MaP Community of Practice
Many museum leaders believe that engaging audiences is a path to relevance. But engagement is only valuable to the museum. People don’t seek to be engaged. They want to have a memorable afternoon with a friend, help their students pass their exams, or learn from someone who has made a career as an artist to see if they can do the same. There are many ways museums provide value, and none are about “being engaged by a museum”.
Engagement is only an outward sign of someone progressing toward a goal that matters to them. Instead of asking, “How can we engage people?” we can ask, “What progress do we want to support?” Engagement will naturally follow.
This shift in perspective challenges museums to rethink their priorities. The MaP Community provides opportunities to test and apply this progress-centered perspective.
The MaP Community is structured to support your museum’s progress.
Seasons
MaP operates on a seasonal basis. There are two seasons in a year, and each season is about four months long. Seasons provide participants with time to focus and rest so that they can tackle big challenges at a comfortable pace.
Themes
Community members nominate seasonal themes and vote to decide what concept we’ll focus on next. Themes ensure abstract principles are grounded in the topics that are important to participants today.
Seasons
Differentiation
The winter/spring season begins in January and ends in mid-May. MaP participants explore a new theme through community events, programs, and labs. At the end of the spring season, we take a summer break, which lasts from late May to early July. During the off-season, we plan the upcoming season, work on client projects, and collaborate with museum members to develop labs.
Integration
The summer/fall season begins in early July and ends in November. During the last half of the year, we examine the relationships between past themes. For example, the MaP Community may host events or special guests to help members explore relationships between Leadership and Listening or Motivations and Mapping.
Themes
Past themes include:
Motivations & Goals
Leadership
Mapping
Gathering
Imagination
Listening
Programs & Events
MaP Labs
MaP Labs are community-driven research projects that address persistent challenges museums face today. Institutions that enroll as Museum Members get early access to lab insights, contribute data to studies, and receive private briefings to help integrate lab insights into their workplace.
MaP Academy
MaP Academy trains individuals in progress-space research skills (e.g., listening for interior cognition, data synthesis, and opportunity mapping). Members who complete coursework and live practice sessions can become certified and then conduct community research if they wish.
Community Events
Research Office Hours gives community members a chance to discuss a particular challenge their museum is trying to address.
Membership Innovation offers practical tips and valuable resources on museum member experience, benefits, retention, program management, marketing strategies, and more.
Book Club helps us dig deeper into our chosen themes. Participants meet weekly to read a title of their choosing.
Library
Members can catch up on past program recordings in the Recordings Library. Watch past Membership Innovation sessions, Research Office Hours discussions, MaP & Tell Unconference sessions, and workshops at your own pace.
Join the Community
Museum Membership gives you and your colleagues an all-access pass to collaborative research projects and community events. Our programs help you realize your engagement objectives by prioritizing audience progress.