Open Forum

Last fall, 9 museum leaders tested John Falk’s well-being outcomes research with their own stakeholders — ministry officials, foundation boards, and capital campaign prospects. Three of them — Joan Kanigan at Western Development Museum, Richard Cooper at Levine Museum of the New South, and Norman Burns at Conner Prairie — each describe what they tried, what worked, and what they’d tell a peer walking into a similar conversation.

The research gave them new arguments that reached people the traditional economic case didn’t, and the report details how they calibrated the framing across different stakeholder contexts. John wrote about it here: https://share.museumprogress.com/new-arguments-for-museum-value

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Kyle Bowen
Principal, Museums as Progress
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So interesting @Kyle Bowen. Like so many for-profit businesses, evolving to where one's audience, prospects, supporters, etc. are headed is important. I especially liked, "It requires understanding what specific stakeholders actually need to hear, building propositions grounded in the research, and testing them in real conversations - then refining based on what lands. The research provides the foundation. Sustained practice reveals how to make it heard." Thanks for sharing!

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Dan Moyle
Solutions Consultant
Digital Reach Online Solutions
(he/him/his)
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Thanks, Daniel. I agree - and that evolution you're describing is one that all organizations would do well to embrace.

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Kyle Bowen
Principal, Museums as Progress
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-09-2026 01:20 PM
From: Daniel Moyle
Subject: New Arguments for Museum Value

So interesting @Kyle Bowen. Like so many for-profit businesses, evolving to where one's audience, prospects, supporters, etc. are headed is important. I especially liked, "It requires understanding what specific stakeholders actually need to hear, building propositions grounded in the research, and testing them in real conversations - then refining based on what lands. The research provides the foundation. Sustained practice reveals how to make it heard." Thanks for sharing!

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Dan Moyle
Solutions Consultant
Digital Reach Online Solutions
(he/him/his)
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