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Confident Bid Writing Skills Workshop

What makes a good funding application?  Join Jenni Waugh for this half day workshop which builds confidence and skills in writing small funding bids.

This is your opportunity to hone your application for the next WMMD Small Grant Scheme!

Click on the button below to book your place.  If the button isn’t visible the course is fully booked.  To go on the waiting list visit wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk.

If you can’t make it, don’t worry there will be a shorter version of this workshop at Conference 2020.

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

25 February – Confident Bid Writing Skills
10am-1pm, Nuneaton Museum and Art Gallery, Riversley Park, Nuneaton CV11 5TU

Conference 2020 Postponed!

Event Postponed

Updated Friday 13 March

We have been following official government advice surrounding COVID-19 but with a rapidly evolving situation we have taken the decision to postpone the onsite event. Although this is disappointing we hope you’ll agree it is the right thing to do to safeguard you and others.

We will look to reschedule the event in the future or alternatively make the plenaries available online for you to share watching them with colleagues.

If you have any questions please get in touch.

Email: wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk
Tel: 01952 435 900

Leading a Digitally Literate Museum

Is your museum leadership team confident when it comes to digital?  Are they as digitally literate as our fast-changing world requires?

The opportunities around digital culture can be huge but it’s a fast-changing, multi-layered environment that is a challenge for many museums to exploit.  Join Culture24’s CEO Jane Finnis and Partnerships Director Anra Kennedy to learn more.

What will be covered?

A thriving, successful museum needs a digitally literate workforce that understands the ways in which digital technologies, content and culture can best serve their mission.  It’s down to museum leadership to create the right conditions to meet those challenges.  This one day workshop will combine strategy, theory and expert insight with practical advice and peer support.  Themes covered include:

By the end of this course you will have:

Who should attend?

Leaders and decision makers from small and medium sized museums in the West Midlands

Please note the day is specifically designed for museum leaders with responsibilities across the museum’s strategy and operations (i.e. not the digital team leaders!).  Culture24 is a firm believer in leading change from wherever you are situated in an organisation but this particular workshop will bring most value to executive and board-level leaders.

Please email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk with details of particular areas of need or focus and Culture24 will try and accommodate these into the day and tailor the session to the level/expectations of participants.

Lunch and refreshments will be provided.

Priority will be given to delegates from non-NPO museums which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation.  Maximum of two delegates per museum.

Bookings are now closed.

6 February 2020 – Leading a Digitally Literate Museum
10am-4.30pm, Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham B18 6HA

A-Z of Accreditation: Access in Focus

Join our speakers for a day of practical Accreditation advice including the new requirement for an Access Plan:

Lunch and refreshments will be provided.

Please click on the button below to book on to this event.  If you can’t see the button it is fully booked; to join the waiting list please email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk

23 January 2020 – A-Z of Accreditation: Access in Focus
10am-4pm – Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery, The Music Hall, The Square SY1 1LH

Media Masterclass

Getting the media to work for your museum.

Do you know what journalists are looking for?  Can you promote your museum?

Award-winning former BBC journalist Sarah Bishop takes you on a journey of discovery:

Sarah will share the secrets of 25 years’ experience in newspapers, radio and television – so you’ll never need to ask a journalist “What are you going to ask me?” ever again!

This session is a condensed version of the ‘In the Spotlight’ series.

Quotes from previous participants:

‘Useful tips about presenting yourself and organisation to the media, and how to navigate questions and responses effectively with greater confidence’

‘The session had a very fun atmosphere and I learned a lot of great tips’

‘Informative, explains everything step by step.  Good fun.  Didn’t feel under pressure to get it right first time’

Lunch and refreshments will be provided

Priority will be given to delegates from non-NPO museums which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation.  

Click on the button below to book your place, if there is no button this event is fully booked. If you wish to be added to the waiting list please email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk with the name of the event.

4 December – Media Masterclass
10am-4pm, Winterbourne House and Garden, 58 Edgbaston Park Road, Edgbaston B15 2RT

Business Planning

Dawn Langley will lead this practical session to introduce effective tools, techniques and frameworks that will help you create a business plan to guide your organisation.

A Business Plan (also known as a Forward Plan) is an essential element of an Accreditation return and should be a useful document which sets out goals, actions and what you’ll need to achieve these goals including people, equipment and money.  A well-researched and clearly written business plan will be a useful communication tool to staff, volunteers and stakeholders.

We will refer to a business planning guidance document during the workshop.  Please click here to view in advance.

Quotes from previous participants:

‘Dawn (the trainer) was well informed, a great communicator and her advice was empowering and highly relevant.’

‘The day was a useful opportunity to share experience and challenge assumptions.’

‘The training was very thought provoking.’

9 October – Business Planning
11am-4pm, John Lewis Community Hub, Grand Central, Birmingham B2 4AU

Awards ceremony countdown is on!

With just weeks to go before we host the West Midlands Volunteer Awards we are putting the final touches to plans for the glittering celebration.

Representatives and volunteers from museums across the West Midlands will attend the ceremony, which is being held in Birmingham Hippodrome’s Patrick Centre, on Wednesday, September 11th, from 4pm – 8pm.

Our awards, now in their fourth year, have become a key fixture in the volunteer calendar and we are very much looking forward to welcoming all of our 2019 finalists.

The awards were launched in 2016 to recognise the critical role volunteers play in keeping museums running throughout the West Midlands. Since then, more than 400 guests have attended the annual ceremonies and from 90 nominated finalists, 28 individuals and groups have been chosen as overall winners.

Nominations were welcomed from across the region and the scale and quality of entries has been fantastic.

The judges will decide winners in four categories – individual, group, young person (25 and under), and project. And the winner of the prestigious Judge’s Award for Excellence, chosen from finalists in all four categories, will also receive £500 to spend on the museum, heritage site, or art gallery project of their choice.

Guests will be treated to an evening of entertainment that is sure to make it an unforgettable event. In previous years we have invited travelling musicians, hip hop crews, and opera improvisation troupes to take to the stage and keep attendees happy.

We’re not giving anything away just yet but we guarantee an evening unlike any other.

You can see our 2019 finalists here: https://mdwm.org.uk/news/volunteer-awards-finalists-announced/

We look forward to meeting our wonderful finalists soon.

Accounting and Financial Management for Small Charities

The workshop is aimed at anyone involved in their organisation’s accounting – whether that’s Trustees, managers, staff or volunteers. The aim is to ensure you understand what the requirements are for your charity, as well as help explain some of the jargon and offer some practical tips – ideally to help avoid large accountancy costs!

We will also take a look at the role of the Trustees, and the principles of good governance.

A minimal level of prior knowledge or experience is assumed and the workshop will offer some real-life examples of best practice, as well as handy examples of where things can go wrong.

N.B. – If delegates are able to bring along the latest set of their charity’s financial statements that would be useful.

The workshop will cover the following:

The training will be provided by Clair Moelwyn-Williams FCA, a chartered accountant with a demonstrated history of working in the accounting and audit industry, specialising in the charity, social enterprise and not-for-profit sector.  Clair is an Independent Examiner and experienced presenter, facilitator and public speaker, specialising in Trustee Training, Governance reviews, Internal control reviews and technical updates.

Click on the button below to book your place, if there is no button this event is fully booked. If you wish to be added to the waiting list please email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk with the name of the event.

28 November – Accounting and Financial Management for Small Charities
10am-4.30pm, Museum of Carpet, Kidderminster DY10 1AZ

Evaluation: How to Measure What Counts

During the course of the day we will break down ‘big project outcomes’, set performance indicators and create measurement and evaluation tools by using established evaluation frameworks – the Arts Council England (ACE) Quality Framework, National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) outcomes and the New Economics Foundation’s Wellbeing Framework. We will also look at the different stages at which evaluation can take place: formative, delivery and assessment, summative and longitudinal.

By the end of the workshop, participants should have created an outline evaluation framework, and understand how to develop tools, a question bank and a report template to use on their own projects, or to form the basis of future research.

Participants are welcome to bring live projects to the session, so that we can use them as examples during the day.

Jenni Waugh has been an independent evaluator for heritage and cultural projects since 2010. She has evaluated projects for a range of organisations including Birmingham Museums Trust, Culture Coventry Trust, National Memorial Arboretum and Open Theatre Company, and for funders including NLHF, ACE and Esmee Fairbairn Foundation.

Jenni specialises in the evaluation of projects with social and wellbeing outcomes and has produced tools for measuring impact on participants with dementia and learning disabilities.

Click on the button below to book your place, if there is no button this event is fully booked. If you wish to be added to the waiting list please email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk with the name of the event.

Lunch and refreshments provided.

19 November – Evaluation: How to Measure What Counts
10am-4pm, Museum of Cider, Hereford HR4 0EF

Bright Ideas: New Perspectives on Museum Lighting  

What are the latest innovations and trends in lighting? And how can museums use lighting to maximum effect as part of their exhibition design?

This one day Museums Association conference will explore the current opportunities that lighting innovation offers, examining the benefits as well as the challenges.

Lighting designers will share some of the most recent and exciting technological developments, and explain how these might be used in museums to create atmosphere and show off objects without compromising conservation and environmental standards.

There will also be a range of case studies delivered by a range of museums with different budgets, sharing how they are using lighting in their exhibition design.

Delegates will have the opportunity to talk to designers over an extended lunch period, visit tabletop stands and enjoy specially commissioned demos.

If you work in displays, exhibitions, conservation, design and interpretation, this seminar brings you up to date with innovations in museum lighting.

Click here for more information and to book.

11 September 9.30am-4.30pm

Science and Industry Museum, Manchester M3 4FP