ICOFOM International Committee for Museology

What ICOFOM International Committee for Museology does

ICOFOM (International Committee for Museology) is a non-profit international scholarly committee operating under the governance of ICOM (International Council of Museums), headquartered at 15 rue Lasson, 75012 Paris, France, and founded in 1977. The organization is dedicated to advancing museology as an independent scientific discipline, producing theoretical and methodological research on museums and serving museum professionals, academic researchers, students, and other ICOM committees worldwide. It is supported by a small paid staff of approximately seven employees and a volunteer-led board and four working groups covering ethics, publications, communications, and conferences.

The organization's product surface is entirely scholarly and non-commercial. Its core outputs include the ICOFOM Study Series (ISS) — the largest bibliographic collection on museology, produced continuously for more than 30 years — monographs, the open-access "Decolonising Museology" series launched in 2020, the Museological Working Papers (MuWoP/DoTraM) series, and the "Key Concepts of Museology" reference tool defining 21 key concepts in 15 languages. Annual international symposia, joint events with other ICOM committees, and regional subcommittees (ICOFOM LAC for Latin America and the Caribbean since 1989 and ICOFOM ASPAC for the Asia-Pacific region) extend its convening role across all continents, with recent meetings in Dubai (2025), Leiden, Zagreb, Beijing, Seoul, Buenos Aires, and others.

ICOFOM has no commercial revenue model. Membership is acquired only through prior ICOM membership via National Committees; fees are set by ICOM rather than ICOFOM, and all publications are distributed as free open-access PDFs. Distribution is handled directly through the ICOFOM website, email newsletters, social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter/X, YouTube), and the ICOM institutional framework. The organization has no patents, no external investors, no funding rounds, and no technology platform; its competitive position rests on the depth and longevity of its scholarly corpus and its unique role as the only globally representative body dedicated exclusively to museology within the ICOM ecosystem.

Name

ICOFOM International Committee for Museology

Legal name

ICOM - Conseil International des Musées / International Council of Museums

Website

https://icofom.mini.icom.museum

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ICOFOM is a non-profit scholarly committee under ICOM, founded in 1977 and headquartered in Paris, that advances museology through open-access publications, annual international symposia, and regional subcommittees serving museum professionals, academics, and students worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Scholarly Association

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarly Society & Association Publishing (EDAGAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarly Societies & Conference Proceedings Publishing (MPAJABAK), Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA)

Keywords

• Museology research
• Museum theory
• Scholarly publications
• Museum conferences
• Professional networks

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Contributions: ICOFOM operates as a non-profit international committee under ICOM (International Council of Museums). Membership is contingent on prior membership in ICOM through one of its National Committees. The organization funds its activities through member participation and does not operate a commercial revenue-generating model.

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

ICOFOM is an academic and professional international committee that researches, studies, and disseminates the theoretical foundations of museology. It produces open-access scholarly publications (the ICOFOM Study Series, Monographs, Decolonising Museology Series, Key Concepts of Museology, Museological Working Papers), organizes annual international symposia, and operates regional subcommittees (ICOFOM LAC, ICOFOM ASPAC) to advance museological theory and practice worldwide.

Product overview

ICOFOM (International Committee for Museology) is an international scholarly committee under ICOM (International Council of Museums) established in 1977. Rather than a technology product company, ICOFOM is an academic-professional organization focused on museology research, theory, and discourse. Its offerings include the ICOFOM Study Series (ISS), Monographs, "Decolonising Museology" Series, Key Concepts of Museology, Museological Working Papers, Materials for Discussion (symposium publications), Annual Meetings and Symposia, Online Forums, and regional subcommittees (ICOFOM ASPAC for Asia-Pacific and ICOFOM LAC for Latin America and Caribbean). The organization provides open-access digital publications and organizes academic conferences worldwide for museum professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ICOFOM LAC: Regional subcommittee for Latin America and Caribbean
• ICOFOM ASPAC
• Key Concepts of Museology
• ICOFOM Study Series
• Museological Working Papers (MuWoP)
• Decolonising Museology Series

Products and services

• ICOFOM Study Series (ISS)
• Monographs of ICOFOM
• Decolonising Museology Series
• Key Concepts of Museology
• Museological Working Papers (MuWoP/DoTraM)
• Materials for Discussion
• ICOFOM Annual Meetings and Symposia

Quantifiable outcome

• ICOFOM Study Series is the largest bibliographic collection on museology, with over 30 years of continuous publication
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• ICOM ICTOP (International Committee for the Training of Personnel)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025ICOFOM co-organized a joint symposium with ICTOP and COMCOL for the 27th ICOM General Conference on 'The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities' and the 48th ICOFOM Annual Meeting in 2025.
• ICOM COMCOL (Committee for Collection)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025COMCOL co-organized the 2025 joint symposium with ICOFOM and ICTOP at the ICOM General Conference, addressing the next generation of museum professionals.
• University of St AndrewsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024The 2024 symposium on Transnational Island Museologies was co-organized by ICOFOM and the University of St Andrews as part of the Shared Island Stories research project.
• ICOM LACminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020ICOFOM co-organized the VIII International Symposium on Experimental Museology 'The Museum Experience: Museums, Community Action and Decolonization' (December 2020) with ICOM LAC, MINOM, and ICOM Brasil as part of the Special Project Museums, Community Action and Decolonization.
• MINOM (International Movement for a New Museology)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020MINOM partnered with ICOFOM to co-organize the 2020 International Symposium on Experimental Museology focused on museums, community action, and decolonization, with support from ICOM for 2020-2021.
• ICOM BrasilminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020ICOM Brasil co-organized the 2020 International Symposium on Experimental Museology with ICOFOM, ICOM LAC, and MINOM.
• ICOFOM National Members (Mexico, France, etc.)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010ICOFOM members at the national level, including ICOFOM-Mexico and individual national committees, contribute to the translation and dissemination of ICOFOM publications (e.g., Key Concepts of Museology in 15 languages) and organize local activities.
• ICOM (International Council of Museums)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICOFOM is a formal international committee (subcommittee) of ICOM. ICOM provides the organizational, legal (French law), and administrative framework (headquarters at 15 rue Lasson, Paris), while ICOFOM operates as an autonomous committee focused exclusively on museology. ICOFOM participates actively in ICOM's museum definition process and other institutional activities.
• ICOFOM LAC (Latin America and Caribbean)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICOFOM LAC is a regional subcommittee of ICOFOM, created in 1989 in The Hague during the ICOM General Conference. It focuses on developing and consolidating Latin American and Caribbean museological thought at the academic level. It has its own board, publications, conferences, and membership structure.
• ICOFOM ASPAC (Asia-Pacific)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICOFOM ASPAC is a regional subcommittee of ICOFOM for the Asia-Pacific region. It organizes regional events such as the Malaysia International Museum Day Seminar and represents ICOFOM's presence in the Asia-Pacific geographic area.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property): ICCROM is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to the conservation of cultural heritage. It is comparable as an internationally active body producing scholarly and training resources for heritage professionals, addressing a wider scope than ICOFOM but serving an adjacent scholarly and operational mandate.
• International Council of Museums (ICOM): ICOFOM's parent organization and the broader international body governing all museum committees. ICOM is comparable as the umbrella non-profit that hosts ICOFOM and similar international committees (CIMAM, ICTOP, COMCOL), setting shared membership, governance, and funding frameworks that ICOFOM operates within.

Direct peers

• CIMAM (International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art): CIMAM is another international committee affiliated with ICOM, focused specifically on modern and contemporary art collections. It is directly comparable as a sibling committee to ICOFOM within ICOM, organizing annual conferences and publishing research for museum specialists in a defined sub-discipline.
• AAM (American Alliance of Museums): AAM is the largest museum professional association in the United States, serving museum professionals through accreditation, advocacy, publications, and an annual meeting. It is directly comparable as a museum-focused membership organization producing scholarly and professional content for curators, directors, and educators.
• Museums Association (UK): The Museums Association is the UK's membership body for museum professionals, producing the Museums Journal, running annual conferences, and advocating on sector policy. It is comparable to ICOFOM as a membership-driven scholarly and professional organization serving museum practitioners, though with a national rather than international remit.
• ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites): ICOMOS is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to the study and conservation of cultural heritage sites. It is the most direct structural peer to ICOFOM — a globally organized scholarly body producing theoretical frameworks, advisory documents, and conferences for a niche cultural-heritage discipline.
• MINOM (International Movement for a New Museology): MINOM is an international movement promoting a socially engaged, experimental approach to museology. It is the closest thematic peer to ICOFOM — both organizations advance museology as a theoretical discipline, and they have co-organized symposia together (e.g., 2020 Experimental Museology symposium).

Regional players

• NEMO (Network of European Museum Organisations): NEMO is a network of European museum organizations that advocates on EU cultural policy and facilitates knowledge exchange among members. It is comparable as a membership-based museum-sector body producing research and convening events for the museum profession, but with a strictly European geographic focus rather than ICOFOM's global remit.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/icofom_icom
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCWwssQT57WLcJB4XuST5Axg
• Facebookfacebook.com/icofom
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/icofom
• Instagraminstagram.com/icofom_icom

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about ICOFOM International Committee for Museology