Museums Have a Persuasion Problem That Better Data Won't Fix

The Translation Problem

Kyle Bowen Museums as Progress

The research is clear. But what do you actually say when you're in the room?

Every museum leader eventually faces the question. A funder asks for ROI. A board member wants "the numbers." A government official needs something defensible for the budget conversation.

Museums generate $500–$1,000 in well-being value per visitor. We have peer-reviewed studies, validated frameworks, compelling data. And yet—the conversation where evidence meets skepticism remains the hard part.

That's the gap this report lives in. Not the research itself, but the moment of translation.

In 2025, six museum executives joined the first Value Articulation Initiative cohort to find out what happens in that moment. They tested approaches with ministries, foundations, boards, internal teams. Some things landed. Others didn't. All of them learned something worth sharing.

This isn't a playbook. It's honest notes from the field—six experiments in progress, shared while the work is still unfolding.

Meet the cohort

Government Stakeholders

Joan Kanigan

CEO/Director, Western Development Museum · Saskatchewan

"As soon as you have a 100% difference in range, the credibility of those numbers didn't quite work so well."

Joan's first presentation to her ministry included well-being outcomes with dollar values attached. The economic metrics landed. The well-being research resonated. But the $1M–$5M range—inherent to the methodology—was jarring to government stakeholders accustomed to precise fiscal projections.

Rather than abandoning the framework, she separated the components. Hard GDP data for economic value. Research-supported outcomes for well-being—without forcing them into dollar signs.

This is exactly what the research predicts. Let outcomes stand on their own merit.

"So now I'm focusing more on the GDP and economic numbers that I can back with really clear data, while the well-being side ties into why the museum is important. I'm just not affixing a dollar value to it anymore."

What Made It Possible

Joan's ability to test and iterate rested on years of relationship building: quarterly check-ins with the assistant deputy minister, proactive communication on internal developments, informal virtual coffees when there wasn't a burning issue. When she shared a draft that didn't land, the relationship could absorb it.

Learning What Lands

I didn't arrive at my current approach in one move. I tested, learned, and adjusted based on what resonated with our ministry stakeholders.

My initial presentation to ministry staff and our board included both traditional economic data—GDP contributions, tourism dollars, employment impact—and well-being outcomes with attached dollar values using the research multipliers.

The economic metrics landed cleanly. The well-being outcomes themselves resonated; our ministry is already focused on demonstrating well-being impact across their portfolio. The disconnect came when dollar values entered the picture.

"I used both the low and high range of the multipliers, which gave me something like $1 million to $5 million. As soon as you have a 100% difference in range, the credibility of those numbers didn't quite work so well."

The Pivot

Rather than abandoning the framework, I separated the components. For economic value, I focused on hard data tied directly to our budget and spending—GDP contributions, labor market impact, tourism dollars. These are numbers that can withstand Treasury Board scrutiny because they're derived from actual institutional financials.

For well-being value, I presented research-supported benefits without dollar translation. The 24 well-being outcomes stand on their own merit. When we conducted our market research, one of our questions asked whether visitors feel a sense of belonging when they come to the museum—60 to 65% said yes.

The Foundation: Relationship Before Research

My ability to test, learn, and iterate with our ministry stakeholders rests on something we didn't explicitly cover in VAI: the relationship infrastructure I've built over years of intentional cultivation.

We have a very good working relationship with our ministry and our minister. We get a lot of support within the constraints they have to live with. We can have really frank conversations—"we don't quite get this, what does this mean?"—without anybody getting upset about it.

This didn't happen by accident. Regular check-ins with our assistant deputy minister quarterly. No surprises—even internal developments get communicated proactively. Informal virtual coffees when there isn't a burning issue. Understanding their constraints. Sharing drafts early.

Advice for Peers

If I were talking to another museum leader about to walk into a similar government stakeholder meeting, I'd say: don't over-inflate things. It's a tendency for us to over-inflate our values sometimes—because we're in it, and this is the most important thing there is. But I don't think that serves anybody any purpose if the reality doesn't match what you're presenting.

Key Takeaways Expand

The one-liner

"Our GDP and employment impact is X. Separately, 65% of visitors report feeling a sense of belonging. Both matter—they measure different things."

Slide approach

Split economic evidence and well-being evidence into separate slides. Never combine dollar figures with well-being multipliers in the same visual.

January 2026

Joan's ministry renewed funding in November. She's presenting to other provincial museums in February on what worked—and meeting with her ministry again to discuss multi-year planning.

Foundation & Capital Campaign

Rich Cooper

CEO, Levine Museum of the New South · Charlotte, NC

"I told them actual value of museums could be $500 to $1,000 per visitor. They did not flinch."

Rich joined Levine during a pivotal moment. The namesake foundation had questions about the partnership's future. His approach: understand what the foundation actually cared about before presenting anything.

He invited their program officer into planning meetings—not as a funder to be courted, but as a partner to be included. When he eventually introduced well-being framing, it landed because it connected to impact conversations they were already having.

His instinct to study funder priorities before presenting was critical.

"The well-being framing shifted the conversation from 'what do you cost?' to 'what do you make possible?'"

Walk the Walk

Rich's caution for other leaders: "If you're going to do this, you really have to do this." At Levine, that meant concrete internal practices—staff sabbaticals, mandatory disconnection time, policies that demonstrate institutional commitment to well-being beyond messaging.

A Foundation Ready to Walk Away

I didn't inherit a stable platform. I walked into a crisis. The Levine Foundation—our namesake—was ready to step away. In December 2023, their board chair delivered a blunt assessment: "You're not ready for a capital campaign." And then: "We're also looking at whether we continue to do this work with you all."

My previous board chair was shaken. He didn't know what to do. I knew exactly what to do. I went back in—without the board chair—and really dove into understanding what the foundation actually cared about.

Listening Before Asking

Leon Levine founded Family Dollar, so the Levine Foundation prioritizes Jewish faith traditions and the Family Dollar customer demographic. I started educating my team on their themes. Then I invited their program officer, Sarah, to start coming to our planning meetings—not as a funder to be courted, but as a partner to be included.

I worked to get them to understand: if you're really going to make a difference with this audience, you have to understand from a historical perspective what they've experienced. Storytelling and understanding where a community came from—you can't separate that from the impact you're trying to have.

Well-Being Research in High-Stakes Conversations

When I was preparing to present to the Levine Foundation, I had economic metrics ready—$6.9M GDP equivalent, $43 per visitor from a feasibility study. But John pushed me during one of our VAI sessions: "That's more than your value."

So I took the well-being research directly to the foundation. I said there's a book that just came out called Museum of Value, and I'm working with a group exploring this. I told them actual value of museums could be anywhere from $500 to $1,000 per visitor. They did not flinch.

Walk the Walk

Here's what I'd tell other leaders considering well-being framing: if you're going to do this, you really have to do this. I think for some museums it's becoming the next thing—like DEI became—where it's "okay, we're going to shift from DEI to quickly over here." We have to be careful with that.

At Levine, I've implemented concrete internal practices: Two weeks off at Christmas—beyond regular vacation. "Catch the grass" time—one hour per week where staff must get outside. Leadership sabbaticals with complete disconnection. This year we're extending a one-week sabbatical to all staff.

The Long Game

At Conner Prairie, the preschool program appeared to underperform when you looked at it in isolation. Leadership had conversations about whether to end it. I kept saying: this is where some key donor bases are. Look at what it's opening up.

The day I left, Norman called me: "We got a $10 million gift from an individual—largest individual gift outside Eli Lilly." Programs that don't pencil out in direct ROI may be building the relationship infrastructure that enables transformational gifts.

Key Takeaways Expand

The reframe

Shift from "will you fund us?" to "how can we help you accomplish your goals?" Invite funders into planning meetings, not just pitches.

The test

Before claiming well-being as external positioning, audit your internal practices. Staff wellness policies demonstrate institutional commitment.

January 2026

Engagement grew from 70,000 to 323,000 annually. The capital campaign is now actively identifying prospects. The foundation relationship has shifted from uncertainty to aligned partnership.

Long-term Institutional Embedding

Norman Burns

President & CEO, Conner Prairie · Indiana

"Well-being isn't a new initiative—it's an institutional operating principle."

Norman's experience shows what's possible when value articulation becomes infrastructure, not campaign. Years of consistent integration changed what stakeholders expect to hear.

The preschool program looked like underperformance in direct ROI. Leadership had conversations about ending it. Norman kept saying: look at what it's opening up. The day he left, a $10 million gift came through from a relationship that started in that program.

When well-being is how you operate, stakeholders experience it before you explain it.

"Programs that don't pencil out in direct ROI may be building the relationship infrastructure that enables transformational gifts."

Read Norman's full story →

January 2026

The $10M gift—largest individual contribution in Conner Prairie history outside of Eli Lilly—closed. Norman is now advising other institutions on building long-term relationship infrastructure.

John Falk Author, Museum of Value

What These Six Experiments Tell Us

The research is clear. Museums create substantial well-being value—$500 to $1,000 per visitor, validated across multiple methodologies. But research that lives in academic journals doesn't change anything.

What changes things is what happens in the room—the moment when evidence meets a skeptical board member, a fiscally-minded government official, a foundation questioning its partnership.

These six leaders tested different approaches with different stakeholders. Some things worked. Joan found that well-being outcomes land better without dollar signs for her ministry. Rich discovered that foundations don't flinch at $500-1,000 per visitor when you've built the relationship first. Paul learned that his own skepticism may be his biggest barrier.

There's no universal playbook. But there are patterns worth noticing: Separate economic evidence from well-being evidence. Match the framing to your stakeholder's proof needs. Invest in relationships before you need them. Walk the walk internally before claiming it externally.

This is one cohort. Six experiments. The work continues. But if you're facing your own stakeholder conversation, you're not starting from scratch.

Download Full Report (PDF)

Museums Have a Persuasion Problem That Better Data Won't Fix

The research is clear. But what do you actually say when you're in the room?

The Cohort

Joan Kanigan

What Made It Possible

Learning What Lands

The Pivot

The Foundation: Relationship Before Research

Advice for Peers

Rich Cooper

Walk the Walk

A Foundation Ready to Walk Away

Listening Before Asking

Well-Being Research in High-Stakes Conversations

Walk the Walk

The Long Game

Norman Burns

What These Six Experiments Tell Us

Follow the Work

This work takes time. You don't have to figure it out alone.