People are at the core of all that museums do. Museums ... · People are at the core of all that...

People are at the core of all that museums do. Museums should reflect the trend for people to want to be not merely consumers, but producers, welcomed and engaged. Museums and their collections are vital in communities across the nation, with the potential to foster and strengthen family-positive opportunities for the spread of knowledge, learning, creativity and enjoyment.

Leading Museums: a vision and strategic action plan for English museums 2009

Cornwall Museums’ Strategy 2012–2017

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Porthcurno Telegraph Museum


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Contents

Foreword: letter from the portfolio holder ...................................................................................................................................... 5

Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 6

Executive summary ............................................................................................................................................................................ 8

Why do we need a museum sector strategy? ............................................................................................................................10

Core aims of this strategy .................................................................................................................................................................10

A strategy for small and larger museums ..........................................................................................................................................11

Background .......................................................................................................................................................................................12

Our vision for the museum sector in Cornwall ............................................................................................................................14

Museum sector’s vision statement ........................................................................................................................................................14

Museum sector’s mission statement .................................................................................................................................................14

Guiding principles of the museum sector ..........................................................................................................................................14

Our strategic priorities for the museum sector in Cornwall ......................................................................................................16

1. Achieving sustainability and resilience .........................................................................................................................................16

2. Inspiring and engaging more people, and a wider range of people, with our collections ..............................................................18

3. Building sustainable and fruitful partnerships with our communities and across the wider cultural and commercial sectors .........19

4. Developing a skilled and diverse workforce .................................................................................................................................19

5. Raising the profile of heritage in Cornwall ....................................................................................................................................22

How we will deliver ...........................................................................................................................................................................24


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Penlee House / Photo: Steve Tanner


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Foreword: letter from the portfolio holder

Cornwall is a unique and culturally vibrant place in which to live and work. It aspires to be ‘the leading international rural region for creativity and culture, where excellence is achieved by keeping in balance social and community engagement, high value creative industries and cultural distinction.1’ The museum sector has a significant role to play in achieving this aspiration, by providing inspiring, engaging and educational experiences, promoting a sense of place for all who visit, live and work in Cornwall and contributing to Cornwall’s economic development.

Cornwall has a strong sense of place and its museums play an important part in helping residents and visitors alike to understand the deep roots of its cultural identity and its traditions. Our permanent and temporary exhibitions also provide international insights, access to a wide range of cultures and enable us to show the world to Cornwall and Cornwall to the world.

There are over 70 museums throughout the length and breadth of Cornwall many of which are the responsibilities of local boards of trustees and which are run by dedicated staff backed up by the work of an immense number of volunteers. Cornwall Council is hugely grateful to all those involved in the museum sector for the role they play in contributing to Cornwall’s overall social and economic well-being and is committed to supporting Cornwall’s museum sector in the future.

The sector can take great pride in its achievements over the past twenty years successfully delivering a number of significant heritage initiatives. However, these are difficult times for public services. The impact of the recession and the reduction in public funds make

1 The White Paper for Culture 2011

it imperative that our museums continue to develop new ways of working, seek out new partnerships and explore innovative methods to generate income.

I welcome Cornwall museum sector’s first strategy which recognises the current climate within which the sector has to operate. The strategy identifies a number of clear and practical measures which will enable museums to continue to improve services, to become even more cost effective and to demonstrate the benefits they bring to society as a whole.

This document is an excellent example of the sector working together with Cornwall Council’s Culture Team in order to deliver vital services to our communities and I recommend that all possible steps are taken to support its implementation over the next three years.

Cllr Joan Symons


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Introduction

With a two-tier system of local government in Cornwall, support for Cornwall’s museum sector has, in the past, been variable and often lacked strategic direction. The creation of the single tier authority, Cornwall Council, in 2009, provided the opportunity to create a single strategy for museums in Cornwall. In 2010 consultation on the development of a Museum Improvement Plan commenced. This Museums Strategy builds on the work of the Museum Improvement Plan and takes into account the strategic priorities of the Arts Council2 (to whom responsibility for museums transferred in 2011) as well as the continuing constraints on public spending at a local, regional and national level. In has been created to support Cornwall’s White Paper for Culture and aims to demonstrate the important contribution that museums make to the cultural life of Cornwall.

There have been some notable achievements in museums in Cornwall in the recent past, for example Royal Cornwall Museum’s memory box project delivering high quality reminiscence sessions with older people at risk of exclusion, Falmouth Art Gallery’s work with under-represented audiences and the Discover the Extraordinary project co-ordinated by the Cornish Mining World Heritage site which has invested in improved interpretation at a number of museums, onsite and online. Some museums have worked well in partnership on a number of key initiatives. However, if we are to meet the challenges presented by the recession and the cuts in public sector spending and aspire to further improvements in service delivery, we need to increase our ability to work together and to work with others beyond the museum sector. We will need to focus our limited resources on key areas for development. As

2 As described in ‘Culture, knowledge and understanding: great museums and libraries for everyone’ Arts Council 2011

the Museum Improvement Plan for Cornwall states:

“There are centres and pockets of excellence, alongside organisations which need a great deal of support to stand still let alone move forward. There is a need for more strategically-directed partnership working to maximise the impact, sustainability and effectiveness of the sector overall, for museums themselves, Cornwall and its communities”.

All good strategies need to be based on an understanding of ‘where you are now’ and what it is realistic to achieve in a time limited period. In Cornwall there is significant variation between the quality and range of activities undertaken by our museums and some significant differences between the priorities and needs of our larger museums and those smaller museums which are volunteer-led. There is a need to focus on driving up standards and the pursuit of excellence, rather than activities which just maintain the status quo. This strategy is based on an analysis of our museums’ resources and of their strengths and weaknesses described in the companion document to this strategy, ‘Maximising Our Impact’.

This is the first strategy developed by the museum’s sector in Cornwall. Its development has been stimulated by the sector’s recognition that a more strategic approach is needed if museums are to realise their full potential; it is a sign of the increasing maturity of the sector and of the commitment to partnership working between museums and Cornwall Council’s Culture Team. It seeks to address the pressures confronting Cornwall’s museum sector and recommends practical measures to ensure that the sector flourishes – even in difficult times.

Cornwall’s heritage is just as much about the present and the future as it is about the past. Our strategy seeks to enable Cornwall to use our rich history and culture as an inspiration for generations to


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come, helping to promote pride in our local communities, to inspire learning and help people develop new skills. Research shows that museums are increasingly popular; in 2010 there were 1.5 million visits to Cornwall’s museums. According to the initial results of the DCMS Taking Part survey, 43% of the population attended a museum or gallery at least once during the past year. The scale of attendance at museums and galleries is not a one-off; this level of participation has been sustained over a number of years. It is clear that the museum sector is a long-term contributor to Cornwall’s cultural life and to its economic development.

Despite many positives there are still lots of issues to be addressed”. Several of the key elements in MLA’s Museum Action Plan ‘Leading Museums’ published in July 2009 are relevant to museums in Cornwall, namely the need to

1. Maximise use of digital technology

2. Provide a consistent life-long learning offer throughout the sector

3. Provide affordable and accessible workforce development opportunities

4. Develop new income streams and maximise returns on existing ones

5. Adopt a more strategic approach to collections across museums

6. Develop more partnership working inside and outside of the sector

7. Develop more work to support the social inclusion agenda

I think the key issue is how we can work more effectively in partnership together in order to attract new resources, improve the quality of our visitor experiences and promote what we do. We need to ensure that collectively, our services attract and engage a wide range of audiences, however we should not shy away from an approach which allows each organisation to play to its strengths and to develop (and provide leadership) in specific areas. This strategy signals our renewed commitment to partnership working and to achieve excellence in our sector. It sets out the actions we believe will help Cornwall become recognised as model for innovative and visitor focussed museum provision in rural regions.

Libby Buckley Chair of Cornwall Museums Group


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Executive summary

In 2011 museums in Cornwall came together to talk about what they wanted for their organisations and what they thought they could achieve over the coming years. These conversations resulted in the development of our vision for museums in Cornwall; a vision in which all museums, no matter what their size, can play a part. The creation of a joint strategy (or shared direction) for Cornwall’s museums, which includes all museums, is a significant step forward and unique to Cornwall. It signals the commitment of museums in Cornwall to work in partnership in order to increase their influence and impact. We have set ourselves stretching targets and as a sector we will review these regularly to ensure we achieve our aims.

Museum sector’s vision statement – our aspirations for museums in CornwallBy 2015, Cornwall’s museums will be a strong network of sustainable organisations, at the heart of Cornwall’s culture, creating memorable and enjoyable experiences for all. They will be valued as having a unique role in connecting our communities to their heritage and culture, in sharing Cornwall’s unique story with its visitors and in bringing ideas and cultural experiences from around the world to Cornwall. The museums’ contribution to Cornwall’s economy will be recognised and other sectors will increasingly develop meaningful partnerships with museums.

Museum sector’s mission statement – what we will do to achieve our visionMuseums in Cornwall will inspire active participation in cultural and artistic activity by collecting, preserving and interpreting historic collections of local, regional, national and international significance.

Leach Pottery / Photo: Rebecca Peters


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We will make a significant contribution to Cornwall’s cultural tourism offer and help expand Cornwall’s national and international profile, through engaging exhibitions, learning programmes, outreach activities and innovative use of new technologies. Our museums will play a key role in delivering lifelong learning to all sections of the community.

Our strategic priorities for museums in Cornwall are:

1. Achieving sustainability and resilience – for example by maximising the profitability of trading activities or earning more income through fundraising and developing robust plans to counter the continuing economic challenges we face. This is the most important of our priorities.

2. Inspiring and engaging more people, and a wider range of people, with our collections – for example by asking our visitors and non-visitors what they want

from museums and developing new activities which will encourage them to visit our museums and return on a regular basis.

3. Building sustainable and fruitful partnerships within our communities and across the cultural and commercial sectors – for example by providing services for local businesses or community organisations which build support for our museums.

4. Developing a skilled and diverse workforce, including staff and volunteers – for example by participating in training, networking and mentoring activities and helping more young people to volunteer and work in museums.

5. Raising the profile of heritage in Cornwall – for example though joint marketing activities such as a Cornwall Museums Month.

S t r a t e g i c p r i o r i t i e s f o r m u s e u m s i n C o r n w a l l

Achieving sustainability and

resilience

Inspiring and engaging more people and a wider

range of people with our collections

Building sustainable and

fruitful partnerships

Developing a skilled and diverse

workforce

Raising the profile of heritage

in Cornwall


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Why do we need a museum sector strategy?

Core aims of this strategyThe Cornwall Museum Strategy 2012-15 has been developed to:

• Support the development of the key activities provided by Cornwall’s museum’s sector

• Support the building of effective and sustainable partnerships and relationships at national, local and regional levels

• Advocate the contribution museums make to people’s lives in Cornwall and build support for their existence and development in the local community

• Build an evidence base to inform policy and support decision-making

• Support the development of those leadership and management skills and business strategies which will increase the sectors sustainability and allow it to reach its aspirations.

This document has been written on behalf of the museum sector in Cornwall and sets out a number of key strategic priorities for the next three years. These agreed priorities inform the Council’s policy decisions (outlined in the Cornwall Council Museum Policy 2012) and in particular the focus for investment from the Council in the coming years. This document is supported by a companion paper ‘Maximising Our Impact’ which provides a summary of the background research collected and analysed to develop this strategy. It is intended that these documents are read together and that collectively they will inform individual museum business and forward plans and the work of the museum development team. This is a working document, for use by museums across Cornwall, the Culture Team and the Museum Development Team (MDOs).

Cornwall Council decisions and

funding

‘Maximising our Impact’

Strategic priorities for

museums

MDO activity

Indivdual museum priorities

Background research

and analysis

Museum Business and Forward Plans

MDO forward plan

Cornwall Council Museum Policy 2012

Museum Strategy 2012-17


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A strategy for small and larger museumsOur strategy sets the direction of travel for museums and the standards we aspire to. It describes a series of priorities which will help museums attract more visitors, secure additional investment and raise their profile. It provides a collective vision for museums, in which all museums, large and small, can play a part. Many of our priorities are ‘scalable’ and the way in which individual museums deliver against these priorities will be determined by their specific circumstances and the contexts in which they operate. Although the activities of museums of varying sizes may differ, an ambition to offer the best we can to our visitors and communities is relevant to all museums, large and small. By working together to achieve a shared vision, museums in Cornwall will achieve much more than the sum of their parts.

Penlee House / Photo: Steve Tanner


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Background

Cornwall has one of the most diverse museum services of any rural area in the UK with 70 individual museums, heritage centres and historic houses of which 28 are accredited museums and 1 of which, Porthcurno Telegraph Museum, has a Designated collection3. The museums range in size from small volunteer-led museums to 2 National museums (Tate St Ives and the National Maritime Museum Cornwall). Cornwall is unusual amongst counties in England; in that it has never had a ‘County Museum Service’ run by the local authority - unlike other counties there is no metropolitan centre for museum services. Half the museums in Cornwall are independent trusts, twelve are National Trust properties, ten are privately owned, nine are run by Town Councils with the rest coming under a variety of governance models. Although they are all independent organisations the museums have worked together on various partnership projects and recently the Cornwall Museum’s Group has supported and encouraged more joint working and approaches. More information about the museum sector in Cornwall is provided in ‘Maximising the Impact’, the companion document to this strategy.

There were around 1.5 million museum visits in 2010 -11 in Cornwall4– half of these were to National Trust Properties5. They had a combined turnover of between £20 and £25million, had an overall impact on the economy of around £55million6.

3 Designation is the official mark of a collection’s national or international significance conferred by the Arts Council4 Data provided by MDO team5 Data supplied by MDO team6 Figures scaled up from data provided by eight largest museums and analysed by the AIM Economic Impact Toolkit.

In 2010/11 there were at least 2,200 Volunteers, who worked a total of at least 144,000 hours.7

o 27 Volunteer-run Museums had almost 1,000 Volunteers, who worked almost 55,000 hours

o 14 Museums with professional staff (excluding the National Trust) had over 600 Volunteers who worked almost 89,000 hours

o 14 Museums with professional staff (excluding the National Trust) employed around 225 paid staff, an equivalent of around 160 FTE posts

o 27 Volunteer-run Museums welcomed over 100,000 visitors including 2,000 school pupil visits

o 14 Museums with professional staff (excluding the National Trust) welcomed over 660,000 visitors including 31,000 school pupil visits

Cornwall’s museums have been recognised for their achievements in a number of areas. The list below includes some highlights from recent awards achieved by museums in Cornwall:

o Penlee House Gallery and Museum won a Gold award in the Cornwall Tourism awards in 2009, 2010 and 2011. In 2010 the National Maritime Museum Cornwall won Silver in the Cornwall Tourism Awards Large Visitor Attraction of the Year category and in 2008-2009 it won Gold in the South West Tourism Excellence Awards Large Visitor Attraction of the Year

7 Data supplied by MDO team


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o National Maritime Museum Cornwall and Royal Cornwall Museum have been awarded the Sandford Award for Excellence in Heritage Education

o Falmouth Art Gallery won the prestigious Guardian ‘Kids in Museums’ Award in 2006 and were selected as Director’s choice in the Museums Association ‘Museums of Excellence’ award in 2009

o Porthcurno Telegraph Museum was long-listed for the Guardian ‘Kids in Museums’ award for 2009 and featured in the Independent’s ‘50 Best Museums and Galleries’, October 2010 in the ‘small but great’ category

o St Agnes Museum was awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2011 in recognition of its achievements as a volunteer-led museum

o Bodmin Town and Padstow Museums’ volunteers have won the Culture in Cornwall Celebrates Volunteering annual awards in 2009 and 2010 respectively

Museums in Cornwall participate in a wide range of local, regional and national initiatives and some, like Falmouth Art Gallery and National Maritime Museum Cornwall, provide a lead role in coordinating national initiatives and networks outside Cornwall.

Porthcurno Telegraph Museum


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Our vision for the museum sector in Cornwall

A thorough assessment of our past achievements, our weaknesses and the challenges which lie ahead, have informed the development of a vision for museums in Cornwall. Representatives from museums across Cornwall have helped to shape our mission and vision statements.

Museum sector’s vision statementBy 2015, Cornwall’s museums will be a strong network of sustainable organisations, at the heart of Cornwall’s culture, creating memorable and enjoyable experiences for all. They will be valued as having a unique role in connecting our communities to their heritage and culture, in sharing Cornwall’s unique story with its visitors and in bringing ideas and cultural experiences from around the world to Cornwall. The museums’ contribution to Cornwall’s economy will be recognised and other sectors will increasingly develop meaningful partnerships with museums.

Museum sector’s mission statementMuseums in Cornwall will inspire active participation in cultural and artistic activity by collecting, preserving and interpreting historic collections of local, regional, national and international significance. We will make a significant contribution to Cornwall’s cultural tourism offer and help expand Cornwall’s national and international profile, through engaging exhibitions, learning programmes, outreach activities and innovative use of new technologies. Our museums will play a key role in delivering lifelong learning to all sections of the community.

Guiding principles of the museum sectorWe have identified the following series of guiding principles which will inform our organisational planning and decision making, in addition to adherence to the Museums Association Code of Ethics:

Excellence – Museums will strive to achieve the highest level of excellence and innovation in all areas of their work.

Accessibility – The museum sector will strive to be accessible to all sectors of society and will take pro-active measures to engage with under-represented audiences.

Accountability – The sector commits itself to the highest standards of accountability and transparency in its management and in its community relationships.

Flexibility and Innovation – Museums engaged with this strategy recognise the need to manage change and to respond innovatively to changing circumstances.

Collaboration – Museums will seek to collaborate wherever this will improve the service they deliver and promote a sense of ownership amongst their local communities.

Strategy – The museum sector will determine its own future and will work closely with Cornwall Council, Arts Council England and other relevant bodies on strategic policy and planning processes that affect them.

Partnerships – The museum sector recognises that active partnership with public, private and third sector organisations offer significant opportunities for enhanced development.

Recognition – Museums are valued for preserving and sharing


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history and culture and for their contribution to the economic prosperity and social capital of Cornwall.

Conservation – All decisions and actions will reflect the need to value, protect and enhance museum collections.

Learning – Museums have a key role to play in formal and informal lifelong learning.

Workforce Development – The museum sector recognises the need for its leadership and workforce(including volunteers) to have access to relevant training and development opportunities.

Falmouth Maritime Museum


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Our strategic priorities for the museum sector in Cornwall

1. Achieving sustainability and resilience

The ability to achieve financial stability and operate flexibly in response to changing market and audience needs is central to the success of our museums. Many of Cornwall’s museums have become adept at maximising limited resources, employing a range of resourceful solutions to meet the challenge of minimal revenue funding. Both larger and smaller organisations cite scarce funding and in particular, a lack of revenue funding, as their key challenge.

The legacy of many years’ low revenue investment in museums in Cornwall is a number of key problems, perhaps most notably a limited capacity to fundraise and secure vital additional funding (both capital and revenue) to invest in improvements to visitor experiences and our collections. There is an urgent need to secure additional funding to ‘help museums help themselves’ so that they can attract more visitors, improve trading performance, business planning and invest in museum buildings and collections. Restrictions in public sector funding mean that it has never been more important for museums to operate entrepreneurially and to secure funding from a wide range of sources.

There is a view amongst key stakeholders, including the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Arts Council, that there are significant weaknesses with regard to financial sustainability and resilience at key institutions in our sector. In order to secure support from key funders it is essential that museums address these weaknesses through the development of robust business plans and fundraising strategies.

Sustainability and resilience in Cornwall’s museums will be achieved through the following strategic actions:

1.1 Strengthen museums’ fundraising capacity

o Review of fundraising in museums in Cornwall to identify opportunities for growth

o Support all organisations to develop fundraising strategies

o Co-ordinate our fundraising resources and activities effectively to avoid duplication and maximise each museum’s opportunities for success

o Work in partnership with each other, Cornwall Council, Town Councils and the Culture Investment Board to secure funding from external sources to invest in museums

o Build relationships with key commissioning bodies including the local authority and health service through partnership with Arts For Health, Cornwall Voluntary Sector Forum, The Learning Partnership and other key agencies e.g. Age UK

o Review work of the Museum Development (MDO) team and submit proposals for funding to provide continued support to smaller museums in addition to a more strategic focus on key priorities, transformational programmes and activity supporting larger museums


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1.2 Identify further opportunities for cost efficiency and effective use of resources

o Explore the benefits of joint purchasing of equipment/ resources and implement where there are clear cost benefits

o Explore opportunities to expand shared services and activities across museums, including for example joint marketing and training programmes

o Promote energy efficient practices through Green Museum training opportunities

o Develop appropriate environmental policies and plans at all Accredited museums

o Explore opportunities to minimise travel costs e.g. through use of video conferencing/Skype for meetings or shared object/ exhibition transportation

o Assess the feasibility of museum mergers and/or joint management agreements

1.3 Improve business and forward planning

o Develop appropriate business and/or forward plans at all museums, including effective budget planning processes

o Invest in training and skills sharing to develop improved skills in fundraising, business planning and commercial development

o Invest in training to strengthen museum governance, including Board Development and succession planning

1.4 Expand income generating activities

o Assess feasibility of a central Cornwall museums online shop

o Provide access to expert advice in relation to retail, catering and other trading activities e.g. corporate hire and image licensing (through training programmes and mentoring)

o Explore opportunities to expand trading activities to generate additional income, including the development of improved online trading

1.5 Improve standards of collections management8 for long term sustainability

o Provide support from MDOs to help museums maintain Accreditation standards and to increase the number of museums achieving the Accreditation standard

o Promote a shared and strategic approach to acquisitions and disposals to ensure we invest wisely and develop comprehensive collections without duplication

8 By collections we are referring to the entire historic asset owned or managed by museums, including buildings and landscapes


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2. Inspiring and engaging more people, and a wider range of people, with our collections

In the 21st century merely making our collections accessible to the public is not enough in a marketplace where there is increasing competition for leisure time. A museum with a collection but with no opportunities for learning gives no reason to visit. A clear focus on the needs of our existing and potential audiences and an ability to deliver inspiring, engaging and innovative visitor experiences is essential to the long term survival of our museums. This means ensuring that we deliver high quality permanent and temporary exhibitions, offer changing content which encourages repeat visits and engaging learning experiences which meet the needs of a wide range of audiences, not just the ‘usual suspects’. There is currently a wide variation in the quality of exhibitions and learning programmes available at museums in Cornwall. We need to ensure that we work to remove the barriers which prevent people from learning about our collections or getting involved in our museums.

In order to ensure that our museums meet the needs of the widest possible audiences and that we remain relevant for generations to come we must:

2.1 Improve our understanding of visitors and non-visitors

o Improve visitor evaluation and consultation at individual museums ensuring that there are effective and accurate quantitative and qualitative measures in place to understand visitors and non-visitors

o Provide training in best practice in evaluation and consultation

BARRIERS TO LEARNING AND PARTICIPATION IN MUSEUMS

• Physical / Environmental BarriersAre buildings, stock and collections, activities, physicallyaccessible to everyone?Is the building in the best location to meet everyone’s needs? E.g. wheelchair users, young children and carers.• SensoryCan the exhibition/resources be used by people with hearing or visual impairments? What adjustments need to be made?• IntellectualDo people who do not have extensive background knowledge or people for whom English is an additional language feel excluded? Can the exhibition/resources be used by visitors with learning disabilities or children who cannot read?• CulturalAre the interests, life experiences and culture of the whole community reflected and represented?• AttitudinalIs the museum welcoming, especially to new users?Do children feel confident in using it?Do staff have an open attitude to diversity and disability?Are we focusing on people (our users and potential users)?• FinancialDo any charges made deter people on low incomes?Can families, schools and people on low incomes afford our services?• TechnologicalDoes our use of ICT and new media, such as websites, facilitate access for everyone?Do we exploit new technology to enable greater access?


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o Ensure improved alignment between Cornwall-wide, regional and national data collection initiatives

o Implement a simple Cornwall-wide standardised approach to the collection of visitor data so that all new activities are based on a clear understanding of existing and potential visitors’ needs

2.2 Improve the quality and range of visitor experiences we offer onsite and online

o Extend our audience reach through the development of improved online activities informed through the development of a Digital Strategy for museums in Cornwall which identifies opportunities for growth

o Continue to improve the interpretation of our collections by investing in visitor-focused exhibitions with interpretation which caters for a range of audiences and learning styles

o Complete a Cornwall-wide audit of museum learning resources and evaluate their effectiveness

o Expand the range of learning activities and resources available at museums including options for outreach (e.g. loans boxes, mobile exhibitions, facilitated sessions in schools or community venues) and online engagement including the use of social media and mobile technologies (e.g. phone apps)

o Engage more people from under-represented audiences, including those at risk of social exclusion, through the development of successful partnerships

with agencies already working with target groups

o Seek funding to appoint a learning advisor to support education work in smaller museums and to encourage and support schools to make the best use of museums

2.3 Invest in research and scholarship so that we can engage audiences with compelling stories about our collections

o Improve our shared knowledge and understanding of collections in Cornwall to inform the development of inspiring visitor experiences

o Explore options to increase the number of Designated collections in Cornwall in order to raise the profile of our collections and secure funding to interpret them more effectively

2.4 Promote skills development in relation to learning and participation

o Provide training to support museums’ understanding of best practice in relation to collections interpretation, community development work, learning in museums and planning using the ‘Inspiring Learning for All’ framework

o All museums should work towards achieving the Learning Outside the Classroom (LOTC) Quality Badge and/or demonstrate their support for the Kids in Museums Manifesto


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o All museums ensure compliance with the Equality Act 2010, actively engage in Equality and Diversity training opportunities and ensure forward plans provide demonstrable evidence of their commitment to best practice in this regard

3. Building sustainable and fruitful partnerships with our communities and across the wider cultural and commercial sectors

Cornwall’s geography and the number and size of museums in Cornwall mean that it is often difficult for individual museums to achieve ‘critical mass’. There is now a widespread recognition from museums and their funders that working in partnership must be a central tenet of museum practice in the future. There are already a number of successful partnerships across a range of museum functions in Cornwall and some museums have worked successfully with organisations from across the cultural sector. The shift in responsibility for museums to the Arts Council and the creation of the Culture Investment Board in Cornwall is indicative of a more holistic view of culture amongst our funders. Increased efforts to forge effective partnerships with a range of cultural organisations and practitioners will help museums to raise their profile, develop exciting and innovative new products and access new audiences. Cornwall’s arts sector is widely recognised as vibrant and successful and there are strong economic imperatives for museums to engage more effectively with colleagues in the arts. Some museums are already working very effectively within their local communities, some already partner with local businesses. There is potential to extend this work to help lever additional support for our museums, to benefit from local talent and to raise the profile of what we do.

3.1 Develop and co-ordinate effective partnerships including enhanced collections sharing

o Secure external funding to support museums to develop specific projects with a wide spectrum of cultural organisations

o Secure financial support for the Cornwall Museum Group to enable improved networking and skills sharing with the wider cultural sector

o Restructure the MDO team to enable twin focus on small and larger museums in Cornwall and to broker partnerships between museums and cultural organisations

4. Developing a skilled and diverse workforce

Many museums in Cornwall have participated in the Sharing Skills Training programme provided by Renaissance SW and the SWFED9 over the last few years. This programme of training has provided skills development sessions, in Cornwall, for staff and volunteers from large and small museums. There is a continuing need to address training needs and access to high quality, low cost training is essential for museums to improve and expand their offer. In Cornwall, access to ‘best practice’ is a particular issue and it is often hard for museums to justify the time and expense involved in participating in national training events or conferences. Continued efforts are required to ensure that our museum staff and volunteer workforce reflects the diversity of our communities; in particular there is a need to ensure that young people are more effectively

9 South Western Federation of Museums and Galleries


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engaged with our museums and that there is effective skills and knowledge transfer from older volunteers to younger recruits. There is a continued need to invest in leadership and governance to ensure that museums are well run, that they can adapt effectively to the changing needs of their audiences and can seize new opportunities. There is a recognised lack of capacity to lever funding and to initiate and lead partnership projects – many museums are running at ‘full-stretch’, with the requirement for museum directors and managers to perform ‘operational’ tasks associated with the day to day running of their venues which limits their ability to focus on strategic planning. Our identified priority actions are:

4.1 Develop excellence in leadership and management

o Secure funding to invest in a programme of leadership and governance training, coaching and mentoring accessible to a wide range of museums across Cornwall (including ‘masterclasses’ shared with the wider cultural sector)

o Museum directors and senior staff commit to continuing professional development and participate in on-going training (including for example the Clore Leadership Programme)

4.2 Address skills gaps

o Ensure that a programme of regular, free/low cost, Cornwall-based training for staff and volunteers is available beyond the completion of Renaissance funded programmes (March 2012) and that is developed from an assessment of the needs of Cornwall’s museum workforce

o Fundraise to secure new project-based staff to address specific skills gaps in relation to strategic planning, fundraising, business planning, marketing, income generation and cultural tourism

o Explore new organisational structures which offer opportunities for improved strategic leadership

o Promote participation in the Museums Mentoring scheme and create a directory of Museum Mentors (formerly Curatorial Advisors) across Cornwall

o Expand the number of knowledge transfer partnerships (KTPs) run in association with local universities

o Promote skills sharing through Cornwall Museums Group and other sector networks e.g. South Western Federation of Museums and Art Galleries

4.3 Develop a more diverse workforce

o Explore partnership with RIO10 to enable young people from non-traditional backgrounds to access careers in museums

o Museums demonstrate a commitment to equality and diversity in all aspects of business planning and internal policies as required by the Equality Act 2010

10 Real Ideas Organisation (RIO) is the designated Bridge Organisation for the Arts Council in the SW for more information about their role see http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/media/uploads/pdf/briefing_ bridge_organisations_180711.pdf


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4.4 Increase the number and diversity of volunteers engaged with Cornwall’s museums

o MDO team continue to maintain and increase volunteer support for smaller museums

o Invest in joint marketing activities (including partnerships with Volunteer Cornwall and Cornwall Voluntary Sector) to raise the profile of volunteering in museums

o Work with partner organisations to develop improved opportunities for young people to volunteer

5. Raising the profile of heritage in Cornwall

Collectively Cornwall’s museums hold a vast array of historic collections of social, maritime, industrial, artistic and scientific heritage, including objects which are of national and international importance. As yet, the potential of these collections has not been maximised and there is a widespread view amongst museum staff and volunteers that awareness of museums and the services they offer is lower than it should be amongst target audiences, stakeholders and decision makers. For example, despite recent progress there is still a great opportunity to work with the tourism sector to promote the opportunities presented by museums within Cornwall. When compared to other regions, overall, schools and families make up a relatively small proportion of museums’ visitor profiles11. There is also a need to raise the profile of the museum sector and its economic, social and cultural impact with decision makers and stakeholders and to engage with local businesses more effectively. Priority actions are:

11 17% of Cornwall’s population is made up of children under the age of 16 but on average museums in Cornwall attract a much lower percentage of children (as part of their overall visitor profiles).

5.1 Communicate more effectively with target audiences

o Explore opportunities to develop/ commission a marketing strategy for museums in Cornwall

o Research the benefits of creating a Cornwall museums brand

o Develop a data collection toolkit to ensure that data collection is useful and that consistent methodologies across the sector allow for analysis of data across the sector

o Develop joint marketing and PR activities through shared budgets and through the MDO team

o Work with the tourism sector to promote museums as an important aspect of Cornwall’s cultural tourism offer

o Actively engage with key target audiences including families with children and schools and develop targeted awareness raising activities e.g. work with advisory groups of local teachers to explore how museums can best support schools’ use, improved partnerships with Children’s Centres and the Family Learning service, an awareness raising programme targeting teacher networks in partnership with Cornwall Council, a programme of Cornwall-wide teacher training to boost confidence and skills in object based teaching


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5.2 Improve advocacy with stakeholders, decision makers and influencers

o Commence an ongoing programme of advocacy with Cornwall Council (officers and elected members)

o Survey Cornwall’s collections under key themes to identify strengths and weaknesses in content and to provide a more comprehensive overview of Cornwall’s collections

o Encourage museums to apply for and secure awards (including museum/heritage, tourism and volunteer sectors)

o Actively engage with key networks and organisations including World Heritage Site, Tourism Boards, and Local Economic Partnerships (LEPs) to ensure better representation for museums

o Develop regular advocacy activities to bring business leaders into museums

o Lobby funders at national level to increase support and/or funding for museums in Cornwall

Falmouth Art Gallery


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How we will deliver

Not having a centralised museum service in Cornwall makes it distinct from some other local authorities and means that our delivery model cannot be reliant on a single centre or lead organisation”. In reality, the responsibility for delivering the aims and objectives of this strategy must be shared; a partnership approach between individual museums, the Museum Development Team, the Culture Team at Cornwall Council and museum networks (such as the Cornwall Museum Group and MAGNET) will be the

C o r n w a l l M u s e u m s ’ S t r a t e g y 2 0 1 2 - 1 7

Individual Museums will: •alignindividualforwardplanstoaddressstrategyobjectives •provideevidenceofdeliveryofstrategicobjectives •encouragestakeholderstoadvocateformuseums

Museum Development Team will: •alignworkplanstoaddressmuseumstrategyobjectives •initiateandsupportCornwall-widemuseumprojectsto supportstrategyobjectives •initiateandsupportgreaterpartnershipworking •implementtrainingprovisiontoaddressstrategyobjectives

Cornwall Museum Group, MAGnet, SE Cornwall Museum Forum and Restormel Museum Group will: •promotenetworking,skillssharingandpartnershipworking •disseminatethemuseums’strategytothewholesector

Cornwall Council Culture Team will: •alignfundingandinvestmenttosupportmuseumstrategypriorities •communicatethemuseumstrategytotheCultureInvestmentBoard •advocateformuseumswithinCornwallCouncil •supportfundraisingactivitiestodeliverstrategicpriorities

only way to ensure that we can achieve our aims for a thriving and dynamic museum sector in Cornwall. Effective leadership skills, across the sector, will be required to deliver this strategy. This approach relies on the engagement and participation of the whole museum community and will require regular review of progress against our stated aims. A monitoring group comprising representatives of Cornwall Council, Cornwall Museums Group and the Museum Development team will meet regularly to review progress every 6 months.

Co-authors........................Emmie Kell Kevin Brownridge (Perfect Moment)Research Assistant...........Cheryl Barraclough (Perfect Moment)Designer............................Dave Mynne

Perfect MomentUnit 4, Wesley Place, Newlyn, Cornwall TR18 5AZ 01736 332094 [email protected]

Emmie Kell Consulting01736 [email protected]

Dave Mynne01736 [email protected]

This strategy was commissioned by Cornwall Council in partnership with the Cornwall Museums Group. The development of the strategy was overseen by the Museums Reference Group to whom many thanks are due for their advice and support.

Museum Reference GroupKevin Baker.............. King Edward MineAlison Bevan............. Penlee House and MuseumHilary Bracegirdle ..... Royal Cornwall MuseumLibby Buckley........... Porthcurno Telegraph Museum &

Chair of Cornwall Museum GroupLouise Connell.......... Falmouth Art GalleryMary Godwin............ Arts Council England Jonathan Griffin........ National Maritime Museum CornwallJulie Seyler............... Cornwall CouncilJulia Twomlow.......... Leach PotteryColin Vallance........... South West Lakes Trust

Special thanks are also due to• The thirty representatives of the museum sector who attended our consultation event• Cornwall’s Museum Development Team who provided valuable data and background information• Tamsin Daniel and Vicky Reece-Romain from Cornwall Council’s Culture Team

DisclaimerAny use which a third party makes of this document or the information contained herein, or any decisions they make based upon it are entirely the responsibility of the third party and they should exercise due care and diligence in the use of such information. In such cases Perfect Moment accepts no liability or responsibility for any damages suffered by any third party as a result of action taken or decisions based on information contained within this document.

CopyrightCopyright © 2007 is held by the research commissioner (see above) under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in retrieval systems, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

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