Lisa:

AAM offers a series of self-assessment programs: MAP I,II, III, and IV that are all available and useful for small and larger museums. Each MAP program involves an outside assessor or team of assessors in addition to a self-assessment by the museum. It really depends on what you want to assess--overall operations, collections management practices, governance, etc. See full descriptions at http://www.aam-us.org/museumresources/map/index.cfm.

Another useful self-assessment tool is a starting point/guide to strategic planning. A strong strategic plan can/should provide benchmarks to measure success in the self-assessment process. I've used this one will small and mid-sized museums and it has been very effective:

The Drucker Foundation Self-Assessment Tool Process Guide by Gary Stern; John Wiley & Sons, 1998.

Hope this helps.

Jean Svadlenak
Consultant to Museums
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-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Lisa Renken
Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2007 2:20 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Self Assessment Tool for small museums

Hello All,

Does anyone know of what is referred to in the nonprofit literature as a “Self-Assessment Tool” specifically geared towards small museums? In between our regular full-blown financial audit that is conducted every x years by a CPA, we would like to do a less formal annual “self assessment” that involves outside persons, though not CPAs. So far, I have only found “full blown audits” involving CPAs on the AAM website. I have not found anything on the AASLH website or that of my regional association. There are “self assessment tools” for non-profits out there, just not specifically tailored for Museums. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Lisa Renken, Ph.D

Director

Lompoc Museum
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