The Digital Strategy Ecosystem

Going digital - such as providing global access to a museum’s collection - has not only had a profound impact on visitors, but has also affected museum staff and how museums as a whole are grappling with the normalization of digital thinking. In other words, the manifestation of digital actually starts and ends with people - who they are, what they seek, and how they find it. In this session we will check in with several museums – diverse in size, type, and at various stages of going digital – to hear how they are achieving success through implementing effective digital strategies and improving digital literacy. Those strategies are always driven by people (staff) and must be measured by impact on people (audiences). Internally, organizations have been radically changing methods and tools, from staffing models to creating cross-functional teams and in-house capacity to the adoption of Agile practices. Externally, organizations are developing better and more-relevant metrics that demonstrate audience participation and engagement. We’ll hear from: Harvard Art Museums on how digital thinking is starting to take hold two years into the operation of their new facility Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum on how digital is driving new ways of working in a Museum new to digital and the wider impact this is having for visitors and staff beyond digital projects. Minneapolis Institute of Art on strategy alignment, staffing/hiring, workplace culture, technology “ecosystems”, and impact Philadelphia Museum of Art on how they are normalizing digital thinking and their road-map to digital excellence Princeton University Art Museum on accessibility, collaboration, funding, and strategic digital planning. Session attendees will have ample opportunity to participate in the discussion, ask specific questions, and tell us how they’ve been tackling the integration and adoption of new technology at their institutions. This session is all about people. Let’s learn together. Speakers Session Leader : Janet Strohl-Morgan, Associate Director for Information and Technology, Princeton University Art Museum Co-Presenter : Douglas Hegley, Director of Media & Technology, Minneapolis Institute of Art Co-Presenter : Carolyn Royston, Director of Digital, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Co-Presenter : Jeff Steward, Director of Digital Infrastructure and Emerging Technology, Harvard Art Museums Co-Presenter : William Weinstein, John H. McFadden and Lisa D. Kabnick Director of Information and Interpreti, Philadelphia Museum of Art MCN 2016 Presenting Sponsor: Piction New Orleans, LA