Governance, management and planning 

This section focuses on key policies and planning that will form the building blocks of the museum.

1.1 Museum's purpose

Objective: All work and programmes are aligned to the museum’s written statement of purpose, and all paid and volunteer staff know what they are doing and why.

• He Rauemi Resource Guide - National Services Te Paerangi
• 14: Developing a Strategic Plan

Different types of plan including planning tools and templates for community and voluntary organisations:

• CommunityNet Aotearoa
• 'Big Questions? Big Answers – questions to ask before starting up a heritage project' (Scottish Museums Council).

1.2 Museum governance

Objective: Museum resources are governed effectively, responsibly and transparently in accordance with the museum’s stated purpose, with relevant legislative requirements, and with the Treaty of Waitangi.

How to develop policies

• The Community Resource Kit has:
  • How-to Guide on governance and management 
  • Sample set of board policies which provides a good starting point for any organisation wanting to develop board policies.

Examples of policies

• Auckland Museum’s policies
  • Auckland Museum
• Christchurch City Council's Arts policies
• Christchurch City Council
• National Museum of Australia's policies
• National Museum of Australia
• Conservation Policy
  • National Gallery of Canada (Canada)
• Collections Management Policy
  • Museum of Texas Tech University (United States) 
• What is a Collection Policy and why do we have one? 
  • Aurora Regional Fire Museum  (United States)

Resources on governance

• TEMPLATE Board of Directors’ self-evaluation form
  • e-published by the Management Assistance Program for Non Profits
• TEMPLATE Governance evaluation
• International governance consultancy, Nathan Gerber and Associates 
• 'Getting on Board' - a governance resource guide for arts organisations
• Creative New Zealand

• Museum Management Fact Sheets
• Museums and Galleries New South Wales (Australia)

1.3 Legal standing

Objective: Individuals, collections and taonga are legally protected.

• ‘Keeping it Legal E Ai Ki Te Ture’ - this resource is intended to help voluntary organisations comply with their legal obligations and develop strategies for managing risk
  • New Zealand Federation of Voluntary Welfare Organisations
• Taxes for non-profit organisations
  • New Zealand Inland Revenue
• Intellectual Property Guide for Māori Organisations and Communities
• Te Mana Taumaru Mātauranga

1.4 Treaty-based partnerships between museum and tangata whenua, iwi and hapū

Objective: The museum has in place, or has plans to implement, partnership arrangements with tangata whenua, iwi and hapū for the museum's governance, management and planning, in accord with the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

• He Rauemi Resource Guide - National Services Te Paerangi
• 8: A guide to Guardians of Iwi Treasures He Tohu ki ngā Kaitiaki o ngā Taonga-a-iwi
• 31: Mātauranga Māori

1.5 Responsibility for collections and taonga

Objective: The long-term future and care of the collection and taonga are secure.

• He Rauemi Resource Guide - National Services Te Paerangi 
• 8: A guide to Guardians of Iwi Treasures He Tohu ki ngā Kaitiaki o ngā Taonga-a-iwi
• 5: Preventive Conservation
• 13: Valuing Collections
• 18: Caring for Māori Textiles
• 24: Caring for Textiles and Clothing
• 26: Condition Reporting

• ‘Artcare: The Care of Art and Artefacts in New Zealand’
• Auckland Art Gallery
• Adaptable toolkit which might be used on a regional basis in a variety of collaborative projects to identify items of national significance within collections held by small cultural institutions in New Zealand
• National Library of New Zealand
• Introduction to caring for, handling and storing documentary heritage materials, including letters, diaries, photos, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, certificates and sound recordings.
• National Preservation Office (National Library of New Zealand)
• Intellectual Property Guide for Māori Organisations and Communities
• Te Mana Taumaru Mātauranga

1.6 Tenure of museum premises

Objective: A secure, long-term future for housing the collections and taonga, ensures that they can be displayed or stored immediately and that any future moves are planned for.

Sometimes a heritage building seems an obvious choice for a museum or gallery. Its historic significance seems compatible with the nature of a museum or it offers much needed space for a gallery. However, it’s important to consider the pros and cons before you start.

• Fact sheets covering topics such as Access and Storage Advice.
  • Museum and Galleries New South Wales (Australia)
• Sample policy for the collection, management, and care of museum property (Museum Property Handbook, Volume I & II: Preservation and Protection of Museum Property & Documentation of Museum Property)
  • United States Department of the Interior

1.7 Museum management

Objective: Museum resources are managed according to established policies, regular procedures and reporting mechanisms.

• Museums Aotearoa Code of Ethics
• Museums Aotearoa
• TEMPLATES A repository for documentation and other templates to be stored and shared between museums professionals and other staff
• MuseDocs (Yahoo museums fora - free registration)
• TEMPLATES Sample RPF documents relating to exhibition developments (RFP Issue, Spring 2007)
  • N.A.M.E - National Association for Museum Exhibition (United States) - Scroll down to Spring 2007 issue
• Information on employment matters including checklist for developing job descriptions 
• Department of Labour
• Resources, training, advice and tools for community organisations
• Our Community (Australia)
• Tools and resources to build nonprofits' ability to plan and evaluate their own programs. Free registration.
  • Innovation Network, Point K (United States)

1.8 Administrative records

Objective: Current and recent reports, accounts, correspondence, legal documents and personnel records can be readily located for the purposes of accountability, legislative requirements and day to day operations.

• Organising your records, filing system and keeping information safe and private
  • CommunityNet Aotearoa

     

1.9 Forward planning

Objective: The museum has a clear, agreed direction and focus for its work in current and future years and is prepared to meet future opportunities and threats.

• He Rauemi Resource Guide - National Services Te Paerangi
• 14: Developing a strategic plan
• 19: Developing a marketing plan
• Key Tourism Statistics
• Ministry of Economic Development (NZ)
• E-strategy guide website designed to help your non-profit organisation create its own useful presence on the web and make the most of ICT (information and communications technology)
• Australian Government, The Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (Australia)
• The Learning For Sustainability website include topics on capacity building, networking, dialogue and evaluation. A separate section links to key manuals and guides on the Internet for facilitating participation and engagement.
• Learning for Sustainability
• Tourism with Integrity - best practice strategies for cultural and heritage organisations in the tourism sector
• Collections Australia Network (Australia)