and report. Peer review provides:

• the opportunity for a collegial critique of your operations from an external, fresh perspective

• validation and input from an experienced museum professional

• consultative advice to help your museum improve

Implementation Planning

Museums receive and discuss the final report from their Peer Reviewer then use it to create plans and take action to implement the recommendations. MAP will give you the tools and motivation to continue with next steps.

Evaluation

As part of their participation in MAP, institutions must provide feedback about the materials and process, as well as report on individual results and benefits, periodically throughout the process and at its conclusion.

Benefits of MAP

Museums emerge from MAP with:

• greater alignment of activities, mission, and resources

• analysis of strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities

• prioritized roadmap for improving operations and meeting standards

• practices benchmarked to standards

• enhanced credibility with potential funders and donors

• improved communications between staff, board, and other constituents

• expert advice, recommendations, and resources

• increased capacity for strategic planning

After participating in MAP, museums:

• say the changes made as a result of MAP positively impacted visitor experience and/or community response to their museum

• create or update at least one museum policy

• are better prepared to go through Accreditation

• credit MAP for their success in fundraising

For case studies and data visit https://www.aam-us.org/programs/accreditation-excellence-programs/impact/.

Assessment Types

There are five different MAP assessment types to choose from: Organizational, Collections Stewardship, Community/Audience Engagement, Board Leadership, and Education. Listed below for each assessment you will find: a description of scope and purpose; what is required to participate (in addition to the general eligibility requirements for MAP); recommendations on what you should already have in place in order to participate successfully; and examples of how it can help your museum.

Aspects common to all assessments:

• Grounded in the Core Standards

• Include Diversity, Equity, Access, and Inclusion (DEAI) issues as related to the particular assessment’s focus

• Help museums look at both functional and strategic aspects of their operations

If you need more guidance on which assessment is best for your institution, visit the following webpage or contact the MAP staff: https://www.aam-us.org/programs/accreditation-excellence-programs/map-assessment-types/.

Organizational Assessment

Purpose and Scope:

This basic strategic and holistic assessment helps a museum look at its operations primarily from the perspective of how well activities, resources, and mission align with each other, and with professional ethics, practices, and standards. To help a museum have a solid foundation to build on for long-term health and impact, this assessment places significant emphasis on thinking, acting, and planning strategically; organizational alignment, capacity; leadership and organizational structure; risk management; and organizational culture. This assessment assists museums define key areas of operations or functions that need to be strengthened.

• Mission

• Strategic planning

• Organizational life cycle

• Financial resource allocation, development

• Legal compliance, public disclosure, accountability

• Ethics, transparency and openness

• Governance (structure, composition, function, role)

• Staff (roles, capacity)

• Security, Safety, and Emergency Planning

• Operational ecosystem (community make-up and needs)

• Facilities

• DEAI issues: board/staff diversity, compensation equity

Eligibility and Readiness:

See the main Eligibility section below.

Benefits:

This assessment may increase staff and/or governing authority’s knowledge about aspects of the museum, including but not limited to:

• the respective roles and responsibilities of governing authority and staff

• museum standards and best practices

• resources available to help the museum

It can improve alignment of operations to mission, resources to mission, and organizational structure to mission. This assessment will also bring up topics like governing authority and staff diversity as well as compensation equity.

And it may improve the institution’s ability to develop or refine its mission statement and develop an institutional plan and other core policies. It can also help a museum assess facilities management needs or risks and offer tools and ideas to improve financial sustainability, collections care, and community engagement. Note that the Organizational Assessment does not offer a deep dive in to these latter two areas; see the other assessments described below for a more focused review.

And finally, it can be a step in preparation for core document verification, accreditation or reaccreditation.

Collections Stewardship Assessment

Purpose and Scope:

This assessment focuses on practical, ethical, and strategic collections issues and activities related to the care and management of a museum’s collections per professional practices and standards. It also looks at the collections within the context of the museum’s total operations, plans, and resource allocation. The results will help the museum—governing authority and staff—increase its knowledge, recognize and mitigate risk, take action, prioritize long-term collections stewardship issues, gain physical and intellectual control of the collections, and write polices and plans. This assessment will also include topics such as stewardship of and access to sacred and culturally sensitive objects; and decolonization of taxonomies.

• Acquisitions & accessioning

• Deaccessioning & disposal

• Loans

• Ethical, cultural, and legal issues

• Environmental monitoring and control

• Storage, movement

• Conservation and preservation

• Documentation and inventory

• Emergency planning

• Collections planning

• Alignment of collections, resources, and mission

• Staffing, training, and resource allocation

Eligibility and Readiness:

In addition to the main eligibility requirement for MAP, your institution MUST have:

• A formal and approved mission statement which has been recently reviewed.

MAP staff also strongly recommends that the museum has:

• A collections management policy already, at least in draft, before applying for this assessment. This recommendation is based on feedback from Peer Reviewers, who find that they can be of greatest help to the museum if there is a policy or draft policy on which they can comment.

Benefits:

This assessment can help increase staff and/or governing authority’s knowledge about collections standards and best practices. It can assist in improving alignment of collections with mission and your museum’s institutional plan.

It may improve the museum’s ability to write a collections plan and develop/review/revise collections management policies and procedures. It may improve your museum’s ability to raise funds to support the collections, prioritize long-term collections management issues, manage risk, and overall improve collections stewardship.

This assessment can also assist in reviewing the institutional needs in the areas of collections management staffing and facilities management.

And finally, it can be a step in preparation for core document verification, accreditation or reaccreditation.

Community and Audience Engagement Assessment

Purpose and Scope:

This assessment focuses on the museum’s awareness and understanding of, and relationship with, its various communities and audiences; and their perception of, and experience with, the museum. It looks at what roles the museum plays in its community and vice versa. And it helps the museum look at its culture and actions when it comes to diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion—all of which impact its long-term financial sustainability. A Community and Audience Engagement assessment helps museums gather better input from their constituents, develop a more nuanced view about the community’s and audiences’ demographics and needs, respond to the changing nature of its audiences, and incorporate these findings into planning and operational decisions.

• What your community knows and thinks about the museum

• What you know about your community and how

• Who comes to/engages with your museum and why/why not, and how you know

• How/what data you gather

• Barriers to reaching your target audiences

• DEAI issues: How do you reflect your community; what are the opportunities for community engagement/voice with the museum (board service, a voice in programming, etc.); do messaging, branding, and other outward facing activities inclusive, equitable, and accessible?

• Plans and policies

• Strategic partnerships/relationships

• The visitor experience / visitor services

• Allocation of organizational resources

Eligibility and Readiness:

In addition to the main eligibility requirement for MAP, your institution MUST have:

• A formal and approved mission statement which has been recently reviewed.

MAP staff also strongly recommends that the museum have:

• Someone on its internal Assessment Team with experience with self-assessment and/or working on projects that involve outside stakeholders. This will be of benefit when it comes to managing the assessment logistics, which need to involve members of your museum’s community and audiences.

• An established process for institutional/strategic planning

In addition, prior completion of an Organizational Assessment is encouraged but not required.

Benefits:

This assessment can increase the staff and leadership’s understanding of the needs of the museum’s community(ies) and stakeholders, as well as how the museum is perceived by its audiences and community. It can improve the alignment of mission with audience and community, and incorporate community needs into long-range plans.

It may help your museum identify and develop:

• potential audiences

• create collaborations to address community needs

• design audience evaluation plans

• improve visitor services

• align audience needs with exhibitions and programming

• write/review/revise policies and procedures

• develop a long-range interpretive plan

And finally, it can be a step in preparation for Core Documents Verification, Accreditation or Reaccreditation.

Board Leadership Assessment

Purpose and Scope:

This advanced assessment is for private non-profit museums with boards that are primarily strategically focused rather than operationally focused (i.e., members do not function as staff) that are looking for guidance on how to strengthen their institution and ensure its long-term success through more effective leadership-oriented governance. The assessment looks at the board from three perspectives—people, work, culture—and helps them identify opportunities to move the museum beyond surviving to thriving. It also helps strengthen the board’s understanding of museum ethics and standards.

• People: Board Composition and Structure

  • Who’s on the board and who’s not; diversity, skills, connection to/reflection of community

  • Recruitment and orientation

  • Succession planning (board and director)

• Work: Board Responsibilities

  • Advocacy (monitoring and engaging in public policy)

  • Advancing institutional diversity and inclusion

  • Raising money and financial oversight

  • Strategic planning

  • Performance and evaluation

• Culture: Leadership and Board Dynamics

  • Accountability and ethics

  • Board-Director relationship

  • Museum Core Standards and ethics

Eligibility and Readiness:

The Board Leadership Assessment is primarily designed for standalone museums that are 501(c)(3)s—organizations with boards that operate autonomously and have a fiduciary responsibility to the organization. However, if the museum is part of a larger parent organization whose board functions as the museum’s board; or if the museum is a public-private partnership, contact the MAP staff to discuss, as the program will consider these on case-by-case basis.

Advisory boards are not eligible to participate in the Board Leadership Assessment.

In addition to the main eligibility requirement for MAP, your institution MUST have:

• A formal and approved mission statement which has been recently reviewed.

• Bylaws

• A paid director (regardless of title, this is someone that functions as the chief executive officer—the highest ranking member of staff that reports to the governing authority)

Also, your museum’s board MUST be:

• Active and aware of the involved role they will be playing in this assessment, both on the Assessment Team and during the site visit

• Willing to look internally at their roles and responsibilities and commit to progressing through this assessment with transparency and honesty

• Willing to be self-reflective and make changes

MAP staff also strongly recommends that your institution:

• have done a MAP Organizational Assessment, or something similar that provided the museum with external review of its operations

• speak with the MAP staff about interest in this assessment before applying

Benefits

This assessment will help the board fully embrace and advance its strategic roles and responsibilities so it can effectively lead the institution and ensure its long-term relevance and sustainability. This includes helping the board set a culture and practice of inclusion for itself and the museum’s actions and activities. It can improve communication and collaboration between the board and director, other board members, and key stakeholders; help the museum align its board composition to the needs of the organization and the community; and address competing or under-developed advocacy, governance, and fundraising roles.

Education Assessment

Purpose and Scope:

This assessment helps a museum evaluate how well it is carrying out its educational role and mission, and meeting core standards for education and interpretation. In addition to looking at the museum’s current content delivery vehicles such as its exhibitions, tours, and programs, the Education Assessment considers these in context with the museum’s community, audiences, and other aspects of operations so the museum can be a responsive, relevant, and trusted source of learning and educational partner in its larger education ecosystem. The assessment also looks at the museum’s educational content creation and delivery from the perspective of diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion.

• How educational content is planned, informed, created, delivered, and evaluated

  • Plans and policies

  • Who is involved internally and externally

  • Delivery formats (exhibits, programs, tours, off site school visits, etc.)

  • Goals, success measures, impact

• Alignment between educational programs, collections, exhibitions, and mission

• Community and audiences: composition and needs; what do you know about them and how; alignment with them and your educational deliverables

• Partnerships and work with local educational ecosystem / how the museum is seen and used as an educational resource

• DEAI issues: physical and intellectual accessibility; inclusion of diverse voices—who has a voice in your museum's interpretation/content and what voices are you choosing to amplify or share? What story are you telling?

• Organizational resources devoted to carrying out educational role (money, people, facilities, collection

Eligibility and Readiness

In addition to the main eligibility requirement for MAP, your institution MUST have:

• A formal and approved mission statement which has been recently reviewed

• Staff position(s) (paid or unpaid) dedicated to education, interpretation and exhibits; these roles can be separate or combined into one or more positions

Benefits:

Museums that complete this assessment will see improved engagement and collaboration between education-related staff and collections staff (and/or volunteers), and alignment of educational activities and the museum’s mission. It builds the museum’s capacity and toolkit to enhance visitor experience and improve audience engagement, including as related to diversity, accessibility, and inclusion. Museums will also gain a deeper understanding of the larger educational ecosystem in their community; and it can help align educational concepts such as learning styles and developmental stages, with deliverables.

This assessment can also help your museum:

• Align programs and events to target audiences

• Improve interaction and engagement

• Design educational materials (such as gallery activities, lesson plans, exhibit guides or teacher resources)

• Develop an Interpretation Plan

• Support training for front line staff and volunteers

• Design program evaluation strategies

• Analyze the current inclusion of diverse voices

And finally, it can be a step in preparation for Core Documents Verification, Accreditation, or Reaccreditation.

MAP Process Schedule

The following is an overview of the main pieces of the MAP process. If your museum is accepted into MAP, you will receive more details and reminders about each subsequent step.

Quarter 1

• Ensure eligibility

• Secure institutional commitment

• Pick an assessment type

• Select objectives

• Form your internal Assessment Team

• Complete and submit the application

• Receive notification of acceptance

• Sign and return acceptance form, agreeing to terms and conditions

• Access the MAP Portal

• Pay fee

• Begin the Self-Study Workbook and Activities

Quarter 2

• Continue working in the MAP Portal

• Work with MAP staff on Peer Reviewer assignment

• Work on the Self-Study Workbook and Activities

• Contact the Peer Reviewer to schedule site visit and develop visit agenda

• Inform MAP staff of site visit date

Quarters 3-4

• Provide completed Self-Study Workbook and Activity summaries to MAP office and Peer Reviewer

• Compile and provide additional documentation to Peer Reviewer

• Continue working in the MAP Portal

• Site visit

• Receive peer reviewer’s report 8-10 weeks after visit

• Complete work in the MAP Portal

• Begin/plan for implementing recommendations from the Peer Reviewer’s report

• Integrate them into your museum’s plans

• Follow-up with the Peer Reviewer with any questions and for recommendation clarification

• Submit final MAP process summary form and evaluation tool

Commitment

For your museum to get the most benefit from MAP, the process needs to be an institutional priority.

Committing to MAP includes:

• meeting deadlines

• involving the staff and governing authority for the duration of the process

• engaging the museum’s internal and external communities

• evaluating the process

• being transparent, communicative, and candid with each other, the MAP staff, and the Peer Reviewer

Key paid and unpaid staff, members of your governing authority, and other important constituencies should be involved the MAP process. There are a few special roles.

The Assessment Team

The Assessment Team is a critical part of the MAP process. This internal team leads the MAP process at the museum and is accountable for completion and compliance. It is responsible for doing for the bulk of the work to complete materials and the modules in the MAP Portal. It is responsible for conducting the assessment and integrating it into the museum’s planning and implementation process. Members of the team can change if needed during the MAP process. Being on the Team involves a significant time commitment (see chart on next page).

Who should be on this team? People with the:

• knowledge about how things really work or don’t work at your organization, about what resources are available, about how to get things done

• authority to hold others accountable for tasks

• authority for making decisions about policies or procedures

• responsibility for implementing decisions arising from the assessment and subsequent planning

The number of people on your Assessment Team is up to you. But remember to keep it manageable.

Consider who on the Assessment Team should be the Primary Contact—this person functions as the Assessment Team leader and main connection point with the MAP staff. It may be a member of your governing authority, the director, or another staff member with appropriate skills to lead a team and manage a project. Generally we do not recommend having the development director, grant writer, a consultant, or an intern serve as the Primary Contact. Notify MAP staff if any Assessment Team members change during the process.

A copy of your final report will be shared with all people listed below as your institution’s assessment team (or their replacements).

For a full summary of the various roles at your institution, and their related responsibilities and time commitment, see the chart on the next page.

Evaluation and Reporting

Completing evaluations about specific parts of the process, materials, and the MAP experience overall is part of your museum’s commitment to MAP. Your museum will be asked to return evaluations at various stages of the MAP process. Not only will your comments help AAM improve MAP for future users, but your feedback is required as a part of MAP’s obligation to IMLS. We also welcome your comments and observations at any point during the assessment, outside of the formal evaluation/survey instruments.

Withdrawal Policy

Sometimes museums need to withdraw themselves from the Museum Assessment Program due to unforeseen circumstances that impact the availability and capacity of the of staff and/or governing authority to see the process through to completion.

Sometimes the AAM staff will withdraw a museum because it is not moving forward in the program or complying with program requirements. Your institution’s participation in MAP—including but not limited to the AAM staff support, materials, and Peer Reviewer—are made possible by federal funds issued to the American Alliance of Museums from the Institute of Museum and Library Services—a federal agency. As such, AAM must ensure that this money is used appropriately.

MAP fees are nonrefundable but withdrawing from the program will not impact your standing with AAM or other excellence programs and will not impact your ability to apply for MAP or other AAM programs in the future.

MAP Role	Time Commitment	Obligations
Primary Contact Select either: Director* Member of the governing authority Other Senior Staff Member	5 – 10 hours on the MAP application 50 hours on the Self-Study Workbook 5 - 10 hours working with the peer reviewer before the site visit 16 - 25 hours during the site visit	Serves as the main liaison with MAP staff Is the museum’s project lead for MAP Leads and coordinates MAP for the museum. Submits required documents to MAP staff by deadlines Communicates with Peer Reviewer Coordinates the site visit agenda with Peer Reviewer and museum Coordinates implementing report suggestions or delegates to appropriate staff Must be regularly accessible by email, as this is the primary method for all communications from the MAP staff.
Assessment Team Member May include: Key staff Governing authority members** Volunteers Interns	10 -15 hours per person on the Self-Study Workbook 5 -10 hours per person during the site visit Time to do the Activities	Answers group questions in self-study workbook Participates in Self-Study Workbook activities Available during the site visit to meet with peer reviewer
Other Museum Stakeholder (Non-Assessment Team Member) May include: Other staff Additional governing authority members Other volunteers Interns Student workers Community members	Potentially up to 5 hours per person on the Self-Study Workbook Potentially up to 5 hours per person during the site visit Potentially time for Activities (usually for the Community/Audience Engagement Assessment)	May be needed to answer questions or participate in activities for the Self-Study Workbook May be needed to meet with the Peer Reviewer during the site visit

*Directors must be on the MAP Assessment Team for both Organizational and Board Leadership Assessments.

**Members of the governing authority are expected to be available for site visit (other arrangements can be made if unavailable during site visit dates) even if they are not on the MAP Assessment Team for both Organizational and Board Leadership Assessments.

ELIGIBILITY

Words in bold and italicized appear in the glossary.

Eligible institutions include aquariums, art museums, children/youth museums, general museums, historic houses/sites, history museums, natural history/anthropology museums, nature centers, planetariums, public gardens, science/technology museums, specialized museums and zoos.

The following eligibility criteria apply to all applicants, regardless of which assessment is selected.

The applicant museum must:

• be organized on a permanent basis for essentially educational or aesthetic purposes;

• care for, and own or use, tangible objects, whether animate or inanimate, and make them available to the general public through exhibition and/or research on a regular basis at facilities it owns or operates

• be a unit of state local, or tribal government; or a private nonprofit organization with tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code.

• have at least one professional staff member or the full-time equivalent, whether paid or unpaid, whose responsibilities relate solely to the museum’s operations

• be open and providing museum services to the general public on a regular basis (a museum that exhibits objects to the general public for at least 90 days a year fulfills this requirement). If a museum is not scheduled to be open to the public 90 days a year, it is still eligible to participate in MAP if it can demonstrate that it was open at least 90 days in the preceding year through a combination of scheduled days open and days open by appointment; travelling exhibits, digital exhibits and access to online collections may also be considered.

• be located in one of the fifty states of the U.S., the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau; and

• not be operated by the U.S. federal government. (If your museum is a federal institution, contact the MAP staff to discuss how it can still participate in MAP on a fee-for-service basis.)

In addition to these main criteria, also see assessment-specific eligibility requirements stated earlier.

Museums with Parent Organizations

Museums that operate within a non-federal parent organization are eligible to apply and participate in MAP. A museum operated within a multi-purpose public or private nonprofit organization such as a municipality, university, historical society, foundation, or cultural center may apply on its own behalf if it:

• is able to independently fulfill all the requirements for eligibility listed above

• is an identifiably discrete unit within the parent organization

• has the authority to function and operate autonomously within the parent organization

When any of the eligibility criteria cannot be met, a museum may apply through its eligible parent organization, and the parent organization may apply(s) for one or more of its museums.

Returning to MAP or Repeating a MAP Assessment

Museums that previously completed an IMLS-funded MAP assessment are eligible to participate again in the same type of assessment if seven years have passed since the original assessment. There is no waiting period to do a different assessment All applicants that have previously completed a MAP must explain in the application their accomplishments/progress since the last assessment, especially as related to the recommendations received and why they are seeking another one. If you are unsure if your institution has gone through MAP before, please check the AAM website or contact map@aam-us.org directly.

COST INFORMATION

Participation Fee

Through a Cooperative Agreement with IMLS, AAM is able to offer MAP assessments at a modest cost to your institution in relation to its budget. Use the table below to determine your museum’s costs based on your institution’s operating expenses. Your museum will be invoiced for its participation fee after it is accepted into MAP. Fees are paid to AAM and they are non-refundable.

Museum Annual Operating Expenses	Participation Costs
$125,000 or less	$300
$125,001-$400,000	$500
$400,001-$1 Million	$700
$1.1 Million-$5 Million	$1000
Greater than $5 Million	$1500

Other possible costs you should consider budgeting for:

• Add an additional Peer Reviewer (optional, see details below): $1,650 fee

• Expenses associated with conducting any MAP Activities

• Costs associated with food or beverage the museum provides when the Peer Reviewer(s) is on-site

• Postage, copying, printing, supplies, telephone/internet charges

What You Get

Your MAP participation includes the following materials and services, valued at approximately $4,000 -$6,000*:

• MAP Self-Study Materials: Workbook & Activities

• Access to an online MAP Portal with customized presentations, activities, and resources to help you through each step of the MAP experience

• Assessment Report: a written report of the Peer Reviewer’s findings and recommendations, with prioritized next steps and resources

• The time, expertise, and travel expenses (transportation, meals, incidentals, lodging) for one Peer Reviewer to visit your museum for one to three days to offer guidance and consultation on site

• Peer Reviewer’s honorarium

• A dedicated MAP Program Officer for support, guidance, and feedback

*Please note: Your museum’s MAP participation is IMLS funded but is not a grant given to your institution. AAM receives grant funding from IMLS to deliver this comprehensive program and service to your museum. AAM does not disperse any money to your museum.

Peer Reviewer Expenses (Site Visit)

Peer Reviewers are reimbursed by AAM for their site visit expenses. Peer Reviewers generally make and pay upfront for their own travel arrangements. We encourage museums to work closely with Peer Reviewers to provide suggestions on where to stay, etc. If the museum directly pays for any allowable expense on behalf of the Peer Reviewer (e.g., hotel), the museum can seek reimbursement from AAM. Museums will be provided more details on site visit expenses once the MAP process begins.

Number of Peer Reviewers

Each museum receives one Peer Reviewer to conduct its site visit and write an assessment report.

If your museum would like two Peer Reviewers for its site visit, there is an additional fee of $1,650 to cover travel expenses, honorarium, and additional logistics. The two Peer Reviewers will conduct the site visit as a team and produce a single report for you.

Do I need an additional Peer Reviewer?

Large, complex museums, museums with multiple sites, and/or museums with multiple disciplines may want to consider having a two-person Peer Review team. Benefits of having more than one Peer Reviewer include:

• Multiple perspectives on complex situations

• Ability to meet with more staff and governing authority members face-to-face because Peer Reviewers can split up the duties

• Peer Reviewers with different areas of expertise can concentrate their focus on those areas, matching their expertise to the needs of the participating museum

• Museums preparing for accreditation or reaccreditation may benefit from multiple perspectives

If MAP staff determine it is unreasonable for one person to handle the visit solo due to the museum’s size or complexity, they may require you have an additional Peer Reviewer.

Talk to the MAP staff before you submit your application if you want guidance on this matter.

PART II

APPLICATION GUIDELINES

Application Format

The application is submitted through an online system where you will answer questions and upload documents. Applications submitted by email or sent in hard copy will not be considered.

For the online application link and full technical instructions visit: https://www.aam-us.org/programs/accreditation-excellence-programs/apply-to-the-museum-assessment-program/

Required Application Materials

DUNS Number

Organizations must provide a Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number. Organizations can receive a DUNS number at no cost by calling the toll-free request line at 1-800-526-9018 or by visiting www.dnb.com.

TIN or EIN

A TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number) or EIN (Employer Identification Number) is a nine-digit number that the internal Revenue Service (IRS) assigns to business entities. The IRS uses this number to identify taxpayers who are required to file various business tax returns. This is a free service offered by the IRS and you can get your EIN immediately. To apply go to https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/apply-for-an-employer-identification-number-ein-online.

Proof of Non-Profit Status

If your organization is incorporated as a nonprofit, you must submit a copy of your Federal IRS letter indicating your organization’s eligibility for nonprofit status under the applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended. A letter of state sales tax exemption is not accepted as proof of nonprofit status.

Organizational Chart

The chart should include, as applicable, the museum’s parent organization, governing authority, partner organizations, advisory boards, supporting organizations, staff, and volunteers; and show the relationships between them.

Brochure or Rack Card (or other publicly available promotional piece)

Letter from Parent Organization

If your organization operates as part of a unit of state or local government or other tax-exempt multipurpose organization such as a university or foundation, you must submit official documentation from the parent identifying the museum as such and supporting its participation in MAP. This certification must be on the parent organization’s letterhead, refer to the relationship between the parent organization and the applicant, and be signed by an official of the parent organization. This can be as simple as:

The XYZ MUSEUM is owned and operated by the ABC PARENT ORGANIZATION. We support the XYZ MUSEUM’s participation in the Museum Assessment Program.

Signature Page

Two signatures are required on the application: the director and the head of the governing authority. If there is no museum director or the head of the governing authority fills this role, the head of the governing authority and a second person from the governing authority must also sign.

Museum Hours and Staffing - Examples

To show your museum’s eligibility for MAP, in the application you must fill in charts with information about its hours of operation and staffing, as shown in the examples below:

Sample Museum Schedule

Date to Date	example Sun	Mon	Tues	Wed		Thurs	Fri	Sat
1/15-3/15				1- 5pm		1- 5pm	1- 5pm	1 - 5pm
3/15-9/15	1 - 5pm	1 - 5pm	1 - 5pm	1 - 5pm		1 - 5pm	1 – 5pm	1 - 5pm
9/16 to 1/14				1 - 5pm		1 - 5pm	1 – 5pm	1 - 5pm

If your museum does not have regularly scheduled hours, or if the regular hours does not equal 90 days, please list additional dates that the museum was open outside the normal operating schedule and the reason the museum was open.

Example:

• April 7 – Girl Scout troop visit

• April 15 – Homeschool tour

• April 17 – Retirement center tour

• April 25 – Oct 25 – Traveling exhibit

Sample Staffing

Name: Martin Free_ Title: Site Manager X volunteer paid
Responsibilities: Responsible for daily oversight of the museum, collections management, educational programming, and fund raising. Job description attached.
Hours per week:	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Sat	example Sun	Total
(fill in work hours for each day and total for week)	0	4	6	6	8	8	4	36

Only include one person per position. If your museum has multiple people fulfilling the same functional role, list each person’s hours separately.

Job Descriptions

Include a job description for each position you list. If your museum does not have formal job descriptions for all or some of the positions then include a more-than-cursory summary of roles and responsibilities in the chart.

Submitting the Application

Before submitting your application, be certain all information entered is complete and accurate, and the following items have been uploaded:

Signature Page

Proof of Nonprofit Status

Signed Parent Letter (if applicable)

Job descriptions for staff (where available)

Promotional piece such as a brochure or rack card (scan)

Organizational chart

For the online application link and full technical instructions visit https://www.aam-us.org/programs/accreditation-excellence-programs/apply-to-the-museum-assessment-program/.

You are strongly encouraged to submit your application well before the deadline. There is a fixed number of participants that the program can accept each year. Once the limit is reached, applications will continue to be accepted but the museum will be put on a waiting list and the application moved into the pool to be considered if a spot becomes available .

For questions about the application contact the Museum Assessment Program staff at (202) 289-9118 or map@aam-us.org.

Next Steps

Application Review

MAP staff may need to contact you with questions about your application. Delayed responses to staff inquires may jeopardize your eligibility or consideration for MAP.

Acceptance Notification

MAP staff will process the museum’s application and notify the Primary Contact about the acceptance status approximately 30-45 days after the application deadline. If accepted, MAP staff will e-mail an acceptance letter, which you will be required to sign and return in approximately two weeks. Participation fees will be invoiced shortly after acceptance. Payment is required within 30 days of the date of the invoice.

NEED HELP? HAVE QUESTIONS?

map@aam-us.org or 202-289-9118

GLOSSARY

Accessibility: Giving equitable access to everyone along the continuum of human ability and experience. Accessibility encompasses the broader meanings of compliance and refers to how organizations make space for the characteristics that each person brings.*

Professional Practices: A professional practice [aka best practice] is generally accepted in the field as a reliable method or technique for achieving a desired result.

Diversity: All the ways that people are different and the same at the individual and group levels. Even when people appear the same, they are different. Organizational diversity requires examining and questioning the makeup of a group to ensure that multiple perspectives are represented. *

Equity: The fair and just treatment of all members of a community. Equity requires commitment to strategic priorities, resources, respect, and civility, as well as ongoing action and assessment of progress toward achieving specific goals.*

Dual governance: A governance structure in which two separate legal entities share governance of the museum. This involves dividing or sharing basic governance responsibilities such as determining mission and purpose; hiring, supporting, and evaluating the director; strategic planning; obtaining and managing resources; and monitoring the organization's programs and services. For example: a museum jointly governed by a city government, which owns the collections and the building and hires the staff, and a private nonprofit, which determines museum policy and operates the museum. Does not automatically include museums that have separately incorporated friends organizations, unless the friends organization has significant responsibility for governance of the museum.

Inclusion: The intentional, ongoing effort to ensure that diverse individuals fully participate in all aspects of organizational work, including decision-making processes. It also refers to the ways that diverse participants are valued as respected members of an organization and/ or community. While a truly “inclusive” group is necessarily diverse, a “diverse” group may or may not be “inclusive.”.*

General museum: A museum that addresses two or more disciplines to a significant extent; for example, a museum that interprets both art and history, or both history and science.

Governing Authority: The body with legal and fiduciary responsibility for the museum and for approving museum policy (e.g., Board of Commissioners, Board of Directors, Board of Managers, Board of Regents, Board of Trustees, City Council, Commission).

Governing Authority: The executive body to which the director reports/is responsible. It is charged with the fiduciary responsibility for the museum and for approving museum policy.

Names of Governing Authority include: Advisory Council, Board of Commissioners, Board of Directors, Board of Managers, Board of Regents, Board of Trustees, City Council, Commission.

Head of Governing Authority: The elected or appointed head of the executive body (governing authority) to which the director reports. For institutions that are part of a larger non-museum parent organization, the head of governing authority is considered to be the individual within the institution’s larger parent organization to whom the director reports/is responsible (e.g., dean or provost of a university, director of parks and recreation for a city government, military post commander, etc.)

Museum system: Two or more museums or museum facilities that share a common parent organization. The component parts of a museum system may be museums operating independently or quasi-independently with distinct budgets and governing authorities, or may simply be separate, distinguishable sites all managed by the same organization.

Operating income and expenses: Income generated by or expenditures supporting the museum’s general operations in a given fiscal year, including exhibitions, education, conservation, collections management, collections acquisitions, research, training, development, and administration. Includes any portion of income from the endowment that is applied to operating expenses in a given year. Does not include capital expenditures.

Parent organization: A larger organization within which a museum operates. Examples of parent organizations are: colleges or universities; tribal, municipal, state, or federal government; state historical societies supervising multiple sites; corporate foundation, etc.

Specialized museum: A museum that does not fall into or combine any of the other discipline areas listed in question 14 of the application—for example, a quilt museum, clock museum, and stamp museum.

Standard: Generally accepted level of attainment for use as a basis of comparison in measuring or judging performance.

Tangible objects: Any three-dimensional objects that are used in any way at the museum. Collections managed by virtual museums are not considered to be tangible objects.

*From Facing Change: Insights from the American Alliance of Museums’ Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion Working Group Report, 2018

PART III

MUSEUM ASSESSMENT PROGRAM APPLICATION

INSTITUTIONAL INFORMATION

Museum Name:      

Alternate Name (if any):      

Previous Name (if any):      

Name of parent organization or friends group applying for this organization, if applicable:      

Mailing Address:      

City:       State:       Zip:      

Physical Address (if different):      

City:       State:       Zip:      

Telephone:       Fax:       Web Address:       E-mail:      

DUNS Number:       TIN (EIN) Number:      

(see page 12 for descriptions)

Congressional district:      

(If you do not know your museum’s district, go to www.house.gov and enter your zip code)

MAP ASSESSMENT TYPE (see Part I for descriptions) (Check only one)

	Organizational		Collections Stewardship		Community & Audience Engagement
	Board Leadership		Education

NUMBER OF PEER REVIEWERS (see Part I for more details)

One (included)

Two (Additional cost)

MAP OBJECTIVES

State up to three objectives that will inform your MAP review, particularly the Peer Review aspect. Objectives can be changed during the process if needed but changes must be communicated with MAP staff and your Peer Reviewer.

1. How do you hope your MAP participation will improve your institution’s current situation and address challenges? (limit 500 words)      

2. List up to three objectives your museum would most like this MAP assessment to accomplish and why. Please be succinct but specific. These

a)      

b)      

c)      

MAP ASSESSMENT TEAM

Your MAP Assessment Team must contain at least four active members.

List all members of your Assessment Team. Please indicate which person is your Primary Contact by placing a “1” in the “#” column. Indicate which person is your Secondary Contact by placing a “2” in the “#” column. If necessary, your museum can have up to two Primary Contacts. Please note that the Primary Contact must be regularly accessible by email, as this is the primary method for all communications from the MAP staff.

A copy of your final report will be shared with all people listed below as your institution’s assessment team.

#	Full Name (include prefix)	Title	E-mail	Phone
	     	     	     	     
	     	     	     	     
	     	     	     	     
	     	     	     	     
	     	     	     	     
	     	     	     	     
	     	     	     	     

ELIGIBILITY

The following questions are designed to determine your museum’s eligibility to participate in the Museum Assessment Program. If you are uncertain or have questions, please contact MAP staff to discuss. Note: If your organization is governed by a parent institution, all answers should refer to your museum only.

3. Is the museum organized as a public or private nonprofit or as a unit of state or local government institution that exists on a permanent basis for essentially educational or aesthetic purposes?

	Yes
	No Explain:      

4. Does the museum own, use, or care for tangible objects, whether animate or inanimate?

	Yes
	No Explain:      

5. Are these objects exhibited to the public on a regular basis through facilities the museum owns or operates?

	Yes
	No

6. Is the museum open and exhibiting to the public at least 90 days a year?

	Yes
	No

7. Total number of days the museum was open to the public for the 12-month period prior to application: _     _ days

If your museum is not regularly open 90 days a year, please list additional dates that the museum was open outside the normal operating schedule and the reason the museum was open. Feel free to attach on a separate sheet, if needed.

     

8. List below the museum’s schedule each day of the week. See Part II for more information and sample.

Date to Date	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Sat
     	     	     	     	     	     	     	     
     	     	     	     	     	     	     	     
     	     	     	     	     	     	     	     
     	     	     	     	     	     	     	     
     	     	     	     	     	     	     	     

9. Does the museum have at least one full-time¹ (paid or unpaid) staff member or the equivalent², whose primary duty includes the governance, administration, programming, and collections management of the museum?

	Yes
	No Explain:      

10. How many people (paid or unpaid) work at the museum?

     	Total number of full-time paid staff
     	Total number of part-time3 paid staff
     	Total number of full-time unpaid staff
     	Total number of part-time unpaid staff

11. Does your organization have a director? (This person’s title may vary, e.g., director, president, CEO, Museum or Site Administrator, etc.)

	Yes
	No

12. If yes, is the director of the museum full-time?

	Yes
	No

Director’s Name:      					______volunteer			______ paid
Responsibilities (Attach formal Position Description if available):      
Hours per week (fill in work hours and total for week)
Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri		Sat	Sun		Total
     	     	     	     	     		     	     		     

13. List up to five positions, other than the director, responsible for your museum’s activities and the average number of hours per week each one works. See Part II for more information.

Name:      			Title:      			_____volunteer		_____paid
Responsibilities (Attach formal Position Description if available):      
Hours per week (fill in work hours and total for week)
Mon	Tues	Wed		Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun		Total
     	     	     		     	     	     	     		     

Name:      			Title:      			_____volunteer		_____paid
Responsibilities (Attach formal Position Description if available):      
Hours per week (fill in work hours and total for week)
Mon	Tues	Wed		Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun		Total
     	     	     		     	     	     	     		     

Name:      			Title:      			_____volunteer		_____paid
Responsibilities (Attach formal Position Description if available):      
Hours per week (fill in work hours and total for week)
Mon	Tues	Wed		Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun		Total
     	     	     		     	     	     	     		     

Name:      			Title:      			_____volunteer		_____paid
Responsibilities (Attach formal Position Description if available):      
Hours per week (fill in work hours and total for week)
Mon	Tues	Wed		Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun		Total
     	     	     		     	     	     	     		     

Name:      			Title:      			_____volunteer		_____paid
Responsibilities (Attach formal Position Description if available):      
Hours per week (fill in work hours and total for week)
Mon	Tues	Wed		Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun		Total
     	     	     		     	     	     	     		     

OPERATIONAL INFORMATION

Note: These questions do not relate to eligibility. Answers to these questions help us learn more about your organization and match your organization with an appropriate Peer Reviewer.

14. Revenue and Expenses

Previous Fiscal Years	Operating Income	Operating Expenses
Most recently completed FY 20     	$     	$     
Second most recently completed FY 20     	$     	$     

If you have a parent institution, please make sure you are listing only your museum’s information and not that of the parent entity.

15. Does your museum have an itemized budget?

Yes

No

16. If you have a parent entity, check any of the following resources/services which your parent entity provides for your museum:

Staffing/Benefits

Building/Grounds Maintenance or Utilities

Marketing/PR/Development

Other:      

17. What are the museum’s financial or fundraising priorities for the next three to five years? Check all that apply.

Strategic

Building operating endowment

Build other endowment

Capital campaign

Increase cash reserves

Increase earned income

Reduce/eliminate debt

Strengthen overall financial health and stability

Other      

Operational

Collections/storage projects

Facilities expansions, upgrades or repairs

Staffing needs

Technology projects

Raise funds for other special project or need

Other      

If any boxes are checked above, please comment on each briefly:      

18. a. What is your museum’s mission?      

b. Is your museum’s mission statement formally approved by your governing authority?

	Yes
	No

c. If yes, what is the date it was originally adopted?      

d. When was it last reviewed?      

19. Organization Type (select up to three)

	Aquarium
	Anthropology Museum
	Arboretum/Botanical Garden/Public Garden
	Art Museum/Center/Sculpture Garden
	Children’s or Youth Museum
	Ethnically/Culturally/Tribally Specific Museum (List:      )
	General or Multi-Disciplinary (several subjects)
	Hall of Fame
	Historic House
	Historic Site/Landscape
	History Museum
	Historical Society
	Military Museum/Battlefield
	Nature Center
	Natural History Museum
	Planetarium
	Presidential Library
	Science/Technology Center/Museum
	Specialized museum (a museum with collections limited to one narrowly defined topic—e.g., textiles, stamps, a specific cultural or ethnic group) (Name specialty:      )
	Transportation (air/space, maritime, automobiles, etc.):
	Visitor Center/Interpretive Center
	Zoo/Animal Parks Other:      

20. Does your museum have a parent organization?

Parent organization: a larger organization within which a museum operates. Examples of parent organizations are: colleges or universities; tribal, municipal, state, or federal government; state historical societies supervising multiple sites; corporate foundation, etc.

	Yes List name:      
	No

If yes, which one of the following best describes the nature/type of your museum’s parent

21. Which one of the following best describes your museum’s governance? (Please select only one: Note: if your museum has a parent organization, please indicate the nature of your parent’s governing authority.)

College/University

	Non-Profit
	For-Profit
	Government

Government

			Municipal
			County
			State
			Federal
			Tribal
		Private nonprofit
		For-profit
		Dual (List:      _)
		Other:     

22. Year the museum was first open and exhibiting to the general public:      

23. Museum’s attendance for the 12-month period prior to application:

Onsite	     
Offsite	     
Online	     

24. If your institution currently utilizes any social media platforms, check all that apply and include URLs/Handles:

	Blog:	     
	Facebook:	     
	Twitter:	     
	YouTube:	     
	Instagram:	     
	Other:	     

25. Briefly describe your museum’s major programs and events.

     

26. Briefly describe your major exhibits.      

27. Briefly list your key community/educational partners and collaborators.

     

28. How many objects does the museum have in its collections (actual or estimated)?      

29. Are your collections accessible to the public online?

Yes

No

If Yes, in what format?

Online exhibit

Collections Database

30. If your museum owns, manages or borrows collections items, please indicate the types of objects. Check all that apply.

	Aeronautics, space/airplanes
	Animals, live
	Animals, preserved
	Anthropological, ethnographic
	Archaeological
	Books
	Ceramics, glass, metals, plastics
	Documents, manuscripts
	Furniture/wooden objects
	Geological, mineral, paleontological
	Historic building
	Historic sites
	Horological (clocks)
	Landscape features, constructed
	Machinery
	Maritime, historic ships
	Medals
	Medical, dental, health, pharmacological
	Military, including weapons
	Motion picture, audiovisual
	Musical instruments
	Numismatics (money)
	Paintings
	Philatelic (stamps)
	Photography, negatives
	Photography, prints
	Physical science projects
	Plants, live
	Plants, preserved
	Sculpture, indoor
	Sculpture, outdoor
	Textiles and costumes
	Tools
	Toys and dolls
	Transportation, excluding airplanes
	Works of art on paper
	Other:      

31. Briefly describe your museum’s facilities (including buildings and grounds).

     

32. If your museum is located within a larger facility (for example: a university gallery within a classroom building or a museum inside a performing arts or community center), indicate how your museum exercises control over its space.      

33. Which of the following plans, policies and documents does your museum have in writing? Check all that apply.

	Accounting & internal control
	Budget
	Business Plan
	Business support
	Collections management policy
	Collections plan
	Conservation plan
	Development Plan
	Diversity Plan
	Emergency/Disaster Preparedness & Recovery Plan
	Facilities use/ facilities rental
	Furnishing plan (historic sites)
	General Facilities Report
	Governance manual
	Housekeeping plan
	Individual donor support
	Institutional code of ethics
	Integrated Pest Management Plan
	Interpretive plan or education master plan
	Investment (e.g. endowment investment)
	Landscaping/grounds maintenance plan
	Marketing plan
	Written agreement with parent company or other key stakeholders (if applicable)
	Personnel policy issues (Benefits, Compensation, Diversity, Grievance, Harassment, Performance Management, Personnel Records & Privacy, Separation, etc.) / Employee Handbook
	Strategic Plan
	Succession Plan
	Technology Plan
	Vision/Value statement(s)
	Volunteer manual
	Other (please specify):      

34. Does your museum have some type of institutional planning process in place?

	Yes
	No

If yes, is it?

	Formal
	Informal

If informal, please describe:      

35. For Collections Stewardship Assessment applicants:
    
    

    1. Does your museum currently have a collections management policy?

	No, and none in development
	Yes, in development
	Yes, and approved by our governing authority

2. If the policy is in draft form and not yet approved by your governing authority, explain the status of the draft.      

36. Indicate the frequency of communication among staff, volunteers, and governing authority members at your museum.

	Staff w/ Staff	Staff w/Volunteer	Staff w/Governing Authority
Infrequent
Somewhat Frequent
Very Frequent
Routine

37. Within the past five years, has your organization experienced any of the following situations? (Check all that apply)

General

Opening a new building or new museum

Closing a Museum

Hiring of first professional staff/director

Organizational restructuring

Change of executive director

Sudden Departure/Death of a director

Turnover of 30% or more of staff

Staff layoffs of 10% or more

Capital Campaign

Significant change of mission/purpose

Loss of significant funding that adversely affected the organization’s ability to fulfill its mission

Institutional Events

Embezzlement/Fiscal Irregularities

Becoming Accredited

Violation of Institutional Code of Ethics

Public pressure to cancel or alter exhibit content

Governance Change

Retrenchment

Cancellation of capital improvements or expansion plans

Organizational Changes

Merger with a larger institution

Merger with an equal institution

Separation from a parent

Separation from another museum

Legal partnership with for-profit entity

Founder

Founder, serves on Board

Founder, serves as Director

Death of a Founder

Natural Disaster

Earthquake

Fire

Flood

Hurricane

Tornado

Other natural or man-made disaster

Building Changes

Expansion of same facility

Construction of new facility

Moving to a different facility

Restoration of a building

Acquire a satellite property

Collections Issues

Non-Collections Based Institution

Theft of collections objects

Acquire significant collection

Hazardous Materials

NAGPRA

Nazi-Era Provenance

Deaccessioning Issues

Ownership dispute/claim against museum or repatriation of object(s)

Other:      

If you checked any of the above, briefly describe the circumstances related to the situation(s):

     

ASSESSMENT HISTORY & PREPARATION

38. Has the museum completed a MAP assessment in the last ten years? If so, indicate which one and the year, and answer the two questions that follow.
    
    If you are unsure if your institution has gone through MAP before please check here http://ww2.aam-us.org/resources/assessment-programs/accreditation/accredited-museums or contact map@aam-us.org directly for more information.

	Yes	Year	No	Don’t Know
Collections Stewardship Assessment		     
Organizational Assessment		     
Community Engagement Assessment		     
Board Leadership Assessment		     

If your museum participated in any MAP assessment in the past ten years, please answer the next two questions:

39. Describe what accomplishments your museum has achieved since its previous MAP, especially those related to the MAP results and recommendations.
         

40. Describe your museum’s need desire for a new assessment.
         

Applicants are not required to have previously participated in other assessment programs, but this information will provide useful background to the peer reviewer.

41. Has your museum participated in:

1. CAP – Collections Assessment for Preservation

Administered by AIC http://www.conservation-us.org/grants/cap; formerly known as the Conservation Assessment Program when it was previously run by Heritage Preservation)

	Yes
	No

If yes, what year(s):      

How has CAP impacted your museum?      

2. StEPs – AASLH’s Standards and Excellence Program for History Organizations https://aaslh.org/programs/steps/

	Yes
	No

If yes:

What year did your museum begin:      

Which sections has your museum worked on:      

In which sections have you earned a completion certificate?      

How has StEPs helped your museum prepare for MAP?      

3. Other programs or services that helped prepare it for MAP?

	Yes
	No

If yes, describe (what or who and when):      

42. Has your museum successfully completed AAM’s Core Documents Verification?

https://www.aam-us.org/programs/accreditation-excellence-programs/core-documents-verification/

	Yes (Year:      )
	No but currently in progress
	No but planning to apply
	No and not planning to apply

If you checked “currently in progress”, which documents have passed and when:

Document Type	Year Passed
Mission	     
Institutional Code of Ethics	     
Institution/Strategic Plan	     
Collections Management Policy	     
Emergency Response/Disaster Preparedness Plan	     

43. Is the museum considering applying for AAM Accreditation?

https://www.aam-us.org/programs/accreditation-excellence-programs/accreditation/

	Yes (Reminder: museums must successfully complete the Core Documents Verification Program to be eligible to apply for Accreditation)
	No
	Not sure
	Already accredited by AAM

If yes, when does the museum plan to apply:

	1-3 years
	4-5 years
	6-10 years
	More than 10 years from now

44. Where did you receive information about MAP? (Check all that apply.)

AAM website

MAP/AAM brochure

From a colleague at my museum

From a colleague at another museum

Session at a national, regional or state museum association conference (please specify):

Listserv posting (please specify):

Discussion with MAP staff

Discussion with IMLS staff

IMLS website/publication (please specify):

Aviso

Other website or Newsletter announcement (please specify):      

Previous experience with MAP

Other (please specify):     

1. If you checked more than one source, which was most influential in your decision to submit a MAP application?      

2. How long have you been planning to apply to MAP?      

APPLICATION EVALUATION

1. Including time from all people who participated, approximately how many hours went into preparing, and completing this application?      

2. How valuable was filling out the MAP application for your thinking about your institution and how it works?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

^{(not at all valuable) (very valuable)}

If you said 1 to 9, what would make it a 10?      

3. Thinking about the process you just went through to complete the MAP application, please indicate how much you disagree or agree with the following statements:

	Completely Disagree 1	2	3	4	5	6	Completely Agree 7
The overall description of the MAP program was clear.
Instructions for filling out the application were easy to follow.
Filling out the application was easy to do.
Filling out the application had educational value for my museum.
Filling out the application provided opportunities to discuss important institutional priorities.

4. Did you encounter any challenge(s) while filling out the application?

Yes No

If Yes, please specify:     

5. Did you need to contact MAP staff during the application process?

Yes No

a. If Yes, were they able to help resolve your issue? Yes No

b. If No, please explain.      

6. Optional: Please provide any additional comments on the application or application process you’d like to share:      

SIGNATURES

We (the undersigned) have examined this MAP Application and agree upon the principle objectives of the Assessment we chose. We have discussed the MAP process with the governing authority and staff (paid and unpaid) and will engage them in the steps of the process. We are ready to work together to identify our current stage of development and institutional needs and to facilitate change. We will review all recommendations that come out of the assessment and incorporate them into our planning. We will pay any associated costs to participate and devote the time needed to complete our MAP Assessment within the designated time period.

We have examined this application, and to the best of our knowledge, we hereby certify that the information provided is true and correct and all requirements for a complete Museum Assessment Program application have been fulfilled.

Two original signatures are required below:

Museum Director/CEO’s signature*:

____________________________________________________ Date: ______

Name:       Title:       Phone:       E-mail:      

Head of Governing Authority’s (see glossary) signature:**

____________________________________________________ Date: ______

Name:       Title:       Phone:       E-mail:      

Additional Governing Authority Member’s signature: (only for museums without a Director/CEO)**

____________________________________________________ Date: ______

Name:       Title:       Phone:       E-mail:      

*If there is no museum director, please have the head of the governing authority sign as well as a second person from the Governing Authority.

** If the head of the governing authority functions as the museum director, an additional signature from another member of the governing authority is required.

1 Full-time is defined as 35 hours per week.

2 An equivalent full-time staff member consists of 2-3 part-time paid or unpaid staff members with responsibilities that relate solely to the museum’s services or operations.

3 Part-time is defined as less than 35 hours per week.

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