Can Qualitative Situational Analysis Help to Improve the Formal Museum Assessment?

Introduction: The formal museum assessment (FMA) is a process that confirms compliance with specific standards and quality criteria. Many countries and regions have their own FMA approaches (UK Museum Accreditation Scheme, US Accreditation and Excellence Programs, Dutch Museum Standard, and more). This presents an opportunity for comparative analysis. In this context we pose the question: are some approaches better than others and if so, in what respect? More modestly, we ask: what typologies and categories of FMA can be established based on an identified set of characteristics?

Goals and Methods: To answer the above questions, we develop a bespoke qualitative methodology approach which consists of desk research, interviews and Situational Analysis (SA). SA is a method of qualitative analysis and visual mapping developed by Adele E. Clarke and colleagues which aids the processing of qualitative information through a form of cartographic (mapping) analysis. In this paper, using the material from our desk research and interviews, we create three kinds of maps to help us understand the characteristics of different FMA approaches.

Results: Analysing the FMA solutions from different countries using the bespoke methodology outlined above, we distinguish a number of characteristics relevant to the categorisation of FMA models and propose a preliminary typology. 

Conclusions. FMA aims to professionalise operations, build public trust and foster institutional growth, though approaches vary across countries and regions. While the diversity of these systems no doubt reflects the differences in the FMA implementation contexts, there is a need for comparison to understand what does not work, colloquially speaking. We propose a methodology to develop a comprehensive framework to classify and compare FMA approaches. This is recognising that international collaboration on best practices could help museums adapt to evolving sector challenges.