Strategic Innovation and Planning Sessions

About the Strategic Planning Process

In the Summer of 2010 deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum embarked on an exciting new initiative—a Strategic Planning Process. Strategic Planning steers the course of an institution. Through this process deCordova will refine its mission and ensure that the programs and services offered by the institution fulfill that mission. This process will result in a plan that guides deCordova's future based on feedback collected from the Museum's constituents and peer benchmarking institutions, as well as internal assessment and market research.

DeCordova staff would like to thank the many participants who contributed their ideas to this process via ongoing surveys, focus groups, and meetings. More than a thousand individuals shared their input! This invaluable information will be used to help structure deCordova's aspirations and goals for the future.

Recent findings from research conducted as part of the Planning process include expressed wishes for: more activity and world-class artwork in the Sculpture Park; more educational, family-oriented, and interpretive programming; increased opportunities to engage with art and artists; and improved visitor amenities.

In addition to surveys and other outreach efforts, this past winter, over one hundred of deCordova's key stakeholders convened for a Strategic Innovation Session—a day of exploring ideas in the art, museum, nonprofit, and education fields, as presented by a panel of experts.

On the following day, deCordova’s Trustees and Senior Staff convened to begin to translate some of the ideas discussed at the Strategic Innovation Session into the first draft of strategic objectives to be addressed in the Final Strategic Plan.

For more information and videos from the Strategic Innovation and Planning Sessions, please click here.

As Strategic Planning progresses, deCordova will continue the conversation with its visitors, friends, and constituents, and share results from this process in the coming months.

In the meantime, deCordova welcomes additional feedback about its strengths, shortcomings, and opportunities for improvement. Do you have ideas about programming or wish to share a recent experience at deCordova? Please let us know by contacting Strategic Planning Project Manager Victoria Glazomitsky at vglazomitsky@decordova.org or 781.259.3644.

Strategic Innovation Session

On January 7, 2011 more than 100 deCordova stakeholders (members, staff, Trustees and Overseers, donors, artist and arts professionals, nonprofit executives, media members, and others) convened for a Strategic Innovation Session – a day of exploring ideas in the art, museum, nonprofit, and education fields, as framed by a panel of experts in these fields. 

The panelists included:

• Jonathan Binstock, VP of Art Advisory Service, Citigroup, New York, NY
• Elizabeth Dunbar, Former Associate Director & Chief Curator, ArtHouse Austin, TX
• Janet Meredith, Association of Art Museum Directors Marketing Consultant, Denver, CO
• Madeleine Steczynski, Co-founder of ZUMIX, Boston, MA
• Lori Taylor, Project Director, Actors Shakespeare Project, Boston, MA
• Stephen Thomas, Founding Director, Oxbow School, Napa, CA

The day began with brief presentations from each of these experts. Click below to view video of the presentations.

Headphones are recommended for listening to the videos.

Video 1 (50:37)

Video 2 (45:31)

Strategic Planning Session

On January 8, we convened a Strategic Planning Session, a daylong targeted discussion with Trustees and upper level Staff. The goal for the day was to begin the discussion that would lead to a long term strategic vision and articulate key strategic directions needed to achieve that vision. The Session was facilitated by Cambridge Hill Partners, a non-profit consulting firm.

Click below to view a video of a visioning exercise.

Strategic Planning Session (62:05)