The Need for Public Participation in the Governance of Science Centers

From the journal Museum Management and Curatorship, Volume 24, Issue 2, this article discusses science centres' and museums' new strategies to increase inclusiveness, to engage the public more actively, and to respond to the need to present contemporary science and research as part of their public programmes. As stated here, "[i]n order to do so, they need to increase the level of public participation not only to inform the development of specific exhibitions and programs, but also to share authority in their interpretive and decision-making process. However, existing models of governance do not allow for a formal role of the public in the decision making process."

The authors review current practices in Europe and argue that a new model of governance for science centres is needed where public participation and consultation activities are integral components alongside the board, director, and staff. Because museum and science centre funding is linked increasingly to their performance and to a higher appeal across all socio-economic groups, including ethnic minorities and disadvantaged communities, "[r]ecent research suggests that museums need to shift both their purpose and role in society and their working practices radically, if they are to become effective agents for social inclusion." In addition, alignment with "European policy which recommends that all institutions dealing with contemporary science and technology initiate and sustain a dialogue with the public in order to inform the development of European science policy and governance" requires that the centres respond by adapting means of public participation.

The authors suggest that "museums need a solid understanding of (a) the nature and results of public participation in all of their activities and (b) the potential of new forms of engagement to alter the relationship between the public and the museum itself." They make the following distinction as they evaluate public participation at these centres: "in the context of our analysis we consider ‘the public’ to be those people who make use of the space, programs, and exhibitions that the museum can offer or that might do so. In this sense, ‘public participation’ should be understood as ‘open to the public’, rather than ‘for and by everybody’." The argument set forth is that science centres and museums need a new governance model that engages the public in developing activities, making operational decisions, and participating in governance. "To be effective, these forms of engagement require reciprocal trust between the active agents involved, including the museum with its components involved in the decision making process (the board, the senior management and staff) and the public. For the museum, it also means having the tools to listen effectively to the public and a clear understanding of the level of change that the institution is able to allow within its structure as a result of the public engagement."

The authors review governance models and propose a model that hands the decisonmaking role to the public, while the director, board, politics/public sector, industry/private sector, science institutions, and staff (curators/exhibit developers and educators) act as informants/stakeholders. An example of this model is the Dana Centre, London, United Kingdom - the Science Museum’s venue for scientific debate and discussion. Here panels of people from specific communities in London such as Chinese, African Caribbean, and African European work together with the trustees and the staff of the institution to select and develop topics, formats, and events to be produced at the Dana Centre. "By means of regular face-to-face meetings and online consultations, this process created a deeper relationship between the museum and its public which emerged as beneficial not only to the development of the programs, but also to position the Dana Centre as a partner for social projects in London....In the case of the Dana Centre, ...all the participants were new to the museum but were connected to one of the trustees."

The paper concludes with the proposal to further investigate current practices of inclusion of the public within the European museum/science centre context in order to assess to what extent public participation has been implemented, what forms it takes, and what output it has delivered thus far.