The Museums and Business Collaboration: New Opportunities project, funded by ESR+, aims to discover innovative approaches to service development in the museum sector. Do you have a groundbreaking business idea or perhaps just the seed of one? Join our project, and we will help you turn your idea into reality! We welcome professionals from a wide range of roles and responsibility levels, and we encourage you to involve your entire museum organization in the project.

We support the development and implementation of individual ideas, but more broadly, the project aims to build skills that enable museums to generate revenue in the future. These competencies will continue to benefit museum professionals long after the project has ended. The project also seeks to introduce the business sector to the many value-creation opportunities offered by the museum field.

You can join by contacting our Project Coordinator Monika Keisala at monika.keisala@museoliitto.fi, by participating in a training workshop at Museum Days, or by signing up for our upcoming training sessions.

In addition, a networking event for museums and businesses will be held in November. The goal is to identify partners for piloting new services. Pilot projects will begin at the end of 2026 with selected companies and museums.

Official summary:

The project aims to strengthen the service design, business, and financial skills of professionals in the museum and cultural heritage sector, enabling the productization and sale of expert services. At the same time, it builds bridges to the business world by attracting companies to collaborate with the cultural heritage sector. The goal of the project is to develop new, attractive, and sustainable service concepts that promote the financial sustainability and impact of museums and cultural heritage actors.

The project runs from January 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027. The project team includes Project Director Leena Tokila and Project Coordinator Monika Keisala.