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Long-Range Plan

TAM's operations and projects follow the goals set forth in its Long-Range Plan, originally adopted in 1999. Each year the TAM Council conducts a planning retreat at which time it adopts an "Action Plan" for the following year.

This page includes the revised Long-Range Plan for 2005.

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Long-Range Plan

Background

At its retreat in June, 1999, the TAM Council made recommendations for revisions to the TAM Long Range Plan (1993; updated 1996.) A draft plan was developed in July and mailed to members of the TAM Council as well as to the chairs of TAM regional and affinity groups for their review. The Long Range Plan, as revised, was adopted by the TAM Council at its quarterly meeting on September 17, 1999 in Dallas.

The Long Range Plan, as adopted, is printed below. The plan is the result of the following process:

Feb. 19, 1999: Council approved process for updating Long Range Plan
Mar. 25, 1999: Long Range Plan process announced at Annual Business Meeting
May 1999: Long Range Plan process announced in Museline;
May 13, 1999: copy of annotated Long Range Plan mailed to each member and comments requested
June 13-15, 1999: Council Retreat: Council discussed plan; assigned LRP draft to Rebori/Nokes
July, 1999: Draft plan mailed to Council and Regional and Affinity group chairs
Sept. 16, 1999: Draft plan discussed at Regional and Affinity group meeting
Sept. 17, 1999: Council formally adopts plan at quarterly Council meeting
Nov. 1999: New plan published in Nov/Dec Museline
May, 2005: Plan revised to be published in Summer Museline

Adopted by the TAM Council on Dec. 10, 1993
(revised August 1996; revised September 1999)
(revised May 2005)


Mission: The Texas Association of Museums, through service to its members, is dedicated to fostering educational, cultural, and recreational opportunities for all Texans. It accomplishes this by providing a communications network among museums, sponsoring educational programs, and encouraging adherence to professional standards and practices.

Goal I: To help strengthen the infrastructure of Texas museums and promote their value to the public.

Objective: Represent the Texas museum community in legislative and governmental affairs.

Objective: Represent the interests of the Texas museum community to the public, funders, and the press.

Objective: Collaborate with organizations with similar interests to raise awareness of museums and their value to Texas.

Objective: To provide a communications network for members.

Objective: Maintain and nurture communication among individual and institutional members.

Objective: Encourage the sharing of resources among TAM members.

Objective: Enhance communications through use of technology.

Objective: Provide appropriate member benefit programs.

TAM has a responsibility to educate its membership and to keep it informed about critical issues and trends in the museum profession. To this end, it sponsors an annual conference that inspires and informs, addressing basic areas of museum operations and offering programming for all types and sizes of museums and for all job types and levels of experience. The annual meeting will continue to present provocative keynote addresses by noted people both inside and outside the museum field.

As a statewide professional service organization, TAM exists to foster collegial relationships among the state's museums. Communication is key. Therefore, TAM will continue to produce a useful newsletter in print and online, and to develop other communications methods, such as a Directory of Resources, a searchable on-line database, and comprehensive website. To more effectively communicate with members and the public, the Publications Committee will explore new applications of technology. The organization will nourish its ties to its regional and affinity groups and will support them in their work. The Resource Sharing Committee will work to encourage collaboration among Texas museums, especially projects that foster cross cultural understanding.

Effective advocacy is done on a number of fronts: working with state tourism efforts to ensure the inclusion of museum promotions; representing museum interests in the Texas Legislature and the U.S. Congress; educating funders about the value of museums and their needs; and urging museums to inform themselves about critical issues and cultivate their own contacts with local, state, and national leaders. TAM will allocate staff and committee resources, such as the Legislative and Development committees, to these tasks.

Goal II: To support and foster broadly inclusive and diverse representation of people in the Texas museum community.

Objective: Encourage representation of diversity throughout the TAM leadership, to include staff, Council, and committees.

Objective: Provide leadership and resources for Texas museums in their efforts to be responsive to all segments of their communities.

If Texas museums are to serve all peoples, they must work to expand their programs, collections, staffing, and governance to reflect their communities. TAM can assist in these efforts by providing information, models, and resource lists on diversity issues. TAM can exert leadership in this area by working to ensure that TAM is itself reflective in its programming, staffing, and governance of the diversity of the state. The Multicultural Initiatives Committee will assume leadership in this area, as will the Nominating and Membership committees.

Goal III: To promote and encourage professional development and adherence to professional standards and practices through educational programs, publications, and other services to members.

Objective: Continue to present an annual conference of the highest caliber for the membership.

Objective: Sponsor and support other workshops and seminars, encouraging regional and affinity groups in their activities.

Objective: Explore new applications of technology for providing educational programs and publications.

Objective: Work with national professional museum organizations and keep membership abreast of national trends in the museum profession.

TAM also educates through publications, and must periodically evaluate needs in this area and publish new titles as appropriate, including publications in electronic and other emerging technological formats. The regional and affinity groups also support TAM's educational mission and must be supported by the organization. The Annual Meeting, Programs and Services, and Publications committees assume responsibility for carrying out strategies to meet these goals.

Goal IV: To maintain a dynamic administration and stable financial base.

Objective: Maintain sufficient professional and support staff to carry out goals of the organization.

Objective: Professionally manage finances to ensure the best use of resources.

Objective: Create a healthy reserve fund to help sustain ongoing operations and programs.

Objective: Operate from a development plan that maintains current sources of funding and plans for continuously developing new sources of funding.

Objective: Maintain a commitment to future planning and to carrying out the goals and objectives of the Long Range Plan.

TAM is committed to quality service to the Texas museum community and the TAM membership. Continued commitment to sound organizational management assures the staff and financial resources to support this work. Staff, working with the Development and Executive committees, will annually make and carry out a development plan for the organization. While continuing to solicit support from private and public sources for specific projects, TAM will work to achieve financial self-sufficiency for annual operations and maintenance of programs by creating an endowment program. The Membership Committee will work with staff on ways to maintain and expand the membership. The Trustees Committee will assist in maintaining a healthy organization. To assure the continued success and effectiveness of this important organization, the TAM Council and Director will annually review and update the organization's long range goals and objectives and create an Action Plan to carry them out.

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