Dashboard Introduction and Frequently Asked Questions

Welcome to the Smithsonian Dashboard!

As a public trust, the Smithsonian is committed to using data and empirical evidence to assess its performance. The Dashboard presents metrics that tell the story of this performance across the major programs and functions of the Institution.

Metrics are organized under four major areas where the Smithsonian carries out its mission of "the increase and diffusion of knowledge":

• Research: Smithsonian researchers contribute to the increase of knowledge in a broad range of science, art, history, and culture fields.

• National Collections: Smithsonian collections preserve the national heritage of the United States, the natural heritage of the planet, and aspects of arts and culture from across the globe.

• Public Engagement: The Smithsonian engages with the public onsite, online, across the nation, and around the world through compelling exhibitions, events, educational offerings, and media products.

• Virtual Smithsonian: The Smithsonian seeks to bring its collections, exhibitions, research, educational resources, and other offerings to every home and classroom in the nation, and to audiences worldwide, through a variety of digital channels.

The Dashboard also covers two additional areas:

• People and Operations: Metrics that detail the behind-the-scenes, mission-support aspects of the Smithsonian such as employees, volunteers, facilities, and finances.

• One Smithsonian: Examples of activities, events, and initiatives that bring Smithsonian museums, research centers, and other units together to inform and engage the public, and to address big issues.

To learn more, see the Smithsonian Strategic Plan.

Navigating the Smithsonian Dashboard

Navigation aids

The navigation bar at the top of each section page will take you to any of the other five sections of the Dashboard, or back to the Dashboard home page.

Smaller navigation bars below the introductory text in each section will take you to the individual performance areas in that section. For example, in the National Collections section, you will find the following navigation bars for that section's four performance areas:

After you have begun to scroll down on any page, clicking on the “up” arrow located at the lower right side of the page will take you back to the top.

How can I get more information from the displays? 

In many cases, the Dashboard provides more information than initially appears on the screen.  

• You can link to related Smithsonian websites by clicking on the light blue hyperlinks in the text.

• Graphics that show overall Smithsonian figures may provide the option of filtering by Smithsonian unit or in other ways. Click the “down” arrow on the right in the field(s) below the graphic title to see drop-down selections.

• In some performance areas, you can find additional maps, graphics, figures, or other information by clicking on the gray buttons below the main graphic.

• If you see a “pointing hand” icon when you mouse over an object (number, text, or graphic), this indicates there is more information related to this object. To access this information, simply place your cursor over the object (or click on the object if you are using a mobile device) and it will appear in a text box.

Accessibility

• For a list of keystrokes for navigating the graphic visualizations, refer to the following link: https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/access_keyboard_navigation.htm.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Smithsonian Unit?

For administration purposes, the Smithsonian refers to individual museums, research centers, education centers, and offices as "units." A list of the units that are referenced in this Dashboard, with their acronyms, is provided below.

What is a Fiscal Year (FY)?

A Fiscal Year (FY) is the 12-month period that defines the U.S. government budget. It runs from October 1 through September 30 and shares the calendar-year number of its last nine months. For example, FY 2020 began on October 1, 2019 and ended on September 30, 2020. FY 2030 will run from October 1, 2029 through September 30, 2030. Most of the "headline numbers" in each Dashboard performance area refer to the most recent Fiscal Year for which data is available.

What is a Quarter (Q)?

A Quarter (Q) is a three-month period within the Fiscal Year. Thus, the four Quarters of the U.S. government budget are October through December (Q1), January through March (Q2), April through June (Q3), and July through September (Q4). Many of the figures presented in Dashboard graphics are updated quarterly. 

Other Questions?

Contact us at: dashboard@si.edu

Museums, Research Centers, and other Units/Locations

Acronym	Full Name	Short Name
OSEC	Office of the Secretary	Secretary
ODI	Office of Diversity Initiatives	Diversity/OEESD
OGC	Office of General Counsel	General Counsel
BoR	Board of Regents	Regents
OREG	Office of the Regents	Regents Office
OIG	Office of the Inspector General	Inspector General
ODSCOO	Office of the Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer	Deputy Secretary
OUSMC	Office of the Under Secretary for Museums and Culture	Under Sec Museums & Culture
AAA	Archives of American Art	Archives American Art
ACM	Anacostia Community Museum	Anacostia
AIB	Arts & Industries Building	Arts & Industries
APAC	Asian Pacific American Center	Asian Pac American Ctr
CFCH	Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage	Folklife
CHSDM	Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum	Cooper Hewitt
DWRC	Donald W. Reynolds Center	Reynolds Ctr
F|S, NMAA	Freer Gallery and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art	Asian Art
HMSG	Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden	Hirshhorn
NASM	National Air and Space Museum	Air and Space-Mall
NASM-UHC	National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar Hazy Center	Air and Space-Udvar Hazy
NCP	National Collections Program	Collections Program
NMAAHC	National Museum of African American History & Culture	African American
NMAFA	National Museum of African Art	African Art
NMAH	National Museum of American History	American History
NMAI	National Museum of the American Indian	American Indian-DC
NMAI-NY	National Museum of the American Indian–New York, the George Gustav Heye Center	American Indian-NY
NMAI-CRC	National Museum of the American Indian Cultural Resources Center	American Indian-CRC
NMAL	National Museum of the American Latino	American Latino
NPG	National Portrait Gallery	Portrait Gallery
NPM	National Postal Museum	Postal
RC	Dillon Ripley Center	Ripley
RG	Renwick Gallery	Renwick
SAAM	Smithsonian American Art Museum	American Art
SAWHM	Smithsonian American Women's History Museum	American Women
SIB	Smithsonian Castle	Castle
SIE	Smithsonian Exhibits	SI Exhibits
SLC	Smithsonian Latino Center	Latino Ctr
OUSSR	Office of the Under Secretary for Science and Research	Under Sec Science & Research
MCI	Museum Conservation Institute	Museum Conservation
NMNH	National Museum of Natural History	Natural History
NZP/SCBI	National Zoological Park/Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute	National Zoo/Conservation Biology
SAO	Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory	Astrophysical Observatory
SERC	Smithsonian Environmental Research Center	Environmental Research
SLA	Smithsonian Libraries and Archives	Libraries & Archives
SISP	Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press	Scholarly Press
SMSFP	Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce	NMNH-Fort Pierce
STRI	Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute	Tropical Research
OUSA	Office of the Under Secretary for Administration	Under Sec Administration
AS	Access Smithsonian	Access SI
OCIO	Office of the Chief Information Officer	Information Technology
OCon&PPM	Office of Contracting & Personal Property Management	Contracting
OF&A	Office of Finance & Accounting	Finance
OFMR	Office of Facilities Management and Reliability	Facilities Mgmt
OHR	Office of Human Resources	Human Resources
OPMB	Office of Planning, Management and Budget	Budget
OSP	Office of Sponsored Projects	Sponsored Projects
SE	Smithsonian Enterprises	Enterprises
SF	Smithsonian Facilities	Facilities
SG	Smithsonian Gardens	Gardens
SOAR	Smithsonian Organization and Audience Research	Org. & Audience Research
SOPS	Smithsonian Office of Protection Services	Protection Services
OUSE	Office of the Under Secretary for Education	Under Sec Education
OET	Office of Education Technology	Edu Tech
OFI	Office of Fellowships and Internships	Interns & Fellows
SA/SITES	Smithsonian Affiliations and Traveling Exhibition Service	Affiliations & Trav Exhs
TSA	Smithsonian Associates	Associates
SSEC	Smithsonian Science Education Center	Science Education
OASCEA	Office of the Assistant Secretary for Communications and External Affairs and Chief Marketing Officer	Asst Sec Communication & External Affairs
OGR	Office of Government Relations	Govt Relations
OPA	Office of Public Affairs	Public Affairs
OSEP	Office of Special Events and Protocol	Special Events
OVS	Office of Visitor Services	Visitor Services
OASA	Office of the Assistant Secretary for Advancement	Asst Sec Advancement
OA	Office of Advancement & Philanthropic Giving	Advancement
Other
SEEC	Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center	Early Enrichment Ctr