On Thu, 3 Jul 1997 09:34:26 -0400, Ross Weeks <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

*SNIP*
>The year following, evidently for political reasons or
>because of disagreements, its ownership and its staff were turned over to a
>non-profit corporation.  The county instead granted the non-profit the same
>amount of money it had spent to run the museum itself, but staff lost
>government fringe benefits.  Fifteen years later, we are largely on our
>own, with a small annual county grant.  I see this kind of transfer as more
>than privatization -- from a government point of view, it means getting rid
>of the museum.

After they got rid of the museum, did you notice if the county still
wanted to control the Museum's activities, message, or role in the
county? If you put on an exhibit, say, that county politicians
disagreed with, how do you think they would react? I find this a very
interesting issue--if governments withdraw support from museums they
started, do they still expect to get the benefits? Are they even aware
of the benefits?
Anyway, congrats on making it on your own.
(BTW, I hope you've reinstated those employee benefits under your new
structure :-)  )
                                                          Doug
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Doug Hoy              Evaluation           National Museum of
[log in to unmask]              &              Science & Technology
(613)998-6863v         Research       P.O.Box 9724, Station T
(613)990-3654f                          Ottawa K1G 5A3 CANADA
**Opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by the NMSTC**
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