Museums Connect 2014
Final Report Instructions
Submission
All project activities must be completed and funds expended by 31 July 2015. The
Final Report must be submitted to museumsconnect@aam-us.org on or before
1 September 2015.
Because Museums Connect staff will be editing all narratives into a larger final report,
please provide your report in Word format in Arial 12 font. Signed financial statements,
media clips, and other work products may be submitted as scanned copies. If files are
too large to include as attachments, please send an email by the deadline directing staff to
the file-sharing service (e.g., Dropbox) where report materials can be found. Museums
Connect staff will confirm receipt within one business day. Final Report materials may be
submitted at any time on the day of the deadline, including after business hours; reports
submitted earlier are always welcomed. Late or incomplete reports violate your signed
Implementation Agreement; subawardees that fail to submit complete reports by the Final
Report deadline may be required to return project funds.
The US Project Coordinator is responsible for filing the Final Report on behalf of both
partners keeping in mind that it is essential to capture the perspectives of the US and
non-US subawardees and communities when reporting. The Final Report is expected
to be a collaborative writing process providing all subawardees ample opportunity to
consider their experiences with the project, their partner institution, and the communities
served. If the Final Report is not integrated into a cohesive whole but is instead a
collection of separate reports for each of the partner countries, it will be returned to the
partners for editing prior to acceptance.
Cover Sheet
Using the template and referencing the information from cover sheets submitted with
your quarterly reports, provide statistics for the estimated reach of the project during the
project period.
Précis
A brief, one-page précis begins the report with a paragraph each that:

Describes the museums and community members participating and the goal of
their project/the issue that they are trying to address.

Explains why this goal/issue is important to the two communities.
Museums Connect
American Alliance of Museums
1575 Eye St NW, Ste 400
Washington, DC 20005
www.aam-us.org/museumsconnect
museumsconnect@aam-us.org
+1.202.289.9115
fax +1.202.289.6578

Explains briefly the project activities and how they addressed the goal/issue.

Explains the outcomes and long-term impact of the project.
Because the Museums Connect program is supported by the US Department of State
(DOS) to build relationships and improve understanding between countries, your
description will ideally include activities that furthered this. This synopsis will be shared
with DOS for their use and may be published on the American Alliance of Museums
website or in our publications.
If space allows, your précis may also include a compelling quote or story about the
impact of the project on one of the individual community participants, rather than the
institutions, involved.
Narrative
The goals of Museums Connect are:

For Communities: Communities in the US and abroad develop a broader
knowledge about and understanding of one another’s cultures by participating in
an innovative, museum-facilitated collaborative project.

For Museums and Related Arts and Cultural Organizations: Museums create
replicable models for international collaborations that reach beyond their physical
walls to engage directly members of their communities.
When writing your final report, keep these goals in mind. Begin with the best story or
most heartfelt anecdote as an introduction, tie it to the impact the project has had on the
community, and discuss the lessons learned about different cultures. In addition to the
quantitative information collected, remember that the good anecdotes serve as
important testimonials about the project and the Museums Connect program.
The Narrative should be divided into four sections: Activities and Outputs, Impact and
Outcomes, Sustainability, and Lessons Learned and Other Observations. Please use
complete, descriptive paragraphs rather than bulleted lists, especially when describing
project/travel activities.
Activities and Outputs
In this section, please only provide new information that has not been shared with
Museums Connect in prior quarterly reports and activity briefs. Depending on the
activities in the project’s final month, this section may be rather brief. In separate
subsections as listed in the Activities and Outputs section of your Implementation
Agreement (e.g., workshops, oral history interviews, video projects), please address
activities and outputs. If something was not completed as listed, please explain why
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and describe what you did in order to fulfill the intent of the activity or output or what the
partners did in lieu of the activity or output. Please also include any additional
subsections with details based on activities/outputs completed beyond the original
scope of the project.
Impact and Outcomes
This section should comprise the bulk of your final report and should discuss in detail:

The community needs that the project was trying to address and the ways in
which it accomplished its goals.

The outcomes of the project. Using the logic model from your Implementation
Agreement, add an additional column following Target and evaluate the impact
your project had on the various communities you served. Please be sure to
evaluate the outcomes with the same measurement type used in the target column
(i.e., if the target references a percentage, the actual measurement should also be
a percentage).
Example:
Outcome #1: List Outcome
Indicator(s)
Data Source
Data
Intervals
To Whom
Segment of
Where data will
be found
population to
Points at which
which this
information is
indicator is
collected
applied

Target
Actual
The proposed #,
The actual #, %,
%, variation, or
variation, or
other measure
other measure
of change
of change
Interpretation of the results. Describe the impact of your project and why it is
important for the communities and museums involved. If the targets listed in your
logic model were not met, explain why and describe any adjustments that were
made to achieve the intent of the outcomes through different means or how the
project was adapted to achieve more significant results.
Please be sure to address:

The ways in which the project outcomes furthered your museum’s institutional
goals.

The impact of the project on the museum’s staff as a whole, especially any
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connections made with, or unexpected contributions from, other departments as a
result of the project.

Any new organizational contacts made, either with other museums in your
region/area of specialization or with new community groups.

The ways in which the project strengthened the museum’s relationship with the
local community.

The ways in which the connections between the community groups, or even
individual members, across borders was strengthened.
Sustainability
Please describe plans that museum staff and/or community members have to continue
collaborations beyond the grant period. Include ongoing activities related to your
project, ideas for other activities or projects in the future, and any evidence, anecdotal
or otherwise, that the community members are in continued communication. You may
consider addressing sustainability in terms of:

Museum-to-museum collaborations

Museum-community collaborations

Community-to-community collaborations

Peer-to-peer connections
If you used Museums Connect funds to purchase equipment such as computers,
cameras, microphones, etc., please explain who will retain the equipment and how it will
be used to further community engagement and/or community-to-community connections
after the end of the grant term. Please note that if the equipment will not be used for
this purpose, it must be returned to the federal government.
Lessons Learned and Other Observations
Please use this section to describe how the project might be adapted for replication
elsewhere and what adjustments might be made to improve outcomes in future
iterations. What contributed to the successes of your project? What did not meet
expectations? You may consider addressing the following:

Communications (i.e., internal and external, use of new media and new
technologies, sharing stories with local media and other audiences)

Community outreach (e.g., encouraging community participation, working with
students)

Project activities (i.e., types, planning and execution)
In this section, you may also share anything you feel is relevant to the project but does
not fit into one of the above categories, including any anecdotes or stories you feel
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capture the heart of the project.
Museums Connect also welcomes recommendations for improving the administration of
the project and any advice you would like to share with future awardees.
Appendix 1: Line Item and Cost Share Budgets
Please provide copies of your final Financial and Cost Share reports signed by your
project’s Fiscal Agent; copies signed by individuals other than the Fiscal Agent will not
be accepted. Please note that the Total Amount Remaining in your Financial report
should equal $0. If you have funds remaining that you have received but not spent, you
will be invoiced and will need to return this amount to Museums Connect. If you have
spent more than your grant amount, please include these expenses on your Cost Share
report.
Appendix 2: Participant List
In alphabetical order by last name, please provide the name, title, and affiliation of the
project’s primary participants, sorted by country. Include all individuals who traveled as
part of project activities, as well as primary participants (e.g., museum staff and
community members) who did not travel. Briefly list travel dates and purpose, if
applicable. If travel was not Museums Connect funded, please indicate the funding
source.
Example:
Madagascar
KOTO, Miavaka, Student, Bedok North Secondary School

16 March – 5 April 2014, Toamasina, Madagascar to St. Louis, MO (funded by
Malagasy Volunteer Corps)
RABINUR, Stéphanie, Teacher, Bedok North Secondary School

Led students in activities related to the local environment
RAKOTO, Andry, Research Scientist, Andasibe National Park

Project coordinator

16 March – 5 April 2014, Toamasina, Madagascar to St. Louis, MO

19 – 22 May 2014, Toamasina, Madagascar to Seattle, WA (presented on project
at AAM Annual Meeting; funded by Getty fellowship)
United States
LESCHYSHYN, Curtis, Director of Education, Science Center of Missouri
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
Project coordinator

9 – 15 November 2013, St. Louis, MO to Toamasina, Madagascar
MILLER, Kelly, Student, Eleanor Roosevelt Middle School

9 – 15 November 2013, St. Louis, MO to Toamasina, Madagascar
TINORDI, Maria, Student, Eleanor Roosevelt Middle School
Appendix 3: Bibliography
Please provide specifics of any press the project has received that has not been
previously reported in quarterly reports, including newspaper and online articles as well
as television and radio interviews. When available, attach copies (PDF preferred). Please
include for each:

Name of the author/reporter (LAST, First or Organization)

Title of the article (if not in English, please provide a translation in addition to the
original title)

Name of the newspaper/TV station/website

Date published/aired (e.g. 15 April 2013)

Link (when available)
Example:

Hunter, Greg. "Teens Talk Global Warming." St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 30 June
2014. www.stltoday.com/teenstalkglobalwarming.
Photos and Work Products
Please attach 5-10 of the most compelling photographs from the project period with
descriptive captions. You may include links to online photo albums in addition to, rather
than in place of, the selection of 5-10. Photographs should be representative of activities
at all partner sites.
Per your Implementation Agreement, awardees must provide three copies of any
products (e.g., brochures, publications, posters) produced with Museums Connect funds
with their final reports. Please keep in mind that work products created as a result of
the Museums Connect program may not be sold for profit.
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