DCMS publishes action plan to back joint strategies for English museums
The UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has published an action plan that will enable joined-up strategic thinking for English museums at governmental and sector level in the wake of 2017’s Mendoza Review.
The review was an independent study of museums in England, which was published in November 2017. It identified nine priorities for museums and included 27 recommendations for DCMS and its Arm’s-Length Bodies (ALBs), Arts Council England (ACE), the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and Historic England (HE) to join up their strategies.
Last month ACE and HLF announced they had signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to develop a collective strategy following recommendations. That document means that ACE and HLF will align their funding processes and create a system for museums that makes it easier for them to understand which organisation to go to for certain needs.
Now, with this action plan, the DCMS has committed itself to raising government awareness on how museums contribute to a range of goals and will communicate to the sector how best to access resources.
Starting at the end of this year, the DCMS will hold an annual event for other government departments and ALBs to discuss museum spending and strategies.
Beyond that, with the 15 museums and the British Library that it operates, DCMS will look to provide greater transparency by publishing an annual report showing the partnership activity undertaken. The first of these will come in Q2 2019.
Meanwhile, the creation of new museums and the funding of their creation will align itself to the Mendoza Review under this action plan but will not enforce anything on ACE and HLF.
The Mendoza Review recommended new museums were only created in "areas and communities of demonstrable need". DCMS has said that, due to the fact that ACE and HLF are singular entities, they cannot force a definition of demonstrable need on the two but it gave some recommendations:
ACE and HLF existing priority areas, which are based on varied definitions around infrastructure and previous funding (HLF) and cultural engagement and arts and culture provision as a whole (ACE), and which take into account areas of deprivation;
The area or community being served by the proposal – this might be physical or geographical, or might be a demographic or other community;
The existing museums and wider cultural infrastructure, activity, public funding, and participation;
The role the new museum can play in strategic plans for the local area and in the life of the community and how it will work with arts and culture, economic, health and other institutions;
What need the proposal serves e.g. for buildings or spaces, collections, representation or engagement.
The action plan also states that the Spending Review for museums, which will be published by the UK government in 2019, will now be supported by the DCMS through its collaborative work with ACE and other ALBs to collect evidence on how public funding for museums supports their activities and impact.
Again on the line of funding, the DCMS will look to develop a publicly-available tool that aggregates data on government museums funding and relays it simply.
This action plan from DCMS, then, shows a clear and concerted effort at governmental to provide easier access to funding and greater transparency in strategic operations.
As a result of it, museums in England and the bodies that govern and fund them should have more partnered direction in their thinking and in their actions.
Department for Digital Culture Media & Sport Mendoza Review Heritage Lottery Fund Arts Council England Historic England British LibraryUAE’s first Dior Spa debuts in Dubai at Dorchester Collection’s newest hotel, The Lana
Europe's premier Evian Spa unveiled at Hôtel Royal in France
Clinique La Prairie unveils health resort in China after two-year project
GoCo Health Innovation City in Sweden plans to lead the world in delivering wellness and new science
Four Seasons announces luxury wellness resort and residences at Amaala
Aman sister brand Janu debuts in Tokyo with four-floor urban wellness retreat
€38m geothermal spa and leisure centre to revitalise Croatian city of Bjelovar
Two Santani eco-friendly wellness resorts coming to Oman, partnered with Omran Group
Kerzner shows confidence in its Siro wellness hotel concept, revealing plans to open 100
Ritz-Carlton, Portland unveils skyline spa inspired by unfolding petals of a rose
Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners are just one of the names behind The Emory hotel London and Surrenne private members club
Peninsula Hot Springs unveils AUS$11.7m sister site in Australian outback
IWBI creates WELL for residential programme to inspire healthy living environments
Conrad Orlando unveils water-inspired spa oasis amid billion-dollar Evermore Resort complex
Studio A+ realises striking urban hot springs retreat in China's Shanxi Province
Populous reveals plans for major e-sports arena in Saudi Arabia
Wake The Tiger launches new 1,000sq m expansion
Othership CEO envisions its urban bathhouses in every city in North America
Merlin teams up with Hasbro and Lego to create Peppa Pig experiences
SHA Wellness unveils highly-anticipated Mexico outpost
One&Only One Za’abeel opens in Dubai featuring striking design by Nikken Sekkei
Luxury spa hotel, Calcot Manor, creates new Grain Store health club
'World's largest' indoor ski centre by 10 Design slated to open in 2025
Murrayshall Country Estate awarded planning permission for multi-million-pound spa and leisure centre
Aman's Janu hotel by Pelli Clarke & Partners will have 4,000sq m of wellness space
Therme Group confirms Incheon Golden Harbor location for South Korean wellbeing resort
Universal Studios eyes the UK for first European resort
King of Bhutan unveils masterplan for Mindfulness City, designed by BIG, Arup and Cistri
Rural locations are the next frontier for expansion for the health club sector
Tonik Associates designs new suburban model for high-end Third Space health and wellness club
Three years after Pegasus Capital bought Six Senses, how close is the private equity firm to realising its goals for its first spa and hospitality investment? Pegasus’ founder Craig Cogut tells us what’s been achieved and what comes next
BrunelloCucinelli has madehisfortune from cashmere and has used hiswealthto restoreandrevive theItalian hamlet he callshome. Wefindout more