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Creating Accessible Spaces for Autistic Visitors

This workshop will be an opportunity to discover the potential barriers for autistic visitors in museums and the simple steps you can take to create more accessible spaces.

The final in a series of three workshops this session will cover:

The workshop will explore themes including: Lived Experience, Ableism, Mental Health and Disability.

There will be opportunities to discuss case studies and discover practical tips.

The event will be delivered via Zoom using a range of exercises and interactive features including Polls, Chat and Breakout Rooms. Participants are encouraged to ask questions and actively participate in discussion. If you have any concerns about accessibility or usability for these features please contact wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk

About the Trainer

Emily is a late diagnosed autistic advocate, who is determined to use her lived experience to help change the narrative of what it means to be autistic. Drawing from her experience working within national and local authority museums, Emily has worked with multiple organisations to highlight that being accessible for autistic people doesn’t mean knocking down buildings and starting from scratch.

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. 

Accessibility

This event 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.

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 you can’t see the booking button the course is fully booked. If you would like to join the waiting list please email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk

Creating Accessible Spaces for Autistic Visitors
Wednesday 29 November, 10am-12noon
Online

Audio Description and Touch Tour Bursary Application

Audio Description and Touch Tour Training

WMMD are offering up to six bursaries to support delegates to attend ‘Audio Description and Touch Tour Training’ on Thursday 26 October hosted by Brampton Museum.

Learn how to lead audio-described touch tours and object handling sessions for people with visual impairments. Perfect for Museum volunteers and staff wishing to increase their knowledge and offer the best welcome to visitors with low or no vision. The workshop will be led by professional audio describer Anne Hornsby of Mind’s Eye Description.

Maximum two delegates per organisation. Priority will be given to non-NPO and non-National museums that are Accredited or Working Towards Accreditation based in the West Midlands. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis to priority museums. If available, remaining spaces will be allocated to non-priority applicants.

Bursary applications are now closed

Applicants will be notified by 9 October 2023.

Places can also be booked directly with Brampton Museum here.

Dietary Requirements
Lunch and refreshments will be provided. If your application is successful please confirm dietary requirements directly with Brampton Museum.

Accessibility
Accessibility information and information about getting to Brampton Museum.

If your application is successful please confirm accessibility requirements directly with Brampton Museum.

Income Generation Workshops with Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy 

Essentials in fundraising, digital campaigns and writing bids

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.

Bookings are open for the first three workshops. Places are very limited; only one delegate per organisation.

The workshop schedule is:

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:

*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:

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:

  1. Community Consultation and Co-curation
  2. Contemporary Issues in Collections Research
  3. 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

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

The programme will comprise:

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:

*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

*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.

Audiences Grant

Supporting your audience development, marketing and insight. It directly relates to ACE’s Inclusivity and Relevance Investment Principle.

Collections Development Grant

To research, interpret and use collections in new ways. It directly relates to ACE’s Ambition and Quality Investment Principle.

Collections Management Grant

To enable high quality collections care and management. It directly relates to ACE’s Ambition and Quality Investment Principle.

Green Museums Grant

To support you to be to be more environmentally responsible. It directly relates to ACE’s Environmental Responsibility Investment Principle.

Resilience Grant

For activity that supports your financial and organisational resilience. It directly relates to ACE’s Dynamism Investment Principle.

Workforce Grant

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.

Grant application form

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.

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.

Accreditation Advisor

We are thrilled to announce that Jennie Crawford is joining the Museum Development East Midlands and West Midlands Museum Development teams as our Accreditation Advisor for 2023/24.

Jennie will deliver Accreditation events for both regions and answer your Accreditation queries whether you want help with your Accreditation return or you’re just wanting to know more about the Accreditation Scheme.

Born in Canada, Jennie has lived and worked in North West England since 2002. From culture roles in Cheshire and Manchester; to original architect of Pennine Lancashire Museums, where she established a compelling vision for museums and art galleries. In 2016, she settled in the Lake District to reinvigorate the visitor experience at Blackwell the Arts & Crafts House and plan the inaugural schools and families programme for Windermere Jetty Museum. As a freelance consultant, Jennie has worked with organisations to develop strategic plans, write funding applications, carry out research and feasibility studies and evaluate projects.

Jennie has extensive experience facilitating workshops and delivering workforce development programmes for the museum sector. She was one of Arts Council England’s Accreditation Advisers from 2011-15 and Museum Development North West’s Accreditation Technical Adviser from 2019 – 2022 where she delivered a programme of support and training focused on governance, operations, collections management, learning and access for museums. She has also delivered Accreditation workshops for museums here in the West Midlands.

Get in touch with Jennie.