What seems to be emerging as the standard model of new legal consitution
for major institutions under the French Ministry of Culture, staff
representation at Board level (as full voting members) seems to be
emerging as the norm.  Various forms of the model are for example seen in
the laws reforming the structure and management of the Centre Pompidou,
Musee d'Orsay, Grand Louvre, Paris Opera, Cite de la Musique etc.

In the case of the Etablissement Publique du Louvre, under the law of
December 1991 there is now a President-Directeur-General (PDG) (along the
French commercial organisation model) who must be a qualified State
Curator, and who serves as both President of the Board and
operational Director of the Museum.  The holders of certain named senior
professional posts are also ex officio on the Board, as are about four
staff members of any grade or position, elected in a secret ballot of all
the regular employees (out of a total of about sixteen on the Board -
I do not have the text of the law in from of me just at this moment so i
cannot swear to the exact numbers).  In essence, the Board consists of
roughly four equal blocks - the PDG and other Departmental Heads, the
elected staff representatives, senior Ministry civil servants and cross-
representatives of other cultural organisations etc., and the final
quarter (approx.) are appointed - the sort of top businessmen etc. known
in the UK as "the great and the good" who prdominate on UK or North
American trustee boards.

In addition, the PDG has to govern (?reign!!) jointly with what is called
a "College" consisting of all seven key curatorial heads of department
plus some other senior staff, which has control over what might be termed
to intellectual and ethical "conscience" of the Museum and its operations
(including the temporary exhibition programme, and ethical principles and
assessments concerning the appropriateness or otherwise of the Grand
Louvre's now extremely large-scale commercial activities and tenants.
(There are around 50 shops, 10 catering facilities and four fashion show etc.
halls in the Carrousel du Louvre quasi-commercial development already, and
which will be substantially increased by the completion of all the works
in mid-1997, eg. many of the world's major fashion houses and designers
are expected to take showroom space in what has already become one of the
smartest places in Paris to be seen.)

Patrick Boylan

================================================

On Wed, 10 Apr 1996, Chantal fortier wrote:

> In order to document collaborative union(or staff)-management practices, I
> am looking for museums which have representatives from the staff on their
> boards of trustees. Please specify how they nominated and the nature of the
> museum i.e. private or public (municipal, state, provincial, national).
>
> Thank you.
>
>
> Chantal Fortier
> National Aviation Museum, Ottawa
>