ICOM Strategic Plan 2001 - 2007

Strategic Plan 2001 - 2007 adopted by the ICOM General Assembly on Friday 6th July 2001 in Barcelona (Spain).

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Since the Triennial Assembly in Melbourne (October 1998) ICOM has entered a new century. Fifty-five years since its creation (in 1946), and twenty-seven years since the last significant changes in ICOM's structure and organisation (in 1974), ICOM faces a watershed in its life.

ICOM needs to reinvent itself: reanimating its original, visionary spirit of a more stable world, achieved through active care and appreciation of diverse people's heritage and cultural histories internationally (as conserved through museums and related institutions); at the same time reshaping ICOM as a more flexible and effective organisation to act decisively in the world of today.

The Task Force (ICOM-RTF) was commissioned by the Executive Council in June 1999, following discussions at the 1999 Advisory Committee meetings in Paris. Composed of nominees from both the Advisory Committee and Executive Council, it was charged to review ICOM as an organisation and establish priorities for reform. The Task Force was given a mandate to address the challenge of change, and invited to make recommendations for ICOM's improved functioning in a new century.

A comprehensive analytical document produced in this review process was A Tool Box for Renovating ICOM: Report from Task Force for Review and Reform of ICOM (circulated May 2000; available on ICOM's Web site, and still an important reference tool). The present Strategic Plan draws directly from the Tool Box by identifying the significant actions that ICOM will focus on for the period 2001 - 2007, with a particular emphasis on 2001 - 2004. The Task Force wishes to thank the ICOM Secretariat for its invaluable contributions in the latter stages of the development of the Strategic Plan which, the Task Force trusts, reflects in many ways the Secretariat's own collaborative approach to its many challenges.

The effectiveness of the Strategic Plan 2001 - 2007 will in large part be measured by its ability to stimulate increased involvement for ICOM members, to foster greater cross-functional work between ICOM's components and committees, and its capacity to facilitate the work of the Executive Council and Advisory Committee in making key decisions that affect the future of the organisation. It is intended as a working tool for these bodies, and for the ICOM Secretariat, which in turn is developing operational plans that are specific to its defined responsibilities.

2.0 ICOM'S CORE VALUES

ICOM acts upon these core values:

1. commitment to the conservation, continuation, and communication to society of the world's natural and cultural heritage, tangible and intangible
2. recognition of human creativity in all its manifestations, and its value to all parts of society in interpreting the past, shaping the present, and mapping the future
3. recognition of intellectual, cultural and social diversity, and respect for difference, as forces for cross-cultural understanding and social cohesion
4. professional development, training, mentoring, exchange of expertise and mutual assistance among networks of museum personnel
5. professional conduct, observance and promotion of ICOM's Code of Professional Ethics
6. encouragement and particular support for museum work and heritage initiatives that are multi-lingual, inter-disciplinary, multi-faceted, or cross-cultural; or linking disparate people, countries and regions
7. community education and skills-diffusion as an integral part of capacity-building, contributing to sustainable development according to varying socio-cultural needs
8. publication and dissemination of information in support of ICOM's objectives
9. democratic values, communication, and service-orientation promoted throughout ICOM as an organisation
10. engagement with public issues of social change, and active participation in debates on arts, culture and heritage impacting on the work of museums and museum professionals
11. joint action with partner organisations, and projection of ICOM's work and values internationally

3.0 ICOM'S MISSION

ICOM is the international organisation of museums and museum professionals, committed to the conservation, continuation and communication to society of the world's natural and cultural heritage, present and future, tangible and intangible.

As a non-governmental, non-profit body, ICOM establishes professional and ethical standards for museum activities, promoting training, advancing knowledge, addressing issues, and raising public cultural awareness through global networks and co-operation.

4.0 ENVIRONMENT FOR THE STRATEGIC PLAN, 2001-2007

The global environment in which an organisation such as ICOM is situated must of necessity have an impact on the opportunities it has to investigate issues, raise awareness and implement actions.

Because of ICOM's commitment to its world-wide mandate, careful attention must be paid to conditions that will enable, or conversely inhibit, its ability to reach its stated goals. Simply identifying the current conditions in which ICOM operates is complex. Nonetheless, it is important that ICOM bear the following broader points in mind in developing its Strategic Plan.

General planning assumptions for ICOM's Strategic Plan 2001 - 2007 are:

1. ICOM's membership will continue to experience a natural growth rate (approximately 6.7% per year, which has resulted in a total increase of over 50 % in the past 8 years).
2. The substantial diversity of its members (in terms of scale of institution and nature of collections; geographic location; cultural tradition; and availability of resources) will continue to be a distinguishing feature of ICOM.
3. The global reality of stable or in some instances restricted government funding for culture in the immediate future will mean that, in some countries, alternative sources of funding will need to be identified, and more varied resources developed, to assist the work of museums and museum professionals. It is expected that such shifts may also have an impact on ICOM itself.
4. Interest in museums and cultural and natural heritage will continue to expand world-wide, although competition for visitors will also increase. Collaborative partnerships throughout the cultural and natural heritage sectors will strengthen museums, and therefore ICOM.
5. ICOM is recognised as an official partner organisation of UNESCO. The current two-year Framework Agreements with UNESCO and associated programs will continue; service contracts that stipulate the services and/or programs that UNESCO is supporting will continue, although the sums granted may vary according to UNESCO's resources and its priorities.
6. ICOM is an association incorporated under the French law of 1901; it does not have international organisation status.
7. The importance and increasing reach of electronic communications will continue to have a substantial impact on ICOM and its ways of working.
8. ICOM will seek to consolidate its partnerships with sister organisations such as ICCROM, ICOMOS, ICA, and IFLA, both in relation to the Blue Shield initiative and to other joint actions.
9. The International and National Committees of ICOM, together with the Regional and Affiliated Organisations, are the primary instruments of ICOM's work. Expectations of these bodies are growing and ways must be found to facilitate and ensure their effectiveness and stable operation, within the context of their mandates.
10. The individual and institutional needs and interests of ICOM members will be, to some degree, affected by the activities of national museum associations and related professional associations in some countries.
11. ICOM's own resources (both human and financial) will be stable over the period, and might even increase to a small degree.
12. ICOM will continue to need to secure additional funding for its programs before they can be fully confirmed; the priorities of the funders might also be the determining factors as to success of grant applications.