Understanding the baseline for technology and innovation capacity within art museums
As Director of Arts + Technology Innovation at Knight Foundation, I led efforts to dig deep into what it really takes for museums to build digital readiness. The report, Digital Readiness and Innovation in Museums, surveyed nearly 500 museums across the U.S., shining a light on digital strengths and—more often—gaps.
As an internal subject matter expert, I worked closely with Knight Foundation's research team to initiate research projects that would both inform our grantmaking and aid the field's development. Working closely with researchers at HG&Co. and Eight Bridges, I advised the research teams on lines of inquiry that could help us build an understanding of the state-of-art and the efficacy of Knight Foundation's funding.
Many institutions, especially smaller ones, are just scraping by with minimal digital staffing and strategies that are either fragmented or non-existent. About half have no cohesive digital plan, and projects often live in isolated departments without a big-picture vision. This report makes it clear that museums need to shift from “shiny objects” approach to tech to strategic, mission-aligned digital planning if they want to stay resilient and connected to today's audiences.
A later report, Transformation: An Assessment of Grants Supporting Digital Staff in Museums, takes a closer look at Knight's grants for digital-focused staff at eight museums. This study reveals how a well-placed digital hire can be a game-changer, but it also highlights challenges—like finding the budget to pay competitive tech salaries and fitting these roles into existing structures. These digital hires helped launch new audience-centered projects, but progress was often hampered by outdated tech setups and limited funding. Still, these new roles sparked teamwork across departments and nudged each museum a little closer to being truly digital-ready.
Together, these reports are valuable for the museum world, laying out both a snapshot of where museums are at and ideas for where they could go. Ultimately, these studies tell museums that digital transformation isn't just about cool tech projects; it's about embedding digital in the DNA of the organization to truly connect with audiences and future-proof their work. The findings map out a realistic, step-by-step approach for museums to embrace digital, not just as an add-on, but as a core part of their mission.
