Dec
03

The New Normal

Secretary Bunch releases the New Normal Committee’s final report and recommendations about the Smithsonian’s future.

Graphic banner for the New Normal Team

Colleagues,

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, I asked stakeholders from across the Institution to work together to see what we could learn from the crisis, how we could adapt, and how we can emerge as a better organization in our “New Normal.” For several months, the “New Normal Committee” explored these questions, and they have summarized their work in their report. (See below for a downloadable version of the full report.)

I would like to preview for you the way in which I intend to integrate its recommendations into our broader strategic thinking and highlight actions already underway to bring some of these recommendations to fruition. 

I am working closely with the leadership team to consolidate various strategic inputs from across the Institution—these include the priorities I mapped out when I became Secretary, the guiding framework created by my strategic advisors Tasha Coleman and Erin Golightly, the Institution’s existing strategic plan, and now, the New Normal Report. Using these inputs, I plan to develop a single, core set of priorities that will guide our thinking going forward into 2021.

How do we learn from the [COVID-19] crisis, change to adapt to the New Normal, and emerge a better organization?

From the Final Report and Committee findings of the New Normal Committee

In the meantime, I would like to highlight for you certain New Normal recommendations on which we plan to immediately move forward and note how they dovetail with other efforts already underway. We will integrate these New Normal recommendations (see below) into existing work or launch them as new initiatives.

I want to thank the New Normal team who worked so hard to pull this paper and these recommendations together. They provided us with so many thoughtful ideas, along with much-needed context. Although we cannot take on all of the recommendations simultaneously, this report will continue to serve as a reservoir of great ideas into the future.

  • Ellen Stofan (Chair)
  • Bethany Bentley, National Museum of the American Indian
  • Shanita Brackett, National Museum of African American History and Culture
  • Cody Coltharp, Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access
  • Katie Desmond, Office of Special Events and Protocol
  • Linette Dutari, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
  • Charlotte Gaither, Office of Advancement
  • Effie Kapsalis, Office of the Under Secretary for Museums and Culture
  • Rebecca Kasemeyer, National Portrait Gallery
  • Carol LeBlanc, Smithsonian Enterprises
  • Matthew O’Connor, Smithsonian Exhibits
  • Jeanne O’Toole, Office of Protection Services
  • Ian Owens, National Museum of Natural History
  • Kim Robledo-Diga, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Lisa Sasaki, Asian Pacific American Center

Sincerely,

Lonnie Bunch
Secretary

New Normal Committee_SummaryDownload
New-Normal-Committee_Final-ReportDownload

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Posted: 3 December 2020
About the Author:

Lonnie G. Bunch III is the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. He was the founding director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and is the first historian to be Secretary of the Institution.