Striving for relevance: The social value of museums

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Pubblicato

2023-12-18

Fascicolo

Sezione

The Role of Cultural Heritage in the Green and Digital Transition

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13138/2039-2362/3205

Autori

  • Stefania Oliva Università degli Studi di Firenze
  • Martin Piber Innsbruck University

Abstract

Social value in various patterns is a key objective for museums. Despite the growing interest in the societal relevance of cultural organisations and museums, there is little understanding of the social value and the appropriate way to account for and communicate its key dimensions. This contribution aims to fill this gap by investigating the literature on the value generation of museums – focusing on social value. The article discusses the case study of the Natural History Museums Vienna (NHM) – featured as an institution that especially pays attention to biodiversity issues and environmental concerns. The study relies on a series of interviews with staff members, a document analysis and a participant observation from 2017 to 2023. This approach enables to map the social activities of the museum, to analyse the interactions with key stakeholders and to understand the relevant categories of social value as well as its communication and impact.

 

Generare valore per la società, in diverse forme, è un obiettivo cruciale per le istituzioni museali. Nonostante la letteratura di management delle organizzazioni culturali rilevi un crescente interesse per il tema del valore sociale, c’è ancora poca comprensione di come generare, rendicontare e comunicare le sue dimensioni. Il presente contributo si propone di indagare questo tema analizzando la letteratura sul valore dei musei, con particolare attenzione al valore sociale. L’articolo analizza il caso di studio del Museo di Storia Naturale di Vienna, un’istituzione che presta particolare attenzione ai temi dello sviluppo sostenibile, della conservazione della biodiversità e dell’ambiente. La raccolta dati ha coinvolto un periodo che va dal 2017 al 2023 e si basa su una serie di interviste al personale, ai direttori dei dipartimenti e ai vertici del museo, sull’analisi dei documenti di reportistica e su un periodo di osservazione partecipata. Questo approccio metodologico ha consentito di mappare le attività sociali del museo, di analizzare le interazioni con i principali stakeholder e di comprendere le categorie rilevanti del valore sociale, nonché la relativa comunicazione e l’impatto.

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Come citare

Oliva, S., & Piber, M. (2023). Striving for relevance: The social value of museums. Il Capitale Culturale. Studies on the Value of Cultural Heritage, (28), 105–128. https://doi.org/10.13138/2039-2362/3205

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