Cornwall Council Museum Policy 2012 - 2015€¦ · outlines the ways in which the Council will manage its investment in museums from 2012 onwards. It is intended to guide future planning

Cornwall Council

Museums’ Policy

2012 - 2015

May 2012

Cornwall Council Museums’ Policy 2012 - 2015 2

What is this document for? This policy outlines the approach Cornwall Council will take in its interaction with museums and its responsibilities towards them. It provides a

reference point for the Council’s wider decision making where this involves or affects museums in the county. It informs the ongoing negotiations between the sector and Cornwall Council and describes the role Cornwall

Council will fulfil in delivering Cornwall’s Museum Strategy 2012-15. It outlines the ways in which the Council will manage its investment in

museums from 2012 onwards. It is intended to guide future planning and allocation of resources and to assist in negotiations within the Council, with external partners and between the Culture Team and the museum sector.

What do we mean by ‘museums’? Within this document the term ‘museum’ refers to the collections, as well as the buildings in which they are stored or exhibited.

‘The Museums Association (MA) agreed a definition in 1998. It says:

'Museums enable people to explore collections for inspiration, learning and enjoyment. They are institutions that collect, safeguard and make accessible artefacts and specimens, which they

hold in trust for society.'

In Cornwall there are museum collections permanently housed in buildings (such as the Royal Cornwall Museum), some collections which have no building (for example Cornwall Council’s Schools’ Art Collection and

Newquay Old Cornwall Society’s collection displayed at Dairyland), some which are seen in temporary or travelling exhibitions and some collections

information available virtually on the web. The term museum includes art galleries whose principal purpose is to exhibit works of art for the public1.

Cornwall has over 70 museums including: • Town council managed building-based museums such as Falmouth

Art Gallery, Liskeard and District Museum and Penlee House

• 1 Cornwall Council owned and managed museum namely Helston Museum

• 1 museum jointly owned by Cornwall Council and Plymouth City Council - Mount Edgcumbe House

• National Trust owned and managed collections, displayed in historic

buildings e.g. Lanhydrock House, Antony House and Cotehele • Museums associated with specific companies or organisations, such

the Porthcurno Telegraph Museum and Leach Pottery, St Ives • Museums with working machinery related to the county’s industrial

heritage, such as Geevor Tin Mine, Wheal Martyn and East Pool Mine

• Museums and heritage centres focusing on collections specific to a

locality such as Saltash Heritage, Bude Castle Heritage Centre and Gallery and St Agnes Museum

1 It does not include commercial galleries whose principal purpose is the sale of works of art.


• Museums or collections focused on individual figures associated with Cornwall such as Mary Newman’s Cottage

• I Ministry of Defence museum, Cornwall’s Regimental Museum in Bodmin

• Museums with National collections namely Tate St Ives and the

National Maritime Museum Cornwall • Independent museums housed in buildings owned by Cornwall

Council including St Ives Museum • Private museums such as the Wayside Museum in Zennor

While the public sector museums and some of the other independent

museums have professional staff and paid employees, most depend on volunteers for at least some of their work and many of the voluntary sector

museums are wholly run by volunteers. Most museums with professional staff are based in the west of the county.

Corporate Policy Context This policy, and the Cornwall Museums Strategy to which it relates, have

been informed by a number of key strategic documents namely: • Cornwall’s White Paper for Culture 2011

• Cornwall Council White Paper, Economic Ambition 2011

• Cornwall Council Business Plan 2010-14

• ‘Culture, knowledge and understanding: great museums and libraries

for everyone’, Arts Council England 2011

• HLF’s ‘Valuing our heritage, investing in our future: 2008-2013’

The role of the Council in supporting museums Cornwall Council’s aspiration is that:

• the educational, social and economic value of museums and the

unique work that they do will be recognised right across the work of

the Council

• the importance of museums in helping to understand and

communicate the distinctive culture, heritage and ‘sense of place’ of

Cornwall will be recognised and represented in corporate strategies

• museums will be recognised as vital visitor attractions and as leisure

time, educational, community and tourist destinations

Cornwall Council will play an active role in supporting the delivery of the Cornwall Museum’s Strategy as part of a working partnership between the

museums sector, the Museum Development team and the Council’s Culture Team. Cornwall Council is committed to investing in and supporting museums in

Cornwall to deliver the priorities of the Cornwall Museums Strategy. Whilst it cannot be the principal funder of museums in the county, it recognises

the important role it can play in helping to lever investment from other sources to enable museums to grow and flourish. Cornwall Council will work alongside other funders, including the Arts Council and the Heritage Lottery

Fund, through the Culture Investment Board, to help drive up investment in museums across the county.


The museums policy of the Council is to develop and support opportunities

for everybody in Cornwall: • to be able to take part in and experience a wide range of high quality

museum services

• to have access to museum collections and resources which are cared for, managed and developed and interpreted to high standards

• to be able to share in the social, educational and economic benefits which museums provide.

The Council’s policy is to direct its investment towards the delivery of excellence across the sector, in larger and small museums. It also

recognises that it has a responsibility to support organisations which manage Council owned buildings and/or collections on behalf of the Council.

Key partners The Council is committed to supporting the delivery of excellent museum

services in Cornwall in partnership with the Museum Development team, the museum sector and all members of the Culture Investment Board (including

Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund). It will promote engagement with key partners in the sector including:

• Cornwall Cultural Partnership

• Cornish Mining World Heritage Site

• Cornwall Development Company (including Visit Cornwall)

• Cornwall Voluntary Sector Forum

• National Trust

• English Heritage

• SW Federation of Museums and Art Galleries

• Museums Association

And will help to establish and broker new partnerships between museums and other cultural sector organisations where they will contribute to the

delivery of strategic priorities outlined in the Museums Strategy.

The role of the Culture Team The Culture Team comprises 2.6 FTEs and is part of the Economic Development Service within Cornwall Council. Its role is to promote a

healthy creative ecology by • Collecting evidence that creativity and culture are key to health, well

being and sustainable communities

• Promoting equal provision across Cornwall

• Providing a focal point for this complex sector

• Developing cultural strategy and policy

• Ensuring synergies / building partnerships

• Advocating for and representing the sector locally, regionally and

nationally

• Identifying and building new initiatives

• Securing new investment


• Providing a creative contact point for community networks

• Delivering projects

• Providing advice and guidance on creative project development

• Supporting industry networks

• Managing and monitoring grants

• Supporting organisational development of cultural organisations

• Commissioning or developing strategic initiatives

• Developing creative programmes to tackle priorities such as safer,

healthier communities, worklessness and health

• Developing cross cultural service initiatives

• Being an active cultural ambassador for the area

Museums in Cornwall form part of the wide remit of the Culture Team which

ranges from visual art to digital media, from literature to architecture. The Culture Team will continue to explore the most cost effective and efficient

mechanisms for engaging with the museums sector and ensuring that the Council’s investment in museums delivers maximum impact. This will include exploring how the Council can support museum mergers and/or

shared services. The team’s role in relation to museums is to

• Help liaise with all other Council departments to the benefit of the

museums in Cornwall

• Keep museums up to date with major changes in administration and

policy which will affect them

• Help promote the museum service with the Council and with other

key stakeholders

• Agree to provide support and advice to a number of key projects

each year, including support with raising funds

• Provide support for sector networks such as Cornwall Museums Group

• Ensure grants are distributed fairly and transparently and in line with

the Museum strategy

• Manage Museum Development Team

The role of the Museum Development Team The Council recognises the import role played by MDOs in the delivery of high quality museum services in Cornwall and is committed to continuing

support for Museum Development. MDOs, or Museum Development Officers, do everything from giving vital ‘grass roots’ support to volunteer-led

museums, to opening up opportunities for everyone to benefit from regional and national initiatives. They offer a crucial two-way conduit between governmental agendas and the chalk face of daily museum life, and often

they open doors to funding that a museum could not achieve alone. In Cornwall the work of the MDO team has, in the past, predominantly

focussed on smaller museums and in particular those which are volunteer led. This focus has been instrumental in the development of a more

cohesive sector, helping to ensure that voluntary organisations understand and are involved in regional initiatives, such as training and joint marketing.


Through their day to day work the MDO team facilitate effective communication between a large number of small and geographically

dispersed organisations and the Council. The MDO team will continue to play a critical role in raising standards across the sector, supporting greater partnership working between larger and

smaller organisations and helping to ensure the delivery of the priorities of the Cornwall Museum Strategy across the county. The roles of the MDO are

shown here in this diagram2.

MDOs work for the whole museum sector in Cornwall, including larger and

small museums across the county. They also • Organise Cornwall Museums Group, MAGNET3, SECMF4 and Restormel

Museums Group

• Produce a regular newsletter

• Manage the Cornwall Museums Twitter feed

• Manage Cornwall Council Small Grants

• Organise training

2 Produced by the South Western Federation of Museums and Art Galleries, 2011

3 Museums, Archives and Galleries Education Network in Cornwall

4 SE Cornwall Museums Forum


Investment priorities In order to address our challenges and make best advantage of our opportunities we will focus investment in three areas, as described in

Cornwall’s White Paper for Culture: 1. Supporting and celebrating what we do well Each year we will identify with the sector and our funding partners a

number of activities that help to strengthen and improve the quality of what already happens.

2. Encouraging new ideas that fill gaps and grasp opportunities Each year we will identify with our partners a number of new ideas that address key gaps, respond to growth opportunities or which create/fulfil

new market demand. 3. Helping to develop a small number of transformational projects

Over the next year we will identify with the sector, the stakeholders and the community a small number of significant, large scale projects that will dramatically improve the cultural offer in Cornwall or significantly increase

the performance of the creative economy.

We will use the following goals to help us frame our investment choices across the three areas of focus.

• Being a leading international rural region for creativity and

culture • Achieving excellent community and social engagement

• Growing high value creative industries • Achieving cultural distinction

In 2012/13 the Council will invest approx £500k revenue funding in museums in Cornwall. Following consultation with the museum sector in

Cornwall in 2011, it will revise the current arrangements for funding which have largely been based on historical factors. During 2012/13 there will be

no change to the existing revenue grant payments to museums, museums currently in receipt of grant payments will be given notice of the cessation of their current grant arrangements from April 2013. The Council will

continue to consult with all existing recipients of revenue grant funding to put in place appropriate arrangements to ensure a stable transition from the

current funding arrangements to the new process outlined below, which will come into effect on 1 April 2013.

Investment from the Council will be targeted at delivering the priorities of the Cornwall Museums Strategy 2012-15 and will be administered through

the following streams: 1. Revenue grants (from £10k up to £150k per annum. Total fund

£440k per annum): for museums which are Accredited, attract at

least 15k visitors a year and/or have an annual turnover of no less

than £150k (except where the museum is owned by the Council and

separate operational contracts / management contracts have been

negotiated). This figure will include grants to organisations that

manage Council owned sites and collections.


In September 2012 museums will be invited to submit proposals (deadline December31st 2012) for funding from 2013 – 2015

showing how they will deliver the priorities of the Museum Strategy and how they will demonstrate evidence of their impact. Decisions will be taken in consultation with members of the Culture Investment

Board and signed off by the Porfolio Holder for Culture. The Council will notify applicants as to the success of their

application, providing feedback where applications have been unsuccessful, by Jan 31st 2013.

Initially Cornwall Council large revenue grants will cover a 2 year period. Subject to a review of this new system, the intention is to

move towards 3 year funding agreements with recipients, from 2015 onwards.

2. Capital grants (from £20k to £150k, most grants likely to be

under £50k. Total fund £150,000): for museums which are

Accredited, attract at least 15k visitors a year and/or have an

annual turnover of no less than £150k or where there is heritage at

risk.

This is not an open funding stream. Applicants will be invited to apply for Capital funding support by the Culture Team. This fund will be

available from 2012/13 and is in addition to the Council’s investment in its five capital priority projects (as listed in the White Paper for Culture)

o Tate St Ives Extension o National Archive

o World Heritage Site ‐ next phase

o Cemeteries, Historic parks, gardens and Blue Plaques

Priority will be given to projects which are

o Transformational o Contribute to sustainability and resilience

o Address identified gaps in provision.

Decisions will be taken in consultation with members of the Culture Investment Board and signed off by the Portfolio Holder for Culture.

3. Small Grants: (grants of between £1000 and £5000 available. Total

fund £25,000): open to all museums who are either Accredited or

working towards Accreditation.

This is an open funding stream. Applications will be taken twice a year in April and September. For grants over £3000 applicants will be required to provide match funding of 25% (this can

be in the form of in kind contributions such as the value of volunteer


time5 or cash). Organisations that are in receipt of Large Revenue Grants are not eligible to apply for Small Grants. Applications will be

through a short application form where applicants will be required to show how investment will deliver the priorities of the Cornwall Museums Strategy 2012-15. We will aim to make an even number of

capital and revenue awards. Decisions will be taken in consultation with the MDO team and

delegated to the Culture Programme Manager.

4. Rate Relief in 2012/13 the Council will continue to provide rate relief

to those museums who already benefit from this. In addition, the

Council will review individual applications for rate relief, where is it

not currently granted, on an individual basis. Priority will be given to

organisations delivering key priorities outlined in the Cornwall

Museums Strategy. (This area of the Policy is under review by

Members and may be subject to change following the outcome of

their review).

5. Museum Development. The Council is committed to support the

availability of a skilled Museum Development team available to work

with all museums in Cornwall. In 2012 it will seek funding through

the Museum Development Fund to support the continued provision of

MDO services, and will invest £30,000 of Council resources for

Museum Development in Cornwall.

Monitoring Cornwall Council will employ a range of measures to track the impact of its

investment in museums. These measures vary slightly according to type of funding received; although in all cases the Council expects that its

investment will be used to further the priorities of the Cornwall Museums Strategy 2012-15.

Monitoring of Large Revenue Grants and Capital

Grants

The Council expects to award approximately 4-6 Large Revenue Grants and between 2 and 4 Capital grants per year from 2013. An individual funding

agreement between the Council and the recipient will outline the terms of the grant and the series of Key Performance Indicators which the Council

expects the funded museum to deliver. These KPIs will be developed in partnership with individual institutions and will connect to the priorities of the Museums Strategy (examples are provided in the Appendix). The

number and range of the KPIs in each funding agreement will be proportionate to the size of the grant request and should be aligned with

individual museum business plans (applicants will be required to submit a

5 We will use the HLF guidance for calculating the daily value of volunteer time see pages 9 and 10 in

Thinking About Volunteering, HLF

http://www.hlf.org.uk/HowToApply/furtherresources/Documents/Thinking_about_volunteering.pdf


business plan with their proposal) and aims of the Cornwall Museums Strategy namely:

o Achieving sustainability and resilience o Inspiring and engaging more people, and a wider range of

people, with our collections

o Building sustainable and fruitful partnerships across the cultural sector

o Developing a skilled and diverse workforce o Raising the profile of Cornwall’s artistic, scientific and cultural

heritage

The Council expects grant recipients to deliver outcomes in at least 3 of these priority areas. Each KPI should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timebound).

1. Achieving sustainability and resilience 2. Inspiring and engaging more people, and a wider range of

people, with our collections 3. Building sustainable and fruitful partnerships across the

cultural sector 4. Developing a skilled and diverse workforce 5. Raising the profile of Cornwall’s artistic, scientific and cultural

heritage

Monitoring of Small grants

For all grants a project report form will be supplied and it is a condition of the grant that it is returned. In particular we need to know when the project

was completed, the actual cost of work undertaken and an evaluation of the success of the scheme. All successful applicants will be expected to provide

reasonable data on their museums as part of county-wide schemes.

Monitoring Museum Development Investment

Museum Development investment will be monitored according to the requirements of the Arts Council, as specified in the guidance released in

2012. The Council will require the Museum Development team to present its forward plan (annually to the Culture Team) outlining annual objectives which contribute to the delivery of the Museum’s Strategy


Appendix Examples of KPIs for Large Revenue and Capital Grants are provided below:

1. Achieving sustainability and resilience

Examples of KPIs which provide evidence of delivery against this priority could include:

• achieve an increase in the proportion of your income generated from

non-Cornwall Council funding of x% in 2012/13 to x% in 2013/14,

x% in 2013/14 and x% in 2014/15

• achieve an increase in income generated from trading activities of x%

in 2012/13 to x% in 2013/14, x% in 2013/14 and x% in 2014/15

• achieve an increase in income from fundraising of X in 2012/13, x in

2013/14 and x in 2014/15

• secure at least x new commissioned contracts between x and y

• launch x new joint learning resources with xx by xxx

• identify energy saving measures in xx and implement measures to

reduce energy costs in xx

• x staff participate in fundraising training during x

• increase the number of products for sale online by x% in 2013/14,

x% in 2014/15

The actual level of achievement will be specific for each organisation and should be negotiated accordingly. We expect organisations to think broadly

about their income sources.

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

people, with our collections

Museums in receipt of large revenue grants will need to develop SMART targets to be able to demonstrate any increase in engagement and reach. A typical KPI would be - increasing the organisation’s engagement and

reach from x in 2012/13 to y in 2013/14, z in 2014/15 and so on. Examples of KPIs in this area include:

• Increasing the percentage of people who say they are “very satisfied”

with the customer experience. Measured through a new system of

customer surveys developed in 2013/14.Rolling baseline established

by October 2013 and improvement targets in place for 2014/15

onwards.

• Introduce a mystery shopper programme (in partnership with x other

organisations in the region). Set a baseline for improvement using

the learning from mystery shopping in 2013/14 to improve year on

year until 2014/15.

• Assess the quality of the volunteering experience for participants

by using the 9 indicators in the Investing in Volunteers standard


• http://iiv.investinginvolunteers.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/2F6190

31-74DA-45DB-A44E-

2CE042475A54/0/TheIiVStandard2010.pdf

• Develop mechanisms for understanding and involving the public in

the work of the museum by for example convening User Panels or

Focus Groups

• Select a relevant sample of questions from the MLA Generic Social

Outcomes/Inspiring Learning for All work to measure the impact of

learning and participation programmes

http://www.inspiringlearningforall.gov.uk/export/sites/inspi

ringlearning/resources/repository/gso/resource5_1.pdf

• increase amount of new e-learning content [of any kind] on website

[or other digital platform] by 10% on 2013/14

• increase amount of content on website considered accessible to

WCAG 2 standards by 20% in 2013/14

Any targets that museums propose for their funding agreement should be

based on the organisation’s current actual evidence of their audience make

up and reach, not merely on any anecdotal indicators. KPIs can be achieved

by increasing the overall attendances and participants and/or the number

of a particular target group, e.g. by engaging people who are currently

under-represented in the museum’s visitor profile

KPIs and targets may cover digital as well as live engagement and

participation.

3. Building sustainable and fruitful partnerships across the

cultural sector

KPIs in this area could include:

• Deliver at least x partnership projects involving x organisations

working with our target audiences between XXXX and XXXX

• Develop x projects with x small/ voluntary museums between XXXX

and XXX

• Complete an audit of potential partners in XXXX. Identify new

opportunities for partnership in XXXX and launch at least X projects

by XXXX

• Demonstrate active participation in sector networks by hosting XX

network events between XXX and XXX

4. Developing a skilled and diverse workforce

Examples of KPIs in this area include:


• Increasing the number of volunteers by x in 2011/12 to y in

2012/13, z in 2013/14

• Xxx staff attend leadership and management training between xxx

and xxx

• Complete a skills audit of Trustees in xxxx. Provide at least x board

development opportunities in xxxx

• Ensure that all staff participate in xxx training opportunities based on

an assessment of organisation and individual needs between xxx and

xxx

• Provide training for all staff in equality and diversity in xxxx

5. Raising the profile of Cornwall’s artistic, scientific and cultural

heritage

Examples of KPIs in this area could include:

• increase amount of new content [of any kind] on website [or other

digital platform] by 10% in 2013/14

• increase amount of social media comments by audiences by 10% in

2013/14