ACE cuts funding for museum development work

Arts Council England (ACE) is cutting the funding it designates to its Museum Development programme, according to the application guidance for its 2024-2026 edition.

ACE has administered a Museum Development programme across three multi-year funding rounds since 2012, investing just over £22m to date.

The programme is aimed at building resilience and ambition in non-national and predominantly non-NPO museums, by prioritising support for museums that do not receive direct investment from ACE, central government or non-departmental public bodies.

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According to an evaluation report on the success of the programme so far, ACE has ringfenced £3.203m in funding year-on-year for the Museum Development programme since 2020-21.

The funding guidance released for the 2024-2026 edition of the programme states that just over £3m (£3,002,869) per annum will be available, marking a 6.24% decrease.

The guidance also highlights structural changes to the programme. Previous rounds were delivered by nine regional providers, with one located in each of the East Midlands, East of England, London, North East, North West, South East, South West, West Midlands and Yorkshire. These regional providers tailored opportunities for participation in schemes, training, grants, programmes and networks to museums in their area.

The 2024-2026 programme will comprise five delivery partners – to be known as Museum Development London, Midlands, North East, South East and South West – to align with ACE’s Area Structure.

ACE says this restructure will "ensure the delivery of Let’s Create" and focus "on the cultural potential of local communities". A national programme – Museum Development England – is planned to bring together the five delivery partners to share insights and learning.

New development partners

Application guidance for prospective Museum Development providers, which may consist of one organisation or several partners, is available online.

It specifies how much each area can receive through the programme, determined by the geography, population and number of accredited and smaller museums in the area.

London will receive a maximum of £237,020 per annum through the programme, the Midlands will receive up to £571,420 and the North a maximum of £702,846 per annum.

The South-East will be eligible for up to £853,171 – the largest of any area – while the South-West will be eligible for a total of £638,412.

With their funding, Museum Development providers will be expected to achieve a range of outcomes, including a small grants programme for accredited museums, accreditation advice for prospective museums, workforce training, development programmes and collection care advice.

The application guidance says supporting accredited museums not regularly funded by ACE or central government will remain a priority.

Applications will open 9 May with a deadline of 4 July 2023.

New roles

To support the delivery of the programme, ACE is also planning to create new central job roles, including a dedicated programme manager and two part-time roles.

In a blog shared on ACE’s website, Director of Museums and Cultural Property Emmie Kell said the reframed programme will place greater emphasis on sharing skills and working in close partnership.

Kell added the new roles will help with coordination and national communication, programme development and data insights.

“That way, the Museum Development teams on the ground can focus on their relationship and direct delivery to museums, while knowing their learning will be shared nationally.”