Improving Community Engagement at the Dickens Museum
| Sponsor: |
Charles Dickens Museum |
 |
| Sponsor Liaison: |
Jordan Evans-Hill |
| Student Team: |
Grace Cink, Ty Csencsits, Daniel Pinto |
| Abstract: |
This project focuses on enhancing community engagement with Charles Dickens’s legacy within London. We conducted 100 community surveys and interviews with 3 members of the Museum, 5 staff from local museums, and 2 community stakeholders. Our findings revealed that while most Londoners are somewhat interested in Dickens, particularly his writings and life, 53% were unaware of the Museum. Despite this, 87% expressed interest in visiting, with cost and awareness as the main barriers. We recommended strategies for the Museum, including flexible hours, discounts, new events, social media ads, community engagement, and showcasing manuscripts to overcome barriers and engage the local community. These recommendations aim to expand Dickens’s legacy, fostering new connections across communities. |
| Link: |
Charles+Dickens+Museum+Visual+Report-compressed
Improving Community Engagement Final Presentation |
Executive Summary
Introduction:
This project was conducted in collaboration with the Charles Dickens Museum to assess local interest levels in the Museum and Charles Dickens himself, and to identify how the Museum could better connect with the surrounding community. The Museum is an independent organization with the goals of maintaining the historic property, promoting the education of the public on Dickens’ life and works, and upholding Dickens’ legacy. The Museum, located at 48 Doughty Street in London, is the only remaining London residence of Charles Dickens, and it holds many important items from his life and career. While Dickens is a famous writer in the UK and worldwide, many people in London don’t know much about the Museum or that it even exists. This has made it difficult for the Museum to attract new visitors, especially from nearby neighborhoods. This project was initiated in response to internal concerns regarding attracting a more local audience and findings from previous market research that highlighted issues such as a lack of awareness and perceived barriers to entry. With these challenges in mind, the primary goal of this project was to gather actionable insights on how the Museum could become more accessible, relevant, and welcoming to its local community. The project explored the extent of public knowledge about the Museum and interest in Charles Dickens as a historical and literary figure, identified barriers to visitation, and examined successful community engagement strategies used by similar institutions.
Methods Overview:
This project was guided by four main objectives, each designed to explore a different aspect of how the Charles Dickens Museum can better engage with its local community, as shown in Figure ES1. Both qualitative and quantitative data were used to gather insights through surveys and interviews. Objective 1 was to identify current best practices for improving community engagement at cultural institutions. We reviewed existing literature on museum engagement strategies, conducted five interviews with London-based museums, and analyzed nine museum websites to understand how they engage their communities. Objective 2 aimed to understand the opinions of Charles Dickens Museum’s current staff. Three interviews with staff provided insight into how the Museum views its current engagement efforts and past offerings. A review of current and past offerings was also conducted to evaluate how the Museum has tried to connect with local audiences. Objective 3 explored local perceptions, interests, and barriers. Two interviews were held with community stakeholders, and a street-intercept survey of 100 respondents was conducted. The survey gathered public opinions, while stakeholder interviews added depth by exploring community needs and values in more detail. Lastly, Objective 4 was to develop practical strategies based on collected data.
Figure ES1: Diagram Outlining Methods Objectives and Tasks
Findings:
Finding 1: Most respondents are somewhat interested in Charles Dickens, specifically in his writings, his life, and the era he lived in
When given the options between very, somewhat, neutral, or not interested in the survey, the majority of respondents stated that they were somewhat interested in Charles Dickens or his works. When weighted from 1-4 points on an ordinal scale with 4 being “very interested” and 1 being “not interested”, the average score was 2.48. This shows a general interest in Charles Dickens and a promising baseline for the Museum to capitalize on. Participants were asked to select what topics related to Charles Dickens interested them in a multiple-choice question with five options. The most popular responses were the writings of Charles Dickens at 69%, and the life of Charles Dickens at 53%, as seen in Figure ES2. Participants were also asked what about Charles Dickens interested them, and 34% of respondents were interested in Dickens’ writing skills in particular (Figure ES2). The third most prevalent response was the Victorian era. When asked what interested them about Charles Dickens, 29% of respondents said the Victorian era.
Figure ES2: Areas of Interest in Charles Dickens (Q6)
Finding 2: Most respondents know Charles Dickens was an author but not much else
When respondents were asked what they knew about Charles Dickens, 25% of respondents knew nothing about Charles Dickens, and 72% knew that he was a writer. When segmenting the responses between those who reside in London and those who do not, 20.69% of Londoners knew facets of Dickens’ life compared to only 7.14% of non-Londoners. When asked if they knew any books or writings by Charles Dickens, 42% of respondents named Oliver Twist, 33% named A Christmas Carol, and 27% could not name any books by Dickens.
Finding 3: Most respondents are not aware of the Charles Dickens Museum
Participants were asked yes or no if they had heard of the Charles Dickens Museum before the survey. Fifty-three percent of respondents answered “no”. When segmenting responses between those who lived in London and those who did not, 51% of Londoners were aware of the Museum compared to 40% of non-Londoners. Only 7% of respondents had visited the Museum. During interviews, the Sir John Soane Museum, the Freud Museum, and Dr. Johnson’s House all mentioned social media as a tool to raise awareness of their offerings and content. Collaboration with the community and with other organizations was another common strategy mentioned during interviews with the Foundling Museum and both community stakeholders, as well as in 7/9 of the museums included in the website analysis.
Finding 4: Respondents would be interested in visiting the Charles Dickens Museum
Participants were asked if they would be interested in visiting the Charles Dickens Museum, and 87% of respondents said yes. This high level of interest was not impacted by whether the respondents were aware of the Museum prior to the survey or not. When asked what would entice them to visit the Charles Dickens Museum, 29% of respondents stated discounts or pricing changes, and 19% of respondents indicated that they would have visited if they were more aware of the Museum, especially if they had seen ads about the Museum on social media.
Finding 5: Respondents would like the Charles Dickens Museum to feature information about Charles Dickens’ life and his original manuscripts
When asked what they would like to see if they were to visit the Museum (as shown in Figure ES3), 33% of respondents said information about Charles Dickens’ life, 28% said his original manuscripts, 14% indicated interest in Dickens’ personal artifacts, and 14% said the inspiration behind his writing process. Since the museum offers exhibits about Dickens’ personal life, the Museum is on the right track with its current focus and these features should continue to be emphasized. While the Museum does have small selection of original notes and works written by Dickens, other museums, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, possess much larger collections of original manuscripts and texts.
Figure ES3: What Respondents Would Like to See at the Museum (Q10)
Finding 6: The two most common barriers to entry at the Charles Dickens Museum are awareness and cost
When asked what would entice them to visit the Charles Dickens Museum, a notable 29% of respondents mentioned a discount. When segmenting between London locals and non-locals, 34.48% of Londoners suggested pricing discounts, compared to 21.43% of non-Londoners, highlighting a stronger interest among locals (Figure ES4). Since over a third of Londoners would be more likely to visit if discounts were offered, it shows that pricing is a significant factor that influences local visitation. Four of the five museums we interviewed discussed cost as a potential barrier to entry. This shows that cost and lack of awareness are frequently cited as key barriers to visiting small museums like the Charles Dickens Museum.
Figure ES4: What would entice Londoners and Non-Londoners to visit the Charles Dickens Museum (Q1, Q11)
Recommendations:
Recommendation 1: Increase awareness of the Museum through social media and increased participation in community events
To overcome low awareness, the Museum should use targeted social media ads and participate in local events. Ads can promote exhibitions, discounts, and special hours, while partnerships with community organizations and appearances at fairs will build visibility. Tailoring efforts to specific groups (e.g., families) and collaborating with local stakeholders will enhance engagement and reach.
Recommendation 2: Offer discounted pricing for museum entry
Introduce discounts for local residents and for families buying multiple tickets to reduce financial barriers and encourage repeat visits. Options include locals’ days, coupons in local papers, and group ticket packages. Hosting value-added events (e.g., literary nights with refreshments) can further enhance the perceived worth of admission.
Recommendation 3: Offer opportunities to engage with the Museum outside of operating hours
Add more flexible hours, such as early openings and themed evening events, to attract wider audiences. Popular late-night activities at peer institutions include author talks, book launches, and alcohol tastings. These events encourage repeat visits and appeal to both existing and new audiences.
Recommendation 4: Offer a variety of Events and Exhibitions based on the areas of interest of survey respondents
Design exhibitions and events around topics of public interest, like Dickens’s charitable work or theatrical adaptations of his writing. Start with low-cost options like film screenings and build partnerships with local arts groups for performances. Engage in creative programming such as character days, readings, and collaborative workshops.
Recommendation 5: Collaborate with the V&A to Feature Manuscripts
Partner with the V&A to borrow original Dickens manuscripts for a special exhibition, offering visitors a rare opportunity to see his writings in his former home. As part of a two-part system, this includes a short-term loan for curated displays and live readings, plus cross-promotion where both museums reference each other’s collections in signage. This approach boosts visibility, meets visitor interest, and strengthens the Museum’s role as a literary and cultural hub.
Recommendation 6: Center events exhibits and programs around the community
Strengthen community ties by involving locals in the development of exhibits and programs from the start. Expand the Museum’s community forum initiative and seek input at off-site events and festivals. Co-creating content fosters inclusion, ownership, and deeper community connection.
Limitations and Conclusion:
Two major limitations of this research are the low sample size and the high non-response rate of our street-intercept surveys. The low sample size does not allow for accurate generalizations, and non-response rates this high can indicate either non-ideal data collection or an issue with the respondents. Future research should be directed towards minimizing these limitations.
We hope that by incorporating these recommendations to inform actions of the Charles Dickens Museum to improve their community engagement, continuing to employ successful strategies, and pursuing further research into expanding their community engagement, the Museum can not only improve their engagement but also share findings with the larger museum community to uplift other small museums.
