Exposure Draft, April 2001

Chapters 1 & 2: Background & The Context
Chapter 3: The Policy Framework
Chapter 4: The Market
Chapter 5: Museums & Their Collections
Chapter 6: Resources
Chapter 7: Conclusions
Annexes 

 

701.  It is unlikely that substantial additional public funding will be made available for East Midlands museums during the coming five years, and it is prudent to assume that financial pressures will increase rather than recede. While this will inevitably create pressures, it will also heighten the advantage of increasing effectiveness and improving efficiency. These opportunities can be described as follows.

702.  Responding to customer needs by

· understanding the nature and demands of museum audiences;

· regularly renewing and refreshing facilities and programmes on the basis of customer demands;

· reinvigorating the museum as a source of information; and

· maximising the potential of museums in lifelong learning.

703.  Rationalising the system of museums in the East Midlands by

· bringing together the regional collections for costume and textiles (including footwear), science and technology (excluding industry and transport), agriculture, and natural sciences within new adequately-resourced museum institutions for each of those subjects, with links to affiliate institutions, including libraries and archives;

· focusing ICT development on those collections, and developing comprehensive finding aids for public access;

· using local cultural strategies as a means of identifying needs and opportunities for museum provision in those localities;

· sharing conservation and storage facilities, especially in the area of archaeology, by consortia of museum governing bodies; and

· challenging current levels of local authority provision, and the nature of that provision, through the Best Value process.

704.  Investing in people by

· enabling all people working in museums to be trained and developed to perform their duties efficiently and effectively;

· restoring subject-specialist knowledge to museums, to enable their collections to be fully exploited;

· encouraging governing bodies to provide clear  direction and leadership for their museums, and planning the deployment of resources to achieve high-quality outcomes in line with a published strategy;

· persuading local authorities of the benefit of appropriately-trained and remunerated staff; and

· supporting advice, training and support to stimulate volunteer involvement in museums, and to sustain the museum sector as effective museum providers, especially in market towns and rural areas.

705.  Creating alliances and partnerships with bodies and individuals

· that share common heritage interests with museums, both government and non-government organisations;

· that enable museums to play their part in the wider cultural scene; and

· that add value by providing economies of scale.

706.  Implementing sustainable developments by

· avoiding additional 'flagship' museums, and concentrating on investment in the current infrastructure, especially the creation of new merged institutions and developing the application of ICT;

· maintaining sufficient capacity to support volunteer-run museums; and

· promoting high standards in design and building, and developing conservation planning for museums in historic buildings.

707.  Promoting social cohesion by

· working towards a museum workforce more representative of the diversity of East Midlands people;

· supporting, where practicable, initiatives to tackle social exclusion;

· adopting and promoting socially-inclusive values in all aspects of museum governance, management and operation.

708.  Museums can and do play an important role in preserving and giving public expression to the distinctive cultural identities of the East Midlands. The story they tell is the glue that binds together the region's separate communities. Their support and development should play a vital part in the region's cultural policy.

709.  Implementation of these conclusions is beyond the scope of any single organisation. It will require all those bodies with museum interests to work together. Local authorities, in particular, should play a key role, whether individually, within consortia, or through the East Midlands Local Government Association. However, many of the actions required should engage with other cultural agencies, whether on a one-to-one basis, or through the agency of initiatives sponsored by the East Midlands Cultural Consortium.

710.  Whether this Strategy succeeds or fails will depend on the following

• central government funding a sustainable level of capacity to catalyse the changes implementation will require;

• Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries recognising while some aspects of the Strategy - particularly ICT and information supply - are cross-sectoral with libraries and archives, most are museum-specific;
  

• the Heritage Lottery Fund endorsing the principles within this Strategy and using it as a framework for its investment in the regional museum infrastructure;
  

• regional government institutions continuing to promote collaboration and co-ordination, rather than centralist direction; and
  

• museum governing bodies - especially local authorities - being prepared to set aside parochial concerns and work together for a common purpose.

711.  Annex B outlines an action plan which describes how the Strategy's key recommendations will be implemented, and who it is hoped will take these forward.

 

Chapters 1 & 2: Background & The Context
Chapter 3: The Policy Framework
Chapter 4: The Market
Chapter 5: Museums & Their Collections
Chapter 6: Resources
Chapter 7: Conclusions
Annexes