There are three phases to the National Museum of the American People's public affairs plan.
The goal of Phase One is to establish the NMAP by an Act of Congress that creates its governing entity, charges that entity with planning and building the institution, and to raise all the money to plan and build the museum. A public relations effort will be focused on building broad public support and translating that into broad Congressional and White House support.
Phase Two will build deep national support from all the museum's stakeholders outlined in Chapter 2 of this report while the museum is being planned and built over some 5-6 years and to support the fundraising to raise all of the funds required for the museum.
Phase Three will be the NMAP's ongoing efforts after opening to build and enhance support as a major cultural institution for our nation's capital.
In all three phases the goal will be to make the general public, national opinion leaders and stakeholders aware of and supportive of the National Museum of the American People.
We will engage our large body of supporters in a public push for Congress to create the NMAP. The goal is to have Congress pass, and the President sign, legislation to create the museum like that outlined in the previous segment of this report. We plan to build strong and growing support with primary stakeholders, obtain foundation and other financial support, and leverage that support into greater public and Congressional support.
We will bolster engagement among the more than 200 organizations who have already publicly supported the NMAP. Those organizations represent more than 75 American ethnic, nationality and minority groups who want their story told about becoming Americans in a national museum in Washington. We will also work at bolstering the support of scholars, mostly historians, whose work the museum will depend on to tell the story about the making of the American People.
At the same time, NMAP backers will also seek broad and deep support from the following stakeholders:
We will simultaneously be gathering even more support from ethnic and minority organizations and from the general public. We plan to use both social media and traditional news media to mark the growing progress of our effort. Special efforts will also be made to gain attention in ethnic, minority and political media.
This phase covers the period from when the National Museum of the American People is created by an Act of Congress to its opening, a period that could last 5-6 years. The first step will be to build on and intensify the NMAP's relationships with all of the stakeholders listed above as it creates the incredible institution described in these pages.
Startup staffing, selection of a central site for the museum in Washington, DC, and the beginning of detailed planning to build the institution will be the initial steps and goals of this phase. Significant fundraising will also begin immediately after the governing entity is created. The NMAP will work closely with key Congressional committees overseeing its work, and will establish close relationships with all federal agencies that touch on the NMAP's interests.
Soon thereafter the capital campaign will begin in earnest. A competitive effort will begin with the NMAP's Board of Regents searching for a lead historian to bring the museum's story together. Then, a world-class architect will be commissioned to design a building on the site selected. Next will come a leading museum exhibition designer to translate the story into a dramatic pathway where museum visitors will absorb the unique story about the making of the American People.
An annual memorial day dedicated to all of the ancestors who first came to America could begin the first year after the legislation passes, and could include a national ceremony with the President and bipartisan leaders of Congress.
Within two years ground could be broken. From there it will take about five years to construct the museum, its exhibitions, and all of the museum's components. As the museum gains steam, it would ramp up its efforts to inform the general public about progress and plans. Examples could include inserting the NMAP on future editions of maps of Washington, DC, adding signs in Washington Metro stations closest to the museum, placing it on the list of stops for tour buses, and listing events, even before it opens, in local media.
The museum opening will be a major national event spreading out over several days. It could feature leaders from throughout the world with major events at such sites as the Capitol, White House, Kennedy Center, Arlington National Cemetery, the National Cathedral, and major museums in Washington and around the nation.
The museum will continue to use social media and work with ethnic, minority and national media throughout this period to keep the public informed about this new institution telling their stories.
The National Museum of the American People will remain proactive in maintaining interest with the goal of keeping demand to visit the museum as high as possible.
The museum will continue to maintain close relationships with Congress, the White House, the Smithsonian Institution and all of its many stakeholders, funders, educators, and, most importantly, the American People.