Get Involved
The MaP Community
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, but 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 has three labs: The Strategy Lab, Opportunity Research Lab, and Integration Lab. Each lab represents an area of focus we explore through community-driven research projects.
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.
Supporting and organizational members get $50 off all courses. Register your museum or become a Supporting Member.
Community Events & Workshops
MaP hosts various events and workshops throughout the year to help museum professionals prioritize the goals of the people their institutions support.
Paid events and workshops are free for organizational members. Register your museum or join as a Supporting Member.
MaP Insights
Paid members can catch up on past program recordings and access session transcripts in MaP’s Progress Insights space. This is also where members can follow updates and findings from community research projects. Register your museum to give all your staff access to MaP Insights or join as an individual.
Join the Community
Organizational 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.