The Canadian Museums Association Research Summit: A report

In the spring of 2003, a meeting was held in Ottawa under the auspices of the Canadian Museums Association (CMA) to discuss the idea of planning a conference to address the status and future of research within Canada's museums. In recognition of the cross-disciplinary nature of the topic, but also in an attempt to explore common and diverging concerns, an ad hoc committee, chaired by Laura Brandon, was formed. The committee included willing representatives from art, history, and science museums, as well as the director of the CMA. The committee was later expanded to include representation from Quebec and the academic community. An initial decision was made to avoid debate over the definition and nature of 'curatorship' and focus on research, particularly collections-based research. It was also determined that any meeting should be clearly aimed at establishing a specific action plan. To this end, an inclusive and consultative format, involving facilitated breakout sessions, was chosen for what was ultimately called The Museum Research Summit.