Win a live subtitled tour for your museum
To celebrate Museum Week 2023 and in celebration of all our wonderful museums and exhibition spaces across the UK, Stagetext is offering an opportunity for a venue to make a tour accessible to their deaf, deafened and hard of hearing visitors.
Stagetext is looking for a museum or exhibition space that already runs public tours of their collections or exhibitions, who would like the opportunity to make their tours accessible through remote speech-to-text reporting. The winning venue will get a free live subtitled tour, and Stagetext will help you promote your event to deaf people in your area.
Read more about the competition
The competition closes Friday 30 June.
Apply now: Diversify Your Income programme
Museum Development East Midlands (MDEM) and West Midlands Museum Development (WMMD) are delighted to be working with Arts Fundraising & Philanthropy to run the Diversify Your Income programme this autumn.
Programme Aim
This support will allow museums and heritage sites across the Midlands to explore and launch new income streams, with support through training and coaching, enabling them to become more resilient organisations.
The intensive programme will allow six organisations from each region to benefit from hands on support as they diversify their income, incorporating:
- Group sessions: three two-hour workshops focusing on
- setting goals for the programme,
- developing pitching and communication skills, and
- a concluding presentation on progress to key stakeholders
- Coaching: each participant will access two one-hour coaching sessions with an expert in their new area of income, benefitting from guidance, knowledge sharing and a sounding board for new ideas
- Network building: support and advice between group sessions through a moderated Slack group, allowing participants to share successes and challenges and build a supportive network in the region
- Training*: a programme of eight two-hour workshops on specific topics around income generation, presenting key theory and case studies and allowing for discussion on practical application. Training dates and topics are:
- Essentials in Fundraising – Wednesday 13 September, 10am-12noon
- Digital Fundraising Campaigns – Monday 25 September, 10am-12noon
- Essentials in Application Writing – Wednesday 4 October, 10am-12noon
- Online Ticketing – w/c 16 October
- Getting Started with E-commerce – w/c 30 October
- Developing Onsite Retail – Tuesday 21 November, 10am-12noon
- Maximising Income from Hires – Friday 1 December, 10am-12noon
- The Role of Trustees in Income Diversification – Thursday 14 December, 10am-12noon
*Participating organisations will have priority places for these regional training sessions. We would encourage museums to sign up for the sessions most relevant to their action plans in this area.
The programme will run from September 2023 to January 2024, with an expected time commitment of one day per month. Additional work will be required to apply learning to active income diversification between sessions. We require all participating organisations to attend the three Group session workshops:
- Group session 1 – Tuesday 5 September, 10am-12noon (online)
- Group session 2 – Wednesday 15 November, 2pm-4pm (online)
- Group session 3 – Wednesday 17 January, 11am-2pm (in person)
Are you eligible?
To be eligible for this programme you need to be an Accredited museum or Working Towards Accreditation in the East or West Midlands. This programme is aimed at organisations with less than 50,000 visitors a year.
East Midlands museums must have completed the MDEM Organisational Health Check within the last two years.
West Midlands museums must complete the WMMD Organisational Health Check as part of the programme (if you haven’t already done so within the past 12 months).
How to apply
For interested organisations who would like to know more we will be holding a Q and A event with Programme Leaders Arts, Fundraising and Philanthropy on Wednesday 21 June 12noon-1pm which is open for anyone to attend without obligation. You can register here.
To submit your application, please review your availability to take part in the key programme dates and complete the Expression of Interest form and return by 5pm, Monday 24 July. For more information, please contact mdem@leics.gov.uk
Inform our 23/24 Collections Workshops
Ann Sumner and Beth McIntyre (SumnerMcIntyre), the West Midlands Museum Development (WMMD) Collections Advisors, are finalising plans for this year’s Collections workshops.
The proposed programme has three key emerging themes:
- Community Consultation and Co-curation
- Contemporary Issues in Collections Research
- Upskilling – Sustainable Collections Care
Please complete our short survey by 5pm, Friday 16 June to let us know what workshops you want and how you want them delivered. The survey should take no more than five minutes to complete.
SumnerMcIntyre and WMMD are keen to hear your feedback. Your response will help us develop the workshop programme and ensure our training supports your collections priorities and ambitions.
Call for Proposals
The West Midlands Museum Development (WMMD) conference brings together an exciting mix of plenaries, workshops and exhibitors to create a space to network, share news and best practice from within and outside the heritage sector.
Since 2016 we have welcomed over 550 delegates from local, regional and national organisations to four jam-packed conferences. The covid pandemic paused our conference programme so we are thrilled to host Conference 2023 as a hybrid event. The day will be filled with inspirational speakers and thought provoking workshops.
We’d love to share your interesting, inspiring and useful experiences with conference delegates from across the wider West Midlands and beyond.
Please send us proposals for presentations, workshops/ interactive sessions and lightning talks based on recent activity at your museum or gallery. Simply complete the Proposals form and send it to wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk by 9am, Monday 17 July
Key information
Conference date: Wednesday 25 October 2023
Location: Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, Coalbrookdale TF8 7DQ and online
Audience: circa 100 in person delegates and online audience
Proposals Timetable
- Submit Proposal form to WMMD by 9am, Monday 17 July
- WMMD will contact you for further information (if required) by Monday 31 July
- Confirmation for inclusion at conference w/c 7 August
- Text for conference brochure sent by Monday 25 September
- Final presentation sent to WMMD by Monday 9 October
Further Information
If you have any questions please contact wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk
Practical Business Planning Programme
Practical support for small and medium sized museums
West Midlands Museum Development (WMMD) has commissioned The Collett Consultancy and Jenni Waugh Consulting Ltd to deliver a short, practical business planning programme intended to support four small to medium sized museums to develop their skills in line with the requirements of the Accreditation Scheme.
Over nine months, the programme will
- focus on realistic goal setting and priorities, relative to your museum’s size, capacity and ambition
- enable you to embed monitoring and review processes to aid ongoing action learning
The programme will comprise:
- Two in-person Business Planning workshops for a cohort of four museums. The workshops will take place July 2023 and February 2024.
- 1:1 mentoring session for each participating museum in autumn/ winter 2023
- Supporting materials and worksheets for independent activity between workshops
Participating museums will work individually on developing their own business plans and monitoring systems, whilst sharing the challenges and breakthroughs as part of a wider cohort.
This model will provide an opportunity for you to raise issues particular to your own circumstances, enrich your learning and skills and share the journey together.
Find out more about the programme
You can find out more details by downloading the Expression of Interest form.
Tonia and Jenni will also be joining WMMD at Coffee and Chatter on Thursday 1 June from 10.30am-11.30am to chat about the Practical Business Planning programme how it can support your museum. It’s a great opportunity to find out more and ask questions.
Interested in taking part?
Please complete an Expression of Interest form and return no later than 9am, Monday 26 June to tcollettconsultancy@gmail.com
Essential information
The Practical Business Planning programme is open to small to medium sized museums (under 50,000 visitors) who are Accredited or Working Towards Accreditation in the West Midlands. National museums and NPOs are not eligible to apply.
Successful applicants will nominate two people to drive this work within your organisation. Nominated individuals can be staff/ volunteers/ trustees. Not only is this better for succession planning, but as we know how busy you all are, it means you spread the load over the year.
Both nominated leads will need to attend both in-person workshops. The first workshop will take place on Thursday 20 or Friday 21 July 2023, depending on availability, and the second in February 2024 (date to be confirmed).
Both nominated leads, and other team members you feel should participate, will take part in the mentoring session scheduled to take place autumn/ winter 2023
Small Grants 2023 Now Open
We are delighted to open the WMMD Small Grants 2023.
The Small Grants are part of the West Midlands Museum Development Programme (WMMD) funded by Arts Council England (ACE). There are six different grants within the scheme, three of which are match funded by Art Fund in collaboration with MDUK. This continues the successful partnership between Art Fund and MDUK supporting museums throughout 2020-2023.
The grants will support the continued recovery of the sector, embed good practice and explore new ways of working.
The grants available are:
- Audiences Grant* – to support your audience development, marketing and insight
- Collections Development Grant – to research, interpret and use your collections in new ways
- Collections Management Grant – to enable high quality collections care and management
- Green Museums Grant – to support you to be environmentally responsible
- Resilience Grant* – for activity that supports your financial and organisational resilience
- Workforce Grant* – to support the wellbeing and development of your museum workforce, including paid staff, volunteers and Trustees
*Grants match funded by Art Fund
The deadline for applications is 9am, Monday 10 July 2023
Each of the grants directly relates to one of ACE’s four Investment Principles.
What you need to know about the grant scheme
- You can apply for any amount between £500 and £5,000
- You may only apply for one grant per organisation
- The grant cannot be used for match funding
- The Grant will support Accredited museums or those formally Working Towards Accreditation in the West Midlands
- 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
- National Portfolio Organisations and National museums are not eligible to apply
- Museums that have previously received a Reset Grant from WMMD are eligible to apply providing their final report has been submitted
- Please note:
- There is a total budget of £26,000 WMMD funding for open small grants available, and an additional £14,000 Art Fund funding for eligible schemes*
- The deadline for applications is 9am, Monday 10 July 2023
- We encourage applicants to carefully consider the value of their grant requested in order to 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
*Eligible schemes are Audiences Grant, Resilience Grant and Workforce Grant.
Guidance notes and application form
Select the most appropriate grant for your project after reading the Guidance Notes for each grant.
Supporting your audience development, marketing and insight. It directly relates to ACE’s Inclusivity and Relevance Investment Principle.
To research, interpret and use collections in new ways. It directly relates to ACE’s Ambition and Quality Investment Principle.
To enable high quality collections care and management. It directly relates to ACE’s Ambition and Quality Investment Principle.
To support you to be to be more environmentally responsible. It directly relates to ACE’s Environmental Responsibility Investment Principle.
For activity that supports your financial and organisational resilience. It directly relates to ACE’s Dynamism Investment Principle.
To support the wellbeing and development of your museum workforce, including paid staff, volunteers and Trustees. It directly relates to ACE’s Dynamism Investment Principle.
Bid writing support
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.co.uk.
Display Cases Available
Hereford Museum and Gallery is planning a major refurbishment over the next few years. As such, it is looking to disperse and re-house the existing display cases and exhibition equipment. Many items have already been allocated within Herefordshire, the remaining items for re-housing can be seen in this file.
The dismantling and removal of the case/s would be down to the acquiring institution.
Please email HerefordMuseums@herefordshire.gov.uk to book to view the cases, and for any further information.
They will be allocated on a first come first serve basis. The deadline for firm acceptance is 30 June 2023.
They will then become available for removal around late August/September 2023.
Collection Advisors
We are thrilled to introduce SumnerMcIntyre as our Collections Advisors for 2023/24.
Ann Sumner and Beth McIntyre work together as the consultancy partnership SumnerMcIntyre having met as colleagues in 2000 at the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff. They have extensive and wide experience of working with Museums and Art Galleries. They are passionate about helping museums and galleries to be resilient in their strategic planning and ensuring their collections are engaged, relevant and sustainable. Together they have worked as Organisational Development Consultants for Gawthorpe Textiles Collection (2020-2021) and Research Consultants for ‘Bringing out the Best’ NLHF Resilient Heritage Project, Kirklees Council Museums and Galleries scoping the potential for a new art gallery in Huddersfield (2020-2021).
Ann Sumner is a Museum Consultant and former museum director with broad experience. This ranges from working with large organisations such as national museums, trust status museums and historic houses to smaller volunteer run institutions, working closely with staff, volunteers and stakeholders. She is currently Chair of Methodist Modern Art Collection, a Trustee of the Museum of Bath at Work, where she is Chair of the Fundraising Committee, a Trustee of Leeds Art Fund, and she sits on Aberystwyth University’s School of Art Museum and Gallery Advisory Board.
Beth McIntyre is a Museum and Gallery Consultant and Freelance Art Historian, Curator and Author. She has extensive experience in community engagement and consultation and has a passion for developing exciting new ways of engaging with collections and broadening audiences. She is currently Art History Researcher for Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity, London and from 2004-2020 was Senior Curator (Fine Art – Prints and Drawings), National Museum Wales, Cardiff.
“We are delighted to be working as Collections Advisors for West Midlands Museum Development 2023-24 and are look forward to helping with collection enquiries, meeting and talking with members from around West Midlands and to setting up some training sessions.”
Please join Ann and Beth for Coffee and Chatter on Thursday 25 May from 10.30am-11.30am. They are keen for museums to get in touch with any collection enquires or ideas for future training courses.
Energy Bills Discount Scheme – Get ready to apply for support
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero team has issued a letter for non-domestic customers that are eligible for the higher level of support under the Energy Bill Discount Scheme (known as Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETII), and including museums, libraries and archives, historical sites and buildings, and zoos).
Eligible organisations will have 90 days from the scheme introduction date of 26 April to apply for the higher support.
Applicants will need to provide information about their organisation or business including:
- contact details
- registered name and address
- company registration number (if you have one)
- up to 4 ETII eligible SIC codes
- whether you pay bills directly to an energy supplier and details of any intermediaries involved (such as a landlord)
- the names of gas and/or electricity suppliers
- the gas or electricity meter point numbers (MPRN or MPAN) associated with the property, found on your bills from your energy suppliers.
- the name of your organisation as it appears on your bill from your energy supplier(s)
- a declaration letter signed by a named director or equivalent of your organisation or business (a template will be provided)
- a template has also been provided to record your meter point numbers. This can also be used when applying [if you have more than 10 meter point numbers per supplier].
In addition to this, you may be asked to provide financial evidence to determine your eligibility. For more information visit the government website page.
If you have any questions about the application process, or how you might be eligible, you can contact the EBDS customer support team by phone or by email.
Email: support@ebds.beis.gov.uk Telephone: 0300 400 5251 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Saturday, 9am to 1pm
Revealing Hidden Histories: Telling the Difficult Stories in Our Collections Deadline extended
The deadline to apply for our Revealing Hidden Histories Programme has been extended to 5pm, Friday 5 May.
This year the team at Museums Worcestershire is working with West Midlands Museum Development (WMMD) to deliver Revealing Hidden Histories 23/24.
Every collection has objects with complex or sometimes contentious stories. Your collection may include objects with huge potential that are difficult to handle or display, or that would be best interpreted with the involvement of the community that they represent.
The Revealing Hidden Histories programme is designed to help you to increase your knowledge, understanding and confidence in making these objects more accessible to your audiences.
Four museums in the West Midlands will have the opportunity to work with a collections specialist on a specific object or group of objects from their collection which have not been displayed or interpreted. You may want specialist support to help:
- increase your knowledge and understanding of underused elements in your collections. These could be objects that talk about disability, LGBQT+, colonialism or other issues not well represented in museum collections.
- or overcome barriers that prevent the telling of hidden histories eg challenging environmental conditions or managing hazardous material
- or to engage new audiences with hidden histories and offering guidance in community outreach and community co-curation
Collections specialists will work with you directly to talk through the different approaches to the object(s) and to support you and your museum colleagues. There will be an event at the end of the project where museums will come together to share their experiences and think about how to develop other elements of their collections in the future.
If you are interested in taking part, please contact Deborah Fox for an Expression of Interest form or download the form with the link below. The deadline for submissions is 5pm, Friday 5 May.
This opportunity is open to Museums that are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation in the West Midlands. Priority will be given to non-NPOs and non-National museums.
