Potential for Improvements in the Reporting and Financing of Museums in the Czech Republic

Author(s): Milan Jan Půček

Date: 2019

Publisher: NISPAcee Press

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The Public Policy Paper was developed within the NISPAcee project "PRACTIC - From Policy Design to Policy Practice in the European Integration Context” supported by EC ERASMUS+ Jean Monnet Action – Jean Monnet Project.

Milan Jan Půček, Charles University, Prague, 

Resumé / Abstract 

This text analyses various suggestions aimed at improvements of museum statistics and financing. In the Czech Republic, there are a total of 477 museums, 80% of which are administered by the state, regions, or municipalities. The text focuses on this majority. Statistics pertaining to museums in the Czech Republic are administered by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, in particular its National Information and Consultation Centre for Culture (NIPOS). This contribution draws attention to some shortcomings (in the form of over-reporting of data) in museum reports in three areas and proposes certain measures which should lead to greater reporting accuracy. 

These three areas are: (1) Reporting of visitor numbers, where visit rates should be reported not as ‘visitors of expositions and exhibitions’ but as ‘museum visitors’, which would make reports less ambivalent and in the long-term lead to museums’ greater focus on visitors. (2) Reporting of scientific results, where research carried out by museums should follow the governmental standards of research reporting. This should lead to gradual improvements in the quality of research carried out by museums. (3) Reporting of economic self-sufficiency, where current statistical methods enable an artificial increase in economic self-sufficiency through accounting operations and thereby fail to motivate museums to increase their real income from visitors (ticket sales and sales in museum shops) and income from rents and services such as consultations.