The naperville heritage society will provide professional training for staff to support enhanced public visitor experiences and educational programming

The Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded the Naperville Heritage Society $729,125 on September 1, 2026, under the Museums for America program (CFDA 45.301) to deliver professional staff training and organizational capacity-building activities.

The Society will engage staff in hands-on workshops with an external facilitator to develop competencies in audience research, data collection and analysis, cross-departmental collaboration, and program design responsive to visitor needs. Staff will receive mentorship, research guidance, and evaluation support. The project includes testing small-scale pilot initiatives aimed at increasing visitor engagement and workforce empowerment, with the goal of producing a replicable model for organizational learning. Deliverables include a stronger, more capable workforce equipped to design, deliver, and evaluate audience-centered experiences.

Work is performed at Naperville, Illinois, with a period of performance from September 1, 2026, through December 31, 2028. The Museums for America program supports museums in project-based efforts serving the public through educational programs, community partnerships, and professional development activities that address strategic institutional goals and generate measurable results.

Staff will engage in hands-on workshops with an external facilitator to provide staff training, mentorship, research guidance, and evaluation support. Staff will increase capacity to collect and analyze audience data, improve cross-departmental collaboration, and expand their ability to create programs and communications that respond directly to visitor motivations and needs. Staff will test small-scale pilot initiatives aimed at increasing visitor engagement, supporting collaboration across departments, and producing a replicable model for workforce empowerment and organizational learning. The project will result in a stronger, more confident, and more capable workforce that is fully equipped to design, deliver, and evaluate audience-centered experiences.