Center for the Future of Museums
AAM’s Center for the Future of Museums (CFM) engages in research and forecasting to help museums explore the cultural, political, and economic challenges facing society and devise strategies to shape a better tomorrow.
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Dispatches from the Future of Museums
Dispatches shares summaries of recent news stories illuminating trends and events shaping society, technology, economics, the environment, and policy today. Fuel your museum’s strategic foresight by thinking about the implications of these “signals,” and the kinds of future they might create.
As of January 2026, Dispatches is published online rather than being delivered as a dedicated newsletter. Existing AAM newsletter subscribers will still receive Dispatches updates and content from CFM in their new weekly newsletter. Learn more about this transition.
» Read Dispatches and learn more in our FAQs about getting updates to your inbox from CFM!
2026 Forecasting Report
TrendsWatch: Questioning Assumptions
This year’s TrendsWatch report, available first to AAM members in the January-February 2026 issue of Museum, looks at the trends having a profound impact on museums operations: building support in a philanthropic future, developing the next museum leaders, and navigating questions about the security of the nonprofit sector. The report offers suggestions, rooted in real-world practice, for how museums might respond to these challenges.
Access past TrendsWatch Reports.
Join the Future of Museums Community on Museum Junction!
Swap ideas with fellow futures-minded museum colleagues, share news stories you’ve found that illuminate trends and events, and keep up with the latest news from the Center for the Future of Museums
AAM’s Museum Junction, our online hub of over 70,000 museum professionals, has a specific community for those working in museum finance to connect, share ideas, and swap advice with peers across the field.
More from the Center for the Future of Museums
The Center for the Future of Museums, in collaboration with our community, works to:
- Monitor cultural, technological, political, and economic trends that matter to museums
- Equip museums to help their communities address future challenges
- Build strong connections among museums and educational, corporate, civic, nonprofit, and government organizations
Learn more about how you can sharpen your strategic foresight skills with the resources and opportunities below.
Bring the Future to Your Museum or Conference
The Center for the Future of Museums’ founder and director Elizabeth Merritt is available for a limited number of engagements each year. For more information about booking Elizabeth and other AAM staff, read about our current areas of focus for lectures and workshops.
Hone Your Strategic Foresight Skills
Enhanced with worksheets, slide presentations, and games, the AAM Strategic Foresight Toolkit can help you build your foresight skills. Organizations can use this toolkit to train staff in the essential tools of futurism and integrate foresight into planning and operations.
Exploring the Next Horizon of Museum Practice
Voluntary Repatriation, Restitution, and Reparations
This project explores how museums might build better and stronger relationships with descendant communities. Download the project’s inaugural report, documenting recent trends in museum practice, as well as fifteen papers by diverse authors exploring preferable futures.
Made possible with the generous support of the David Berg Foundation.
Become an AAM Member Today!
Instantly access hundreds of resources on the future of museums, plus thousands more on topics from education to strategic planning when you become an individual or museum member.
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