Full-scale projects customized to a museum’s comprehensive needs. May include: surveys of both museum-goers and broader population sampling, qualitative research, review and inclusion of relevant external resources (e.g., US Census), etc. Also includes contextualization of research findings via Knowledge Curation™ and ongoing advisory services throughout duration of project, in-person visit(s) by Susie Wilkening.
TYPICAL COST:
$50,000 – $150,000,* depending on scope.
Projects designed to examine the impact of lifelong learning organizations throughout a community. These projects can be designed with a lead organization driving the work, or a group of organizations coming together for community-wide impact.
TYPICAL COSTS:
$5,000 – $65,000.*
Short projects that address one or two specific issues for a museum. Typically deploys only one or two research methodologies (e.g., one survey, one panel).
TYPICAL COST:
$10,000 – $50,000,* depending on scope.
Enrollment is now open in the 2026 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers, fielded with the American Alliance of Museums!
Participation in this research enables your museum to:
COST:
*Fees are subject to change. Museums must launch their survey by March 8, 2026 for early-bird or standard fee; museums with annual operating budgets of $400,000 or less will receive a discounted base fee of $1000 so long as they launch by March 8, 2026.
Creation of a visual demographic profile of your community; can include comparisons to your stakeholders if you have that data available (such as from intercept surveys or from surveying your stakeholders).
TYPICAL COST:
$1,000+, depending on the number of “communities” you define (e.g., your city, your county, your state).
A quick research dive to answer a defined question. Initial call to define needs is complimentary. Hourly fee reflects time and effort to aggregate data in the first place, research the question, and provide answer in format you desire. Minimum 2 hours.
COST:
$175/hour + any pre-approved hard costs.
A retainer service for ongoing, on-call consulting services for CEOs and senior staff, including:
While a museum does not have to retain Wilkening Consulting for research services to receive ongoing advisory services, it is most effective in conjunction with some level of research so we have a deeper understanding of your specific museum, your audience, and your community.
COST:
$3,500 – $10,000+ per year, depending on frequency of calls, number of staff participating, desired on-site visits; includes participation in the Annual Survey of Museum-Goers.
Museums often develop advisory councils to provide specialized input on new exhibitions, programs, and initiatives. Many participants of these councils come from academia or other museums, and those organizations contribute the time and expertise of their staff to these projects (just as they, in turn, benefit when they convene their own advisory councils).
As independent researchers, our participation can benefit a museum through the depth of research resources we bring to the table. To make it possible for us to bring those resources to your project, we ask that museums requesting these services to engage us for Knowledge Curation (above) for the term of service.
COST:
$2,500 – $10,000+ per year, plus any required travel expenses, depending on commitment
*Note: pricing assumes aggregate research findings may be shared with the museum field, supporting field-wide insights that benefit all museums. Individual museum results always remain confidential. If all research is to be kept client-proprietary, the cost for services doubles. Please be in touch to clarify how this may affect pricing for your project.
We love working with strategic planners, and helping a museum conduct research and consider best paths for the future before beginning a planning process. But we encourage you to seek out a highly-qualified, and experienced planner to lead the actual planning process for you.
We also love learning from evaluators, and receiving their reports. It all feeds into the work we do. But we are not evaluators. There are many highly-qualified evaluators who are great at assessing individual projects, programs, and exhibitions. Our strengths are different.