With “Money Matters: The Economic Value of Museums” NEMO, the Network of European Museum Organisations, follows up on its conference of the same name held in November 2016. The articles introduce and discuss spill-over effects, innovative business models and cooperation strategies for museums and their economies. Download the pdf below.

How are cultural institutions and activities being valued? Many different approaches, criterions and measurements - quantitative as well as qualitative - have evolved over the years. One of them being the economic value. The economic value of museums was the theme of the 2016 Annual Conference of NEMO and it is the focus of its new publication ”Money Matters: The Economic Value of Museums”.

Museums are integrated into the economic world, but come with certain and unique specifics and layers. They are a part of the leisure society, but cannot be compared to theme parks. They have an impact on tourism, but are not simply marketing instruments for a region or a city. They create work and wealth, but not in the same way as private companies.

“Money Matters: The Economic Value of Museums” stems from this standpoint and provides perspectives and examples from the diverse European cultural and economic sector on value measurement, profitability, partnerships and cooperation, financial strategies and business models, and the various spill-over effects.

NEMO, The Network of European Museum Organisations, believes and works to demonstrate that museums have an important economic value – in addition to the value of their collections, their social and their educational value. The herein introduced examples from different European countries show the shared challenges and opportunities and serve as important reminders of the significant role museums and cultural institutions play in the process of cultural diversity and the free exchange of knowledge, thus inspiring creativity and innovation. As well as their influences on many different levels, i.e. in the tourism sector or urban and regional planning.