Museum Planning at Revelstoke, British Columbia

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CCI Newsletter, No. 34, December 2004

Museum Planning at Revelstoke, British Columbia

by Brian Laurie-Beaumont, Senior Planning Advisor, Preventive Conservation Services

In October 2003, the Department of Canadian Heritage's Vancouver regional office suggested that the Revelstoke Community Futures Development Corporation send their conceptual plan for relocating the BC Interior Forestry Museum to CCI's Senior Planning Advisor for review. Debra Wozniak, the Corporation's Special Projects Coordinator, subsequently contacted me with the request. Careful examination of the plan revealed that, although it was visually appealing, it raised many questions. Thus, in my comments to them I addressed issues such as market analysis, programming, collection development, business plan, and, of course, capital and operating budgets — all standard components of most planning reviews.

After considering my observations, the Corporation asked me to facilitate a strategic development planning workshop for the Forestry Museum's board of directors. An invitation was also extended to three local cultural institutions that had their own development issues: the Revelstoke Museum and Archives, the Revelstoke Railway Museum, and the Visual Arts Centre — an art gallery operated by local artists. Economic development staff were also present at the workshop, which was very useful because they represented the arm of local government that would be responsible for shepherding whatever development might ensue.

The first day of the meeting focussed on the planning process: what type of information is needed, and why and how that information is used in different areas of planning. Examples of other institutions and statistical averages were discussed, including thoughts on how these might apply to Revelstoke's organizations. The day concluded with a presentation about other types of cultural heritage approaches. These were presented to inspire the participants to consider alternative approaches to some of the objectives and challenges facing their organizations.

The second day dealt with the Forestry Museum's specific needs, and attendance was therefore limited to its board of directors and staff. This day was more of a "visioning" exercise. While those present had generally accepted the original idea of simply building a bigger and better museum that focussed on the forestry industry, it had become clear during the first day that some might have wanted more. As facilitator, I suggested other forestry-related themes that had their own market segments. Working with the group, I drew up an expanded list of possible themes, noting how they could be inter-related in terms of programming and perhaps collection. These ideas were then grouped and prioritized for future consideration.

Planning, however, is more than just detailing a dream. It is necessary to make the project affordable for the size of the community. Therefore, to provide a sense of reality, I helped the group devise a pro-forma list of space and staffing needs with estimated costs. Next, on the one hand to keep project costs down and on the other to reach into the community, the participants explored ways of spreading out the programming to areas already existing in the town. Each of the three other cultural institutions were considered as was the nearby Parks Canada site and even commercial enterprises.

By the end of the day, the Forestry Museum board of directors and staff had developed a far different concept than what they had started with. The new concept included the original forestry idea, but added other related themes that would appeal to a wider audience. It had the potential to attract more diverse project funding and had greater revenue-generation possibilities. The revised concept incorporated natural history, Aboriginal peoples' use of the forests before and after European colonization, recreational uses, the forestry industry, and the impact on the biosphere.

It is important to note that developing a concept is not the same as making a decision on what to actually build. It merely helps create a group vision with enough information to be able to decide what has to be done next to explore an idea.

The most critical factor was to test the hypothesis that the wider theme would attract enough people to generate a significant level of attendance and attract other support to assure project viability. To that end, although some tourism information did exist, a market analysis was recommended. Revelstoke is fortunate in that, even though their local population is small, they sit right on the Trans-Canada Highway — which has a sizeable travelling population. The question was whether or not these people could be persuaded to stop. It was further suggested the market analysis be wide enough to incorporate information applicable to other area cultural heritage organizations. This expansion would get the most value from the market analysis effort and would benefit overall tourism. The Revelstoke Community Futures Development Corporation conducted the research during the summer and fall of 2004.

Another factor was whether or not the other potential players would be interested in discussing some type of shared programming and other mutually beneficial activities. This review was also conducted over the same period. Various means and the degrees to which assets, from collections and programming to space and staff, could be shared were discussed.

By the end of 2004, the Forestry Museum as well as all the other local cultural heritage organizations will be in a better position to consider their next development steps. At that point, the concept will be refined to what is logical in this situation. More planning will be needed on items such as public programs, collection development, functional programming, and site selection. It will, however, be more focussed and cost-effective. Whatever project results, Revelstoke will know it has done the best job possible.