Mission Matters sheds a fresh light on how to envision relevant and impactful museums. Anderson takes the understanding of mission relevance to a new level. The premise of the book makes direct links to external contemporary realities and the need for museums to better position themselves as leaders and change agents in the greater landscape and diversity of people of our times. Anderson illustrates her points with numerous examples from here in the United States and from around the world. Features include thought essays by David Fleming from the UK who tackles the importance of mission and social issues, and Charmaine Jefferson who frames the complexities of cultural competence in the 21st century. Twenty museum leaders each share their institution’s story of transformative change tied to reframing their mission. Anderson’s central tool for the book, the Mission Alignment Framework, helps reference the thinking about missions and the subsequent changes within museums as they redirect their work. Eighty US and international mission statements reveal the range of museums from urban and rural to different types of museums, styles of mission all illustrating relevance in a way unique to their location, institutional capacity, resources, and purpose. Complementing these examples are: guidelines about how to rethink mission; a questioning strategy based on the Mission Alignment Framework; and, a range of useful tools from museums and leading thinkers in the field. Mission Matters is useful to a wide range of readers and users from trustees to directors to staff from a wide range of museums regardless of size and stage of development and maturity. The book is an easily accessible reference for strategic planning, conversations about relevance and missions, and museums considering the reinvention of their museum for greater impact.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Mission Matters Chapter 2: Relevance in the 21st Century Museum Introduction by Gail Anderson Missions and the 21st Century Museum -- A Perspective by David Fleming, Ph.D. Mission Relevance and Cultural Competency: Inescapable Partners for the Future by Charmaine Jefferson Chapter 3: Qualities of a Mission Statement Chapter 4: Mission Alignment Framework Chapter 5: Twenty Perspectives from Museum Leaders Introduction by Gail Anderson Abbe Museum by Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko Anchorage Museum by Julie Decker Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture by Julie Stein, Ph.D. The Contemporary Jewish Museum by Lori Starr The Arquives by Raegan Swanson Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site by Sean Kelley Ka’ala Farm by Kay Fukuda with Eric Enos Minneapolis Institute of Art by Kaywin Feldman with Karleen Gardner National Civil Rights Museum by Terri Lee Freeman National Underground Railroad Freedom Center by Jamie Glavic with Dion Brown North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences by Emlyn Koster, Ph.D. Nevada Art Museum by David B. Walker Oakland Museum of California by Lori Fogarty Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens by Richard V. Piacentini President Lincoln’s Cottage by Erin Carlon Mast San Diego Museum of Man by Micah Parzen, Ph.D., J.D. Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History by Nina Simon Tamástslikt Cultural Institute by Roberta Conner The Wild Center by Stephanie Ratcliffe Chapter 6: US and International Mission Statements Introduction by Gail Anderson U.S. Mission Statements International Mission Statements Chapter 7: Development of a Mission Statement Chapter 8: Mission Matters Toolkit Introduction by Gail Anderson Mission Matrices Institutional Frameworks Theories of Transformational Change Chapter 9: Final Thoughts