SPK reform commission discusses decentralized organizational structures
News from 02/04/2021
SPK President Parzinger: "This was a good day for our work on reform."
At its meeting yesterday, the reform commission of the Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz (Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation) addressed the situation of the state museums, in particular their internal organizational structures. Among other things, various options for developing decentralized management and administrative structures were discussed as a means of strengthening the autonomy of the museums and institutes. The meeting was attended by Prof. Dr. Christina Haak, representing the General Directorate, and the museum directors Prof. Dr. Friederike Seyfried and Prof. Dr. Matthias Wemhoff, representing the institutional management level of the Staatliche Museen Berlin (National Museums in Berlin). The reform commission decided that the proposals presented by the museum directors should be given further evaluation in terms of the structural recommendations made by the Scientific Board.
Minister of State for Culture Monika Grütters: "It is impressive to see the commitment, creativity, and professionalism with which the museums are getting involved in this reform process. We also see how strong the desire for change is. We want to do justice to that, so we are subjecting the existing structures to rigorous examination. In order to enable individual institutions to exploit their potential fully and to highlight the strengths of their respective collections even better, they need to have as much autonomy as possible within the association as a whole. It is also important to identify useful synergy effects wherever possible and to use them wisely, with an eye to improving international competitiveness at the same time."
Hermann Parzinger, President of the Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz: "This was a good day for our work on reform. Granting the museums themselves greater individual responsibility would also have the potential to generate added value for visitors. That must be the core concern of any reform. We are determined to make progress along this road and to do so in a spirit of mutual understanding with the federal and state governments."