A change is as good as a holiday

Te Papa has recently published what it intends to do over the next year or so. It's of special interest this time round given the new Chief Executive Rick Ellis's talk of big changes He's said many times that those changes will centre on digital delivery although he's not shared anything specific so far about ideas and content. The word is it will be a digital hub of some kind with a public presence inside the building that feels like more Wellington based commercial fundraising than the physical and digiatal distribution of the collections through the country. But at this stage who can tell? In the meantime, we've picked through Te Papa’s published performance expectations.

So what’s different from this time last year?

Last year (and the year before that) Te Papa North was 'a key priority’.
This year (four years after the initial announcement) the project is ‘still under consideration by Government and no decision has been made.’

Last year one of Te Papa’s strategic intentions was ‘Saving the planet’.
This year Te Papa has dumped this as a strategy.

Last year the Te Papa Board, in line with Government philosophy, was ‘leading work to increase philanthropic giving to support Te Papa’s activities’.
This year the word philanthropy does not appear in the document.

Last year the key measurements for engaging audiences were ‘the amount of time people spent at Te Papa’ and ‘reported learning experiences’ that demonstrated ‘levels of engagement.’
This year the amount of time spent at Te Papa has been dropped as a measurement.

Last year internet traffic numbers were based on site visits.
This year they’re based on page hits.

Last year the philosophy of mana taonga was ‘led and embedded in Te Papa by the Kaihautu’
This year the Kaihautu is not mentioned in the document.

Last year digital ‘access’ was to be ‘improved online and on mobile devices.’ 
This year creating a digital ‘experience’ will be ‘a major focus’.

Last year Te Papa operated within its set level of funding from government.
This year Te Papa warns that ‘redeveloping the fixed exhibitions and investing in digital requires some trade offs’

Sources: Te Papa Statements of performance expectations 2014/15 and 2015/16