Treasuring and Measuring – Evidence from Community Stakeholders

Title: TREASURING AND MEASURING – EVIDENCE FROM COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS
A case study of a New Zealand museum.

Abstract:
Most museum accountability reporting only rarely addresses the aspects of museums which
matter most to museums’ key constituencies This seminar presents findings from a study
involving focus groups with a range of museum stakeholders to create statements for
potential performance assessment based on Public Value criteria. A concept mapping and
sorting process revealed multiple perspectives on the phenomenon of the ‘effectively
performing museum’. The findings suggest dimensions of museum performance that can be
used as an integrated framework for museum performance assessment meaningful to and
authorized by local communities, and directions for future research.

Biography:
Jane Legget joined AUT in 2008, where she is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Hospitality
and Tourism and serves as Associate Director (Cultural Heritage) at the New Zealand Tourism
Research Institute. Her museum career has taken her from Britain to New Zealand via the
USA and Canada, as curator, collection manager, project manager, museum studies lecturer,
consultant, and assessor. Most recently she was Te Papa’s Museums Development Officer for
the North Island. Dr Legget undertook the initial development of the New Zealand Museums
Standards Scheme and currently edits Te Ara – Journal of Museums Aotearoa. She is a Fellow
of the Museums Association of Great Britain.