The utah arts council will address gaps in professional development opportunities and technical assistance for museum professionals implementing an imls-funded museum social impact toolkit

The Utah Division of Arts and Museums received a $1,112,284 Project Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the National Leadership Grants (CFDA 45.312) program. The purpose of the grant is to address gaps in professional development and technical assistance for museum professionals implementing the IMLS-funded Museum Social Impact Toolkit. The project, conducted in partnership with the American Alliance of Museums, involves recruiting 30 museums, providing training on using the toolkit, hosting focus groups and in-person meetings, and developing formative and summative evaluations. The goal is to help museums of all sizes better measure their social impact, connect with peers, and advocate for their organizations based on the findings. The grant will support a project manager and external evaluation consultant to carry out these activities. This initiative aims to build a community of practice to assist museums in making sense of and using social impact data to strengthen their services for the American public.

In partnership with the american alliance of museums, the museum team will use their experience gathering and analyzing museum social impact measurements to build a community of practice centered around supporting museums of all sizes and types to make sense of and use this data. This project will support a project manager and external evaluation consultant, who in collaboration with the team, will recruit 30 museums, providing training for using the toolkit, host focus groups and in-person meetings, and develop formative and summative evaluations. As a result, museums of all sizes will be better able to measure their own social impact, connect with their peers in the field conducting similar work, and advocate for their organizations based on their findings.