Image: Tall Ship Glenlee Visitors (Martin Shields)
Programme offers two funding channels and professional mentoring after survey found 11% of organisations could face closure within a year.
A new £4m fund has been launched to support the sustainability of Scotland’s museums and galleries.
Museum Futures is a new partnership programme developed by the Scottish Government, Museums Galleries Scotland, and The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The £4m comes from Scottish Government funding. The wider programme will “seek to accelerate collaboration, innovation, and embed organisational sustainability across the museum sector”, an announcement said.
Last year, a survey by Museums Galleries Scotland and DC Research found as many as 11% of organisation could be at risk of closure within the next year.
The programme has been launched in response to this figure, and the Scottish Parliament Culture Committee’s call for a strategic approach to the allocation of additional funding for culture to ensure maximum impact.
Museum Futures will offer two main channels of funding – an open fund which “aims to build leadership capacity and enable strategic change at an organisational level”, and a strategic, targeted fund to pilot initiatives that “explore new ways of working on the ground through collaborative and place-based approaches”.
Alongside funding, Museum Futures will offer skills development, professional mentoring, and advice.
Museums Galleries Scotland has developed a “Organisational Health Checker” tool to help museums identify their strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for future investment.
The programme will offer support for both accredited and non-accredited museums.
Lucy Casot, CEO of Museums Galleries Scotland said the programme hopes to offer “a positive and collaborative way to address barriers and support change together.
Matthew Bellhouse Moran, executive director of the Scottish Maritime Museum, welcomed the launch of the programme, adding: “I am delighted that Museums Galleries Scotland has listened to the sector and acknowledged that things need to change. This programme will allow museums to plan for change without exposing their organisations to the unmitigated risk that can come with trying something new or radical. I can’t wait to see what work and learning Museum Futures brings out over the coming years.”
Details of the leadership capacity funding are now available on the Museums Galleries Scotland website with further information on more Museum Futures funding to come soon.
Initial wraparound support, including the Organisation Health Checker, is now available.
Museum Futures information sessions will take place from this month.
