Executive Summary
2007/8 to 2010/2011
Connecting Cloth, Culture & Art
The Textile Museum of Canada (TMC) engaged in a series of exercises designed to assist staff, Trustees and volunteers establish multi-year priorities to ensure the effective investment of human and financial resources for the period 2007/08-2010/11.
The plan is divided into Centres of Activity representing the key functions at the Museum and enabling staff and Trustees to break down the work of the Museum into working Centres that operate interactively have specific goals and objectives.
Within the plan each Centre of Activity articulates its overriding goal and specifically identifies the activities required to achieve the goal. In addition, each Centre has highlighted both financial and human resources required to achieve the objective as well as an evaluation /measure of success.
Strategic Focus and Objectives:
The strategic planning process identified six key strategic issues:
1. Reposition the Museum by strengthening and increasing the Museum's profile
Strategies:
- Continue to promote new brand image and key messages
- Maximize limited marketing resources towards activities of a scale and nature that return the most significant benefits
- Connect to new audiences and leverage growing customer base with grassroots and direct marketing activity; focus on increasing its capacity in this area
- Broaden our markets and networking potential through effective online promotions; leveraging investments made in the development of TMC online presence
- Expand local street banner program, further increasing general awareness of the Museum for both residents and commuters
- Invest in advertising and promotions to reach greater numbers of out-of-town visitors
- Increase and broaden membership and attendance through comprehensive planning
Back to Top2. Bring Museum's organizational equation into balance
Strategies:
- Engage in inter-departmental revenue-generation planning meetings
- Continue to refine efforts in fundraising, diversifying and increasing sources of contributed revenue from both private and public sources
- Exceed industry standards regarding the amount of income generated in relation to the overall size of the organization through engaged volunteers, operational effectiveness and investments in staff training
- Develop a multi-year, endowment building campaign for 2009-2011
- Brand the Museum Shop as a distinctive retail destination with strong merchandising tied directly to programming, singular offerings of unique works by local artists and craftspeople and highly collectable quality of the cultural objects for sale
- Maintain sector parity and conduct ongoing review of fees charged for admissions and programs; maximize earned revenue potential
3. Strengthen the Museum's role as an education organization through exhibition, programming and other outreach activities
Strategies:
- To develop and sustain the Museum's foundation as an educational institution committed to lifelong learning
- Continue to improve the high standard of delivery in all the Museum's programs
- Work with the other centres to find more ways to increase the Museum's ability to draw participants in for our programs
- Work with development staff to find ways to fund and support the educational programs
- Develop efficiencies in planning and delivery of programs, especially lectures, panels and performances
- Increase opportunities for family-friendly and youth programming
4. Human Resource Strategy
Institution wide Strategies:
- Practice excellence in human resource management and development for both staff and volunteers
- Appreciate that the quality and professional experience reflected in the staff component represents one of the strongest assets of the institution
- Offer fair and competitive compensation; invest in staff travel and professional development
- Strengthen internal relationships
Volunteer Association Strategies:
- Evaluate, develop and implement orientation, training and evaluation programs for our volunteers. Provide incentives for our volunteers through recognition initiatives, special events and programming.
- Liaise and develop partnerships with like institutions and other volunteer organizations
- Increase our revenues in our fundraising activities. Ensure that each of our activities is viable
- Work in partnership with the TMC staff and the Board to guarantee our level of service in the day-to-day operation of the museum.
- Develop effectiveness and efficiencies in the planning and delivery of VA program
Board of Trustees Strategies:
- Revitalize Board - clear roles, strengthen leadership role, attract new members and nurture good relationships, rapport and commitment among Trustees
- Continue to develop a governance framework appropriate to the Museum’s mission, scale, context and human resources
- Support/communicate key Museum messages
5. Renew and enhance Museum's physical plant and visitor services
Strategies:
- Maintain multi-year renewal program to upgrade existing facilities - balanced focus on front-of-house and behind-the-scenes areas
- Partner with inclined groups to foster key programs, new initiatives and special projects
- Maintain and update a capital needs program and plan for the facility
6. A collection strategy
Strategies:
- Refine a collecting strategy for future development of collection - one which incorporates the collection of contemporary textiles as well as the historic and ethnographic
- Develop long term storage upgrade plan to insure collection safety and to properly manage collection storage space
- With photography complete, focus on complete, bilingual documentation of textile collection
- Continue to broaden access to collection through Web site, permanent gallery, and touring exhibitions
