Plans and work programme

Funding is one of the things that is always top of museums wish lists, this economic sustainability coupled with the environmental sustainability that is high on regional, national and international agendas, will be tackled by a renewed Renaissance East Midlands focus on sustainability. A key task is levering funding into the Renaissance East Midlands programme to diversify the funding base.

Survive and thrive
Many of the East Midlands’ museums are volunteer run and fewer than a quarter receive long term financial support. Renaissance East Midlands wants to work with more museums, particularly small local authority and independent museums, to increase their business skills and their long term financial viability through elements of the successful MLA East Midlands-led Sustainable Museums programme. This programme will continue to provide expert advice and will be open to all East Midlands’ museums to help embed entrepreneurial skills and thinking in the sector with participant museums able to apply business skills to meet their challenges.

• There will be 10 ‘Practical Partnerships’, enabling museums to work with an expertor experts on particular areas of development as highlighted by the museum.
• Trustees of eight museums will be supported through the ‘Clearing out the Cupboard’ initiative to support them in developing or redeveloping a forward plan for the museum. 
• Twenty museums will attend ‘advice surgeries’ on specific issues.

All elements will support museums in achieving Accreditation and museum development officers will work with museums on their applications and ensure that museums receive the correct support for their situation at the best time.

Green museums
Renaissance East Midlands is funding a baseline survey of all museums in the region which will identify their environmental awareness, impact and actions. From this baseline, six pilot sites will be selected to receive one-to-one support to audit their sites, develop and deliver a tailored action plan to reduce their environmental impact. A ‘how to’ guide will use the six sites’ experiences to give all museums ideas for no-cost, low cost and larger actions that they can take to reduce their own environmental footprint.

If this trial project is successful Renaissance East Midlands will seek funding and support to extend the one-to-one support to more museums in the region with the eventual aim of a carbon neutral East Midlands’ museum community.