Balboa Park museums move into the future, together

Rich Cherry (Courtesy photo)

A new $3.1 million online collaborative in Balboa Park is seeking to change the way that cultural institutions use technology and the way that philanthropy is done.

SDNN talked with Rich Cherry, the director of the Balboa Park Online Collaborative. Cherry, his wife Hiroko and 3-year-old twins Noah and Erika moved to San Diego last March from Los Angeles where he was director of operations for the Skirball Cultural Center.

What is the source of the funding for the Balboa Park Online Collaborative?
The initial $3.1 million in funding has been provided by the San Diego-based Legler Benbough Foundation over three years. In addition, we’ve received a grant of $125,000 per year from Google, and we can use this money to purchase ad words and process payments through Google check out.

Is this enough money?
No. We need to raise additional money from private philanthropists, foundations and the federal government. Typically a successful organization spends around six percent of its revenues on technology. Without counting the San Diego Zoo, the annual budget of the 17 museums that are part of our collaborative is $66 million, and six percent of that is $4 million. They haven’t been spending anywhere near that.

What are your goals?
We want the institutions to collaborate successfully on technology projects so that each one doesn’t have to invest in technology. One of our first projects is re-building the museums’ Web sites using open source software (Drupal) to create a common platform and tools that they can all share. Second, we are developing a cultural calendar so each museum will be able to post their events on their websites, and it will automatically feed into BalboaPark.org, the main park Web site which we also plan to overhaul in the coming year, and our partner Web sites. The Web sites are just the beginning. We’ll develop tools for donations, membership, event registration, ticketing, mobile apps, and retail, and we’ll make their collections accessible in a digital format online.

Why did you take this position?
I’ve always been interested in getting multiple museums to collaborate. I actually met my wife in Buffalo in 2000 when I was working on a project to get museums in that area to collaborate on a collection management system. We weren’t able to get the funding but I did meet my wife. Second, this project is well funded although we need to raise more money. Third, it blows my mind that it hasn’t been done.

What is your biggest challenge?
There are a lot of moving pieces with 17 institutions in the collaborative, and we have only four full-time staff members.

What keeps you up at night?
Trying to get all of these things done. I think about when will the software get delivered, will the people use it correctly, and will I raise the additional money that we need in order to be transformational. Balboa Park is the cultural soul of San Diego, and if we can’t figure out how to make this a success, very likely this can’t happen anywhere else.

Tell us about one particular project.
We are working on an alternative reality game that you can play in the park. You dial a number from your

The Museum of Man, in Balboa Park. (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons)

cell phone and then a particular extension depending on where you are. At each location, you get a piece of the narrative. The first game focuses on Balboa Park during World War II when it was taken over by the military.

What does success look like?
First it has very little to do with technology… for me success is when the technology blends into the background and because we are here the institutions we support are more efficient and dedicate more resources to their primary mission while reaching a larger audience. I see this as one of the best opportunities for to leave a legacy for San Diego for the next hundred years of Balboa Park

How will the Balboa Park Online Collaborative change the way that cultural institutions behave and philanthropy?
For most philanthropists maximizing return on investment is very important. They want the maximum amount of money going to mission related activities. Technology has been the cornerstone of improved productivity in the US for many years. So if you are interested in improving efficiency in an organization one of the first places you should look at is how it takes advantage of technology. I plan on proving that collaborating on technology is an effective way for cultural organizations to maximize their effectiveness. One of my goals is that this project is replicated in other cities across the country.

What do you and your family like to do in Balboa Park?
There is not much we don’t like… we love the arts, science and history. With young children it has taken a bit longer to take advantage of all the wonderful things to do in the Park. We have lived in New York City and Los Angeles, but we are really amazed by the diversity of cultural assets we have access to in Balboa Park.

Barbara Bry is SDNN associate publisher. Email: bbry (at) sdnn.com.

Tags: Balboa Park, Balboa Park Online Collaborative, museums, Rich Cherry, San Diego museums, SDNN

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