museum & heritage service strategic plan 2018 –...

Museum & Heritage Service

Strategic Plan 2018 – 2023

Contents

Foreword

1. Welcome 2

2. Who We Are 3

3. Our Vision, Mission and Values 4

4. Strategic Priorities 5

5. Our Collections 6

6. Why Museums and Heritage Matter 8

7. Strategic Context 11

8. Benchmarking and Emerging Trends 14

9. Review & Key Achievements 2013-17 19

10 Our Working Environment 20

11 Action Plan 2018-2023 23

12 Acknowledgements & Contact Details 28

Heritage and Museum Service Five Year Strategy 2018 -2023 Summary 2

1 Welcome

Derry City & Strabane District Council’s Museum and Heritage Service (MHS) protects and promotes the history and heritage of the city and region to residents and visitors.

We are committed to creating access to the facilities we manage and collections we preserve. We engage a range of audiences by delivering a varied programme of exhibitions and events across the Council area. Our collections demonstrate a sense of place and play an important role in shaping and defining the character and identity of the people who live here.

Our Service sits within the Council’s Business & Culture Directorate, providing exceptional programmes and visitor experience alongside actively contributing to the local economy and wellbeing.

This Strategy presents the key areas of work for our Service over the next five years. It has been developed in conjunction with other key Council strategies. This includes the Strategic Growth Plan and the Tourism and Arts, Culture and Heritage Strategies.

The Action Plan directs toward developing and managing our museums and collections, undertaking research, the ongoing programme of community engagement and delivery of memorable visitor experiences.

We invite you to explore and engage with our museums and their collections.


2 Who We Are

The Service is made up of a number of components:

The Museum & Visitor Service portfolio incorporates a number of facilities including the Guildhall, Tower Museum, Harbour House, Foyle Valley Railway Museum and the Pennyburn Museum Collections Store.

The Guildhall is a distinctly heritage building as well as being an events venue, exhibition space and seat of local government.

Since opening in 1992 the Tower Museum has led the way in promoting the history and heritage of the city. The award-wining Story of Derry exhibition has made a significant contribution to the museum offer alongside the later Armada Shipwreck exhibition.

The Maritime Museum Project, scheduled for opening in 2020, will create a new visitor attraction with permanent and temporary galleries, archive discovery zone, an archival reading room, learning zone, multi-purpose areas, as well as a café, shop and other visitor facilities by conserving three listed buildings within the former military site at Ebrington.

The Foyle Valley Railway Museum houses our railway collections. The building is currently leased to Destined who in addition to using it as a base for their services are also developing the site having recently acquired HLF project funding.

The Harbour House is the former site of the Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners Office. It is currently houses council staff and administration offices for all local political parties. The building houses a variety of maritime collections.

The Range of Services we provide are:

Museum & Visitor Exhibitions & Events Programme Education and Outreach Programme Curatorial, Archive and Genealogy Service Collections management and conservation Visitor Information and Visitor Tours Private & Corporate Events, and Civil Ceremonies Management and development of a number of facilities Capital projects that include the Tower Refurbishment, Maritime Museum Project,

Foyle Valley Railway site and Waterloo Place Supporting a number of strategies :Festivals & Events; Tourism; Arts & Culture Mentoring to other Visitor Attractions in the City Support for the Mayor, Council Chamber meetings and political parties Arts and Culture theatre programming


3 Our Vision, Mission and Values

Our Vision demonstrates our goal to lead and develop a world class Museum and Heritage Service:

Leading the way in the protection and development of the city and region’s heritage and museums

Our Mission reflects our priorities for the next five years and underpins our operational standards, procedures, and corporate behaviour:

To collect, protect and promote the history and heritage of the region, enabling enjoyment and

learning for all and the enrichment of peoples’ lives

Our Values define who we are, how we do business and guide what we do and our working relationships with each other, our residents, communities, visitors and our partners and stakeholders.

Authenticity

Our Service is embedded in the authenticity of our heritage, collections, stories, place and people.

Integrity

We are custodians of our heritage to ensure a lasting legacy for the community and future generations.

Leadership

We motivate ourselves and inspire others to protect and develop our collective heritage.

Experimental

We are a dynamic and relevant service taking risks and rising to new challenges.


4 Strategic PrioritiesOur mission and values are realised through five strategic priorities. These are interdependent and foster a whole-of-service approach. These priorities shape our Action Plan, enabling us to measure our impact and value to the community and our audiences.

Collections

We will preserve and increase access to our collections to protect and promote the heritage and history of the region.

Leaders

We will nurture, value and build a team of staff and volunteers who are committed to our vision, mission and values.

Discovery

We will deliver dynamic, engaging experiences, inspiring discovery and wellbeing for all.

Participation

We will embrace emerging trends to engage and develop audiences and encourage participation.

Resilience

We are ready and willing to adapt to new challenges to ensure sustainability and legacy.


5 Our Collections

Caring for collections is a core duty for all museums. The Service is committed to ensuring the preservation, understanding of and access to collections and buildings, in order that they are enjoyed and understood by all. This is achieved by pursuing best practice standards in collection care and conservation for all buildings and collections.

The collections are a unique heritage resource and reason for the existence of the service. They contribute to current city council policies and strategies and will continue to make major contributions to the cultural life of the city.

The museum collection consists of a variety of social history, archaeology, industrial and textile based items. The collection dates from pre-history which includes material from the archaeological digs that took place in the city during the 1970-80’s to the more recent contemporary collection of The Peter Moloney Collection of over 47,000 material relating to the Troubles.

One significant collection held by the museum is the Mabel Colhoun Collection. She was a local teacher and pioneering archaeologist at the turn of the 20th Century, who spent over fifty years of her life devoted to researching, donated by her family: recording and surveying heritage in the Inishowen landscape.

The former Strabane District Council Collection is formed by the Dunbar Collection. This collection numbering 1,500 objects was purchased in 1997. The collection comprises several collection fields such as: Militaria, Victoriana, medical/animal health, toys and games, photographic domestic/folk life, shops and shopping material. Later acquisitions to the collection were a 18th century Strabane Militia banner and a volume of Lelands History of Ireland, printed in Philadelphia by John Dunlap (Printer of the Declaration of Independence).

As part of our development of the new Maritime Museum we have acquired new maritime artefacts for our collections including the U Boat album, WWII binoculars, and artefacts relating to the Laurentic to supplement our Spitfire collection.

The archive collection includes material ranging from architectural drawings, volumes and ledgers, photographs, prints and artwork. The collection generally dates from the 1850’s with rare items such as the 1662 Charter on display in the Tower Museum.

The main themes and priorities for our collections over the next five years will be:


Maritime heritage relating to Derry, Strabane and the North West Shirt factory and industrial heritage in Derry & Strabane in the 19th century First and Second World Wars in Derry & Strabane Life in Derry & Strabane post World War Two Material relating to ‘the Troubles’ in Derry & Strabane Further expansion of the 1910-30 collection across the Council area Contemporary heritage and conflict transformation material

Our collections are the reason why we exist. We wish to interpret them and engage with our visitors but ultimately inspire. We aim to do this through research, partnership building and creating opportunities for a range of audiences to access the collections.


6 Why Museums and Heritage Matters

A Museum is a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education, study and enjoyment.

ICOM Definition of a Museum 2007

“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”. Museums Association

Prosperity

Museums in the UK are responsible for employing 30-40,000 FTE staff" and 50-60,000 staff" in total. 1

Museums also have a substantial indirect economic impact by contributing to tourism, cultural diplomacy, corporate partnerships, regeneration, local economic development, and learning and skills. 2

UKs’ heritage makes a £20.2bn GVA contribution to UK tourism economy. 11

Northern Ireland Museums reportedo Over 600,000 visitorso £9.1 million Tourism Impact

o 927 volunteers 10

Businesses often choose to invest in places (non-urban as well as cities) with a strong cultural and heritage offer, especially creative firms, high-tech organisations, and smaller independent businesses. 12

In 2015, built heritage, museums and galleries accounted for just under half (49%) of all heritage visits and just over half (54%) of the sector’s direct gross value added. 13

Heritage tourism in Northern Ireland

Supports 9,700 jobs and Contributes £0.5bn gross value added contribution to the GDP. 10


Tourism

Britain is ranked 4th out of 50 nations in terms of its tourism offer with its museums, galleries and historic environment major contributors to that ranking. 4

In 2015, domestic and international tourists made 192 million trips to visit the UK’s cultural, historic and natural assets. 11

In Northern Ireland specifically, the 2009 Tourism Ireland report shows that 157,300 visitors (or 11% of the total for the island of Ireland) engaged in ‘cultural/ historical’ activities. Northern Ireland figure for cultural/ historical visits accounts for 36% of total Northern Ireland visitors. 7

Museums are the most popular destinations for domestic holidaymakers within Great Britain and 48% of international holidaymakers visit a museum. 12

For every €1 spent by the Heritage Council, the Irish tourism industry receives €4.4 through increased tourism revenues.

People & Places

Museums help us to value the places where we live, work and visit, and help us to understand where we have come from. 2

A MORI (2004) survey of 4,000 British adults for the Museums Libraries and Archives council (MLA) found that 82% of people think it is important for their local town or city to have its own museum or art gallery. 4

The most frequently cited reasons for visiting a museum or science centre were ‘To see a specific exhibition/display’, ‘Something to interest the children’ and ‘General interest in the subject of the museum/collection’. 5

In 2014-15 over 71 million people visited the UK’s national and major regional museums. The visitor numbers were:

61.11 million, England 7.93 million, Scotland 1.69 million, Wales 0.77 million, Northern Ireland. 8


Over half of UK adults go to a museum every year, increasing over the last decade from 42% in 2005/06 to 52% in 2016/7. 12

Museums and galleries scored the highest satisfaction rating of any public service, leading to the conclusion that “investment in museums and galleries has paid off handsomely, with a world-class satisfaction rating” 9

Cultural institutions contribute a great deal to the local economy, to the wellbeing and education of its residents, and to attracting tourists and businesses to the area. 12

Social Wellbeing

Meaningful participation and volunteering promotes wellbeing and self-confidence and can broaden the horizons of participants, the museum and the public. 1

Museums enhance our quality of life and improve our mental and physical health. 2

There is evidence to suggest that engagement with museum and gallery collections can enhance people’s wellbeing and even improve their life expectancy. 4

Cultural engagement reduces stress and helps people to live longer and happier lives. 12

Good Relations & Inclusion

Museums can play a leading role in bolstering the creative economy locally and regionally. Museums are also increasingly present in the social sphere, acting as platforms for debate and discussion, tackling complex societal issues and encouraging public participation. 12

Delivering cultural education…and engaging children with development – particularly around their social history and place in the world. 12

Museums use engagement, learning and collections to generate understanding within and between different groups and communities in society. 2

Collaborations between museums and communities provide a vital role in understanding our shared history, heritage and culture as we move forward into the


21st century and museums can and do play an important role to address issues of social inclusion and social cohesion. 6

Museum collections often tell this story of a place and its people – what makes it

distinctive, as well as its connections to the world beyond. 12

Museums Association 2017

2 Museums Association – Museums Change Lives Report 2017

3 UNESCO 2017

4 Values & Benefits of Heritage. Heritage Lottery Fund 2015

5 Dept for Communities NI Household Survey Report 2017

6 Department for Culture Arts & Leisure Northern Ireland 2011

7 Northern Ireland Assembly Research Paper 2011

8 National Museums Directors Council, Museums Matter 2015

9 International Appeal of Museums. Visit Britain

10 Northern Ireland Museums Council Mapping Trends in Northern Ireland’s Local Museums 2016

11 The Impact of Heritage Tourism for the UK Economy. Oxford Economics / HLF report August 2016

12 Mendoza Report. UK Government Nov 2017


6 Strategic Context

The MHS strategy is steered with consideration to current global, national, regional and local strategies encompassing museums and heritage. It recognises the importance of museums and heritage as growth sectors in the economies of Ireland, the UK and Europe and their importance to the future health and wealth of Derry and Strabane. In this section we will provide a summary of these strategies.

6.1 The Local Level: Derry City and Strabane District

The importance of Derry City and Strabane District Council related policy documents and environment is that they define the culture, values and vision for service delivery to meet the needs of residents and visitors. MHS as an integral part of that service delivery and supports and reinforces the values and guidance developed in the following documents.

Following significant consultation and engagement through its own co-design process, the Derry City and Strabane District Strategic Growth Plan 2017-2032 – The Community Plan, aims to engage its citizens and deliver its services through new ways of working alongside a series of cross cutting themes and outcomes. It will include an integrated and inclusive approach, focusing on “collaborative advantage”. Place based leadership will be central and themes will be cross cutting in areas of good relations, sustainability, equality and rural development. The Strategic Growth Plan aims to produce a number of beneficial outcomes to the people of our district. We will be better skilled and educated, prospering through a strong and innovative economy. We will live healthy lives in a sustainable environment and share a safe community grounded in equality.

The DCSDC Integrated Economic Strategy has a vision for “a vibrant, entrepreneurial and communities, households and individuals”. Its objectives point to a future in which Derry and Strabane will have a clear focus on economic growth; align education and skills with future employment, be an entrepreneurial and creative hub, be “business ready”, economically connected regionally, nationally and internationally, providing an attractive location for individuals and families to live, work, and visit.

Closely linked to the Community Plan, Derry City & Strabane District Council Tourism Strategy 2017-2025 identifies Derry City and Strabane District as a standout heritage destination and a special location where the Causeway Coast and Glens meets the Wild Atlantic Way. Alongside the Walled City proposition, it identifies three supporting propositions: Creativity and Culture, History and Heritage and Activity. The Tourism Strategy has a number of key targets including doubling visitor spend to £100m by 2025; sustaining 4,685 jobs; and creating an additional 1,000 jobs.

The DCSDC Draft Arts, Culture and Heritage Strategy supports the ambitions of Derry City and Strabane District Council and its sector wide partners in the pursuit of a world class arts, heritage and cultural offering, directly aligning with the Community Plan. It outlines the resources, efficiencies and services required in order to achieve this. The action plan is ambitious, achievable, evidence based and costed against key delivery indicators.


6.2 The Regional Level – Northern Ireland

The Draft Programme for Government Framework (PfG) 2016-2021 sets out key indicators to the delivery of Arts and Heritage. The recent PfG step change in policy has refocused service delivery across Northern Ireland, making it dependent on collaborative working between organisations and groups across the public, voluntary, or private sectors. The PfG requires individuals and communities to play an active part.

The Department for Communities (DfC) Strategy for Culture and Arts, which is a draft document, has a vision to promote, develop and support the crucial role of arts and culture in creating a cohesive community and deliver social change to society on the basis of equality for everyone. It wants to see the potential of Northern Ireland’s unique cultural capital maximized fully to benefit the social and economic wellbeing of all citizens. It, too, would like culture and arts to be used as an economic driver, creating job opportunities, supporting tourism and promoting Northern Ireland on the international stage, as well as bringing communities together.

In 2017 the Historic Environment Fund – Framework of Support 2017 launched The Historic Environment Fund 2016-2020 which encompasses four key strands: Heritage Research, Heritage Regeneration, Heritage Repair and Heritage Revival. It is therefore vital that Derry and Strabane’s historic environment is appreciated, protected and made accessible to present and future generations and closely linked to the outcomes of its Community Plan and Tourism Plan.

Northern Ireland Museums’ Policy (DCAL) sets out four key strategic priorities as follows: Developing Audiences; Education and Learning; Collections Development, Care, Management and Use; Infrastructure, Investment and Resources. The direction set by this overarching policy means that MHS and the sector needs to think broadly about sustainable funding and ways to work in partnership with other organisations to fulfil the vision.

The Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI) is striving to deepen the value of arts to individuals and to wider society, target resources to meet social and community challenges, deliver improved access, reach new audiences and enhance community engagement. The ambitions in its Arts Strategy reflect a changed context and the need for strong public engagement including championing the arts; encouraging more people and communities to engage with and become more deeply involved in the arts; and building a sustainable sector.

Tourism NI Prospectus for Change (Heritage Strategy)

The TNI Prospectus for Change highlights the need for Northern Ireland’s heritage tourism assets to be developed. It advocates the need for new approaches and collaboration across the arts/culture sectors with heritage. It seeks to identify and prioritise Northern Irish heritage assets through investment and audience engagement as well as share best practice. Museums, art galleries, and visitor/heritage centres are key to the delivery of this strategy and attracting visitors within and from outside NI.


6.3 The National Level – United Kingdom

The Museums Association is a UK national body having NI representation. It is also the guardian of the museums accreditation scheme in NI. ‘Museums Change Lives’- is the Museums Association’s vision for the increased social impact of museums. Important to MHS is the acknowledgement that not only can museums make positive impacts on a whole range of areas, but these impacts and the activities that underpin them are increasingly outside the traditional sense of a museum’s main activities. This very much fits with the developing work programmes of central and local government in NI.

The Arts Council UK Museums & Galleries Accreditation Scheme sets nationally agreed standards for museums in the UK with the Northern Ireland Museum Council managing the scheme in NI. MHS is an active participant in the scheme.

The Heritage Lottery Fund’s current strategic framework aims to help whole communities come closer together and make a lasting difference for heritage, people and communities. Being a responsible and collaborative funder, supporting applicants and grant holders, long term investment in heritage and people, new approaches to funding, investing in growth, responding to need and sharing learning all form a part of the new HLF framework.

6.4 Cross Border – Republic of Ireland

Culture 2025 is the first Framework Policy to embrace the whole cultural sector in Ireland and was published in draft in September 2016. The aim is to put culture at the heart of people’s lives and develop a more collaborative approach across sectors, setting out values and high-level principles to inform public policy and planning in the decade ahead.

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, ROI, A Strategy for Growth, 2014 - 2020, prioritises the leverage of the Arts and Culture and creative sciences sector’s potential for job creation. It sees developing the creative sectors and cultural tourism as assisting balanced regional and rural development and the creative sciences as playing a greater role in further developing innovative industries and society.

6.5 From a European Perspective

Creative Europe 2020 says culture is one of Europe’s greatest strengths. It is a source of values, identity and a sense of belonging. It also contributes to people’s well-being, to social cohesion and inclusion. The cultural and creative sectors are a driver of economic growth, job creation and external trade. Culture is becoming increasingly important at EU level.

2018 is the European Year of Cultural Heritage, supported by the EU to encourage more people to discover and engage with Europe's cultural heritage, and to reinforce a sense of belonging to a common European space. The slogan for the year is: Our heritage: where the past meets the future.


7 Benchmarking and Emerging Trends

We are committed to looking ‘outwards’ and taking note of developments that are happening elsewhere. The 2017 Museum’s Association annual Museum Survey shows that museums are increasingly working with disadvantaged and under-represented groups to meet the challenges of a divided and unequal society. Current and emerging trends, including Innovative Engagement with Young People, Participatory Forums, Asking Difficult Questions and Museums Change Lives will create a benchmark for our Service and provide direction going forward, keeping us at the forefront of new and exciting ways of working.

Trend 1. Innovative Engagement with Young People

Engaging with young people is becoming increasingly important for museums. Recognition of this is growing, evidenced by a number of leaders in the industry taking steps to give young people a voice within their projects. In recent times museums across the UK have taken steps to listen to young people and engage with them in new and innovative ways, breaking away from the traditional tried and tested means of presenting heritage and offering new ways of experiencing what is on offer. This includes giving them more autonomy in projects and embracing their technological knowledge.

Case study 1: Tate Modern

Tate Modern in London is currently taking innovative strides towards tackling social issues through exhibition and community involvement. Recent trends have seen the Tate Modern seek to engage with young people in less traditional ways, creating content to appeal more to the younger audience to make them feel more connected and involved.

Circuit Programme

This is a national programme led by the Tate in working with young people aged 15-25 with the least access to culture and heritage. The aim is to connect young people to galleries and help them steer and own their learning. It is value led, using a socially, culturally and creatively diverse approach, which seeks to develop and encourage ‘change practice’. (For example, a change in ways of thinking, moving away from anti-social behaviour, inspired by events like the London Riots etc.)

Modigliani Virtual Reality

The Tate Modern are also showing leadership in their use of high end technology and linking this into exhibitions, creating visually appealing and trend setting attractions. Visitors can experience the Modigliani Virtual Reality in which they can get a taste of the working studio of artist Modigliani’s 1919 studio on the rue de la Grand Chaumière, Paris. Each object included in the experience has been carefully researched, validated by art historians and modelled authentically. This is a prime example of the potential in the use of emerging technologies within museums, literally bringing history to life for visitors.


Case study 2: My Primary School is at the Museum

My Primary School is at the Museum proves there are beneficial learning, social and cultural outcomes for primary school children and their families when a significant portion of their learning takes place in a museum setting, as well as demonstrating the benefits for museums. Aimed at museum and gallery learning and education staff, school teachers and education specialists, the forum provided an opportunity to share ideas and discuss practical next steps for developing closer museum-school relationships, as well as networking opportunities with other learning and education professionals and a space in which to catalyse the creation of new museum-school collaborations.

Groups of pupils from two primary schools and a nursery, from Tyne & Wear, Swansea and Liverpool, were based at their local museum between January and June 2016. The findings of My Primary School is at the Museum have been published in a 2017 public report based on project evaluation commissioned from Heritage Insider Ltd.1 The report outlines the benefits for museums, schools, and children and their families.

1 https://www.kcl.ac.uk/Cultural/-/Projects/Museum-School-Forum-report-7-Mar-2017.pdf


Trend 2. Participatory Forums

Public engagement is paramount to helping shape and direct museum development and projects. This not only gives museums a sense of what the community and stakeholders want but also provides those donating their time and resources with a sense of shared ownership and commitment to seeing projects work. Museums for the People, taking direction from the People is a growing trend championed by a number of pioneering museums across the UK.

Case Study: St Fagans National Museum of History

St Fagans National Museum of History is undergoing the biggest redevelopment project in its history – an exciting £30 million project to transform this museum. This has been made possible with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), Welsh Government and other supporters. St. Fagans was awarded the largest grant ever given by the HLF in Wales, £11.5 million, in 2012 to help tell the stories of life in Wales over 200,000 years and more.

Unique Stakeholder Consultation

St. Fagans have developed a number of ways in which to increase stakeholder involvement. The St Fagans Gift Circle, tailored for supporters contributing between £1,000 and £25,000. Members will make a significant contribution towards the project, leveraging their grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund but also other major gifts. They developed a ‘Gift Circle’ concept, requesting donations from members toward ongoing projects, in return for increased say in the outcome.

This has been a ground breaking exercise, effectively making the project community led. There have also been opportunities for supporters to lend a more practical hand. A number of buildings on the site have been constructed with the help of hundreds of local volunteers and school children.


Young People’s Involvement

St Fagans also recognises the need to develop projects with young people in mind. Their open-air farmstead has facilities to allow groups of young people to stay overnight and take part in live action history, making their visit more impactful.

The museum is also moving toward more eco-friendly and sustainable projects and has encouraged young visitors to be involved in a number of activities such as learning about care of land and planting seeds and trees.

Trend 3. Asking Difficult and Challenging Questions

Society is changing and it is important that museums adapt and modernise. Museums are places where change can develop and where new and socially diverse ideas can be flourish. Many of the issues which affect society today are fundamentally difficult and complex and opinion can often be deeply divided. Increasingly, museums are facilitating ground breaking debates on these subjects and offering a voice to those who previously may not have had one, championing causes of minorities or those who are underrepresented in our society.

Case Study 3: The National Museum Liverpool

The National Museum Liverpool is known for taking risks and showing strong leadership in exhibitions. Tales from the City is one such project which has brought light to the experiences of the LGBT community within Liverpool.

Tales from the City

This powerful exhibition marks the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act with stories from Liverpool’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT+) community over the past five decades. The exhibition reflects how the lives and experiences of Liverpool’s LGBT+ community have changed from 1967 to 2017. Individual stories are told through a mixture of objects, costume, art, photography, film and oral history interviews.

Diverse Community Exhibition Driving Factor of Museum

Diverse communities are represented throughout the museum. From time to time different communities have featured in their own special exhibitions. These have included Liverpool Jewish, black and Irish community trails.


Trend 4. Museums Change Lives

The Museums Association have been the driving force behind pushing emerging trends and setting new standards for the direction that museums should be going. Museums help us to understand and negotiate the complex world around us, encouraging us to reflect on contemporary challenges such as discrimination, poverty and climate change. Fundamentally, Museums Change Lives instils the idea that to stay relevant, museums cannot be regarded as neutral venues and that they should challenge assumptions and foster debate.

Museums Change Lives has highlighted the new end emerging trends across the UK in terms of museum direction. This covers a wide range of fields reflected below:

Tunbridge Wells Museum: Dementia partnership (Object handling in collaboration with Alzheimer’s Society.)

Glasgow Museums: Contact the elderly (Bringing together groups of 75+ who have little contact with family or friends.)

Roman Baths: Autism Friendly award (Project which has improved access for people on autistic spectrum.)

Scottish Maritime Museum: Boat building school (Helping train young offenders and long term unemployed woodworking skills.)

National Museums Northern Ireland: Urban Villages (Social inclusion programme helping people from deprived areas of Belfast and Derry-Londonderry.)

St. Fagans: Participatory Forums (Public engagement helping shape £25.5m development.)

Poole Museum: Culture volunteers (Develops skills with members of community with mental health problems or those feeling isolated.)

Glasgow Women’s Library: Mixing the colours (Exploring women’s role in addressing sectarianism.)

Cardiff Story: Working with refugees (Increasing representation and recognition of Syrian refugee families within Cardiff.)

The Foundling Museum: Looked after Young People (Enabling young and marginalised young people to work alongside artists to explore life’s possibilities)


8 Review & Key Achievements since 2013

Key Achievements of the Museum & Visitor Service in the last 5 years:

Guildhall restoration – interpretation Participation on UK City of Culture 2013 Display of Broighter Hoard in Tower Museum (City of Culture 2013) HLF Rounds 1 & 2 funding secured for Maritime Museum at Ebrington Garfield Weston funding secured maritime Museum MA/Esmee Fairbairn Funding for Learning & Engagement Officer & Programme

(2016) Peace IV Decade of Centenaries Programme (£278,000) Major development of local exhibitions – 1916, Laurentic & Mabel Colhoun Tower Museum Learning Website (2015) Delivery of major public events:

o U Boato Archaeology Dayo Maritime Festivalo Organ Festival

Introduction of Social Media/Facebook for Tower Museum & Guildhall (2015) Achieving and maintaining Museum Accreditation for Tower Museum (2013 &

2017)


9 Our Current Working Environment The Service has many assets and opportunities, alongside challenges that will shape our Action Plan over the coming years. This Strategy outlines what we need to do to create a vibrant and sustainable Service that engages residents, visitors, stakeholders and partners. This section highlights the challenges and opportunities the Service will need to address over the next five years.

INTERNAL FACTORSSTRENGTHS (To Build On) WEAKNESSES (To Address)

Staff members dedication, passion and knowledge Diversity of collections, exhibitions, & programmes In-house expertise in Collections, Management, Archives,

Exhibitions and Programmes Growing developing collections Established Learning & Education Service Established Archive & Genealogy Service Strong professional museum reputation Dedicated Volunteers Museum Accreditation for Tower Museum A place in the local community Strong network of partnerships Supporting academic research Award winning museum – Tower Museum Reputation for city wide heritage product development and

visitor experiences Track record and ability to attract significant funding from

external organisations Success in acquiring high profile loans for exhibitions form

‘National’ collections Well trained staff Well located museums – proximity to Walls Strategic fit with museum policies – NI

Lack of clarity on where we are going and how we are going

to get there Confused identity Current staff structure not fit for purpose High turnover of temporary staff Reduction in Council funding Out-dated permanent exhibitions/displays No identified budget for conservation care Gaps in Collections Balance of city (Derry and rural (Strabane/Sion Mills)

collections and resources Audio visual and educational resources around temporary

exhibitions is becoming out of date and needs reinvested Limited visitor/audience surveys and research and thus

profiling of visitors Priority focus is on the delivery of programming and events Lack of capacity to carry out collection work including

cataloguing, digitization and research Limited budget for Marketing & Publicity Lack of gallery space for major exhibitions Programme of exhibitions runs a year in advance Capacity to deliver education and learning programmes


EXTERNAL FACTORSOPPORTUNITIES (To Explore) THREATS (To Manage)

Review our priorities – identity/purpose New capital development of the Tower Museum New permanent exhibition in the Guildhall European Year of Heritage 2018 Walls 400 Anniversary 2018-19 Decade of Centenaries Programme 2017 – 21 Opening of Maritime Museum 2020 HLF Kick the Dust Programme Digitisation Programme for collections Review and develop our online presence Build on national trends for museums, health & wellbeing Strengthen existing partnerships – National Museums N.I. Review staff structure and agree a structure fit for purpose Development of the collections through a Volunteer

Programme Multi-skilling & development of staff & volunteers Income Generation & Sponsorship Museum Accreditation for Guildhall & Maritime Museum Archive Accreditation Arts, Culture and Heritage Sectoral Collaboration Digital Engagement Development of Social Media External Funding Opportunities

Budget Cuts Loss of key staff Risk to Tower Museum from diversion of staff and resources

to Maritime Museum Building maintenance & upkeep of Tower Museum – threat to

care of collections Recall of Loans to permanent exhibitions Reduced visitors Further reductions in public funding Economic and funding conditions The competitive positioning resulting from the development

and opening of the Maritime Museum New local capital developments – tourism/culture Cultural landscape – competing and complimentary

organisations Rise of transport costs/economic conditions – reduced Withdrawal of Council support


PESTEL Analysis

POLITICAL ECONOMIC

Instability of government in place Brexit Leading & Influencing – museum & heritage development Decade of Centenaries Tower Museum – role as a community hub & model for Peace

building NI Museum Policy Museum & Heritage Service a s a key contributor to Strategic

Growth Plan & LDPs Impact of Local Council reform

Brexit Recession Unemployment Competition from other museums & visitor attractions Continued financial support from Council Cost of transport is a barrier Threat of terrorism - international Change in economic environment Sources of funding Pricing Policies

SOCIAL TECHNOLOGICAL

Aging population Focus on Health & Wellbeing Widening our diversity of visitors Providing learning experiences that can change lives and

attitudes to heritage Engagement of Early Years, Family & Youth audiences Social Media Volunteering Opportunities Social Inclusion

DCSDC Website – does not reflect our ‘personality’ or ‘profile’ ICT Technologies – impact on collections and resource

management Social Media – Reaching new audiences, engaging with

collections, activities Digital Strategy for the management and preservation of our

digital assets Modes - Collection Management Database Advances in lighting technology for museums


ENVIRONMENTAL LEGAL

Improve our carbon footprint Exhibition lighting – UV/Lux levels – Energy conservation Sustainability of exhibition materials Increased risk of flooding – threat to collections

Ownership of Collections Health, Safety & Wellbeing at work Ethical issues - staff behaving with integrity Copyright & intellectual rights Volunteer Management – Dignity at work Security/Insurances – Protection of our heritage FOI


10 Action Plan 2018-2023

Given our strategic context this Action Plan outlines the way forward for the next five years. It focuses on five priorities, each with a set of actions.

Collections

We will preserve and increase access to our collections to protect and promote the heritage and history of the region.

What we will do: Deliver innovative programmes, events and exhibitions that inspire audiences

based on our collections and archives Enhance, promote and care for the collections Progress digitisation of archive and collections for wider access Integrate collections into outreach & learning

Actions Estimated Time to Deliver

Anticipated Starting Period

Deliver Collection Management Plan 2018 – 2022

5 years Y1 Q1

Implement the Modes/Cataloguing System

3 months Y1 Q4

Develop key strategic Partnerships to enable further research and development of the collections

1 year Y1 Q1

Achieve Archive Accreditation 5 years Y1 Q1Retain Tower Museum Accreditation 6 months Y1 Q1Achieve Museum Accreditation for the Maritime Museum

2.5 years Y3 Q3

Produce an annual Exhibitions Plan for the Tower Museum and Maritime Museum

Annually First Quarter Every Year

Develop a Digitisation Programme for Archive and Museum Collections

5 years Y1 Q1

Produce an Exhibitions Policy 6 months Y1 Q3


Discovery

We will deliver dynamic, engaging experiences, inspiring discovery and wellbeing for all.

What we will do:

Develop a dynamic and versatile learning service which utilises collections to inspire learning for all ages

Inspire life-long learning

Develop meaningful relationships with non-traditional museum audiences

Partner with universities, research organisations and businesses to build a community of research and knowledge exchange

Leaders

We will nurture, value and build a team of staff and volunteers who are committed to our vision, mission and values.

What we will do: Develop a robust structure to enable the delivery of core operations,

programming and the vision for the service Foster a positive team culture to deliver the vision and objectives of the service Involve and create ownership across the team to achieve the vision Invest in individuals focussing on both personal and professional development Develop and deliver a quality placement and volunteer program to support the

service and develop heritage skills



Review current staffing and operational structures and implement required changes

1 Year Y1 Q1

Develop communication framework for the whole service

3 Months (development, consultation and implementation)

Y1 Q1

Lead and motivate staff to develop their full potential – to include Professional Development Plans for all staff

6 months

Initial starting period to review and develop PDP then ongoing

Y1 Q1

Develop and deliver a MHA Volunteer and Placement Programme – working with partners. Includes Volunteer and Placement Policy and Procedures.

1 year Y1 Q1


Promote our collections and archives for learning



Produce a Learning Policy 3 months Y1 Q1

Redevelop and implement a new Learning programme for Schools

3 months Y1 Q1

Develop Informal Learning Programme (early years, 16-24)

2.5 years Y1 Q3

Deliver Community Outreach Programme 1 year Y1 Q1

Outline and meet targets for increases in audiences and audience development

Annually First Quarter Every Year

Develop online resources to increase learning and participation

5 years Y1 Q1

Develop and deliver annual program of events Annually First Quarter Every Year

Develop and grow key Learning Partnerships (Tower Museum and Guildhall)

18 months Y1 Q1

Develop Key Learning Partnerships (Maritime Museum)

3.5 years Y2 Q3


Participation

We will embrace emerging trends to engage and develop audiences and encourage participation.

What we will do:

Support and sustain partnerships that contribute to quality standards and audience development

Raise awareness of our activities

Attract a diverse and inclusive audience amongst residents and visitors to the city to the museums with a focus on target audiences identified in Audience Development Plan

Deliver a media plan and campaign shaped by current social and technological trends

Set new standards in knowledge sharing and expertise



Develop and deliver an annual marketing plan

3 months initial review then ongoing

Yr 1 Quarter 1

Develop and Deliver and Audience Development Plan

I Year Yr 1 Quarter 2

Lead and promote heritage product development in the city and district

Annually First Quarter every year

Deliver Actions within the DCSDC Tourism Strategy

Annually First Quarter every year

Best Practice and Benchmarking 6 months initial research to inform all other plans: VE, Staffing, Learning & Discovery, Collections

Yr 1 Quarter 1


Resilience

We are ready and willing to adapt to new challenges to ensure sustainability and legacy.

What we will do:

Financial sustainability through an entrepreneurial approach to income generation and partnerships

Achieve project funding from external sources

Ensure robust and responsible business practice to achieve efficiencies

Develop opportunities to generate income

Improve environmental awareness and reduce carbon footprint



Review the impact of the opening of the new Maritime Museum on our current venues

1 Year Y2 Q1

Develop and implement a Ticket Pricing Strategy

6 Months Yr 2 Quarter 4

Review Retail and Other Associated Commercial Offerings


Heritage and Museum Service Venue Hire


Research and scope opportunities for sponsorship and funding

Annually Ongoing

Initiate the MHS Capital Improvement Plan

Annually Ongoing


11 Acknowledgements We appreciate the contribution of the many people involved in helping us to shape our Strategy and Forward Plan. This includes our Senior Leadership Team, the MHS team and a range of external stakeholders who provided valuable, inspirational contributions. We also acknowledge the work of BTS in helping with staff and external consultations and research.

How to Contact Us

For further information about the Museum & Heritage Service please contact:

Derry City & Strabane District CouncilMuseum & Heritage ServiceGuildhall Street Derry ~ LondonderryNorthern Ireland BT48 6DQ

Tel: 028 7137 6510 Email: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

museum & heritage service strategic plan 2018 –...

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