Nominations Open for Family Friendly Museum Award 2022
Kids in Museum’s Family Friendly Museum Award celebrates museums, galleries and heritage attractions that go the extra mile to provide an excellent family friendly experience.
Categories this year are:
- Best Small Museum
- Best Medium Museum
- Best Large Museum
- Best Accessible Museum
- Best Family Engagement Team
Find out more about the Family Friendly Museum Award.
Nomination close 5pm, Monday 6 June.
DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund 2022-24
For 20 years, DCMS and the Wolfson Foundation have worked together to jointly fund grants to support museums as they improve displays, enhance collections care and make exhibitions more accessible to visitors.
Applications for the new round will be open from 9 May to 1 August, with funding decisions expected in autumn 2022. Full application guidance and the bid pro forma will be available no later than 9 May 2022.
The Fund is open to bids from museums, museum services and galleries in England falling into one of three categories:
- Museums/museums services and universities with Designated collections
- Accredited museums/museum services that are or have been members of an Arts Council England development scheme (National Portfolio Organisations; Major Partner Museums; Renaissance)
- Museums and galleries sponsored by DCMS
New Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief Support Service
The Arts Council’s new Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief (MGETR) Support Service is designed to enable more organisations to benefit from this relief. The support service pack will help address some of the common questions and misconceptions associated with the tax relief, as well as providing a straightforward, step-by-step guide to preparing and making a claim.
The Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief is an important source of additional funds that is applicable to a large number of arts and cultural organisations. Up to 40p in each £ could be claimed as cash-based support to invest in your organisation’s ambitions.
In addition to the new guide, companies based in England can also benefit from a new helpdesk service, which will provide them with direct access to expert guidance from RSM, who are delivering this service for the Arts Council.
To access the helpdesk service, you’ll need to register for the guide. You will then receive instructions on how to book a call. The MGETR Support Service will run for an intial six months, but may be extended following a review.
The MGETR Support Service is completely free and aimed at supporting charitable arts and culture organisations that are seeking to submit a Museums and Galleries Exhibitions Tax Relief claim.
Rethinking Cataloguing – Consultation open to 28 March
Building on previous roundtable discussions, Collections Trust is considering some changes to their Spectrum Cataloguing procedure in order to challenge the ‘gatekeeper’ mindset that’s holding back a more open and inclusive approach.
This exciting new ‘rethinking cataloguing’ campaign is a chance for you to give your feedback on a new draft version of the Spectrum Cataloguing scope and policy questions.
You can read the full details about the revisions and leave your feedback on their website.
Deadline extended to Monday 28 March.
2023-26 Investment Programme: The timeline
Arts Council England (ACE) has confirmed the application timeline for organisations applying to the National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) and Investment Principles Support Organisation (IPSO) programmes. The application portal will open at noon, Monday 28 February and will close at noon, Wednesday 18 May. See the full timetable.
ACE has also published an Addendum to the Guidance for Applicants for both the NPO and IPSO programmes. It is essential that all applicants read this Addendum before making an application.
The Addendum sets out how the NPO and IPSO programmes will help deliver the Government’s Levelling Up agenda.
It’s important to note that this Addendum does not contain any changes to the eligibility criteria for either NPO or IPSO applicants, as already set out in the originally published Guidance for Applicants. Read the Addendum.
Security Advice Survey
Arts Council England provides a UK-wide security advice service, supporting the loan and borrowing of objects by cultural organisations. Recognising the sector is going through a period of intense change, it has commissioned Trident Manor to survey and provide an up-to-date understanding of the sector’s security needs in the short to medium term.
The research will help us plan future work and support the sector’s needs in the best way possible. Survey closes Monday 21 February.
Let’s Get Real: Building a thriving hybrid working environment
Navigating the challenges of hybrid working to help your organisation become more inclusive and resilient.
The forced experiments of remote working in 2020 and the hybrid reality of 2021 have led us to a place where we are all fundamentally rethinking our working practises. Building on the findings of Culture24’s recent survey, ‘Understanding Hybrid’, the next groundbreaking Let’s Get Real action research programme will focus on navigating the challenges of hybrid working. Run in partnership with Birmingham Museums Trust, the cohort will come together to discuss the challenges and opportunities, collaborating to develop more inclusive and resilient organisations in the hybrid workplace. Want to join a cohort of up to 32 other cultural organisations? Read the full details here and sign up.
Sign up deadline: 7 March
Project Duration: April 2022 to November 2022 (eight months)
AIM Covid Impact Survey Report
In January 2022, AIM surveyed its members on the immediate impact of the Omicron variant and related strengthening of restrictions in all nations of the UK over the Christmas and New Year season.
The responses painted a picture of a sector looking ahead to the rest of winter and the rest of the year largely expecting to survive financially, but with significant concerns about visitor figures and income throughout 2022, and a need for support with core funding, capital (including maintenance) projects, one-off projects, and particularly to support staff resilience and wellbeing.
Read the key findings of the survey report ‘Balancing optimism and realism’.
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities resources
SEND in Museums provides clear guidance for museum, heritage or other arts and cultural professionals, on supporting the inclusion of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Visit the SEND in Museums website.
Sporting Heritage Awards
Sporting Heritage want to recognise the amazing work that takes place across our sector with the inaugural Sporting Heritage Awards.
It wants to help as many people understand the impact that sporting heritage, and the people who deliver sporting heritage activity, make on a daily basis in local communities across the UK.
You can find out more about the award categories, how to nominate and the judging criteria at the Sporting Heritage website.
Nominations close on Friday 18 March and an awards ceremony will take place in Leeds on 28 April.
Follow Sporting Heritage at #SHAwards2022
