Keywords

1 Introduction

It is a key priority to finding ways to manage cultural heritage assets in a truly sustainable manner is clearly in the best interest of the asset and the community. Strategic planning can create the proper framework for the cultural heritage management to implement its specific targets with the proper timetable and under a long-term cultural policy. This paper analyses the applications of strategic planning and targeting in major archaeological sites and monuments (the new Museum of the Acropolis and the Prehistoric Settlement of Akrotiri in Santorini in Greece) in order to show two opposite examples in the area of strategic planning.

2 Cultural Heritage Management

Cultural Heritage Management is the systematic care taken to maintain the cultural values of cultural heritage assets for the benefit of present and future generations [1]. Finding ways to manage cultural heritage assets in a truly sustainable manner is clearly in the best interest of the asset, those who manage it, and the community. Cultural heritage results from human processes and activities, rather than biophysical ones [1, 2]. There are fundamental principles that should be applied in any case of Heritage Management (ex. cultural heritage management, and natural heritage management). Some of these management principles are [1, 2]:

  • Information base.

  • Goals and objectives.

  • Outcomes and evaluation.

  • Flexibility and monitoring.

  • Awareness of societal context.

  • Balancing competing goals.

  • Managing visitor pressure.

The main goals of cultural heritage management are [1, 3]:

  • Conservation of a representative sample of cultural heritage.

  • Conservation of intrinsic values.

  • Presentation and interpretation of cultural assets to the public.

Cultural heritage managers increasingly are being urged to plan for presentation to visitors of a heritage asset as an important part of its ongoing conservation and management [4, 5]. A balance between education and entertainment can be achieved when presenting assets. The main objective is general educational or awareness building. For example, museums, whether associated with sites, objects, or cultural practices, are predicated on mainly educational objectives [6, 7].

3 The Role of Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is a set of comprehensive plans designed to marshal all resources available to the organization to meet the defined goals and objectives derived from the mission statement [2]. Strategic planning determines the optimal future of an organization, and the changes required to achieve that [8]. The planning process includes five steps [2]:

  • Define your objectives.

  • Assess the current situation in relation to your objectives.

  • Formulate your options regarding future outcomes.

  • Identify and choose among the options.

  • Implement your decision and evaluate the outcome.

Cultural institutions generally conduct strategic plans for any or all of the following reasons [9]:

  • To improve performance.

  • To qualify for funding because government, foundation, and private donors increasingly require evidence of a current plan.

  • To achieve accreditation from a recognized authority.

  • To prepare the groundwork for a major expansion or new initiatives.

  • To motivate staff and board.

  • To replace or update the previous strategic plan that has run its course.

  • To address the forces of change in the museum environment, both internal and external.

The basic parts of a strategic plan of a cultural organization during the strategic planning process are [2]:

  • Organization analysis: mission analysis, situation analysis—SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats), resources analysis (people, financial and physical, technology, adequate support systems).

  • Formulate strategy: stability strategy, growth strategy, retrenchment strategy, and combination strategy.

  • Develop goals (desired outcome).

  • Develop objectives (methods to achieve goals).

  • Develop action plans (specific tasks with assigned resources and deadlines).

  • Evaluate (assessment tools).

In Greece, the planning comprehension is different from practices in other countries. It is a country where “ex post” planning is a current method. Plans and programs are established by law but never drawn due to some barriers. Some of these barriers in the field of strategy execution are [10]: (a) the failure to manage the changes and overcoming on the resistance against these changes, (b) the lack of advisor and instructions that can lead the strategic execution effectively, and (c) the unclear responsibility for implementation of the strategy and its operations.

Strategic planning is a basic element of the organizational development and its role is a useful management tool for a cultural organization. Strategic planning as a reiterative process builds the strategic-management capacity of the organization [11].

4 Case Studies: The New Museum of the Acropolis and the Prehistoric Settlement of Akrotiri, Santorini

In the empirical part, we present two case studies as examples of applications of strategic planning. The first one, is the strategic planning of the construction of the new museum of the Acropolis that is the landmark of contemporary Greek culture. The other one is the very important prehistoric settlement of Akrotiri in Santorini where there is utter lack of strategic planning of management.

4.1 The New Museum of the Acropolis

The new museum of the Acropolis is a public archaeological museum. The new museum of the Acropolis is a project started in 1976, but it took three more attempts (in 1979, in 1989 and in 2000) before being realized [12]. In 2000, after four international architectural competitions, two architectural firms headed by Bernard Tschumi (lead architect) and Nikolaos Photiadis won the competition and undertook the project [12]. The project is completed in 2007 and the museum is open to the public.

Architectural Fact Sheet of the New Museum of Acropolis

Site. Located in the historic area of Makryianni, 300 m southeast of the Parthenon. The top floor (Parthenon Gallery) offers a 360° panoramic view of the Acropolis and modern Athens [13]. The main entrance to the museum is on the Dionysios Areopagitou pedestrian street, which links it to the Acropolis and other key archeological sites in Athens [13].

Program. With exhibition space of more than 14,000 km2 (150,000 square feet) and a full range of modern visitor amenities, the New Acropolis Museum tells the complete story of life of the Athenian Acropolis and its surroundings [13]. The rich collections provide visitors with a comprehensive overview of the human presence on the Acropolis, from pre-historic times through late Antiquity [13]. Integral to this program is the display of an archeological excavation on the site of the Museum itself: ruins from the 4th through seventh centuries A.D., left intact and protected beneath the building and made visible through the first floor. Other program facilities included a 200-seat auditorium [13].

Architectural Description. Three concepts turn the constraints and circumstances of the site into an architectural opportunity, offering a simple and precise museum that reflects the mathematical and conceptual clarity of ancient Greece [13].

The conditions animating the New Acropolis Museum revolve around natural light more than in any other type of museum [13]. Light for the exhibition of sculpture differs from the light involved in displaying paintings or drawings [13]. The new exhibition spaces could be described as a museum of ambient natural light, aiming at the presentation of sculptural objects within it, whose display changes throughout the course of the day [13].

The visitor’s route through the museum forms a clear three-dimensional loop, affording an architectural promenade with a rich spatial experience that extends from the archeological excavations to the Parthenon Marbles and back through the Roman period [13]. Movement in and through time is an important aspect of architecture, and of this museum in particular [13].

The building is divided into a basement, middle/ground, and top floor, which are designed around the specific needs of each part of the building [13]. The orientation gently rotates as it rises so that the main galleries in the middle form a double-height trapezoidal plate that accommodates the galleries from the Archaic period to the Roman Empire, and is shaped to respond to the contemporary street grid [13].

The three major materials of the Museum are glass for the facades and some of the floors, concrete for the core and the columns, and marble for some floors [13]. The east and west facades and the Parthenon Gallery columns are made of steel [13].

Construction Fact Sheet of New Museum of Acropolis.

The construction budget was €130 million and two intermediate levels (approximately $175 million) [14]. The overall project budget for the museum was €130 million ($175 million) [12]. Construction of the Museum was co-financed by the Hellenic Republic and the European Regional Development Fund [14]. Signage has been developed to be both visible and yet to be as discrete as possible, recognizing that signage and wayfinding must not compete with the artifacts. A 250 m2 theater with 180 seats is fully equipped with projection facilities and a translation booth. Café, Terrace and Store [14]. A 770 m2 restaurant opened onto a public terrace with a view of the Acropolis [14]. Shading devices designed by Bernard Tschumi Architects are subtly incorporated into the overall scheme, allowing for year-round use during day and night [14]. The 23,000 m2 site is landscaped with local vegetation that blends with the natural flora of the Acropolis slopes [14]. Landscaping is designed to open up the public spaces in and around the museum and to incorporate with the neighborhood [14]. The museum is designed especially for pedestrian visitors, which access points on the north and east sides [14].

New Museum of the Acropolis—Conclusion. The main conclusions about the study of this case are the following: The new museum of Acropolis is a best practice of strategic planning implementation. The cultural investment of the museum creates an added value for the Greek cultural heritage in general. The museum is run as an independent unit (economically, institutionally, administratively, and so on and so forth) providing good examples for museum policy.

4.2 The Prehistoric Settlement of Akrotiriri, Santorini

It is a regional archaeological site. It is a unique monument. It is one of the most important prehistoric settlements of the Aegean Sea. The first habitation at the site dates from the Late Neolithic times (from the 4th millennium B.C. or even further in the past). It is connected during the last 15 years with the shelter and its lifetime. As a regional archaeological site, the tourist period of the summer is the most important period for the monument, and its legibility from the visitors. The official documents of Hellenic Statistical Authority do not include the monument in the main category of sites that we have data from (of number of visitors, receipts etc.). The archaeological professionals responsible for the management of the archaeological site of Akrotiri have adhered to the principles advocated by contemporary values-based heritage management [4].

Architectural Fact Sheet of Akrotiriri, Santorini. The most important buildings of the site are: (a) Xeste 3, a semi-public building, which had a lustral basin (adyton) on the ground floor, and the House of the Ladies, a private building [15], and (b) Xeste 4. Xeste 4 is still being excavated and promises to be the largest and grandest of the buildings uncovered so far [16]. Inside this building were life-size paintings of men walking up a stair-well76—like Cameron's hypothetical Procession Fresco from the East Staircase at Knossos—and other scenes currently being conserved [16].

The shelter was constructed during, and operates since the last decade of ‘90s [4]. The co-funding of the works by the Greek State and the European Union, firstly by the Second European Community Support Framework (1999–2000), the Third European Community Support Framework (2000–2008) and thereafter by the National Funding (total cost: 40.594.661 euro) [6].

The Wall Painting Program. Female figures engaged in collecting crocuses which they offer to a seated goddess—Xeste 3. The famous wall paintings of the Antelopes and the Boxing Children, the frescos of the Monkeys (a composition of monkeys climbing on rocks at the side of a river)—Sector B [15]. The first was decorated with the two frescos of the Fishermen, the fresco of the Young Priestess and the famous Flotilla miniature frieze—West House and the fresco with the Ladies and the Papyruses—House of the Ladies [15].

Staffing Training and Development. The property is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture, through the Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades, its competent Regional Service, which is responsible for security and the protection of the site, as well as the implementation of an efficient site and visitors’ management system. “Managing the archaeological site at Akrotiri has been a stimulating challenge to all concerned, archaeologists, architects, engineers, conservators, and others, and the main goals set from the beginning seem to have been achieved” [4].

The Prehistoric Settlement of Akrotiri in Santorini-Conclusion

The main conclusions about the study of this case are the following ones: Due to the economic crisis and deep recession of the Greek Economy there is no provision for new funding of the laboratory services. Lack of staff training and educational role of the archaeological site. There is no archaeological policy for the regional monuments.

5 Conclusions

Strategic planning is a crucial point of the organizational development [17]. The role of strategic planning is a useful management tool for an organization in order: (a) to develop a mission for it, (b) to analyze the external and internal factors that affect the achievement of the mission, and (c) to formulate the basic directions of the organization [17]. Greek culture is facing a transition from being only informal and complex to becoming more formal and professional [18]. “Policy decisions for the presentations of heritage incorporate a preference towards ancient over more recent sites” [6]. The future challenges for Greek Cultural Heritage Management are (a) the use of culture for the advancement of local development, (b) the improvement of cultural infrastructures and services, (c) the creation of a new framework for strategic planning with clear targets at the central level and specific objectives at the local level (every one of the implementation bodies should know about the details of the total strategy in order to support their function), (d) the specific cultural planning based on the improvement, enhancement and specific needs of the cultural assets and cultural values of Greek heritage, (e) the preservation and valorization of the archaeological heritage of Athens and other large cities, threatened by rapid urbanization (f) the need to support an expanding cultural sector and a more active participation in cultural life not only in Athens, but also in the increasingly developed regions.