Recognized Museum Program FAQ
Eligibility
Question: How do I know
if my institution is eligible to participate in the Recognized
Museum Program (RMP)?
Answer: There are four eligibility
requirements institutions must fulfill to participate in RMP:
- Be an Institutional Member in good standing with the Alberta
Museums Association (AMA);
- Be open to the public a minimum of 200 hours a year;
- Be a non-profit making institution; and
- Have or use a tangible collection.
The first section of the Institutional Profile screens for these
four requirements. You can also find content related specifically
to eligibility here.
Process
Question: My institution meets all the
eligibility requirements, what do we do next?
Answer: The first thing all institutions
submit is the Institutional
Profile, which must be completed in advance of submitting
an Application or Reapplication. Next, submit the Application,
Reapplication, or Reapplication with Leader Application
(deadline, November 30, annually) as is appropriate for your
institution.
Question: How do I know if my institution
should submit an Application or a Reapplication?
Answer: If your institution is not a current
Recognized Museum, follow the Application process. If your
institution is a current Recognized Museum, follow the
Reapplication process.
Question: My
institution is a Recognized Museum, how do I know if the
Reapplication or Reapplication with Leader Application is the best
option?
Answer: The
Reapplication
is the condensed application to maintain your Recognized
Museum designation for another five years. If your institution
wants to maintain its Recognized Museum designation, the
Reapplication is the route to take.
The Reapplication
with Leader Application is intended for
institutions that want to model a leadership role among Recognized
Museums. It includes eight pieces of Evidence in addition to the
ten pieces of Core Evidence in the Reapplication. The additional
Evidence demonstrates how your institution is a leader in the
Alberta museum community. While the Reapplication with Leader
Application is more work than the standard Reapplication,
successful institutions attain designation as Recognized Museum
Leader for eight years.
Question: Who determines
if the Evidence meets the Minimum Requirements and best practice
standards?
Answer: A Review
Panel consisting of three AMA Individual Members in good standing
assess the Evidence and determines what status to designate each
institution. The Review Panellists are familiar with RMP and best
practice standards, and must have at least four years experience
working in the museum sector. More information about the Review
Panels is available here.
Question: What
designations can my institution receive from the Review
Panel?
Answer: The
designations for Applications and Reapplications are Recognized
Museum, Conditionally Recognized Museum, and Candidate in
RMP.
The designations for Reapplication with Leader
Applications are Recognized Museum Leader, Conditionally Recognized
Museum Leader, Candidate Leader in RMP.
The full breakdown of the process and designations is
available here
.
Question: What resources
will help us go through the application or reapplication
process?
Answer: The
Standard Practices Handbook for Museums, 3rd
Edition and HELP! An Emergency
Preparedness Manual for Museums, 2nd
Edition are invaluable resources for any institution
participating in RMP. The Minimum Requirements and Standards for
the Program come from these two publications, and the Review Panels
use them as references when assessing Evidence. It is important to
use the most up to date version of both publications. Both
publications are available for purchase through the AMA's
Bookstore. There is also a fillable
workbook for the Application
, Reapplication
, and Leader
Application. These will help your institution collect and
prepare all required evidence in advance of submitting.
Institutional Profile
Question: When is the
Institutional Profile due?
Answer:
The Institutional Profile must be completed in advance of
submitting an Application or Reapplication.
Question: Is
there a workbook for the Institutional Profile?
Answer: No there is
no workbook. The information you submit in the Institutional
Profile provides the Review Panel with an overview of your
institution so they can better understand and assess your
Application or Reapplication. Instead of a workbook, there is
a PDF of
questions in the Institutional Profile so you can gather the
required information before completing the
form.
Question: My institution
is already a Recognized Museum. Do I still need to complete the
Institutional Profile before reapplying?
Answer: Yes. The
Institutional Profile provides the AMA and the Review Panel with
the most up to date information about your institution. Completing
the Institutional Profile helps you prepare for your Reapplication
and helps the AMA to assist institutions that have undergone
significant change in the past five years.
Question: How long will
it take to complete the Institutional Profile?
Answer: This
depends on how much of the required information you have on hand
when you complete the form. While every institution is different,
for most it will take an average of approximately 30-60 minutes to
complete the Institutional Profile.
The questions in the Institutional Profile are
available for reference here.
Question: I am not sure
how to answer some of the questions in the Institutional Profile.
Where can I get assistance?
Answer: The Program
Lead is happy to answer any questions you have throughout the
application process. They can be reached
at recognized@museums.ab.ca
or 780.424.2626.
Application
Question: What is the deadline to submit
an Application?
Answer: The deadline for Applications is
November 30, annually. Click here to see a full breakdown of the
application process.
Question: Can I get feedback on evidence
before submitting?
Answer: Yes. The AMA offers Draft Review on
any evidence submitted by September 15. Draft Review is submitted
online using the same form you will use for the Application /
Reapplication / Reapplication with Leader Application. To receive
feedback, indicate in the first question that you are submitting
the evidence for Draft Review.
Remember, with Draft Review you do not have to submit all of the
evidence but it is encouraged to submit as much as possible in
order to receive the most thorough feedback.
Question: How many pieces of Evidence are
required for the Application?
Answer: There are fifteen pieces of Evidence
in the Application. Ten pieces are Core Evidence - evidence
submitted by all participants in RMP - and five additional pieces
that support the Core Evidence.
The full breakdown of required evidence is available here.
Question: My institution does not have all the
evidence asked for in the Application. Can I still submit?
Answer: Yes. Institutions that do not have
all the evidence are still encouraged to participate in the
Program. However, an Application that does not include all the
evidence will likely be designated a Candidate in RMP. Candidates
in RMP have up to three years to resubmit evidence and have access
to additional AMA resources as members of the Program. This
includes limited access to the AMA Grants Program.
Question: Can I save my work on the
Application and come back to it later?
Answer: Yes. Formstack allows you to save
and resume working on your Application for up to 30 days. For more
information, please refer to How To Use Formstack document
found here.
We recommend that you compile all of your information using the
workbook prior to beginning the online Application.
Reapplication
Question: What is the deadline to submit a
Reapplication?
Answer: The deadline for Reapplications is
November 30, annually. Click here to see a full
breakdown of the application process.
Question: Can I get feedback on evidence before
submitting?
Answer: Yes. The AMA offers Draft Review on
any evidence submitted by September 15. Draft Review is submitted
online using the same form you will use for the Reapplication. To
receive feedback, indicate in the first question that you are
submitting the evidence for Draft Review.
Remember, with Draft Review you do not have to submit all of the
evidence but it is encouraged to submit as much as possible in
order to receive the most thorough feedback.
Question: How many pieces of evidence are
required for the Reapplication?
Answer: There are ten pieces of Evidence in
the Reapplication. All ten pieces are Core Evidence - evidence
submitted by all participants in RMP. If your institution indicated
it changed collections management systems in the past five years,
two additional pieces of evidence are required: Section 5.2 Page
from Accession Register and Section 7.2 Three Catalogue
Records.
The full breakdown of required evidence is available here.
Question: My institution does not have all
the evidence asked for in the Reapplication. Can I still
submit?
Answer: Yes. Institutions that do not have
all the evidence are still encouraged to participate in the
program. However, a Reapplication that does not include all the
evidence will likely be designated a Candidate in RMP. Candidates
in RMP have up to three years to resubmit evidence and have access
to additional AMA resources as members of the program. This
includes limited access to the AMA Grants.
Question: Can I save my work on the
Reapplication and come back to it later?
Answer: Yes. Formstack allows you to save
and resume working on your Reapplication for up to 30 days. For
more information, please refer to How To Use Formstack document
found here.
We recommend that you compile all of your information using the
workbook prior to beginning the online Reapplication.
Reapplication with Leader Application
Question: What is the deadline to submit a
Reapplication with Leader Application?
Answer: The deadline for Reapplication with
Leader Applications is November 30, annually. Click here to see a full
breakdown of the application process.
Question: Can I get feedback on evidence
before submitting?
Answer: Yes. The AMA offers Draft Review on
any evidence submitted by September 15. Draft Review is submitted
online using the same form you will use for the reapplication. To
receive feedback, indicate in the first question that you are
submitting the evidence for Draft Review.
Remember, with Draft Review you do not have to submit all of the
evidence but it is encouraged to submit as much as possible in
order to receive the most thorough feedback.
Question: How many pieces of evidence are
required for the Reapplication with Leader Application?
Answer: There are eighteen pieces of
Evidence in the Reapplication with Leader Application. Ten pieces
are Core Evidence - evidence submitted by all participants in RMP -
and eight are additional pieces of evidence that demonstrate
leadership in best practice for museums.
The full breakdown of required evidence is available here.
Question: My institution does not have all
the evidence asked for in the Reapplication with Leader
Application. Can I still submit?
Answer: Yes. Institutions that do not have
all the evidence are still encouraged to participate in the
program. However, a Reapplication with Leader Application that does
not include all the evidence will likely be designated a Candidate
Leader in RMP. Candidate Leaders in RMP have up to three years to
resubmit evidence and have access to additional AMA resources as
members of the program. This includes limited access to the AMA
Grants Program that fund projects to help fulfill your RMP
requirements.
Question: Can I save my work on the
Reapplication with Leader Application and come back to it
later?
Answer: Yes. Formstack allows you to save and
resume working on your Reapplication with Leader Application for up
to 30 days. For more information, please refer to How To Use
Formstack document found here.
We recommend that you compile all of your information using the
workbook prior to beginning the online Reapplication.
Further Questions
If you have further questions, please contact the Recognized
Museum Program Lead at recognized@museums.ab.ca
or 780.424.2626.