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Revisiting the Future of Museums in the New Gilded Age
I recently reread a 2011 post by my former colleague Erik Ledbetter on the effect the “New Gilded Age” may have on museums. He wrote “The decline of the middle class and the reemergence of a true American plutocracy will … -
Futurist Friday: Economic “Ifs”
The Economist just released the 2015 edition of “The World If“– a companion to their annual compilation of predictions. I’m working through it today, and you can, too.The editors pose one of my favorite questions: … -
The Sustainability “Myth”
Here’s something I’ve been wondering about: are social service and cultural nonprofits really the same species? Sure, we’re united by our 501(c)3 tax-exempt status, but beyond that, what’s our family resemblance, and is it … -
More on the Wacky World of Museum Economics
“Food should be more expensive.” That’s a core message of the locavore/sustainable food movement, and it doesn’t resonate so well with most folks. It sounds ridiculous on the face of it—who wants to pay more for food? But proponents of … -
Lost Pleasures
“If you resolve to give up smoking, drinking and loving, you don’t actually live longer; it just seems longer.” –Clement Freud There was an interesting bit of math tucked into the calorie count regulations released by the FDA late … -
What’s a Good CEO Worth?
This is part three in an ongoing series of essays sharing my thoughts on museum economics, training and compensation. Catch up with parts one (The Museum Sacrifice Measure) and two (What is the Fair Market Value of a Museum Job). I had … -
You Go First
“We’re right on the edge but we need a little push Dancing on the tightrope wearing it thin Instead of closing our eyes and jumping in” –Jessica Andrews Sometime change is painful. Very painful. Giving up … -
Monday Musing: Looking to Hawaii for the Distributed Future
Futurist William Gibson observed “the future is already here, it’s just not very evenly distributed.” In CFM’s report “Tomorrow in theGolden State” we looked to California for glimpses of the unevenly distributed future of demographic … -
Revisiting the Borgias
This Throwback Thursday post revisits an issue I touched on back at the beginning of the financial crisis, in 2009: how the decline in traditional funding sources and the increasing inequality of wealth in American are shaping the behavior … -
Dark Futures: Nonprofit Fragmentation
I wanted to start the year on a positive note, I really did. But I find myself writing about a middle-of-the-night worry, instead.What gave me nightmares? Not a bad dinner, unfortunately, but a steady diet of sobering news. I spent most of …
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Tracking Trust in Museums: 2026 Update
Category:
Alliance Blog
This visual Data Story is based on findings from the 2025 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers, …
Mining the National Archives: New Exhibition Sparks Personalized Discovery with AI
Category:
Center for the Future of Museums Blog
CFM’s summer dive into artificial intelligence has included scenarios of potential …
From Fragmentation to Alignment: Project Management in Museums
Category:
On-Demand Programs
Project management in museums is often misunderstood as task tracking or administrative …