The Future of GLAMS – Emerging Strategic Perspectives

There’s too much uncertainty about the futures of Canada’s galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (GLAMS).  While they have a firm grip on the past, they’ve been overtaken by events around them and can’t look forward with confidence.  

As a young country comes of age, heritage assets grow in scale and relevance.  The cumulative knowledge offered by GLAMS helps society recall the historical anchor points of current trends and future directions.  This process can only accelerate with each passing generation.

However, support hasn’t kept pace with the growth and role of GLAMS and other heritage organizations.  Business models are slow to adapt despite radical change in cultural consumption habits and a digital media revolution.  The exceptions prove the rule.

NetGain Partners has been busy in this field, studying and counselling individual clients in the context of other organizations in other places.  Clients have included Aboriginal heritage organizations in Ontario, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia, botanical heritage in Newfoundland, national museums or archives in contemporary art and dance, a local architectural conservancy, a municipal government heritage department, and a music heritage organization in Toronto.

Each of these unique organizations stand out in relief against a backdrop of reported research findings, policy and program analyses, and economic impact papers, all proclaiming GLAMS as essential services while decrying resource constraints and reduced attendance.  A global pandemic temporarily masked the causes of this decline while amplifying its effects, occasioning another flurry of government and academic study, resulting in a round of mitigating policies and programs.  

Based on privileged insights, gained over long practice, NetGain has observed patterns that pertain to management practices of individual organizations in an operating environment of accelerated change.  By focusing on some different metrics, our analyses sometimes lead to surprising conclusions and the possibility of better outcomes.  Achievement of these outcomes requires more strategic latitude than most of these charitable organizations can contemplate under the stress of current conditions, yet some unconventional thinking is obviously needed to break the patterns that imperil the essential service that GLAM’s strive to provide.

NetGain is happy to share what it knows, but always wants to learn more. Be on the lookout for more insights into GLAMS and other types of memory institutions.