Exploring Community Response to a New Civic Engagement Initiative at James Madison’s Montpelier
Client: James Madison’s Montpelier | Location: Montpelier Station, VA | Funding: Institute of Museum and Library Services
We used evaluation to guide James Madison’s Montpelier as it develops public programs that foster local partnerships and civic engagement among local audiences.
OVERVIEW
In 2021, we worked with James Madison’s Montpelier to test their underlying assumptions about visitors and their relationship to the Constitution, James Madison, and civic engagement that could inform the development of the Constitution Initiative and its programs.
As the museum embarked on this new 10-year initiative, it was important to gather input from target audiences and potential community partners early on to establish a strong audience-focused foundation for future work.
APPROACH
We conducted remote interviews with three key audiences for the Constitution Initiative public programs: visitors, non-visitors, and leaders from potential partner organizations in nearby communities. We hosted multiple group discussions with staff to help them consider the implications of the data and translate what they learned into next steps for the Constitution Initiative.
CLIENT TAKEAWAYS
We found high interest and potential for Montpelier’s proposed programs. People were intrigued by Montpelier’s idea to use the Constitution as a framing device that sets up participants in its public programs for citizen action, and they were enthusiastic about the idea of Montpelier connecting participants with the knowledge and tools they need to address an issue they care about in their own communities.
The evaluation also uncovered important concerns for the proposed program–in particular, the need to thoughtfully select and collaborate with community partner organizations. Regarding the latter, leaders from potential partner organizations wondered if Montpelier’s list of possible partners would truly reach the diversity of participants Montpelier desires (particularly youth and communities of color) and hoped Montpelier would take the time needed to build collaborative relationships with these organizations so that both parties benefit and grow from the partnership.
Given the turmoil and transitions at Montpelier during the spring of 2022 (just months after our evaluation concluded), these insights will be especially salient as Montpelier considers how to continue building relationships with local communities and community organizations.