Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Strategy
Opportunity
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHMLA) is home to the largest natural and cultural history collection in the western United States. Spanning three locations, it’s an invaluable research institution, cultural fixture for the city, and leader in citizen science. Our work came at an exciting time for the museum: after appointing a new director and completing an extensive renovation of its Exposition Park campus, it was time to update its strategy and branding.
Process
Our aim was to create a strategy that would both serve the NHMLA for the next five years and beyond, but also reflect its values. We ensured that our procedure was as democratic, inclusive, and diverse as possible. To gauge the perceptions of NHMLA domestically and abroad, we conducted interviews with key stakeholders including staff, board members, peer museum directors, local civic leaders, donors, and museumgoers, and took site visits to peer organizations.
Services
- Materials Audit
- Leadership Work Sessions
- Staff & Board Retreat
- Stakeholder Interviews
- Staff Survey
- Site Visits
- Local Comparative Analysis
- Global Benchmark Assessment
- Strategic Framework Development
- Implementation Consultation
- Digital experience designed by
- Blue Cadet:
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Courtesy of NHMLAC
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Our work led us to construct a three-pronged strategic approach: first, to emphasize that NHMLA was “of, for, and with” Los Angeles; second, to emphasize the museum’s role as a member of its community by expanding its programming on urban nature and citizen science; and third, to focus on the backbone of any natural history museum– its research output, its staff, and its collection.
To us, the process was just as important as our end product. We included many voices to celebrate LA’s democratic values, and created a strategy that reflected the museum’s innovative can-do attitude. For NHMLA to become an accessible hub for groundbreaking research and discoveries, we established a new set of values: that the museum should be curious, adventurous, intentional, and inclusive.
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Impact
NHMLA’s new Strategic Framework now serves as the conceptual backbone of all of its work. Several aspects of the strategy have been activated, including expanded programming at its three sites, new research initiatives to gain a more complex understanding of its audience, and a planned redevelopment of Exposition Park’s southwest corner (including increased visitor access to objects and a “front porch” space to serve as a community commons). In working with NHMLA, our aim was to guide the Natural History Museum typology towards a future-focused model of what natural history can be and how an evaluative strategic process can make these museums more connected and up-to-date.
