MA Statement on the Cost of Living Crisis
The Museum Association (MA) has issued a statement on the cost of living crisis. It is deeply concerned about the impact of the cost of living crisis on museums across the UK and calls for action on pay and investment in the sector.
Research Infrastructure for Conservation and Heritage Science
AHRC has launched a call for expressions of interest in RICHeS – the Research Infrastructure for Conservation and Heritage Science.
If your organisation has equipment, expertise or scientific reference collections that could form part of a funded UK-wide research infrastructure please complete the form https://bit.ly/RICHeS-EOI
Expressions of interest are encouraged from both UKRI-eligible organisations (e.g. Higher Education Institutions and Independent Research Organisations) and those that are not normally eligible, particularly smaller heritage organisations, libraries, archives and museums. AHRC is keen to explore the landscape for partnership working in the heritage sector and wants to understand, through responses to this EOI, where there is potential to build partnerships that can increase access to the equipment, expertise and reference collections that enable research into the long-term management and preservation of heritage assets and collections.
If your organisation holds equipment, expertise or scientific reference collections (analogue or digital) that could form part of a national infrastructure please respond before 1 August.
Further background information on RICHeS is available at https://www.heritagescienceforum.org.uk/what-we-do/riches
Equity and inclusion: planning your next steps
Inclusive Museums is a training and mentoring programme that will support a small cohort of West Midlands museums to become more equitable and inclusive.
As a result of taking part in the programme, participants will:
- Demonstrate a consistent understanding of Equity and Inclusion and how it relates to their audiences, workforce (paid and voluntary), governance and programmes
- Feel confident about using inclusive language and current Equity and Inclusion terminology
- Identify internal issues and external opportunities and barriers related to Equity and Inclusion and develop the skills to address them
- Demonstrate improved confidence in talking about difficult issues/ topics
- Identify the challenges and/ or barriers within their organisation relating to Equity and Inclusion and develop plans to address these
- Undertake a self-assessment of EDI in their organisation
- Prepare an Equity Action Plan (EAP)
- Gain a supportive network of colleagues developing their equity and inclusion policy and practice
- Involve their wider organisation in developing their Equity Action Plan
The programme will be delivered via three phases of activity through a combination of live online workshops, 1:1 mentoring, case studies and peer group activities between October 2022 and March 2024.
- Phase 1: Preparation, November – December 2022
- Phase 2: Planning, January – February 2023
- Phase 3: Delivery, April 2023 – March 2024
Apply by 5pm Monday 12 September 2022
WMMD Inclusive Museums Application Pack
To discuss your application or find out more about the programme please contact michelle.davies@ironbridge.org.uk
Priority will be given to non-NPO and non-National museums who are Accredited or Working Towards Accreditation based in the West Midlands.
About the trainers
Isilda Almeida and Maurice Davies deliver tailored approaches to increasing inclusive and equitable practice in the cultural sector, including training, advice, strategic planning, service review and community engagement.
Isilda works as an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Consultant in the culture sector and brings with her over 20 years’ experience of the UK heritage sector. She will be supported by Maurice, who brings nearly 40 years of experience in UK museums and galleries as a policymaker, leader and curator. He has championed equity and inclusion since the 1990s when he was editor of Museums Journal. He has advised organisations such as the Greater London Authority, the National Museum Directors Council and the National Trust on aspects of heritage and race. Most recently Maurice has helped Museum Detox with an organisational review and, with Isilda, delivered training on museums, equity and inclusion.
Inclusive Museums
Equity and inclusion: planning your next steps
Inclusive Museums is a training and mentoring programme that will support a small cohort of West Midlands museums to become more equitable and inclusive.
As a result of taking part in the programme, participants will:
- Demonstrate a consistent understanding of Equity and Inclusion and how it relates to their audiences, workforce (paid and voluntary), governance and programmes
- Feel confident about using inclusive language and current Equity and Inclusion terminology
- Identify internal issues and external opportunities and barriers related to Equity and Inclusion and develop the skills to address them
- Demonstrate improved confidence in talking about difficult issues/ topics
- Identify the challenges and/ or barriers within their organisation relating to Equity and Inclusion and develop plans to address these
- Undertake a self-assessment of EDI in their organisation
- Prepare an Equity Action Plan (EAP)
- Gain a supportive network of colleagues developing their equity and inclusion policy and practice
- Involve their wider organisation in developing their Equity Action Plan
The programme will be delivered via three phases of activity through a combination of live online workshops, 1:1 mentoring, case studies and peer group activities between October 2022 and March 2024.
- Phase 1: Preparation, November – December 2022
- Phase 2: Planning, January – February 2023
- Phase 3: Delivery, April 2023 – March 2024
Apply by 5pm, Monday 12 September 2022
To discuss your application or find out more about the programme please contact michelle.davies@ironbridge.org.uk
WMMD Inclusive Museums Application Pack
Priority will be given to non-NPO and non-National museums who are Accredited or Working Towards Accreditation based in the West Midlands.
About the trainers
Isilda Almeida and Maurice Davies deliver tailored approaches to increasing inclusive and equitable practice in the cultural sector, including training, advice, strategic planning, service review and community engagement.
Isilda works as an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Consultant in the culture sector and brings with her over 20 years’ experience of the UK heritage sector. She will be supported by Maurice, who brings nearly 40 years of experience in UK museums and galleries as a policymaker, leader and curator. He has championed equity and inclusion since the 1990s when he was editor of Museums Journal. He has advised organisations such as the Greater London Authority, the National Museum Directors Council and the National Trust on aspects of heritage and race. Most recently Maurice has helped Museum Detox with an organisational review and, with Isilda, delivered training on museums, equity and inclusion.
Wellbeing Questionnaire
Museums Association (MA) is committed to supporting workforce wellbeing, and believe that good workforce wellbeing is an indicator of a healthy and productive organisation.
Museums have a role to play in improving community wellbeing, and we know that museums are better placed to support their communities if we support the colleagues engaging and working with them.
MA has launched this wellbeing questionnaire as part of its research into workforce wellbeing, which will provide an evidence base to help shape and inform future campaigning and activities in this area.
The research will also provide an evidence base for other organisations to develop their practice, influence commitments or obtain funding.
Everyone is encouraged to complete the anonymous questionnaire, reflecting on your experience within the sector and your current wellbeing.
Please complete the questionnaire by Wednesday 17 August.
The Great Escape
Take part in Art Fund’s next big adventure as The Great Escape is launched – a national participatory project taking place on Earth Day 2023.
The Great Escape is Art Fund’s new major UK-wide participatory project championing museum, gallery and historic house collections. Working with you, schools and families will be invited to explore wildlife in your collections, exhibitions and spaces, leading up to a large-scale participative event on Earth Day 2023 (Saturday 22 April).
Art Fund wants to work with museums, galleries and historic houses, who will engage with schools and families in their local community to contribute to a large-scale participative event. Art Fund is developing exciting, high-profile partnerships and inviting well-known artists and naturalists to help you connect with local communities and young audiences through storytelling and drawing workshops from September 2022.
There is a series of online workshops for you to hear more about The Great Escape and how the project will be shaped by your ideas. Every month, as well a project update, we will discuss a specific topic based on your suggestions. The next workshop is Wednesday 27 July, 1pm-2.30pm .
Find out more about The Great Escape and register your interest.
Benchmarks in Collections Care
Do you regularly review the care and management of your collection? Do you know what you are doing well and what might need some improvement?
Benchmarks in Collection Care 3 is a self-assessment checklist, developed by The National Conservation Service. It has been designed to support museums to assess and plan their collections activity. It identifies areas of achievement in collections care and gives an indication of where improvements may be needed. Benchmarks is a practical framework for measuring risk towards collections and directly supports the 2018 Accreditation Standard.
West Midlands Museum Development is offering support for up to five museums in working through the Benchmarks toolkit, together with funding of up to £800 towards making identified improvements. The museums will then work through Benchmarks again after 12 months to demonstrate the development and improvement to their collections care.
Please contact helen.johnson@staffordshire.gov.uk by 31 July for further information about this project.
Successful museums will also complete the Museums Organisational Health Check as a condition of participation.
NPO and National Museums are not eligible for this opportunity.
Carbon Literacy for Trustees
Our second round of Carbon Literacy training is now open for bookings and is for Trustees across the Midlands.
West Midlands Museum Development (WMMD) and Museum Development East Midlands (MDEM) are partnering to deliver several rounds of training, using the Carbon Literacy for Museums Toolkit developed by Museum Development and the Carbon Literacy Trust as part of the national Roots and Branches project.
What is a Carbon Literacy course? The Carbon Literacy course will give you an understanding of what climate change is, the scale of its effects, and how museums fit into the global, national and local picture to address climate change. You become Carbon Literate by making an individual pledge, and an organisational pledge to take back to your museum, of what you can do, and is in your power to achieve, to make a significant difference to your carbon impact.
The course is made up of four modules – the first module is pre-recorded and there are three Zoom sessions.
- Tuesday 2 August – the pre-recorded module will be sent to you. It lasts 1 hour 30 minutes
- Tuesday 9 August, 10am-12.30pm – Zoom session 1
- Thursday 11 August, 10am-12noon – Zoom session 2
- Thursday 11 August, 1pm-3pm – Zoom session 3
Attendees will be certified as Carbon Literate once they’ve successfully completed the course. Therefore, it is essential you are able to attend all three Zoom sessions.
Maximum two trustees per organisation. Priority will be given to trustees from non-NPO and non-National museums in the East Midlands and West Midlands which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation.
Accessibility
This event will be auto captioned through Zoom. If you would benefit from other forms 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.
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 the booking page doesn’t appear these training sessions are fully booked. Please email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk to join the waiting list.
Reset Grant Open for Applications
Apply for £500 – £5,000
The Reset Grant is part of the West Midlands Museum Development Programme (WMMD), funded by Arts Council England (ACE) with additional funding from Art Fund continuing the successful partnership and collaborative response between Art Fund and MDUK to the Coronavirus pandemic started in 2020.
The Reset Grants aim to support museum to develop and use their collections in new ways, engage audiences, and/ or build organisational resilience following the impact of the Covid-19 crisis.
WMMD is committed to its role in developing an inclusive sector. We will prioritise funding for activity which seeks to improve representation within the organisation, the work it produces and the audiences it engages.
Museums can apply for £500 to £5,000.
The deadline for applications is 9am, Monday 8 August 2022.
We are pleased to offer a small number of 1:1 bid writing support with Jenni Waugh to help you prepare your application. These are available on a first come first served basis. To book a session please email wmmd@ironbridge.0rg.uk.
Eligibility
- The Reset Grant will support Accredited museums or those formally Working Towards Accreditation in the West Midlands
- Museums who have previously received a Recovery Grant from WMMD are eligible to apply providing their final report has been submitted.
- Museums with an open Recovery Grant award through WMMD which is expected to finish after 8 August 2022 are not eligible to apply.
- National Portfolio Organisations and National museums are not eligible to apply
Please read the Guidance and contact a member of the WMMD team before completing the Application Form.
Please note:
- We will prioritise applications from small to medium sized museums (museums with fewer than 50,000 visitors per annum) that are located in areas of low cultural engagement, where the museum is the main cultural offer in a locality, and/ or where museums that have niche collections outside the larger city institutions.
- Areas of low cultural engagement include Arts Council England’s (ACE) Priority Places and Levelling Up for Culture Places. Visit the ACE website, here, for further information.
- We encourage applicants to carefully consider the value of their grant requested in order that the available funding may support as many museums as possible
We strongly recommend that you discuss your application with a member of the WMMD team before you submit it
Roots & Branches: Seeds for Action Survey
What do you need to continue to grow carbon initiatives and climate action in your museum?
As part of the Roots & Branches project, funded by an Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grant, Museum Development England is seeking your opinion on what further support and resources you would benefit from to continue to take action against climate change in your museum.
The Seeds for Action Survey is an opportunity to help shape our next steps to create the training and resources needed in the museum sector to take a deeper dive into how to tackle climate change.
To have your say on what help you need to reduce your organisational impact on the climate and the environment, please complete the survey.
The survey will close at 5pm, Sunday 10 July. Please do circulate the survey link to colleagues across all areas of your organisation.
A BIG thank you from Museum Development England and the Roots & Branches project team.
