Research and planning are two crucial elements in the early stages of creating a project.The first type of research we do is subject matter research. We carry out an inventory of available information and this helps us plan how your subject will be interpreted for its audience.

Aside from research on the historical or cultural subject matter, we carry out other research which can be critical to deciding how to proceed with your project:

This can be interpretive research: What, precisely, is the story you should tell? How will you tell it? What voice will you use? What media will you enlist? What are your underlying messages? Who are you trying to reach? Having clear answers to these questions will lead to an exhibition which is coherent and which matters to its audience.

Another type of research we do is feasibility research: What kind of project will work best? What kind of project do your stakeholders wish to see? Is it something the public will wish to visit? How will you finance the project? Or keep it going once it’s opened? This research will help avoid costly mistakes and lead to the creation of a sustainable project which works well for its target audience.

For a project that is up and running, it is crucial to have a clear vision of the future direction of the project. A strategic plan will keep everyone on the same page and pulling in the same direction to achieve the project’s aims. A good strategic plan will pull together the project’s story up to now and input from stakeholders to ascertain where the project should go and how it can get there. It will also tie down the project’s vision, mission and values.