Future Forecasting

Future Chat: Trends in Philanthropy

By American Alliance of Museums

American philanthropy is being reshaped by the economy (who has the capacity to give), culture (what donors care about) and technology (including AI and digital donation platforms). How can museum people prepare for these shifts and …
Future Chat: Covering Your Assets Museum Insurance in a Warming World

By American Alliance of Museums

Across the globe, the insurance market is being reshaped by the escalating claims resulting from climate change. The frequency and severity of wildfires, hurricanes, and flooding are driving up claims. In response, the industry is raising …
EO Impacts and the Next Era of Museum Funding: Part One

By Elizabeth Merritt

Earlier this month I gave a talk at the AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo on the impact presidential executive orders are having on our sector, and the implications for museum business models. Short version: not pretty, some bright …
Revisiting Wild Times: The Loss of Nonprofit Status

By Elizabeth Merritt

In 2018 I published a scenario titled “Wild Times” set in a version of 2040 in which museums lost their nonprofit status due to a combination of political attacks, economic stress, and a global pandemic. At the time, I emphasized its …
Livable Communities for Our Elders

By Elizabeth Merritt

This is an excerpt from TrendsWatch: Museums as Community Infrastructure. The full report is available as a free PDF download. “Ageism is a prejudice against our own future selves and takes root in denial of the fact that we’re going to …
Right-Sizing the World

By Elizabeth Merritt

This excerpt is adapted from TrendsWatch: Museums as Community Infrastructure. The full report is available as a free PDF download. “I don’t know why people feel unhappy when the curve of a graph fails to keep going up, but they do. Even …
When Robots Learn to be Creative, What Happens to Informal Learning

By American Alliance of Museums

The proliferation of AI, particularly Large-Language Models, has rapidly emerged as a transformative force in formal education. This presentation explores the factors driving the increasing influence, accessibility, and impact of …
Sharing Authority with Indigenous Peoples

By American Alliance of Museums

Museums are in the early stages of repairing their relationships with Indigenous communities, learning how to undo some of the harm resulting from traditional museum practices. In this session, we will hear how two museums have …
Effective Strategies for Strengthening Americans’ Democratic Attitudes

By American Alliance of Museums

American democracy is under a significant threat from a concerning number of partisans who tolerate anti-democratic practices endorsed by political elites and/or harboring strong hostility towards members of opposing parties. The …
Trend Alert: Combating the Loneliness Crisis in Museums

By Cecelia Walls

This article originally appeared in Museum magazine’s January/February 2024 issue, a benefit of AAM membership. In May 2023, Dr. Vivek Murthy released Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the …