Oportunidad y necesidad de la planificación estratégica de la transformación digital en los museos de historia natural

Digital transformation must be addressed strategically in every organization, as it generates complex challenges of improvement and innovation in people, processes, systems and technologies. It is not just a matter of technological investment; it is a matter of considering improved ways of implementing the organization's mission, rethinking its main functions in order to benefit from the digital. For this reason, it is important to approach this transformation from a strategic perspective, avoiding isolated actions and maximizing the institution's support with wellfounded digital projects. What has been said so far applies to all organizations, but even more so to institutions of special purpose and complexity, such as museums, especially Natural History Museums. During the last decades museums have also bet on digital innovation, although it seems that at a slower pace than other sectors, so that today many museums are still far from reaching digital maturity. The perception of the heritage sector is that Natural History Museums have a certain digital advantage over other museum themes, due to the great complexity and volume of their collections. In such circumstances, the strategic planning of their digital transformation, and the right leadership in the deployment of digital projects, are crucial to establish guidelines, objectives and strategic projects that support the achievement of their mission and enhance their relevance in today's society. Although the relative scarcity of resources and staff availability may hinder digital transformation in many museums, such limitations can be better addressed with the right institutional leadership and through the use of guidelines and methods specially adapted to the museum reality; allowing to plan and address digital transformation with a strategic, methodical, systematic, cross-cutting approach that minimizes the associated risks and maximizes the opportunities for success. In order to explore such a strategic approach, the Natural Science Museum of Barcelona and the Polytechnic University of Catalunya are cooperating in an applied research project, approved and funded by the Industrial Doctorate Program of the Generalitat de Catalunya, resulting in a method for the strategic planning of digital transformation initiatives in Natural History Museums, as well as a first digital transformation plan for this museum. La transformación digital debe abordarse estratégicamente en toda organización, pues genera ret