The national museums of Canada are presently going through a series of what are
known as "special examinations" by our external auditors, the Office of the
Auditor General of Canada. These are not particularly "special"; they are
comprehensive or value for money audits of each of us which OAG is required to
do every five years, pursuant to the financial legislation under which we
operate.

They have finished their grisly task with the National Gallery and ourselves
and are now beavering away over at Science and Tech and Nature.

They are making strong recommendations to develop and set in place formal
performance indicators. Actually, we at CMCC (and probably our cross-town
colleagues, too) have been thinking about this for some time, but haven't done
much yet. I have seen Michael Ames's ideas on this and have also accumulated
material from the Glenbow in Calgary and more from Carol Scott at the
Powerhouse Museum in Sydney and from Historic Houses Trust of NSW. I am aware
that the Western Australian Museum is also looking for material.

One of the problems I have with some of the approaches is that they have so
many indicators that one could spend an inordinate amount of time just
collecting the data. As well, most of these indicators are indicators of
economy or efficiency, when my colleagues and I feel very strongly that we
should have a few simple indicators, which cover all areas of activity, but
which focus, in the main, on effectiveness. The indicators from the Glenbow and
HHT-NSW are much more to our taste. We want very much to develop something that
will help management manage.

How many other heritage institutions out there have gone through or are going
through this process? Could we obtain samples of what you have produced and
some information as to why you went in the direction you did, with respect to
your indicators?

My colleagues and I would be very grateful for any information you could
provide.

Harry Needham
Manager, Audit & Evaluation
Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation
PO Box 3100, Station B
Hull, Quebec
Canada J8X 4H2

(819) 776-7123 (voice)
(819) 776-7122 (fax)
harry.needham(at)cmcc.muse.digital.ca