DIGIMUSE - digital tools for the inclusive accessibility to cultural heritage

A digital strategy works only if it supports the organisation’s:

Stakeholder Map + One Quick Question

Strategic plan for inclusive digital innovation

Learning Outcomes

Index

Identifying organisational needs and capacities

Exercise

Aligning digital strategy with mission and potential

Exercise

Mapping and engaging stakeholders

Mapping and engaging stakeholders

Exercise

Exploring hybrid formats and digital-humanities approaches

Exercise

Setting objectives, results, and indicators

Self-Reflection Question

Embedding inclusion and accessibility

Ensuring economic and environmental sustainability

Building internal capacity for digital transition

Ensuring ethical governance

Exercise

Tracking and assessing progress and impact

Self-reflection question

Using evaluation data to refine the strategy

Needs assessment and vision building

At the end of this module, you will be able to:

Knowledge:

Understand how to assess organisational digital readiness and stakeholder needs.
Know how to align digital strategies with mission, inclusivity, and sustainability.
Be familiar with governance, ethical, and legal frameworks (GDPR, copyright).

Skills:

Define objectives, results, and indicators for digital strategies.
Plan strategies that integrate accessibility, inclusion, and internal capacity.
Monitor, evaluate, and refine strategies using feedback and impact data.

Attitudes:

Value inclusivity, accessibility, and ethical practice as core to digital planning.
Demonstrate openness to hybrid and innovative approaches.
Adopt a collaborative and long-term mindset in digital transformation.

	Unit 1: Needs Assessment and Vision Building Section 1: Identifying organisational needs and capacities Section 2: Aligning digital strategy with mission and potential Section 3. Mapping and engaging stakeholders Section 4: Exploring hybrid formats and digital-humanities approaches
	Unit 2: Designing an Inclusive and Sustainable Strategy Section 1: Setting objectives, results, and indicators Section 2: Embedding inclusion and accessibility Section 3: Ensuring economic and environmental sustainability Section 4: Building internal capacity for digital transition
	Unit 3: Implementing, Monitoring and Improving the Plan Section 1: Ensuring ethical governance Section 2: Tracking and assessing progress and impact Section 3: Testing the strategy with stakeholders’ collaboration Section 4: Using evaluation data to refine the strategy

	1. People (who does the work?) Who is involved in digital tasks? Which skills already exist internally? Are seasonal staff trained every year?
You can identify your digital needs by checking 4 simple dimensions.	2. Content (what do you have?) What digital materials do you already have? Are they up to date? Are they accessible (captions, descriptions)?
		A clear needs assessment:
		Helps prioritise actions
		Avoids complex or unrealistic plans
		Supports long-term sustainability
		Guides the creation of a simple and effective digital vision
	3. Processes (how do you work?) Is there a routine for digital work? Are instructions written down? How do you manage new staff?
	4. Tools (what do you use?) Which digital tools do you use? Are they easy to maintain? Do you have shared storage?

The 4-Dimension Quick Scan

To perform an internal needs’ assessment, complete the table below with only one item per category:

Dimension	Write 1 element you have	Write 1 need/gap you identify
People	e.g., One volunteer posts on Facebook	e.g., Seasonal staff need a quick guide
Content	e.g., Photo archive exists	e.g., No captions or bilingual text
Processes	e.g., Website updated monthly	e.g., No written instructions for digital tasks
Tools	e.g., Google Drive folder	e.g., Files not organised or accessible

Mission (why you exist)	Audiences (who you serve)	Capacity (what you can manage)	Values (inclusion, accessibility)

Start from your mission statement. Then link it to one or more digital objectives. Examples of mission → digital goal:



Mission Preserve local memory Digital goal Create simple digital stories or bilingual content	Mission Engage the community Digital goal Use social media or newsletters to share local events	Mission Promote accessibility Digital goal Add captions, alt-text, easy-to-read formats	Mission Promote accessibility Digital goal Add captions, alt-text, easy-to-read formats

One-Sentence Digital Goal

Complete two prompts:

1.Write your mission in one short sentence:

Example: “We preserve local heritage and promote community participation.”

2.Create one digital goal linked to your mission:

Example: “We want to use digital tools to improve [what] in order to support [mission element].”

Example output:“We want to add bilingual captions to support our mission of accessibility.”

To build a meaningful digital strategy, small cultural organisations should gather input not only from inside the organisation but also from the community, especially vulnerable groups.
Use these 3 categories to guide your consultations:

1. Internal stakeholders

People inside your organisation who know your daily work (staff, volunteers, seasonal workers, board members).

Ask them:

What digital tasks are difficult?
What do we need to work better?

2. Local community

Local groups who interact with your space or benefit from it (schools, families,) and the ones who may face barriers (visually impaired visitors,
older adults with limited digital skills, people with mobility challenges)

Ask them:

What content or support would help you engage more with us?
What simple digital improvements would help you?

3. Institutional & technical partners

People who can support or advise.

Municipality/local authorities
Tourism offices
Museums/archives in the same area
Local IT providers
Universities
Digital freelancers
Youth groups with digital skills

Ask them:

Which tools or solutions would fit a small organisation like ours?

Plan how to engage them Engagement can be simple and low-cost
Ways to involve stakeholders:	When to engage:	Keep it simple:
Short meetings or online calls	Early → to understand needs	Use clear communication
Small focus groups	During development → to test ideas	Share short documents
Asking for feedback via a simple form	At the end → to validate your strategy	Provide easy ways to contribute
Co-creating content (videos/ photos)
Inviting them to test your digital tools (virtual tours, apps, audio guides)

Look at two of the best practices of the DIGIMUSE ENTER Collection:
Piccolo Museo del Diario
Consulted visitors with visual/hearing impairments to design accessible stations.
Museo Forte Belvedere
Worked with local experts to create a virtual tour for inaccessible areas.

Based on your mission and digital goal identified before, fill a simple stakeholder map choosing one stakeholder per category:

Category	Your stakeholder	What you will ask them
Internal	staff / volunteer / seasonal worker	What digital tasks are difficult for us?
Community	school / family group / senior centre	What digital support would help you engage more with us?
Accessibility groups	visually impaired group / older adults / local NGOs	What barriers make our content hard to access?
Institutional/Technical	municipality / library / IT provider / university	What simple solutions fit our capacity?

Hybrid formats combine onsite and digital elements.

Digital-humanities approaches use simple digital tools to interpret, present or document culture.

For small organisations, they do not require complex technology but just small, workable additions to your current offer.

Why are they useful?		Do you already have them?			How could you improve them?
Make your content more accessible Reach people who cannot visit Support schools and community groups Help preserve stories and objects Easy to maintain with small teams Work well with seasonal programming		Do you use QR codes? Do you share short stories online? Do you record audio or simple videos? Do you have any digital cataloguing? Do you use AI? Do you use basic machine translation?			Add captions or bilingual text Organise photos and descriptions in one shared folder Create one digital story per month Produce short audio guides with a smartphone Offer a simple digital resource to schools

Design a Simple Hybrid Idea

Based on your digital goal and identified stakeholders, chose one of the following element within your organisation:

An object
A story
A small exhibition
An activity for schools

Then answer these questions:
1. What digital element would make it more accessible? (choose one)

QR code
Photo + caption
Audio description
Short video (under 1 min)
Mini podcast
Simple digital worksheet

2. Do you already have something similar?

Yes → How can you improve it?
No → How could you start with a very simple version?

Designing an inclusive and sustainable strategy

Now, you are not implementing anything yet. You are designing how your digital strategy will look. So, use three simple elements to plan your future actions:

1. Define Your Objective

2. Plan Your Expected Results

3. Identify Indicators to Monitor

An objective describes the direction you want to take. It must be achievable for a small organisation.
Example:
Increase accessibility in our exhibitions.

Ask yourself:
“What change do we want to plan for the next 6-12 months?”

Expected results are the outputs you intend to create, not what you have already done.
Examples:
- Draft bilingual captions for a selection of objects.
- Develop ideas for 3-5 digital stories.

Tip: keep results simple and realistic. You will refine them later.

Indicators help you understand if your strategy will work once implemented. Choose indicators as:
number of accessible items you plan to create
number of content pieces you want to produce

Ask yourself:
“How will we check progress once we start implementing?”

Is the objective I am designing truly achievable for a small organisation like mine and does it clearly support the mission we defined in Unit 1?

Inclusion and accessibility are essential elements of a sustainable digital strategy.

At this stage, you are planning how to make your digital actions accessible to a wider range of users, including disadvantaged groups such as older adults, visually impaired visitors or people with limited digital skills.

1. Identify who needs better access

2. Plan simple inclusive features

3. Make accessibility part of your objectives

4. Choose indicators you will measure later

Think about groups in your community who may face barriers:

older adults
visually or hearing-impaired visitors
families with young children
people with low digital or language skills
schools with limited resources

Start with low-cost options your team can realistically adopt later:

bilingual or easy-to-read text captions or audio descriptions
simple navigation on your website or social pages
use free AI voice generators

Before implementing, decide how inclusion will guide your strategy.

Examples of planned objectives:

Plan to add accessible text formats for key objects.
Design an idea for a simple audio guide.

Keep them simple:

number of items you plan to make accessible
number of audiences you intend to reach
feedback you expect to collect from target groups

Example
Designing an Inclusive Digital Action
Objective “Improve accessibility of our permanent exhibition.”

Expected result (design phase) “Plan the creation of bilingual captions and short audio descriptions for 10 key objects.”

Inspiration
Piccolo Museo del Diario (Italy) created bilingual and accessible setups with simple, low-cost solutions.

How inclusion is embedded in the design

The captions will be written in plain language.
Audio descriptions will help visually impaired visitors.
Bilingual content will support both locals and tourists.

Indicator to monitor later “Number of accessible items planned and consulted with local disability groups.”

When designing your digital strategy, make sure it can be maintained over time, even with limited staff, budget and resources. Sustainability means making choices that are affordable, low-effort and environmentally responsible.				1. Choose low-cost and low-maintenance actions Design activities that your team can realistically afford and keep alive. Examples: creating short, reusable content (photos, audio, micro-stories) starting with small hybrid additions instead of large platforms

				2. Plan for long-term staff sustainability Small organisations often have seasonal or rotating staff. Design your strategy so it can survive these changes: simple workflows, written instructions, templates for recurring tasks, a basic content calendar for the year.

				3. Integrate environmental awareness Digital can support greener practices if planned well: avoid printing when digital formats work, reuse digital materials across multiple activities, choose lightweight media (short videos, audio instead of long files), store files in organised folders to avoid duplicates.

				4. Design indicators to monitor sustainability later Examples of simple indicators you may use when implementing: number of reusable digital materials created estimated cost/time save

Example
Sustainable Design in Practice

Objective“Design a low-cost hybrid solution to improve access to our collection.”

Expected Result (design stage) “Plan a virtual snapshot tour (5-6 photos + short text) for objects in inaccessible areas.”

Why it is sustainable

one-time creation long-term use
minimal cost (smartphone + free tools)
easy to update seasonally
reduces physical strain on fragile spaces
can be maintained even with rotating staff

For a digital strategy to work in small cultural organisations, you need basic internal capacity.

In this phase, you design how your team will be able to support digital tasks in the future.

Identify essential digital roles

updating the website or social pages
organising digital files
creating simple accessible content
collecting community feedback

Plan simple training needs

how to use a shared folder
how to record short audio or video
how to use free or low-cost digital tools
how to use social media campaigns to market the event with zero-cost distribution

Create supportive tools & routines

1-page instructions for key tasks
templates for caption, photos, posts
a basic content calendar

Define indicators for capacity building

number of staff trained
number of tasks with written instructions
ability of new staff to follow workflows

Example
Designing Internal Capacity
Objective:“Strengthen our team’s ability to create accessible digital content.”

Expected Result (design stage):
Develop a short internal guide with:

how to write bilingual captions
how to take photos of objects
how to store files in one shared folder.

Why it builds capacity:

easy to follow for seasonal staff
reusable every year
improves consistency
low-cost and realistic

Implementing, monitoring and improving the plan

When implementing your digital strategy, ethical governance helps you work responsibly, protect your audiences and ensure trust.

Small cultural organisations can follow a few simple principles.

1. Protect personal data	2. Ensure accessibility and inclusion in all published content	3. Be transparent about digital practices
Only collect data you truly need	Add captions to videos and images	Explain how digital content is created and updated
Store files safely in shared, protected folders	Use plain language and bilingual text when possible	Tell your community how their feedback or stories are used
Follow basic GDPR rules: consent, transparency, secure storage	Check contrast, readability and navigation simplicity	Keep roles clear inside your team (who approves, who uploads)

4. Respect cultural values and community voices	5. Use technology responsibly
Share stories responsibly, especially when dealing with sensitive heritage	Choose tools that are safe, reliable and appropriate for your organization
Always ask permission before using community-generated content.	Avoid solutions that collect unnecessary data or are too complex to manage.

Ethical Check-Up
Step 1: review your digital action
Choose one digital action you are about to implement from your strategy:
a caption; a photo; a short video; a digital story; a community memory; a virtual snapshot; a podcast idea

Step 2: answer 4 governance questions
Participants answer YES / NO:
Data Protection “Are we collecting any personal data? If yes, do we really need it?”
Accessibility “Is this content accessible (captions, alt-text, clear language, contrast) for most users?”
Transparency “Is it clear who in our team created/approved this content?”
Respect for the Community “Do we have permission to use any community stories, photos or voices included?”

Step 3: one small adjustment
If any answer was NO, participants write:
One thing we can adjust to make this action more ethical is: ____________.

Once you start implementing your digital actions, you need simple ways to understand whether they are working. Small cultural organisations can monitor progress using easy, low-effort methods.

1. Track your planned indicators

2. Collect basic feedback from your users

3. Observe how your team manages the tasks

4. Look for early signs of impact

Go back to the indicators you designed in Unit 2.

Monitor them regularly:

number of accessible items created
number of digital stories published
number of visitors who accessed digital content
amount of feedback collected

! Keep it simple: check progress monthly or every 2 months.

Use quick tools that do not require expertise:

short paper or digital forms
1/2 questions after a visit
comments from volunteers or staff
informal conversations with community groups
reactions and messages from social media

Ask simple questions like:
“Was this content easy to use?”
“Did it help you access our stories?”

Monitoring is not only about users, but it is also about internal capacity.

Check:

are tasks easy to complete?
do seasonal staff understand the instructions?
is the shared folder working?
are workflows clear?
what takes too much time or needs simplification?

Impact does not need to be big or complex to be meaningful.

Examples of early impact:

more people engaging with your content
positive comments about accessibility
smoother staff routines
new collaboration with a school or community group

! Collect small signs of progress.

Example
Tracking Progress in Practice

Digital action: Accessible captions for 10 objects.

Indicators to track:

captions produced
number of users accessing the content
feedback from visually impaired visitors
staff time required to update captions

Impact signal: A local school for visually impaired students starts using the captions during visits.

Did the stakeholders I chose truly represent the audiences I want to reach (especially those who face barriers) or did I only test with the people who are easiest to involve?

After testing your digital actions and tracking your indicators, the next step is to use what you learned to adjust and refine your digital strategy. For small cultural organisations, improvement should be simple, realistic and based on real feedback.

1. Identify what worked well

Look at your indicators and stakeholder feedback → keep the actions that were effective, easy to use or appreciated by your audiences

2. Note what needs adjustment

Improve only what truly creates barriers: unclear text, low-quality audio, confusing navigation, complex workflows

3. Decide what to stop doing

Remove activities that are too time-consuming, not used by audiences or not aligned with your mission

4. Update your strategy lightly

Make small edits to objectives, workflows or formats and plan your next review moment (e.g., every 3 or 6 months).