Strategic and Integrated Analytics / Making Data About Museums Actionable
Session Leader : Bruce Wyman, Principal, USD Design | MACH Consulting
Co-Presenter : Kate Haley Goldman, Principal, Haley Goldman Consulting
Co-Presenter : Corey Timpson, Vice President, Exhibitions, Research, and Design, Canadian Museum for Human Rights
Co-Presenter : Douglas Hegley, Director of Media & Technology, Minneapolis Institute of Art
Friday, November 4, 2016 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
An emerging discipline is beginning to appear in the museum field — one of data-driven decision making. While individual departments have long used their own internal analytics tools to help make business decisions, it’s only in the recent years that data sources have substantially improved thus enabling potentially wider and more integrated application. Data sources now include everything from point-of-sale and membership data to back-end analytics of in-gallery interpretation. Data collection is the critical first step but beyond that the actual process of analysis, reliable interpretation, and learning how to effectively implement systems to use that information is still new to the culture heritage sector. This is one of the most important emerging frontiers in the museum field. It’s increasingly possible to review and use multiple sources of data to provide a more comprehensive view of how museums are being used, the intricate pathways of audience engagement, sustained relevancy and personalized relationship-building. Data sources are becoming more numerous, designing the right questions, accurate analysis and interpretation of the data, and building processes for using data, however, are hard. Our panel will review projects at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and Minneapolis Institute of Art to look at how data collection is being performed, how it aligns with institutional goals, and how business decisions and strategic planning have evolved as a product of a detailed review of data leading to the overhaul of existing practices. We’ll share the thinking that goes into the data collection and analysis process while giving practical insight into how this experience can be applied to other organizations beginning to head down this path. We will also look at approaches to making practical use of big data, from statistical analysis techniques to predictive analytics – and the potential staffing and ethical implications of this emerging practice.
Transcript