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Biomass Action Research at Claymills

“We all know about the need to reduce our carbon footprint; at Claymills no less than anywhere else!

The challenge for Claymills is both immediate and long term. The immediate challenge is that the cost of coal – our biggest expense – has tripled over the last two years, and even at that price, availability has become very limited. So, at Claymills Victorian Pumping Station, supported by a grant from WMMD, we have been investigating the potential use of biomass to replace coal for firing our original Lancashire boilers, which are fitted with Meldrum’s ‘Sprinkler’ Stokers.

The investigation has taken the form of a formal action research programme, and Claymills has now published the final report – which, we are pleased to say, concludes that, by careful management, biomass can be used with a performance equivalent to coal.

This means that we can steam into the medium term without adding to the problems of climate change! Of course, Claymills is unique, and our solution may not suit you, but if you want to learn more, do come to one of our advertised steamings and we will make sure you get a detailed explanation from the project team. And if you’ld like a copy of the action research report, please email John Freeman”

by John Freeman CBE
Trustee
Claymills Victorian Pumping Station

Navigating Change: Advocacy, Influencing and Negotiating

Times are particularly challenging at the moment for museums and heritage sites. The impact of COVID-19, the cost of living and energy crisis, and ongoing funding and staffing cuts have affected us all, leaving us frequently needing to advocate for our sites.

This free in person course has been developed for museum staff and volunteers who are finding themselves needing to advocate for their museum service during periods of change. The course will also cover negotiating and influencing skills. Lastly, this training will also focus on supporting museum staff through managing change and looking after their own wellbeing.

Museum Development East Midlands (MDEM) and Ted Learning are partnering up to help build resilience during these challenging times.

Book Now

Maximum two delegates per organisation. Priority will be given to delegates from non-NPO and non-National museums in the Midlands which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation.

Navigating Change: Advocacy, Influencing and Negotiating
March 19, 10.30-3pm
National Civil War Centre, Newark, NG24 1JY

1:1 Bid Writing Surgeries

West Midlands Museum Development is pleased to offer a limited number of free one to one National Lottery Project Grants surgeries with Sarah Waldron.

National Lottery Project Grants is Arts Council England’s (ACE) open access programme for arts, libraries and museums project funding.

Sarah can offer two hours of support to be used flexibly depending on your needs, from helping you to understand what ACE will be looking for in your application, providing bid writing advice, or acting as a critical friend.

This offer is on a first come, first served basis to non-NPO and non-National museums in the Midlands which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation

Please email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk if you want to book a surgery with Sarah or have any questions.

Midlands Energy Audits

**UPDATE 21 February – This opportunity is now closed. All audits have been allocated**

West Midlands Museum Development (WMMD), Museum Development East Midlands (MDEM) and Pilio are releasing another round of free energy audits for Museums across the Midlands.

Participating museums will receive an energy audit and report from Pilio. Building energy audits are excellent ways of finding:

Download the information pack to find out more and apply

Audits will be offered on a first come, first served basis to non-NPO and non-National museums in the Midlands which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation.

NPOs are eligible to apply and will be offered any remaining dates following the closing date of 5pm, Monday 11 March.

Caring for Archives and Works on Paper

This workshop is aimed at general museum staff and volunteers who care for paper objects such as books, maps, archives, photographs, prints, posters, sketchbooks, watercolours and framed works.  The day will include practical sessions covering handling, storage and preventative conservation (upkeep and housekeeping).

The session with cover:

There will also be the opportunity for a tour of Herefordshire Archive and Records Centre building itself which is the UK’s first archival storage building to be built to the rigorous Passivhaus standard.

About the trainers:

The workshop will be led jointly by Liz Bowerman ACR, Senior Conservator at Herefordshire Archive and Records Centre and Emily O’Reilly ACR, Freelance Paper Conservator.  Emily O’Reilly is an Accredited Conservator and a Fellow of the International Institute of Conservation, she has worked for national museums and art collections including the National Trust on a wide variety of paper objects.

Caring for Archives and Works on Paper
Wednesday 13 March, 10.30am-4.30pm
Herefordshire Archive and Records Centre, Hereford HR2 6LA

Getting Your House in Order: Audit

Do you have the collections and information you think you have?

This session will explore the Spectrum 5.1 Audit procedure – systematically checking the accuracy and completeness of the information you have about your collections.

At the most basic level, the procedure confirms that your records match the physical reality: you have all the objects you should have, correctly numbered and located where they are supposed to be. We will explore the difference between the Inventory and Audit procedures, discuss the benefits of undertaking regular audits and how you might approach this.

Before the session:

Essential Information

Maximum two delegates per organisation. 

Accessibility 

These online events will be auto-captioned by Zoom. If you would benefit from live captioning or any other form of access support, please answer ‘yes’ to the access requirements question on the booking form and email the WMMD team as early as possible stating the support you require. 

These events are run in partnership with Museum Development East Midlands (MDEM). The events will be hosted by MDEM on their Zoom account. By booking onto these events you give permission to share your booking information with the events partners for the purpose of the events administration. WMMD’s privacy policy can be viewed here and MDEM’s privacy policy can be viewed here.

All participants will receive an email containing a Zoom link to the training prior to the event. The email will be sent to the email address used for booking. If you have not received an email the day before the event please contact us.

If you can’t see the booking button, this event is fully booked. To join the waiting list please email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk

Getting Your House in Order: Audit
Thursday 14 March, 10am-12noon
Online

Getting Your House in Order: Documentation Histories and Manuals

Are your in-house instructions in a clear and useable format?
Have you recorded key information about historic cataloguing systems, old numbering systems and policies?

This session will firstly explore how to develop or review your procedures manual. We will also look at how to gather and record information about the history of your documentation systems, and the potential benefits of this information.

We will explore this topic using elements from the Collections biography toolkit developed by Museum Development Yorkshire, alongside Collections Trust’s guidance about developing procedures manuals:

By the end of the session, delegates will: 

Before the session:

Essential Information

Maximum two delegates per organisation. 

Accessibility 

These online events will be auto-captioned by Zoom. If you would benefit from live captioning or any other form of access support, please answer ‘yes’ to the access requirements question on the booking form and email the WMMD team as early as possible stating the support you require. 

These events are run in partnership with Museum Development East Midlands (MDEM). The events will be hosted by MDEM on their Zoom account. By booking onto these events you give permission to share your booking information with the events partners for the purpose of the events administration. WMMD’s privacy policy can be viewed here and MDEM’s privacy policy can be viewed here.

All participants will receive an email containing a Zoom link to the training prior to the event. The email will be sent to the email address used for booking. If you have not received an email the day before the event please contact us.

If you can’t see the booking button, this event is fully booked. To join the waiting list please email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk

Getting Your House in Order – Documentation Histories and Manuals
Wednesday 21 February, 2pm-4pm
Online

Get Accreditation Ready: Preparing your Accreditation Application

Get Accreditation Ready: Preparing your Accreditation Application

This practical workshop will provide an overview of the Museum Accreditation Standard. It will cover the standard’s requirements, the process of preparing an application or return, supporting guidance and resources, and the online application portal. The workshop will be peppered with practical exercises and group discussion so that participants can learn from one another.

This in-person, full day session is ideal for museums who are applying for the first time, are already Accredited and preparing their return, or those seeking to refresh their knowledge of the Scheme.

Bookings close: 5pm, Monday 19 February

About Jennie Crawford

Jennie is the Midlands Accreditation Advisor for 23/24. She has extensive knowledge of the museum Accreditation standard having worked as an Accreditation Adviser for Arts Council England (2011-15) and Museum Development NW (2018-22).

Maximum two delegates per organisation. This is for all museums in the East and West Midlands. Museums in the East Midlands can book their place here.

Accessibility

This workshop will be held at West Midlands Police Museum. You can read about the museum’s accessibility arrangements here: https://museum.west-midlands.police.uk/plan-your-visit/access/

If you would benefit from any adjustment or support for accessibility, please answer ‘yes’ to the access requirements question on the booking form and email the WMMD team as early as possible stating the support you require. 

Dietary

Drinks and refreshments will be provided throughout the day and a vegetarian buffet will be provided at lunch. Please let us know any allergies or dietary requirements on the booking form when you book your place.

Accreditation Workshop
Thursday 21 March, 10am-3pm
West Midlands Police Museum, B4 6BJ

Introduction to Sustainable Development

Workshop and Surgeries with Henry McGhie

Climate change, inequality, decolonisation, budgets, social inclusion. Society faces so many challenges, and museums face many pressures to address them, both from funders and from our own desire to make an impact.

Which challenges should we choose?

How can we avoid ping-ponging from one issue to another?

Sustainable Development can help.

Sustainable Development is an invitation to all parts of society to work for a world with universal respect for human rights and to protect and restore the natural environment.

This two hour online workshop with Henry McGhie will explore the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how Sustainable Development can support museums to:

Henry is offering one-to-one follow-up surgeries in early March to provide tailored advice or further detail on how Sustainable Development can support your work. Please email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk for more information and a book a surgery.

About Henry McGhie

Henry McGhie has a background as an ecologist, museum curator and manager. He runs the consultancy Curating Tomorrow, working to strengthen museums’ contributions to sustainable development agendas, including the SDGs, climate action, biodiversity conservation, human rights, and Disaster Risk Reduction.

Introduction to Sustainable Development
Thursday 22 February, 10am-12pm
Online

If you can’t see the booking button, this event is fully booked. To join the waiting list please email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk

Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grants

Upcoming Roadshows

Arts Council England (ACE) has put together five roadshows that are aimed at museum colleagues who want an introduction to National Lottery Project Grants, or a refresher. In November ACE made a few changes to Project Grants responding to feedback to improve and simplify the programme – in particular, for those applying to the under £30,000 strand.

These roadshows cover some of those changes and offer practical insight into what makes a good Museums project proposal, advice on how to strengthen applications and the opportunity to discuss proposals with a Museums Relationship Manager. Whilst all are welcome it will be of particular value to first time applicants, those hesitant about applying and those focusing on the under £30,000 strand.