CMF Strategic Plan 2010 - 2014 | The Canadian Museum of Flight

Development of a Strategic Plan for 2010 – 2014

We need a plan to answer these questions:

• What are we trying to accomplish?

• How will we achieve these goals?

• What gets priority for (often scarce) resources?

• How will we know if we are successful?

Having a plan will help us to work to a common purpose.

We are trying to preserve and to tell the WHOLE story of B.C. aviation history. To do this we will show ourselves to the world, and to maintain people’s interest we must be able to tell what’s coming up at the Museum.

Over several workshops we came to a better understanding of: 1) our programs or desired outcomes; 2) what topics we should present; 3) what we must do to present these topics; 4) what factors affect each program; and 5) What resources, relationships and expectations are needed for success.

We defined our programs or desired outcomes as: 1) collect, preserve and maintain aviation artifacts relevant to B.C.; 2) education of the audience(s); 3) entertainment of audience(s); 4) being a community resource (providing meeting space, event hosting, fly-pasts, hosting Air Cadets), and; 5) providing a great volunteer experience.

We described a first list of significant events in B.C. aviation history to include;

• First flight in B.C.

• First international mail

• Deaths and accidents

• Helicopter operation

• Resource exploration

• Transportation changes

• Military history (subset V.C. winners)

• Search and Rescue

• RCMP operations

• Recreational flying

• Gliding

• Ballooning

• First across the Rockies

• Firefighting

• Medevac services

• Economic impacts

• Space exploration

• UFOs

• First float planes

We reviewed our current presentations, which now include: 1) Museum displays; 2) static aircraft; 3) flying aircraft, and ; 4) other artifacts such as publications (now organized and catalogued), photographs (organized, but not catalogued), Log books, other paper artifacts (unorganized) and general artifacts (some organized and catalogued).

Future presentation requires us to change some practices to tell a better story. We need to partner with industry, target material to specific audience(s), focus on the relevance to B.C., build the story before designing and creating new presentations; and deliver our product in different ways (we come to you, if you can’t come to us).

We have to keep the story current (remember, history starts today, not 50 years ago), update our presentations (reduce the ‘same stuff, different day’ syndrome), and get organized feedback – we need to know what ‘sells’ and what doesn’t.

In order to complete any plan we need resources, and while we haven’t figured out how to get them, we do know what we will need:

• Contacts in the aviation community (e.g. planners, builders, operators, regulators, consumers)

• Information (e.g. facts, trends, experiences, statistics)

• Artifacts (current collection plus what we don’t yet have to tell a specific story)

• Story telling skills (writers, artists, speakers)

• Money (yep, just like normal)

• Professional skills (for the things we cannot do ourselves)

• Space for displays (re-jig existing space, add more space, temporary exhibits)

• Mobility of displays (take them to the audience and the internet)

The biggest need is people – talented volunteers and supporters who will: 1) provide the Board with comments; 2) stay involved with the Museum; 3) participate in Museum events and activities; 4) provide expertise; 5) contribute financially – currently or as a legacy.

The most important function of Museum members and supporters is to advertise the Museum – word of mouth is a highly effective way to attract visitors and to recruit volunteers.