Museum Leadership House
Museum Leadership 2030
Year(s): 2025
Description:
The discussion, informed by the Dubai Future Foundation’s Global 50 foresight framework, moved through three stages—future challenges, opportunity fields, and leadership requirements. The sessions identified five priority challenge areas, a set of realistic opportunity spaces, and a Museum Leadership 2030 framework centred on ethical clarity, adaptive capacity, and collective leadership. The report is intended as a strategic reference for boards, directors, funders, and policymakers shaping the next decade of museum governance.Key themes and discussion topics include:
Redefining Leadership in a Disrupted World — examining how the role of museum leaders is changing, what new skills are essential (digital literacy, political agility, emotional intelligence), and how to embrace shared, non-hierarchical models of leadership.
Museums and the Public Mandate: Trust, Activism, and Relevance — exploring how museums can serve the public amid polarization and societal shifts, and what actions they might regret not taking in the next decade.
The Future of Work: AI, Burnout, and Organisational Culture — addressing the impact of automation and AI on museum teams, work culture, and wellbeing, and envisioning the most human-centered museum of the future.
Academic advisory support is provided by the Institute for Digital Culture (University of Leicester), with dissemination support from ICOM INTERCOM.
Output:
The 2025 edition delivered:
A collaboratively developed “Museum Leadership 2030” framework, summarizing key insights and strategies for the next decade of museum leadership.
Actionable foresight scenarios for navigating global disruption, digital transformation, and societal change.
A strengthened intergenerational network of cultural leaders committed to redefining leadership and resilience across the museum sector.
The report of the gathering will be published on November 19th 2025
Rethinking the Role of Museums in Times of Change
Year(s): 2023
Description:
The 2023 edition gathered 25 international museum directors and experts from politics and the digital field in Nice, France, on 16–17 September 2023. The goal of MLH 2023 was to explore how museums can redefine their role in society and develop disruptive, forward-looking strategies in the face of ongoing economic, social, ecological and technological challenges.
Key aspects of the programme included:
Collaborative workshops and discussions focused on sustainable strategies for museum leadership, organisational resilience and future-readiness.
A unique informal format with conversations held throughout a historic house (in the kitchen, living room, and garden) — fostering authentic dialogue without phones, photos, or formal presentations.
Guest contributions by Rob Hopkins (author and co-founder of the Transition Network, UK) and John Falk (author and Director of the Institute of Learning Innovation, USA), who added global perspectives on creativity, innovation, and community relevance.
Cross-sector collaboration among museum leaders, digital strategists, and cultural policymakers from twelve countries and four continents.
The initiative was organised by Museum Booster, in cooperation with the Institute for Digital Culture (University of Leicester) and ICOM INTERCOM, with support from Swarovski Kristallwelten.
Output:
The Nice 2023 edition strengthened MLH’s international network and generated a written summary of strategies and recommended actions for museums, shared within the global museum community. Its outcomes include:
A framework for sustainable development and innovation in the museum sector.
Insights into leadership and digital transformation as tools for resilience and societal relevance.
A continuing global forum for museum directors and experts to co-create future-oriented strategies.
Redefining Digital Transformation in Cultural Institutions
Year(s): 2022
Description:
The Museum Leadership House (MLH) Vienna 2022 was the inaugural gathering of a non-profit platform uniting museum leaders, policymakers, academics, economists, and digital experts from around the world. Its mission was to define the role of museum leadership in times of digital transformation and promote collaborative action to help museums emerge stronger from current crises.
Held in Vienna on 26–27 November 2022, the event brought together international experts for structured discussions at Rosewood Vienna and Hohe Warte 19. The programme included room conversations, presentations, and networking sessions focused on four impact topics:
Meanings — the evolving role of museums in the digital realm
Formats — museum digital content and its uses
Structures — digital transformation through leadership
Issues — emerging challenges and potential solutions
The core team included representatives from Museum Booster, the Institute for Digital Culture (University of Leicester), Europeana, ACMI, One by One, and ICOM. Together, they managed and shaped the platform’s development.
Confirmed MLH members represented leading institutions such as the Science Museum London, Tate, Centre Pompidou, Smithsonian Institution, Oakland Museum of California, Ars Electronica Centre, Biotopia Naturkundemuseum Bayern, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, and others.
Output:
The Vienna 2022 edition of the Museum Leadership House established the foundation for a continuing international platform on museum leadership and digital transformation. It produced:
A global peer network of senior museum professionals and experts
A shared agenda for redefining museum leadership and governance in the digital age
Strategic insights into digital management, institutional agility, and audience relevance
Recommendations and principles guiding future editions and the evolution of the MLH community
Client/Partner:
Museum Booster (initiator) in partnership with Institute for Digital Culture (University of Leicester), Europeana, ACMI, One by One, and ICOM, with participation from global museum and cultural leaders.
