Museum Governance: Lessons From the Past as a First Step Towards Innovation

Abstract

Over the past thirty years, private sector governance has seen significant development in regulatory guidelines, best practices, and adaptation to emerging challenges. In contrast, the history of Canadian museum governance is relatively new. Not-for-profit Canadian museums began to establish governance frameworks only recently with influential publications like the UNESCO Recommendation on Museums and Collections (2015) and the SMQ Guide (2014), along with the implementation of Bill 114 in 2016. Bill 114 introduced constraints and responsibilities akin to those in the private sector, shifting governance from a more informal approach to a structured system. Notable examples of pre-Bill 114 governance include Rolland Arpin's initiatives at the Museum of Civilization and guidelines by the Canadian Art Museum Directors Organization. This study aims to explore the lessons that museum governance can learn from private sector practices, comparing regulatory frameworks and drawing insights from corporate governance literature to enhance the sustainability and effectiveness of not-for-profit museums and heritage preservation efforts.