We invite museums and museum professionals to take part in a survey conducted within the framework of the project “Building Resilience to Face New Realities”, supported by the ICOM Special Project Fund. This research initiative investigates the rapidly shifting conditions facing European museums today, with a particular focus on several South East European countries confronting instability and crises on multiple levels.

The project analyses financial instability, political influence, climate pressures, sustainability challenges, and structural inequalities affecting museum governance and leadership. Drawing on global evidence and regional expertise, it proposes adaptable models to strengthen resilience, autonomy and long-term sustainability for museums operating under difficult conditions.

The research on present challenges will first be carried out across South East Europe, and then Central and East Europe, with the potential of distributing further.

Project Partners:

Project leader: ICTOP (ICOM International Committee for the Training of Personnel)
National Committees:
ICOM Bosnia and Herzegovina
ICOM North Macedonia
ICOM Serbia
ICOM Montenegro
ICOM Bulgaria
ICOM Croatia
Regional alliances: ICOM SEE and ICOM Nord

About the Survey:

The survey is administered through the EU Survey platform and is available in tenth languages. There are two sets of questions: one for the institution and one for museum directors only. We invite you to fill in both.

It covers a range of topics, including institutional governance structures, financial management, decision-making autonomy, political and external influence, and organisational sustainability. Some questions ask for specific financial and structural data about your institution, in particular some percentages from the financial report. We therefore strongly encourage you to first go through the entire questionnaire to identify which internal information and figures you will need, and to gather this data before beginning to fill in your final answers. This will help ensure accuracy and allow you to complete the survey more efficiently in a single sitting.
Completing each survey should take approximately 15 minutes with data prepared. We kindly ask that you submit your responses by 30 September. Your individual answers will be treated confidentially and used solely for the purposes of this research; results will only be presented in aggregate or anonymised form.

Please use the following links:
For the museum:
https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/2601f617-cf62-b219-bd12-43c0ac3a5bad

For the museum director on management issues:
https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/8e6b7258-4fd7-c344-8ac4-31357341630c

We greatly appreciate your time and your institution’s contribution to this important research, which aims to strengthen the resilience and long-term sustainability of museums across the region.

Should you have any questions about the survey, please contact: jantolovic@gmail.com

For questions about the project, please contact: goranka.horjan@gmail.com or dbabic@ffzg.hr