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Sandford Awards 2024 

Entries are now open for the Sandford Awards 2024.

The Sandford Award is the only nationally recognised quality mark for heritage learning and provides independent assurance for heritage sites and services. The six criteria underpinning the award assessment provide a framework for success whether you are looking to gain the recognition your learning programmes deserve or seeking to develop the quality of your education provision.

The closing date for entries is 5pm, Friday 16 February 2024.

Find out more about the awards

Audience Development workshop

Join us for a series of three workshops, delivered by Arts Marketing Association and Christina Lister to explore Audience Development. Each workshop is a stand alone event and delegates can choose to attend one or more sessions.

About the Trainer

Christina is a marketing and audience development consultant, trainer and facilitator working with heritage and cultural organisations, with 21 years’ experience as a freelancer and in agency and in-house positions. Christina empowers organisations to develop and execute marketing that connects to audiences with purpose and impact.

Her experience spans museums, heritage sites, libraries, archives, and arts organisations including the Science Museum Group, Museum of London, AIM, Jane Austen’s House and the Museum of Cambridge. She is a trustee of Kids in Museums and author of the book Marketing Strategy for Museums.

Session one – An Introduction to Audience Data Collection
Wednesday 24 January, 10am-12noon
Online

Understanding who your audiences are is the bedrock of being able to communicate with them in a meaningful way. It will also help you to understand who you’re not reaching, and why. This workshop will cover the basics of why and how to go about collecting data on your audiences, with an overview of different tools for collecting data.

This session will cover:

Book An Introduction to Audience Data Collection

Session two – An Introduction to Creating an Audience Development Plan
Wednesday 31 January, 10am-12noon
Online

An audience development plan will help you reach people you’re not currently reaching and deepen your relationship with those you are. A successful plan requires intent and commitment as it’s the framework that will guide the groundwork. Understanding why it’s important, and what the guiding principles are to creating one, is your first step in the right direction.

This session will cover:

Book An Introduction to Creating an Audience Development Plan

Session three – Introduction to Online Marketing
Wednesday 7 February, 10am-12noon
Online

What’s meant when we talk about online marketing? This workshop will clarify the different roles that your website, social media channels and your newsletters have within your overall marketing approach, and how to tailor the language and content you use for each.

This session will cover:

Book Introduction to Online Marketing

Essential information

Delegates will have the opportunity to ask questions throughout each session. The training will include breakout room discussions between delegates. There will be a short midway comfort break.

Maximum two delegates per organisation. 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. 

These events are for delegates in the East Midlands and West Midlands. If your museum is based in the East Midlands please book via the MDEM website.

Accessibility 

These events will be auto-captioned through Zoom. If you would benefit from any other form of access support, including live captioning, 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. If you would find it beneficial for your learning and accessibility Slides can be shared around one week in advance on request.

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.

Government Indemnity Scheme review – share your views

The Government Indemnity Scheme (GIS) replaces the need for commercial insurance for cultural venues. It enables them to borrow amazing objects and artwork.

Arts Council England (ACE) is committed to ensuring that GIS maintains its international reputation as a marker of quality.

ACE is sharing its work to review the GIS environmental conditions and this can be viewed here. It involves introducing some operational improvements to the scheme and a survey to canvas the sector’s views on temperature and relative humidity bands and light levels.

Please complete the survey to help make sure GIS benefits museums, balances the needs of its different stakeholders and continues to make a vital contribution to communities across the UK. 

The deadline for submissions is Sunday 19 November.

Conference 2023 Access Information

In-person Delegates:

Purpose, Practice, Pizzazz will be held at Enginuity, Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust. The main conference sessions will be held in the Engine Shop, Enginuity, with workshops across the Coalbrookdale site.

All sessions in the Engine Shop will be live captioned by a Speech-to-text-Reporter (STTR). Captions will be displayed on two 50 inch LED screens located on either side of the main stage.

All speakers will be provided with microphones.

A Hearing Loop is available in the Engine Shop.

There is step-free access to the Engine Shop via ramps.

Accessible toilets are located in Enginuity.

The approach to all conference venues is via a tarmac car park.

Enginuity

The exhibition is mainly on one level with a lift to the mezzanine floor.

There are accessible toilets.

Exhibits are multi-sensory.

This is a noisy environment with frequent loud sounds.

Workshop Venues and Coalbrookdale Gallery

The Glass Classroom, Coalbrookdale Gallery, Board Room and Members Room are all accessed via the Covered Bays. Access through the Covered Bays is step free. The underfoot surface is uneven in places (original brickwork).

The Glass Classroom and Coalbrookdale Gallery are located on the ground floor.

The Board Room and Members Room are located on the first floor. They can be accessed via stairs or lift.

Museum of Iron – LYNNEBEC Workshop

The workshop will take place on the first floor which is accessible by stairs or lift.

There is an accessible toilet.

Furnace Kitchen

There is step-free access into the Furnace Kitchen.

Further accessibility information for the museum venues can be found here. https://www.ironbridge.org.uk/plan/access-information/

Online Delegates:

All online sessions will be live captioned by a Speech-to-text-Reporter (STTR).

If you would benefit from any adjustment or support for accessibility, please email the WMMD team as early as possible with the adjustment you require.

Museum Development 24-26

Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, as current providers of the West Midlands Museum Development programme, is delighted to announce that between 2024 and 2026 it will partner with Leicestershire County Council, which runs Museum Development East Midlands, and combine forces to deliver a region wide Museum Development Midlands. Today Arts Council England has announced that it will give a grant of £571,420 per year for two years to this new Midlands programme to fund its work providing business development support to museums and their workforces across the Midlands. The Midlands programme will support museums to consider and mitigate risks and explore and respond to opportunities. Activities will support the workforce to develop creative and dynamic practice which will ultimately benefit individuals, local communities and the heritage and cultural sector.

Emmie Kell, Director of Museums and Cultural Property, Arts Council England, said: “We know how important museums are to their communities and all they do to help tackle isolation, build connections, foster creativity and instil a strong sense of place. The Museum Development Programme is an essential part of the Arts Council’s development offer for museums.

“We are delighted to be announcing our Museum Development partners across England who will help to deliver a refreshed Museum Development programme from April 2024”.

“All the partners within the programme have extensive skills, local knowledge and on the ground relationships which will be vital in helping museums respond to challenges and opportunities to face the future with confidence.”

 

Income Generation Workshops

Two more workshops open for booking

Museum Development East Midlands (MDEM) and West Midlands Museum Development (WMMD) are delighted to be working with Arts Fundraising & Philanthropy to offer a suite of fundraising workshops for 2023/24.

The programme consists of eight, two-hour workshops which will explore income generation from digital fundraising to developing onsite retail. Each online session will present key theories and case studies, allowing for discussion on their practical application. There is no requirement to attend every session, although they complement each other, they also work as standalone workshops.

Places are very limited; only one delegate per organisation.

The workshop schedule is:

Art Fund: Going Places Collaboration and Network Building Events 

Art Fund is launching a new UK-wide programme, ‘Going Places’, that aims to engage and involve underrepresented audiences with museum collections through high quality, collaborative touring exhibitions and public programmes. The project will establish five networks of 3-5 small to mid-sized museums, with each network producing two touring exhibitions over five years (2025-2030).

It has received a development phase grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to establish Going Places, and is currently seeking applications from interested museums, galleries, arts organisations and/ or networks of these. Further details of the project can be found here: https://www.artfund.org/professional/get-funding/programmes/going-places

Thursday 21 September, 10.30 – 16.45, Amgueddfa Ceredigion Museum, Aberystwyth, Wales, (a bilingual event – we welcome participation in Welsh) 

Wednesday 27 September, 10.30 – 16.45, Irish Linen Centre & Lisburn Museum, Lisburn, Northern Ireland 

Wednesday 11 October, 10.00 – 14.15, online 

Thursday 26 October, 10.00 – 14.15, online (a bilingual event – we welcome participation in Welsh) 

These Collaboration and Network Building events will introduce participants to the programme whilst enabling museums to build connections with organisations that share common interests and explore opportunities for working collaboratively, along with the audience benefits this brings. We strongly recommend that anyone interested in applying attend if possible.

The full programme, along with how to sign up, can be found here:

In-person: https://calendly.com/art-fund/going-places-building-networks-workshop?month=2023-09  

Online: https://calendly.com/art-fund/going-places-online-workshops-for-museums?month=2023-10  

Tender Opportunity

Museum Development England EDI Training and Support Scoping Project

On behalf of Museum Development England, MDNE is seeking a consultant to undertake a scoping exercise looking at training in the museum sector in terms of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). The objective is to enable MDE to develop new national EDI programmes for the sector from April 2024 onwards, with those programmes designed to reach a broad range of audiences in museums including trustees, workforce (including leadership/senior staff) and volunteers.

The project will run from November 2023 to March 2024 and tender submissions are invited by Monday October 2.

Get more information and download the Tender Documentation

 

Disability Essentials eLearning

Disability Essentials is an eLearning programme that helps staff and volunteers ensure they are confident and skilled in their engagement with disabled people. The course combines legal expertise with the lived experience of disabled people.

Who should take the course?
This training is suitable for all museum staff and volunteers, as either an introduction or refresher training. The flexibility of the eLearning format is ideal for public-facing and operational roles, like Front of House.

Learners can save and re-enter the modules where they left off. The modules are interactive and use illustrations, videos and pop quizzes to secure learning.

Sign up anytime before 1 March 2024, learners have until 31 March 2024 to complete the modules and will receive a Certificate upon completion of the course.

Disability Essentials is available to museums in the West Midlands, freelancers and WMMD training partners who would like to enrol up to 15 team members to undertake the Disability Essentials eLearning course for free.

Find our more about the Disability Essentials eLearning Programme.

Disability Essentials eLearning Sign up – Anytime before 1 March 2024

Disability Essentials is an eLearning programme that helps staff and volunteers ensure they are confident and skilled in their engagement with disabled people. The course combines legal expertise with the lived experience of disabled people.

Who should take the course?
This training is suitable for all museum staff and volunteers, as either an introduction or refresher training. The flexibility of the eLearning format is ideal for public-facing and operational roles, like Front of House.

Learners can save and re-enter the modules where they left off. The modules are interactive and use illustrations, videos and pop quizzes to secure learning.

Sign up anytime before 1 March 2024, learners have until 31 March 2024 to complete the modules and will receive a Certificate upon completion of the course.

How to access the learning modules
Please ask each colleague to book onto the course using the booking button below.

Disability Essentials is available to museums in the West Midlands, freelancers and WMMD training partners who would like to enrol up to 15 team members to undertake the Disability Essentials eLearning course for free.

Disability Essentials eLearning
Flexible timings: undertake modules at a time and date to suit you
Online