How Project Communications Can Help Drive Your Museum Redevelopment’s Success

Museum redevelopment projects involve a diverse group of stakeholders with differing expectations and objectives at different stages of the project. Project communications can help your museum share the right information at the right time through the appropriate communication channels with a range of project stakeholders and end-users, the museum visitors.

In this blog, we will look at

• What is project communications?

  Why is communication during a museum redevelopment important? 

• The basic components of project communications plan

• Measuring and reviewing project communications

• The impact of effective project communications on the museum

What is project communications?

In the context of project communications management, it is essential to understand what is meant by the term 'project'. A project is defined as “…a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.” The guide explains that “temporary” can mean several years, but that projects are not ongoing efforts (Project Management Group, 2017, p.4).

Project communications management “...includes the processes required to ensure timely and appropriate planning, collection, creation, distribution, storage, retrieval, management, control, monitoring, and ultimately disposition of project information.” (Project Management Institute, 2017, p. 359)

It also provides project stakeholders and the community with the opportunity to provide feedback about the project. An example is regular, short online surveys, which can help create relevant communication that addresses the questions of impacted stakeholders and the community.

Why is communication during a museum redevelopment important? 

Within the museum, projects overlap and competing priorities are almost guaranteed. Museum work doesn’t usually stop during a redevelopment, even when the doors are closed.

Project communications can provide an overview of all the museum’s projects to the museum’s management, governance board, museum volunteers, and external stakeholders. This can be helpful for strategic planning, funding applications, daily museum operations, and visitor engagement.

It also ensures that everyone can be informed about the museum redevelopment’s progress at any given time. This is important since some stakeholders join the project halfway through; they can be informed about the museum redevelopment’s progress in an efficient and effective manner.

Here are six reasons why good project communications is important during a museum redevelopment:

1. It helps with the overall management of the project: The project stakeholders involved understand the project’s scope, constraints, and the deliverables that contribute to the project’s success.

   
   

2. Keep the project on track: Everyone is informed about the project’s progress and potential issues and risks in a timely manner.

   
   

3. Reduce Conflict: Clear, consistent, and timely communication with the right people helps prevent miscommunication and misunderstandings, and reduces conflict.

   
   

4. Accountability and transparency: Transparent communication helps hold people accountable. It informs stakeholders and the community about any issues or risks in a timely manner through appropriate communication channels and formats.

   
   

5. Building trust, support, and engagement: Sharing regular and tailored project updates with project stakeholders, the community, and funders through relevant communication channels and formats can build trust and ensure project support.

   
   

6. Risk Management: Help manage potential issues or risks in advance through clear and proactive communications with your project teams, museum teams, and project stakeholders.  

The Basic Project Communications Components

Sharing every piece of information relating to the project with everyone is not good project communication. It creates overwhelm and confusion, which can increase the risk of information being misunderstood or misinterpreted. For project communication to be a success, you will need to “...determine and limit who will communicate with whom and who will receive what information.” (Project Management Group, 2004, p. 226).

The following seven sections can provide a solid foundation for you to create the museum redevelopment's project communications plan:

1. Stakeholder Identification: Who do you need to communicate with during the project?

2. Information Requirements: What information does each stakeholder need to know?

3. Information Source and Sender: Who will provide and share the information?

4. Channels and Formats: How will you share the information?

5. Project Communications Schedule: When will you share the information?

6. Measure and Review: How will you measure the effectiveness of your project communications?

7. Information Management: How will you manage and store project communications information?

Stakeholder Identification: Who do you need to communicate with during the project?

Lord & Lord (2002, p.139) note that the “..most important step in organising the museum’s forces to address a capital project is therefore to establish both a museum project team and a building team.”

​“The Museum Project Team comprises museum personnel who address the various museum functions affected by the capital development - curatorial concerns, conservation, security, revenue generation, and many more. The team should be led by the museum planner, whether a professional consultant specialising in that area or an appointed member of the museum staff. The museum project team’s task is to ensure that the museum’s requirements are clearly stated, and that those requirements are met by the architects, engineers and contractors. The quantity surveyor should also meet with this team, to ensure that the cost implications of their requirements are made clear.”  (Lord & Lord, 2002, p.139)

​“The Building Team includes the architect, engineers, landscape engineers and other technical specialists needed, along with the contractor and the construction manager. Their task is to answer the requirements of the museum project team with technical drawings and specifications.” (Lord & Lord, 2002, p.139)

Within smaller museums, you might find that the entire museum is involved in the museum project team. If this is not the case, list those involved in the museum that you also need to communicate with during the project. These are likely to be the museum’s trust board or other governance group.

Here are examples of likely internal and external project stakeholders. End users, who will benefit most from the museum’s redevelopment, are the wider community and museum visitors. Note that project stakeholders can also belong to these two groups, and vice versa.

Internal​

• Decision makers: Trust/Board and museum management

• Museum staff and volunteers (those not involved in the project)

• Museum project team  

• Project build team

  
  

External

• Funders

• Decision makers: Local government / council departments

• Interest groups (not impacted stakeholders)

• Museum sector (these can also be classified as decision makers)

• Media

  
  

End Users

• Museum visitors

• Wider community (individuals and groups)

Stakeholder Analysis and Stakeholder Identification Register

To better understand who you need to communicate with and why, conduct a stakeholder analysis. Gregory M. Horrine, author of the book ‘Project Management - Complete Beginner’s Guide’ explains that “... this should provide insights into the needs and motivations of each stakeholder.” (2009, p. 245).

Stakeholder Analysis

The following five steps should provide you with a good foundation for identifying the project’s stakeholders:

1. ​Refer to your museum redevelopment proposal and project management plan to identify the project’s main stakeholders.

2. Identify their project role, influence, and objectives they need to achieve.

3. List the information they need to know to help them achieve their objectives.

4. Record all the project stakeholders’ relevant information, including their project roles in the project, the specific project information you need to share with them, and the preferred communication channels you need to use.

5. Include a RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed) table. This will help you clearly and efficiently identify who you need to communicate relevant project information to.

   
   

Stakeholder Identification Register

A Stakeholder Identification Register is “...a project document including the identification, assessment, and classification of project stakeholders” (Project Management Group, 2017, p. 723). This is also where you can note down the following tailoring considerations for each project stakeholder group (Project Management Group, 2017, p. 365), such as:

• Are they internal or external stakeholders?

• Are they located in the same geographical location, or do they have a remote project team location?

• What are the preferred communication channels and formats for each stakeholder?

• Is more than one language used to communicate with stakeholders?

• Where will they need to store project information?

  
  

From there, you can create a targeted and tailored Stakeholder Engagement Plan that forms part of your wider project communications plan.  

“Identifying project stakeholders regularly and analyzing and documenting relevant information regarding their interests, involvement, interdependencies, influence and potential impact on project success”

(Project Management Group, 2017, p. 507).

Information Requirements: What information does each stakeholder need to know?

Museum redevelopment projects involve numerous stakeholders, each with their own expectations and objectives regarding project delivery. For example:

• The museum needs a fit-for-purpose building.

• The community wants access to the collection to help co-design exhibitions.

• The council that provides funding wants results for its constituents.

• The contractors need a successful project to help them secure future business within the museum sector.

• The community need to know when the museum will reopen.

  
  

Understanding these expectations and objectives will determine what information you need to communicate and help you create accurate and useful information to project stakeholders. For example, your grant progress reporting will be more detailed compared with the project updates you send in your newsletter to your museum community.

“Project resources are expended only on communicating information that contributes to success, or where a lack of communication can lead to failure. This does not mean that “bad news” should not be shared; rather, the intent is to prevent overwhelming stakeholders with the minutiae”.

(Project Management Group, 2017, p. 226).

This analysis is likely to present specific information such as project objectives, project milestones, risk updates, meeting notes, timelines, budget changes, stakeholders, and community feedback that you need to share throughout the project. Note that you will not share all the information with every stakeholder.

​Refer to the Stakeholder Identification Register and Stakeholder Engagement Plan as a starting point to help you determine who needs to know what information you need to share with them, and when they need to know it.

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (3rd ed.) (2004, p. 226) outlines the following information that is typical to establish project communications requirements:

• “Organization charts”

• “Project organization and stakeholder responsibility relationships”

• “Disciplines, departments, and specialities involved in the project”

• “Logistics of how many people will be involved with the project and at which locations”

• “Internal informational needs (e.g., communicating across organizations)”

• “External information needs (e.g., communicating with the media or contractors)”

• “Stakeholder information.”

  
  

In addition to the information outlined above, within project management, there are three major documents according to the Project Management Institute’s A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (3rd ed.) (2004, p. 76) with a specific purpose:

• The Project Charter that formally authorises the project.

• The Project Scope Statement outlines the work that needs to be completed and the deliverables that need to be produced. This also includes a stakeholder analysis (2004, p. 226).

• The Project Management Plan states how the work will be performed.

  
  

These three documents will be produced in collaboration with the project build team, and the following key messages can be extracted from the three project documents mentioned above, and shared with project stakeholders and the community as per your Stakeholder Engagement Plan:

Situational Analysis: Why does the museum redevelopment need to happen?

Provide a brief 'situational analysis' of your museum's current state, highlight urgent issues that the museum needs to address, and the consequences if it is not addressed. Most of this information will already exist from when you created a project proposal for approval of the redevelopment work.

Raising awareness of collection preservation and conservation best practices in the context of the museum redevelopment needs to be consistent throughout the project. It will be a constant reminder of why the museum redevelopment project is important, especially if issues arise during the project. That is when you will need support the most.

Project Scope Statement: How will the museum redevelopment solve current issues?

Create a project overview that explains why the museum redevelopment is required and the current or future problems it will solve. You can tailor the overview for different stakeholders; for example, a detailed overview is suitable for funding applications, while a summary is better suited for the website. Most museum redevelopment projects focus on ensuring the building is fit for purpose. You can provide examples through blogs, social media posts, or videos that show, for example, what happens when photographic negatives are not stored in a temperature-controlled room. This includes, but is not limited to:

• The building’s ability to withstand environmental impacts.

• Adequate storage for the collection.

• Accessible exhibition and public engagement spaces.

  
  

Project Build Team and the Museum Project Team: Who completes the work?

Provide a brief overview of the contractors who will carry out the building work and why they were chosen to work on the project. You can also include past projects that are similar to the museum’s project to support the reason why they were chosen for the project. It will serve as positive reinforcement that the project is in good hands.

An overview of the museum project team is not only important within the context of the museum redevelopment project, but also introduces or reintroduces the museum volunteers and trust board to different project stakeholders and the community.  

​Introduce community or special interest groups that are involved in the project either through funding or by providing consultation. You can even write blogs on each other’s websites or collaborate on a presentation together to show how collaborating on museum projects meets the respective organisations’ overall objectives.

Risk Management and Issues: What are the risks involved in undertaking a museum redevelopment?

​As discussed earlier, addressing risks with your project and museum teams and other impacted stakeholders before and during the project helps manage risks in a timely manner. Create a risk communication document that outlines the appropriate channels and communication timeline to help you manage communicating risks and issues proactively.

For example, if there will be a lot of noise during a certain time of the day, which will affect local businesses or private residents, make the effort to go door-to-door to explain the impact the work will have on them, how long it will last, and who they can contact if they have any questions.

While thorough risk assessments would have been conducted before the project’s start, you can invite impacted people in the community to provide feedback outlining any concerns they may have about any work during the museum redevelopment that could impact their well-being.

Collaborate with your project build team to create suitable responses and distribute the information through the relevant communication channels. Depending on the impact, you can contact the local media with the important information or post a community notice in the newspaper.

​​Project Timeline: How long will the museum redevelopment take?

Outline the project’s lifecycle to explain what work will be completed at each stage and how the museum and surrounding areas will be impacted. ​Take people on a journey throughout the project’s different phases. Contractors often document their work, and some even install time-lapse video equipment to show the project’s progress.

Collaborate with the contractors to document the journey from your different perspectives. From the museum’s perspective, explaining at each stage how this fits into the overall plan for improvement and how that relates back to the museum’s overall mission, vision, purpose, and values.

Providing context and connecting with them on an emotional level helps people understand how the project will impact their future museum visit and how the individual phases fit into the bigger picture of the museum redevelopment.

Information Source and Sender: Who will provide and share the information?

An effective project communications plan clearly defines who is responsible for creating project information and who is responsible for distributing it. Assigning these roles ensures that accurate information is shared by those with the relevant expertise and reaches the appropriate stakeholders. Clearly allocating these roles also reduces misunderstanding and miscommunication.

For example, the project build team provides project information relating to the project build, while the museum project team shares museum-related information as it relates to the museum redevelopment. It will be the museum’s responsibility to distribute this information to the impacted stakeholders and the community. ​

Here are examples of information shared by the project build team and the museum project team:

Project Build Team

• Environmental impact study

• Key project milestones that demonstrate progress

• Building plans

  
  

Museum Project Team

• Detailed document outlining the function of each new space

• Collection care management during the museum redevelopment

• Grant report for funding organisations

Channels and Formats: How will you share the information?

Having the right information and knowing who to share it with and when is only one part of the project communications plan. The communication channels, technology, and formats you use to share can influence how stakeholders and the community receive and understand information, and can impact the success of the project’s outcome.

For example, if someone can’t access a file that you sent using a software version that is only used in their organisation, then the delivery of important information is delayed. On the other hand, sharing the entire project management plan on the museum’s website is also not advised, since you run the risk of information being misinterpreted by the community.

Channels/Technology

During the Stakeholder Analysis phase, you will have identified the relevant channels to use to communicate project information. A large and complex project, such as a museum redevelopment, with various project stakeholders you might not usually communicate with on a regular basis, if at all, will require additional project communication channels and the use of perhaps different technology. You may need to use video conferencing tools more often for weekly project meetings with the project build team to discuss the new collection space, or email a monthly status report to your funders.

Work with project stakeholders from the start to ensure that communication channels are accessible and secure.

Refer to your Stakeholder Analysis and Stakeholder Identification Register to create a Communication Channel and Format Requirement Register where you can clearly list in more detail the channels and technology you will need to use to communicate with project stakeholders. Include the following five-point checklist:  

1. Is it reliable and accessible to everyone who needs to use it?  

2. Does anyone require training to use the communication channels/technology?  

3. Will the channels/technology be available to everyone for the duration of the project?

4. Does the museum project team need to create a workaround process if they can’t access the software used by the project build team?

5. Does the museum need to pay any subscription fees to access the communication channels/technology?

   
   

Examples of communication channels within project communications include:

• In-person meetings

• Virtual meetings

• Phone/Video calls

• Cloud storage

• Email

  
  

External Communication Channels to use for public communication

• Social Media Platforms

• Website

• Email Newsletters

• Community newspapers (print and digital)

• Community events

• Podcasting Streaming Service

Understanding Digital Accessibility

Consider the digital accessibility of the different communication formats and channels you decide to use to share information.

Digital accessibility can mean different things to different people, so it is important that everyone works with the same definition. You can refer to this acronym from Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) (Introduction to Understanding WCAG 2.1 | WAI | W3C, n.d.) that explains the four principles of accessibility to ensure that channels/technology and formats are accessible to everyone:

1. “Perceivable - Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive.”

2. “This means that users must be able to perceive the information being presented (it can't be invisible to all of their senses)”

3. “Operable - User interface components and navigation must be operable.”

4. ”This means that users must be able to operate the interface (the interface cannot require interaction that a user cannot perform)”

5. “Understandable - Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable.”

6. “This means that users must be able to understand the information as well as the operation of the user interface (the content or operation cannot be beyond their understanding)”

7. “Robust - Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies.”

8. “This means that users must be able to access the content as technologies advance (as technologies and user agents evolve, the content should remain accessible)”

   
   

If any of these are not true, users with disabilities will not be able to use the web.”

Language

Engage with language translation services early in the project communications process if the project needs to be available in multiple languages. Since you are communicating different types of information that you would normally share with a variety of stakeholders, remember to follow Plain Language guidelines and avoid museum or project management jargon as required.

​Plain language is defined by the International Plain Language Federation (2025) as:

“A communication is in plain language if its wording, structure, and design are so clear that the intended audience can easily find what they need, understand what they find, and use that information.”

Formats

Balancing the value of the information with the communication channel you decide to use can help create content and influence the meaning of the message you want to share. Identify at the beginning and during the project which information needs to be shared in person, and which information can be shared electronically. Consider if there is sensitive or confidential information that needs to be discussed in person, or if you need a password-protected document to share information.

​The amount of information you share is also important. Providing a lot of information doesn’t mean that you are communicating the right information and can be perceived as performative. Be clear, concise, and consistent with your communication, regardless of which format you choose to use.

Examples of formats you can use:

• Text (progress reports, blogs, emails)

• Data visualisation (graphs, charts, infographics)

• Images and Video (behind-the-scenes content for grant reports, social media)

• Virtual or in-person presentations (community events, information evenings)  

Information Tailoring

Tailor the information to suit the needs of different project stakeholders and the community using the appropriate format. Ask the following questions and add them to your Communication Channel and Format Requirement Register:

1. Is it confidential/sensitive information?

2. What level of detail needs to be shared?

3. What is the best format to use to share the information? (Text, Data, Images)

4. Is the format accessible and adaptable for different communication channels?

   
   

Push and Pull Communications

When considering communication formats and channels, it is also important to include the intersection of the importance and the frequency of the information you need to share. This is where you can apply the idea of “Push” and “Pull” communications, as outlined in Gregory M. Horrine's book ‘Project Management - Complete Beginner’s Guide (2009, p. 245). He notes that “...Effective project communications use both push (send it to them) and pull (make it available to them) communication methods.”

For example, urgent updates regarding an issue with the water line should be sent (pushed) to all impacted project stakeholders via email and the central project communication hub (if one has been set up). Sharing important project milestones on the museum’s project web page for anyone to access would be an example of the pull communication method.

A combination of both push and pull methods can be used to ensure that the right information is sent and received by the right people. For example, you can send a file link in a weekly email with a summary of the week’s project to museum board members, which directs them to a detailed project progress report on the museum’s cloud file storage.

Keep it simple

Remember the following 5 basics for clear and impactful project communications:

​1. Stakeholder Identification: Know who you are communicating.

2. Information Objective: Know why you are sharing information with them.  

3. Content creation: Less is more. Avoid performative content with no substance.

4. Communication style: Be consistent and clear in how you communicate.

5. Consistent delivery of information: Stakeholders appreciate being kept in the loop, even if there isn’t too much to report.

Project Communications Schedule: When will you share the information?

A project communications schedule helps ensure that you inform impacted stakeholders and the community about the museum redevelopment project’s progress in a timely manner. It helps you with proactive communications, which can help manage risks and reduce conflict. Keeping people consistently informed in the appropriate formats and channels builds trust through transparency and accountability.

Consistent communication does not mean overwhelming people with information. Consider the timing of communications at all times by asking questions like “..is the project success dependent upon having frequently updated information available on a moment’s notice, or would regularly issued written reports suffice?” (Project Management Group, 2004, p. 227). Balancing the value and content of the information discussed in the Information Requirements: What information does each stakeholder need to know? section can help inform your decision about when to share information.

Use the Project Schedule as a starting point to create a project communications schedule and include:

• What role does this information play in the project communications plan?

• Who is responsible for creating the information

• Who is accountable for distributing the information

• Frequency of information distribution

• Information review dates

• Deadline for information

• Publishing/Information distribution date

  
  

Remember that projects can have multiple delays. Assign someone in the museum project team to ensure that the project communications schedule is kept up to date and accessible to the project build team and the museum project team.

Celebrating project milestones and creating connections

Celebrate milestones to connect project stakeholders and the community on an emotional level through updates that are relevant to their objectives and needs. For example, celebrating that the museum’s new roof is built might be more relevant to the project build team, the museum, and the project stakeholders. While the news that the first collection item has been placed in the new, fit-for-purpose drawers in the new collections space will be more significant to the museum and museum sector than necessarily to the sub-contractor who painted the exterior of the museum building.  

Measure and Review: How will you measure the effectiveness of your project communications?

Project communication effectiveness is measured against the project objectives each stakeholder needs to achieve, and how the information you share with them helps achieve that objective. A project communications plan also needs to be flexible, and you should adjust it accordingly to ensure that you are meeting the project communications objectives.

Create a Progress Communications Report to measure and review the effectiveness of the project communication plan and communication activities during the project. For example, if the museum trust board needs to access status reports to justify the need for more funding from the local council, but can’t access the file format, that means that the information is inaccessible due to the use of an incorrect format or communication channel. If someone couldn’t access a file or had trouble understanding the language you used, you need to record this issue and record what steps you took to ensure that the right people have access to the right information through accessible formats and communication channels.

A record of what worked well and what didn’t work well can help you adjust your project communications for future projects, and help with progress report writing, future grant applications, or project proposals.

Information Management: How will you manage and store project communications information?

Keeping project communications documents not only makes it easy to access information, but it might also be a requirement as part of grant funding or your museum’s document management policy. A clear and simple filing system will help you store and retrieve information efficiently during the museum redevelopment and for future reference.

Use this folder structure as a starting point:

• Main Folder

• Project Communications Folder

  
  

  • Subfolder

  • Museum Redevelopment Operations Folder

    • Documents

    • Project Communications Plan

    • Project Communications Schedule

    • Stakeholder Engagement Plan

    • Stakeholder Engagement Register

    • Communication Channel and Format Requirement Register

      
      

  • Subfolder

  • Project Communications Content Folder

    
    

  • Subfolder

  • Project Management Folder

    • Documents

    • The Project Charter

    • The Project Scope Statement

    • Project Management Plan

      
      

  • Subfolder

  • Status Report Folder

    • Documents

    • Grant Progress Reports

    • Project Communications Progress Report

The impact of effective project communications on the museum

Proof of concept for future museum projects

A successful project communications plan provides the framework for future projects. While future projects are unlikely to be on the same scale as a museum redevelopment project, they might have similar complexities and involve a large number of different external stakeholders.

​Strengthened external stakeholder relationships

Effective project communication can help strengthen relationships through the positive impact of clear and efficient communication with stakeholders. These relationships can lead to future collaborations, partnerships, sponsorships, and fundraising collaborations.

Raise awareness of the museum's role in the community

It can also help you meet the museum’s overall objectives, since it will be directly linked to projects aimed to improve the museum experience.   

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References

Horine, G. (2009). Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Project Management, Third Edition. In Que Publishing Company eBooks (Third). QUE Publishing.

International Plain Language Federation. (2025, June 20). What is plain language? - International Plain Language Federation. International Plain Language Federation -. https://www.iplfederation.org/plain-language/ 

Introduction to Understanding WCAG 2.1 | WAI | W3C. (n.d.). https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/intro 

Project Management Institute. (2021). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (7th ed.). Project Management Institute.

Project Management Group. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (6th ed.). Project Management Institute.

Project Management Group. (2004). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (3rd ed.). Project Management Institute.

Image credits

Photo 1 by Danyil

Photo 2 by cottonbro studio 

Photo 3 by ThisIsEngineering

Photo 4 by Thirdman

Photo 5 by cottonbro studio

Photo 6 by Ira

Photo 7 by Ivan Samkov

Photo by Beyza Koeken

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