Manual of Strategic Planning for Cultural Organizations - by Gail Dexter Lord & Kate Markert (Paperback)

About the Book

The Manual of Strategic Planning for Cultural Organizations adopts a revolutionary approach to the world of museums and cultural institutions. By encompassing a broad group of cultural organizations, this whole-career oriented book responds to the 21st-century reality that bou...

Book Synopsis

The Manual of Strategic Planning for Cultural Organizations adopts a revolutionary approach to the world of museums and cultural institutions. By encompassing a broad group of cultural organizations, this whole-career oriented book responds to the 21st-century reality that boundaries are being blurred among institutional types..

Review Quotes

Every cultural institution today is operating in a time of great change and has an obligation to help its constituents and stakeholder understand, adapt to, and in many cases take on leadership roles. Lord and Market have created an inspiring manual on how to meet these challenges through change management and strategic planning. This manual is much more than a 'how to' primer; the cases studies provide deep insights in ways leaders can execute best business practices to efficiency and effectively achieve a shared mission. Philanthropists, board members, and nonprofit leadership will all want to roll up their sleeves and get to work after reading this forward-looking guide."--

Strategic planning is at the heart of every successful business. Museums and cultural institutions are complex organizations. For them, strategic planning is even more vital to both survival and success. Gail Lord and Kate Markert have revised and expanded one of the essential volumes on planning for cultural organizations. From gardens and zoos to art museums and libraries, The Manual of Strategic Planning for Cultural Organizations is a blueprint to be followed. Too often, planning is deferred, replaced with attention to more pressing and immediate needs--which can result in lackluster performance or even failure. With this volume, strategic planning is made accessible and understandable in a straightforward manner. This book is both a 'how-to' guide with great, concise case studies and an essential theoretical overview of the processes, philosophies, and practices that underpin any solid strategic planning effort. I hope it will serve as a guide and encouragement for many to invest in the most important task any cultural organization can make beyond a solid mission: its strategic plan to success.

About the Author

Gail Dexter Lord is co-founder and co-president of Lord Cultural Resources. With Barry Lord, she is co-editor of The Manual of Museum Planning (1991, 1999, 2012), co-author of The Manual of Museum Management (1997 and 2009), and with Kate Markert co-author of the first edition of the Manual of Strategic Planning for Museums (2007). Gail's most recent book is Cities, Museums and Soft Power (co-authored with Ngaire Blankenberg in 2015).

Kate Markert is executive director of Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens in Washington, D.C., where, as the result of a strategic planning process, a special exhibition program and revitalized gardens have spurred a 50 percent increase in attendance over five years and has tripled the membership. She has been director of the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford Connecticut, associate director of the Walters Art Museum, and deputy director and acting director of the Cleveland Museum of Art.