The Innovation Lab for Museums: Request for Proposals

The American Association of Museums’ Center for the Future of Museums, EmcArts and MetLife Foundation announce the second round of a new initiative created to enable selected museums to design, research and prototype novel approaches to field-wide adaptive challenges in a laboratory-like setting. The initiative is entitled the Innovation Lab for Museums, and is now accepting proposals. Click to download the Request for Proposals for Round Two.

The inaugural round of the Innovation Lab began its work in January of this year with three museums: Levine Museum of the New South (Charlotte, NC), the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas City, MO) and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco, CA). 

Read highlights from the Round One Applicants.

The Innovation Lab for Museums is an 18 to 24-month program for each of the participating institutions, utilizing the expertise of CFM and the proven experience of EmcArts in incubating organizational innovations in the cultural sector. In this second round of the Lab, three proposals will be accepted and preference will be given to projects focusing on innovation in the realms of:

Youth Education: exploring how museums can play a key role in a rapidly changing educational landscape

Demographic Transformation: how museums can close this gap and serve a broader, more inclusive representation of American society

Participatory Experiences: how museums can meet the desire of audiences for  participatory and social activities in museums.