For three years, the only news about finances at Tampa's Museum of Science and Industry was bad news: "Struggling MOSI asks Hillsborough County for 3 billion remake of the channel district that includes an innovation hub and an accelerator for new business startups. The health sciences also figure prominently in the plans, with Water Street Tampa hosting the new University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute.
But most importantly, those planning a new MOSI should cast a wide net for ideas and commit themselves to a process as transparent as possible. This has not always been the case in the past.
Only this month, in an interview with Steve Contorno of the Tampa Bay Times, did CEO Mackenzie reveal publicly that at its low point MOSI "came very close to shutting its doors for good." Challenged on losses shown in the tax forms it must file as a nonprofit, Mackenzie's predecessors insisted all was well. Board meetings closed to the public were followed by mouths closed to questions about what was happening.
Museums are typically private entities, not subject to all the same public disclosure a government agency is. But most rely on some government subsidy. In MOSI's case, that has included the very property where the museum is located, owned by Hillsborough County, as well as an occasional cash infusion to keep the doors open.
MOSI, then, owes openness to the people of Hillsborough County. But beyond that, as it tries to plot a course that will appeal to a broad segment of a unique population, it's good business to invite them in for their ideas and their scrutiny as well as for their admission fees.
