News

Live document published to help museums consider disabled visitors in reopening plans

To ensure museums and heritage organisations are fully equipped to deliver the most inclusive reopening strategies possible, EMBED, Disability Collaborative Network and University of East Anglia have joined forces to publish an ever-evolving online resource.

The Reopening Recommendations Support Service was created to support organisations in their decision making while preparing to reopen following Covid-19 lockdown. It is a free-to-access live document that brings together existing legislation, government guidance and advice from experts in order to keep stakeholders, staff, volunteers and visitors safe during this most testing of times.

At a point when many museums and heritage sites are assessing all options to maximise visitor capacity while also ensuring the safety of everyone on site, the new resource is designed to support organisations in ensuring reopening plans don’t inadvertently disregard disabled and neurodiverse visitors.

The document’s authors have paid particular attention to the needs of a diverse visitor and user base and therefore “intersectional inclusion” is at the core of the work undertaken by EMBED, explains Becki Morris, who serves as director of the Disability Collaborative Network alongside her work as an EMBED associate consultant and heritage partner.

“We want to assist the sector in considering the needs of everyone, acknowledging the diversity of disability that exists, and proactively supporting anyone who wants to be a part of the industry,” she tells Advisor.

Sarah Simcoe, founder of EMBED, explains that “the idea for the EMBED Reopening Recommendations Service was in direct response to the need for practical actions and suggestions that enable and support organisations to reopen in as safe and accessible a way as possible”.

“Whilst there is much guidance out there,” she adds, “there was a gap in the clarity around what to do and how to do it. I’m delighted that both the University of East Anglia and DCN offered to help in the creation of this useful free resource.”

Collaborative contributions

The team behind the Reopening Recommendations Support Service includes:

Authors

  • Sarah Simcoe, Director at DMS (Wirral) Ltd and Creator and Founder of EMBED
  • Becki Morris, Director at Disability Collaborative Network (DCN)
  • Dr Katherine Deane BSc PhD, School of Health Sciences University of East Anglia

Advisors & Contributors

  • Julii Brainard, Norwich Medical School; University of East Anglia
  • Mike Adams OBE, Purple
  • Charlene Overend, Purple
  • Joanna Grace, The Sensory Projects
  • Dan Burrill, South Norfolk District Council
  • Gavin Neate, Neatebox
  • Ben Melham, Mortice Consulting

To further support the sector, EMBED has launched a series of fully captioned podcasts which explore different areas of the diversity and inclusion agenda.

The Reopening Recommendations Support Service can be accessed here and to find out more about EMBED please visit www.embed.org.uk