The results are in: Reopening Survey 2020

Dear Colleagues,

Thank you for taking the time to participate in the Reopening Survey distributed staff-wide in mid-June. A total of 6,220 staff were invited to participate, and 4,485 (approximately 72%) responded.

We are very grateful for this level of participation as we seek to navigate these extraordinary and unprecedented times. Your input is more important than ever to us as we manage the risks of the coronavirus pandemic while continuing our operations, reopening to the public, and finding novel and different ways in our “New Normal” to improve the Smithsonian and prepare it for the future.

Our leadership team plans to spend additional time distilling and digesting these results, but we want to share with you a series of high-level observations that we have gleaned from our analysis thus far. In this document, we have highlighted some of the actions we have already taken to address the issues raised.

Reopening Survey 2020: High-level findings (Link)

survey-high_level_observations.200902 (pdf)

You can view the detailed quantitative data generated by the Reopening Survey findings here:

Reopening Survey 2020: Quantitative Results

reopening_survey.quantitative_results.200902 (pdf)

Both documents are available and can be downloaded from the Smithsonian Organization and Audience Research reports page on Prism.

We also want to thank you for your excellent feedback and insight into ideas and challenges that the Institution faces as we move forward into a post-pandemic world. We learned that we have work to do in several areas:

• Coordinating our digital efforts around a cohesive strategy that results in effectively meeting the interests and needs of diverse audiences to have real impact;
• Changing our organizational culture and processes to make the Institution more flexible and nimble; and
• Finding creative ways to generate revenue through philanthropy and other means while staying true to our role as a public trust.

We are exploring ways to tackle these challenges, and will move us forward on critical issues such as digital transformation, and diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion.

We are encouraged to see that even during this difficult time the Smithsonian community continues to see the Institution as a source of hope, a trusted repository of information, and a space for civic engagement. Further, we appreciate your willingness to work together to make changes, overcome challenges, and in some cases, transform how we operate to live up to that vision.

We look forward to sharing additional information in the coming weeks on the actions underway to address concerns raised and opportunities presented by the survey results.

Thank you for all that you do for the Smithsonian.

Best,

Lonnie Bunch

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