WMA & Regional Museum Associations Announce the Digital Empowerment Pilot Project
The Institute of Museum and Library Services recently announced a National Leadership Grant for Museums award of $259,920 for the Digital Empowerment - Technology and Digital Media Training for Small Museums project, a new collaborative, field-wide capacity-building effort. This pilot project will help small museums access best practices and build capacity in a range of museum technology and digital media subjects—from collections digitization to website and education resource development and discoverability to virtual engagement strategies—at no cost.
The Digital Empowerment Project will be led and managed by the Association of Midwest Museums (AMM) and will bring together the other five U.S. regional associations as collaborative partners: Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums (MAAM), Mountain-Plains Museums Association (MPMA), New England Museum Association (NEMA), Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC), and Western Museums Association (WMA). A technology consultant will offer expert guidance on the project with technology instructors and student technology fellows. This is the first time that this group will embark on a single nationwide action-oriented effort.
“We are thankful for the generous support by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and honored to be working with our fellow regional museum associations to create a small museum specific digital literacy program,” said Jason B. Jones WMA Executive Director. “This grant comes at a time of tremendous need for small museums to develop and strengthen digital media practices, and supports WMA’s continued work to 'change the museum field through collaboration.' It is also a recognition of our leadership and innovative work to build the resilient museum field of the future.”
The Digital Empowerment Project will produce a series of ten digital media and technology modules featuring hands-on, step-by-step training sessions by museum technologists coupled with contextualizing introductory sessions featuring strategies used by peer museum practitioners. All live session recordings and supplementary resource toolkits will be organized in a publicly available Resource Hub website featuring an online community forum supported by student technology fellows.
Read full IMLS announcement HERE.