School of Leisure, Sport & Tourism Corporate Social Responsibility of Large Urban Museums: The Contribution of Volunteer Programs Dr Deborah Edwards STCRC Senior Research Fellow in Urban Tourism University of Technology Sydney

Aims 1.To explore the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and social capital. 2.Outline the contribution of 3 large museums to social capital through their volunteer programs: –Aust Museum – Sydney –Australian War Memorial - Canberra –Art Gallery New South Wales - Sydney 3.Suggest ways in which museums can continue to fulfil and advance their CSR activities.

Social Capital 'Social attachment' - nature and strength of relationships that people have with each other and organizations and institutions. ‘Individual wellbeing and societal wellbeing are intrinsically affected by the interactions that take place within society’ (ABS, 2005, p. 1). Wellbeing is maintained by people becoming involved in transactions with others – building social capital.

Social Capital and its relevance to CSR Organisations through CSR activities can facilitate positive transactions. Organisations that work with society realise benefits: –Corporate reputation and goodwill; –Positive corporate image; –Attract and retain motivated employees; –Improve market position; –Reputation-based competitive advantage over competitors.

Contribution of Large Urban Museums to Social Capital Culture and leisure activities are seen as assisting in developing community identity and forming community networks ie. social attachment. Museums play a role in social attachment: –As institutions of culture where people can spend leisure time; –Bring the community into the working life of the organisation through volunteer programs.

Contribution of Large Urban Museums to Social Capital Volunteer programs bridge people from different parts of the community: –Interact with others, make new friends, and feel a part of the community; –Share common goals and aspirations of passing on art science, or history and reducing organisational costs; –Articulate their engagement as citizens building trust and reciprocity among each other.

Contribution of Large Urban Museums to Social Capital Opportunities for people to learn about each other which serves to build tolerance, acceptance, and trust between otherwise disparate individuals. Volunteers provide local knowledge with sensitivity. Experience high levels of enjoyment when engaging visitors. Extensive training that builds skills and knowledge.

Findings Overall not clear that museums appreciate their CSR contribution evidenced by: –Lack of recognition of CSR capabilities and activities; –A narrow representation of community groups at 2 of the museums; –No measurement or monitoring of the social contribution of their volunteer programs. Research centre AWM

Implications for Management Provision of training that continues to build interpersonal skills. Art, science and history can appeal to many people in society regardless of their nationality or social status. Develop greater diversity of community representation in volunteer programs. –Enable a broader representation of the community to engage with museum visitors.

Implications for Management Measuring the intangible and tangible social contribution of volunteer programs: –people’s willingness to cooperate for mutual benefit; –extent to which connections and friendships are formed; –levels of trust people have with one another; –number and strength of museums linkages with different community groups; –opportunity for education and skills development; –increased understanding by the community of the organization’s mission, goals and values; and –communities trust towards the institution.

Implications for Management Measuring and monitoring CSR will have human and economic resource impacts for the museum. Can be minimised by using volunteers to implement or conduct measurement and monitoring activities. Documenting of tangible and intangible benefits can be used by museums to learn from experiences, celebrate their CSR involvement, enhance their CSR capabilities, and improve its reputation and community relationships.

Conclusion CSR is linked to social capital - opportunities it offers for community engagement, increasing social attachment and building community trust. Museums can contribute to building social capital through their volunteer programs. Greater contribution can be realised through the identifying and documenting CSR indicators of their volunteer programs. Lead to a recognition of their responsibility and shared possibility to creating healthy stable and strong communities.