Coalition of State Museum Associations (COSMA)

The Coalition of State Museum Associations (COSMA) will increase the capacity of state museum associations to more effectively serve the museums in their state. The inaugural cohort will focus on states in the Western Museum Association—Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawai’i, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, and representatives from each of the remaining regional associations. The project will generate networking opportunities that will empower state museum associations to meet core function benchmarks for governance, communications, advocacy, member services, and financial stability standards outlined in the Common Service Model. The Common Service Model was created to support state museum associations to increase their operational capacity. Each year the program will guide cohort participants through a process to identify and address operational gaps by providing an in-person convening in conjunction with the Western Museums Association annual meeting, 5 webinars, and designated monthly virtual monthly office hours to provide feedback and track progress for participants.