Museum-University Collaborations to Enhance Evaluation Capacity

Abstract

For museums interested in making audience research and evaluation an integral part of their operations, looking to local universities—and the expertise their faculty and students bring—can be a natural starting point. These partnerships can be mutually beneficial, giving students valuable real world experience while providing museums with visitor-centered data to guide decisions and improve practice. These partnerships also require a shared investment of time, clarity regarding roles and responsibilities, and a commitment on the part of the museum to support student learning. This article, while not intended to be a step by step “how to” for museum educators, details one such partnership: the New Directions in Audience Research initiative from the University of Washington's Museology Graduate Program. We detail the lessons we've learned over five years of collaboration and offer suggestions for museum professionals who may be considering such a partnership to begin, or enhance, their own evaluation efforts. While not all museums will be able to replicate this particular model (which received significant grant support at the outset), we believe the lessons learned are applicable to museums that seek to partner with universities in whatever capacity their resources allow.