Resilience and Museums

Resilient things

An exploration of things that have turned out to be ‘resilient’London Museums Group, September 2014

‘Resilience’ is...

‘...an organisation’s capacity to anticipate disruption, adapt

to events and create lasting value.’

Resilient things

• What can we learn from different types of thing that have turned out to be resilient?

• Resilient organisations• Resilient creatures

Introducing the 60 longest continually- operating enterprises in the world

Kongo Gumi

• In continuous operation (now as a wholly owned subsidiary) for 1,436 years

• Specialist woodworking & construction firm with expertise in the planning & construction of Buddhist temples

• Family-owned for 36 generations!

Gekkeikan

• One of the oldest & most successful sake brewing companies

• In continuous operation for 370 years

• Attributes its resilience to its location – the region of Kyoto where Gekkeikan is based is protected on 3 sides by mountains, which maintain the temperature at 5⁰C

Characteristics

• All of these long-lasting companies share several characteristics:

• Value - they produce something people need & want

• Prudence - they don’t grow faster than the market demands

• Symbiosis – they exist in a balanced relationship with their community

• Geography – their activity is optimised to their location

• Pride – they take pride in their longevity

• Heritage – they have a sense of cumulative investment & value

Introducing the most resilient organisms in the world

All hail the tardigrade!

• Can survive cold at close to -273 degrees centigrade and heat up to 150 degrees

• Can survive 1000 times greater radiation exposure than humans

• Can withstand pressures up to 6 x the deepest part of the ocean

• Can survive without water for over 100 years by losing 66% of their body mass & entering a cryptobiotic state

Grass!

• Grass is among the most versatile and resilient forms of life on the planet

• Forms of grass survive in every physical environment on Earth

• Grass is incredibly diverse – representing 1000’s of species and mutations

• It has at least 3 different mechanisms for dissemination/distribution

• It is optimised as a food source for a huge variety of animals, which helps it propagate

The common cold

• Adult humans typically catch 2-5 colds per year (children between 6-10)

• The coronaviruses that cause the cold have multiple paths for transmission (contact, aerosol, water-borne)

• In the US, 22-189m schooldays and 150m workdays are lost each year to the common cold, accounting for 40% of absenteeism from work (source: National Institute of Allergy & Infections Diseases)

• It mutates different variations & structures to achieve the same viral purpose

Characteristics

• Resilient organisms use a number of different strategies to achieve their resilience:

• Toughness - they are over-engineered to optimise survival

• Diversity – they actively avoid homogeneity to maximise adaptability

• Pro-activity – they proactively propagate to survive

• Adaptability – they are in a constant process of adaptation

• Dormancy – they can survive drought by reducing activity

Resilient to what?

Resilient to what?

• If resilience is not about resisting disruption, but being optimised to adapt to it, then it is essential to understand what the disruption actually is

• What is the disruption facing your museum (as opposed to museums in general)?

– Changes in Local Authority funding model?– Competition for external funding?– Increased visitor numbers?– Too much stuff?– Lack of clarity/leadership?

• The biggest threats to a museum aren’t always external – they can be to do with internal cultures, behaviours, habits and values

What are the characteristics of a resilient museum?

Resilience in museums

• Which elements of a museum need to be made ‘resilient’ to adapt to changes in the political & financial climate?

• Buildings• Collections• People• Services• Trading activities• Brand• Reputation• Values

RESILIENT

RESILIENT

OPTIMISEDDelivers value

Optimised to location/ situation

Clear about core role/ purpose

Has good governance

Meets standards

RESILIENT

OPTIMISED

NETWORKED

Delivers value

Optimised to location/ situation

Clear about core role/ purpose

Engaged with audience

Connected to profession

Has good governance

Able to access influence

Meets standards

RESILIENT

OPTIMISED

NETWORKED ADAPTABLE

Delivers value

Optimised to location/ situation

Clear about core role/ purpose

Engaged with audience

Connected to profession

Can shrink without dying

Has good governance

Able to access influence

Proactive not passive

Meets standards

Has a positive working culture

Conclusions

• There is (obviously) no single concept called ‘resilience’ and no single means of achieving it

• Resilient organisations tend to operate on the principle of symbiosis – they make things people need, stay close to the community with which they co-exist and avoid over-exploitation of resources

• Being resilient does not mean resisting change – it means being optimised to adapt to and benefit from change

• Nor is it just about surviving a crisis – it means both being able to see crises coming and avert them & turn them to advantage when they do happen

• A key feature of being resilient, therefore, is recognising (i) that change is happening and (ii) how things are changing

Thankyou!

• Find out more about the Collections Trust’s work on resilience and change at http://www.collectionstrust.org.uk/blog

• Book now for our FREE Collections Management Skills Workshops, supported by the Arts Council England http://www.collectionstrust.org.uk/current-events

• Join our LinkedIn Collections Management group (9,600 members and counting!) http://www.linkedin.com (search ‘Collections Management’)

• These slides online at http://www.slideshare.net/collectionstrust