Mission Matters sheds a fresh light on how to envision relevant and
impactful museums. Anderson takes the understanding of mission relevance
to a new level. The premise of the book reflects external contemporary
realities and the need for museums to better position themselves as
leaders and change agents in the greater landscape and diversity of
people.. Anderson illustrates her points with numerous examples from the
US and around the world. Features include essays by David Fleming from
the UK who tackles the importance of mission and social issues, and
Charmaine Jefferson who frames the complexities of cultural competence
in the 21st century. Twenty museum leaders each share their
institution's story of transformative change informed by reframing their
mission. Anderson's methodology for the book, the Mission Alignment
Framework, helps reference the thinking about missions and the
subsequent changes within museums as they redirect their work. Eighty US
and international mission statements reveal the range of museums
disciplines and demographics from urban and rural, and styles of mission
all illustrating relevance to their unique settings, institutional
capacity, resources, and purpose. Complementing these examples are
guidelines about how to rethink mission, a questioning strategy based on
the Mission Alignment Framework, and, a range of useful tools from
museums and leading thinkers in the field. Mission Matters is useful to
a wide range of readers and users from trustees to directors to staff
from a wide range of museums regardless of size and stage of development
and maturity. The book is an easily accessible reference for strategic
planning, conversations about relevance and missions, and museums
considering the reinvention of their museum for greater impact.
