The Value Realization Collaborative
Dr. John Falk, whose visitor identity model has influenced museum practice for over two decades, brings his latest research on user-centered transformation to this pilot program. Building on his established work in understanding museum experiences, the Value Realization Process offers a practical framework for institutions ready to move beyond demographic-based approaches.
This pilot program combines MaP's Progress-Space Research methodology with Dr. Falk's Value Realization Process to help museums develop meaningful, sustainable relationships with diverse communities. Through this work, institutions move beyond traditional metrics to support their communities' goals and progress.
Program Overview
This collaboration helps museums:
Shift from demographic-based to goal-oriented understanding of their communities
Develop strategies that resonate with diverse communities’ needs
Implement practical, measurable changes in programming and operations
Structure
Year 1 (2025)
Phase 1: Calibration and Articulation (Winter-Spring 2025)
We’ll begin by reading John Falk's book Leaning into Value: Becoming a User-Focused Museum. Institutions will be invited to choose communities’ goals to prioritize and support. Your staff will learn data collection techniques to understand community goals.
Phase 2: Learning, Listening, and Sense-Making (Spring-Summer 2025)
Your team gets hands-on practice listening to members of your communities and synthesizing qualitative data. This is foundational for your museum's ability to validate its impact.
Phase 3: Creation and Validation (Summer-Fall 2025)
Participants create opportunity maps — visual assessment tools that evaluate how your institution can better support the diverse ways people approach their goals. These maps become powerful tools for funding appeals and stakeholder communications.
Year 2 and Beyond (2026, Optional)
Seasonal assessments to measure changes in support of communities' goals
Private sessions to discuss expanding the program to additional goals
Continued access to Organizational Membership benefits
Program Value
Beyond the tangible deliverables, your institution will gain:
A trained, cross-functional team skilled in progress-focused research and implementation
An active network of peer institutions working toward similar goals
Practical experience applying the Value Realization Process
Ongoing access to a community of practice that extends beyond the program
Clear frameworks for validating impact and communicating value to stakeholders
Who Should Participate
This pilot program is for museums that are:
Committed to becoming more user-centered
Willing to challenge traditional approaches to supporting their communities
Ready to invest time and resources in long-term transformation
Last Day to Register
Friday, January 10, 2025
Registration
Program pricing is based on your museum's operating budget.
If you need an invoice so that you can pay by ACH or direct debit, please email us.
Registration includes:
One complete set of learning leader courses (Listening Deeply in Museums, Data Synthesis 1 & 2); Additional learning leaders can be added at $300 each to expand your institution's capacity.
Year-long Organizational Membership for unlimited staff access
Direct access to Dr. John Falk through regular strategy sessions (minimum quarterly)
Ongoing implementation support from the MaP team
Availability
This pilot program is limited to 18 organizations to ensure personalized attention and support.
Q&A
The time commitment will vary depending on the staff member's role and the project phase.
Phase 1: Calibration and Articulation (Winter-Spring 2025)
EDs/CEOs will convene weekly to read and discuss Dr. Falk's forthcoming book. Expect weekly, 50-minute meetings over 6 to 8 weeks. Each participant in the reading group will be provided with a copy of the book.
Each organization should identify at least one staff member responsible for data collection and synthesis. These staff members will complete the necessary coursework.
Directors and learning leaders will select goals to prioritize (6–8 hours over 1-2 weeks).
Phase 2: Learning, Listening, and Sense-Making (Spring-Summer 2025)
Expect 2-3 hours of work per week per learning lead
Activities include coursework, conducting listening sessions, and data synthesis
Phase 3: Creation and Validation (Summer-Fall 2025)
Expect ~2 hours of work per week per learning lead
Focus on developing opportunity maps and implementation planning
Program participants will have direct access to Dr. John Falk through regular strategy sessions throughout the year (minimum quarterly). These sessions will provide opportunities to:
Validate your institution's progress-focused initiatives
Get an expert perspective on your opportunity mapping
Connect your work to broader sector trends
The exact frequency of sessions will be determined based on participant needs and program development.
MaP provides comprehensive support throughout the process:
Courses: Three core courses on data collection and synthesis, accessible anytime through our platform
Co-working sessions: weekly sessions with trained MaP team members
Asynchronous expert access: Direct messaging support for course-specific questions
Participants work in sub-cohorts (3 museums each) to collect and synthesize data related to their chosen communities' goals. Each institution contributes 1-3 staff members as learning leaders, creating groups of 3-9 learning leaders per sub-cohort. Through regular co-working sessions and asynchronous communication, MaP provides ongoing support while institutions work collaboratively to analyze their data and develop insights.
We recommend participating with 2-3 cross-functional colleagues whose roles involve creating and communicating value for your audiences. This work is most effective when it brings together diverse perspectives from across your institution. Ideal participants can come from:
Education
Curation
Exhibits
Visitor Experience
Community Outreach
Membership
Marketing
Research & Evaluation
The most successful teams often include both those who direct institutional strategy and those who implement it. While researchers and evaluators can be valuable team members, the shift toward goal-oriented understanding needs to be driven by those who shape your museum's relationship with its communities.
The individual's curiosity and commitment to developing a more user-centered institution are more important than their title. What matters most is that participating staff members have the interest and institutional support to help lead this transformation.
The primary output is an opportunity map. An opportunity map describes how people approach a goal. It is also a tool that assesses an organization’s stregths and weaknesses in supporting the goal in question.
Here is an example (click to expand):
In the example above, the organization has chosen the goal Cultivate child’s interest in living things/nature. Your institution’s goal will be different — Every map is unique and is based on the organization’s strategic priorities and what’s relevant to their specific, local communities.
The light blue columns describe the different “towers” of mental attention — These are created based on listening sessions with community members.
The darker grey columns below describe ways that the institution is trying to support the various approaches to the goal. In some columns we see more instances, which may suggest stronger support. In others there are few or even no instances of the organization supporting the tower of mental attention. These represent areas where the organizaiton may wish to invest resources (e.g., improved communications, changes to programs, new programs, etc.)
Have a different question?
Ready to Get Started?
Select your registration tier and begin your institution's journey toward becoming more user-centered.
Need Funding Approval?
We've created a template you can download, edit, and share with colleagues and stakeholders to make the case for your museum's participation.
Want to Learn More?
Visit our interactive canvas in Miro to dive deeper into the program and share how it relates to your museum's efforts to support its communities better.