E-update for London's Museums - 22 September 2021

@LondonMusDev

E-update for London’s Museums – 22 September 2021

Nadine Dorries Replaces Oliver Dowden as Culture Secretary
MP for mid-Bedfordshire Nadine Dorries has been appointed Culture Secretary in a
cabinet reshuffle last Wednesday. Dorries is the 10th Culture Secretary since 2010,
and the 3rd to be appointed under Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The Museums
Journal reports that “her brief at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
(DCMS) includes museums, arts and culture, as well as broadcasting and the
creative industries. She will be expected to lead on the recovery of DCMS sectors
from Covid-19”. See here for the full Museums Journal article or here for the
Guardian take.

ACE Publishes ‘Let’s Create’ Delivery Plan for 2021-24
Let’s Create was developed over a period of three years through extensive
conversations with the public, with individuals and organisations working within the
cultural sector, and with partners and stakeholders, and informed by a wide range
of data, evidence and research. The strategy aims for three Outcomes and is
underpinned by four Investment Principles. The 2021-24 delivery plan outlines 5
‘Priority Places’ in London: Barking & Dagenham, Brent, Croydon, Enfield and
Newham. Learn more about how ACE’s evidence-based process for outlining their
short and medium term focus here.

Launch of new ACE Capital Investment Programme
The Capital Investment Programme is an open access programme to support
cultural organisations to adjust buildings and equipment so that they can operate
safely post-pandemic and improve access, seize on technological opportunities, and
reduce environmental impact.
Who can apply: Not-for-profit cultural organisations based in England who are able
to clearly demonstrate that their primary aims are around culture, and that the
activities they are applying for fall within the remit of Arts Council England.
Grant range: Capital expenditure from £100,000 to £750,000
Deadlines: Expressions of Interest may be submitted from 12 noon on 5 October
2021 and close 12 noon on 26 October 2021. Full applications may be submitted
between 12 noon on 10 November 2021 and 12 noon on 13 December 2021.
See the ACE website for full details.

Mayor of London opens new Green and Resilient Spaces fund
As reported in the NMDC September newsletter: The Mayor of London’s Office has
launched a new £4m Green and Resilient Spaces fund, offering £250k - £750k for
large scale innovative enhancements to green and blue spaces in the public realm. It
is aimed to create better green space for neighbourhoods, improving resilience to
climate change and supporting biodiversity. Local authorities, charities, not for

profits, community benefit societies and tenants’ associations can apply, and the
scheme strongly encourages applications by partnerships - there may be
opportunities for museums and galleries that would be too small to apply alone to be
part of a scheme with local partners. Find further details here.
Deadline: 30th September 2021, 17:00.

Don’t forget to register!
Skills Plus: An Introduction to Evaluation
Wednesday 29 September, 10:00 - 13:00
For more information, and to book your place, please visit our website.

Don’t forget to register!
Skills Plus: How to Run a Focus Group
Thursday 30 September, 10:00 - 13:00
For more information, and to book your place, please visit our website.

Quick view:

1. Sector News: Nadine Dorries Relaces Oliver Dowden as Culture Secretary;
    ACE Delivery Plan 2021-24; National Disability Strategy; DCMS Announces
    Make-up of Heritage Advisory Board; ALVA Voluntary Guidance; NMDC Good
    Practice Guidelines; A re-opening for everyone; DCMS report on collection
    sharing; Accreditation Scheme Update; VisitEngland Covid-19 Consumer
    Sentiment Tracker; Museum Association’s Redundancy Hub.

2. Funding and Funding Support: Cultural Recovery Fund – Emergency
    Resource Support; Launch of new ACE Capital Investment Programme; Green
    and Resilient Spaces Fund; AIM collections care grants; The Art Explora Award;
    National Manuscripts Conservation Trust grants; Museum Freelance CPD Fund;
    National Lottery Grants for Heritage; ACE National Lottery Project Grants;
    Beecroft Bequest Grants; New Stories New Audiences; New Discoveries Film
    Series and Funding Opportunities; Historic England and English Heritage
    Doctoral Partnerships Call; Trusts and Foundations for London Museums
    resource.

3. Training, advice and resources: Under the Influence – Influence for
    Collection Care; An Introduction to Evaluation; How to Run a Focus Group;
    Community Engagement; HVG Inspire Event for Volunteer Managers; Roots and
    Branches Carbon Literacy Training; Making the Case: Advocating the Work of
    your Museum and Archive; Building Team Wellbeing and Resilience; Developing
    an Inclusive Museum; Assessing your Museum’s Digital Capacity; Artswork
    Professional Development Courses; Planes, Trains and… Numismatics?;
    VocalEyes Online Audio Description Training; Hook your Audience Toolkit;
    Rethinking Capacity Strengthening for Sustainable Development; AMA
    Conference; TEG Marketplace; Resources for planning for post-Covid re-
    opening; Arts, Guide to help London employers make the most of Kickstart
    scheme; Volunteering during coronavirus; Digital Culture Network – ticketing
    resource; ACE Resources on Government and Wider Support;

4. Job Vacancies: Finance Officer; Committee Membership; Freelance External
    Evaluator; Volunteers; Operations Assistant; Freelance Project Evaluator.

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5. Exhibitions and Events: Summer and Autumn Events at the Museum of
    Richmond; ‘Underground Uncovered’: London Transport Museum Depot;
    Chelsea History Festival; Voices of North Paddington Exhibition; Keats House
    Lates

6. Requests for help, Offers and Donations: Collection disposals: Epping
    Forest Museum; Seeking Expressions of Interest to host Touring Exhibition ‘All
    Will be Well’

1. Sector News (to top)

Nadine Dorries Relaces Oliver Dowden as Culture Secretary
MP for mid-Bedfordshire Nadine Dorries has been appointed Culture Secretary in a
cabinet reshuffle last Wednesday. Dorries is the 10th Culture Secretary since 2010,
and the 3rd to be appointed under Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The Museums
Journal reports that “her brief at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
(DCMS) includes museums, arts and culture, as well as broadcasting and the
creative industries. She will be expected to lead on the recovery of DCMS sectors
from Covid-19”. See here for the full Museums Journal article or here for the
Guardian take.

ACE Publishes ‘Let’s Create’ Delivery Plan for 2021-24
Let’s Create was developed over a period of three years through extensive
conversations with the public, with individuals and organisations working within the
cultural sector, and with partners and stakeholders, and informed by a wide range
of data, evidence and research. The strategy aims for three Outcomes and is
underpinned by four Investment Principles. The 2021-24 delivery plan outlines 5
‘Priority Places’ in London: Barking & Dagenham, Brent, Croydon, Enfield and
Newham. Learn more about how ACE’s evidence-based process for outlining their
short and medium term focus here.

National Disability Strategy includes widening access to arts and culture
As reported in the NMDC September newsletter: The Department for Work and
Pensions has published its National Disability Strategy, which aims to improve the
daily lives of disabled people across a range of issues including transport, work,
education shopping, public services and leisure including arts and culture. The report
finds that: • Currently 13.9% of disabled people say they feel lonely, compared to
3.8% of non-disabled people, a disparity that has not narrowed since 2013 - 14. •
Often disabled people need to manage energy levels and pain are a barrier to
socialising. • 90% of disabled people say they have experienced difficulty accessing
public buildings at least sometimes. The Disability Unit aims to widen access to arts,
culture, sport and leisure in 2021 - 22 as a way of increasing opportunities for
socialising and increasing wellbeing. The report also commits that by December
2021 the Government’s Disability Unit will review how it engages with disabled
people, organisations and charities to amplify their voices in decision making.
Gov.uk, Gov.uk (Disability Unit) VisitBritain (accessible tourism resources)

DCMS announces makeup of Heritage Advisory Board
As reported in the NMDC September newsletter: DCMS has announced more details
of its Heritage Advisory Board which will produce a new set of guidelines to address

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‘difficult heritage assets’. It says “the guidelines will help boards make effective
decisions about how best to deal with objects they own that are, or may become
contested within the government’s policy framework of ‘retain and explain’.” It also
lists the seven-strong board including Historic England Chair Sir Laurie Magnus,
broadcaster Trevor Phillips and Museum of the Home Chair Dr Samir Shah. Gov.uk

ALVA Voluntary Guidance for maintaining social distancing and other
measures post-19 July
Recent Visitor sentiment research, commissioned by ALVA shows that a significant
majority (75%) of the visitor-attraction-going UK public are not yet ready for social
distancing and other measures to be removed or eased even as the Government
allows easing to occur. ALVA has produced sector-wide guidance for when
restrictions are lifted on 19 July. UK visitor attractions have decided to be guided by
their visitors’ own sentiment and levels of caution and, at their discretion, to maintain
the following, beyond the 19 July, and until the end of August (to be reviewed):
Maintain reduced capacity at sites in order to avoid crowds; Maintain the requirement
for visitors to book at most times, especially at weekends, whilst also allowing some
time slots to be available for ‘walk-ups’; Maintain social distancing on site, though
this may be reduced to 1m rather 2m; and to keep the requirement for visitors to
wear a face mask indoors unless a visitor is exempt from wearing one.

NMDC Good Practice Guidelines for Reopening Museums
There have been small changes to NMDC’s Good Practice Guidelines for Reopening
Museums to reflect new advice on self-isolation for vaccinated people and those
under 18years, six months. NMDC Good Practice Guidelines presently offers Events
and Attractions Guidance for Step 4.There is also a related and accompanying
checklist to the (original) Guidelines produced by AIM working with Museum
Development England. If you would like help or advice with reopening, do contact
your MDO. Government guidance on how organisations are expected to support the
NHS Test and Trace for staff, customers and visitors is available on the Gov.uk
website.

A re-opening for everyone
The Arts Council has set out its expectations for cultural organisations to ensure that,
as restrictions are lifted, disabled and CEV colleagues, performers and visitors are
supported and given the flexibility they need to feel safe to return. You can find the
ACE statement here.

DCMS report on collection sharing from national museums
The national museums in the UK hold world-class collections. Lending objects is a
key way in which the national museums can increase public access to their
collections both in the UK and internationally, in museums and elsewhere. This third
Museum Partnership Report focuses on sharing collections and includes 22 national
museums, covering 75 sites and focuses on activity during the financial year
2019/20. The report shows that in 2019/20 the national museums undertook 2,290
loans of 71,205 objects, which were seen by at least 35.7 million people. A further
499,973 objects went on loan to institutions for research purposes. The reports can
be found here.

Accreditation Scheme update
The Accreditation scheme began its phased reopening last month and is now open
for applications from museums and galleries in England applying for the first time.

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ACE has updated the FAQs on their website, which includes more information
around what’s happening with Accreditation and their plans for phased reopening.
Guidance is available for applicants, to help consider any changes or updates to
applications and returns, as well as a recently published supplementary note,
outlining prompts for all applicants – whether new or returning – to help them plan
and respond to Covid-19. All potential applicants should read both this note and the
Accreditation guidance before applying or submitting a return. If you would like
further advice around Accreditation, please do contact your MDO.

VisitEngland Covid-19 Consumer Sentiment Tracker
VisitEngland has published wave 35 of their Consumer Sentiment Tracker which
covers fieldwork conducted over the period 23–27 August. You can find this report,
along with previous reports, on their website.

Museum Association’s Redundancy Hub
The MA has launched a Redundancy Hub, offering support and resources for people
going through redundancy. You can find the hub on the MA’s website.

2. Funding and Funding Support (to top)

Cultural Recovery Fund: Emergency Resource Support
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has announced details on the final £300 million of
the Government's record-breaking £2 billion Culture Recovery Fund (CRF) to
support organisations in the run up to fuller reopening and beyond. Almost £220
million of this funding will be available to boost organisations that have received
Culture Recovery Fund grants already - through the Culture Recovery Fund:
Continuity Support programme - while also providing funding to those that haven't,
and are at imminent risk of failure, through the Culture Recovery Fund: Emergency
Resource Support programme. Funding will be distributed by Arms Length Bodies,
including the Arts Council, protecting organisations around the country for future
generations. The aim of the funding is to help organisations prepare to reopen and
return to full capacity, while building a sustainable financial future by providing much
needed support through to the end of the year.

Arts Council England has launched a new fund for organisations at imminent risk of
failure to support them until the end of the year. Organisations who were financially
sustainable before Covid-19 but are now at imminent risk of failure and have
exhausted all other options for increasing their resilience are able to apply. The grant
range is between £25,000 and £3million (£1 million for for-profit organisations).
Applications are subject to permission to apply being granted. Permission to apply
requests will be accepted from 8 July 2021.
Application Open Date: 12pm (midday), 12 July 2021.
Application Deadline: 12pm (midday), 30 September 2021.
Please read the guidance for applicants for full details of the dates and eligibility
criteria.

Launch of new ACE Capital Investment Programme
The Capital Investment Programme is an open access programme to support
cultural organisations to adjust buildings and equipment so that they can operate
safely post-pandemic and improve access, seize on technological opportunities, and
reduce environmental impact.

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Who can apply: Not-for-profit cultural organisations based in England who are able
to clearly demonstrate that their primary aims are around culture, and that the
activities they are applying for fall within the remit of Arts Council England.
Grant range: Capital expenditure from £100,000 to £750,000
Deadlines: Expressions of Interest may be submitted from 12 noon on 5 October
2021 and close 12 noon on 26 October 2021. Full applications may be submitted
between 12 noon on 10 November 2021 and 12 noon on 13 December 2021.
See the ACE website for full details.

Mayor of London opens new Green and Resilient Spaces fund
As reported by the NMDC September newsletter: The Mayor of London’s Office has
launched a new £4m Green and Resilient Spaces fund, offering £250k - £750k for
large scale innovative enhancements to green and blue spaces in the public realm. It
is aimed to create better green space for neighbourhoods, improving resilience to
climate change and supporting biodiversity. Local authorities, charities, not for
profits, community benefit societies and tenants’ associations can apply, and the
scheme strongly encourages applications by partnerships - there may be
opportunities for museums and galleries that would be too small to apply alone to be
part of a scheme with local partners. Find further details here.
Deadline: 30th September 2021, 17:00.

AIM conservation & collections care grants
If your organisation is a member of the Association of Independent Museums (AIM),
they could be eligible to apply for various conservation & collections care grants
including: Collections Care & Conservation Grants; Collections Care Audit and
Collections Care Scheme. The grants support small to medium sized museums to
care for their collections more effectively and efficiently and to meet the standards
required for Accreditation. They encourage applications from museums to bring in
conservation expertise to ensure that collections care and conservation meets
professional standards and will have most impact for museums and their visitors. For
further information, please visit their website.
Deadline: 30 September 2021

The Art Explora – Académie des beaux-arts European Award
Launched in 2020, the award is open to all public and private European museums
and art centres. Its goal is to encourage initiatives that are designed to reach new
audiences. This year, three €50,000 prizes and one €10,000 audience choice prize
will be awarded to boost projects designed to reach wider audiences: digital
innovations, off-site activities, inclusion of people with disabilities, new mediation
methods, cultural awareness for young people, etc.
Deadline: 1 October 2021, 23:59.

National Manuscripts Conservation Trust grants
The NMCT is the only UK grant-giver that focuses solely on the care and
conservation of manuscripts in the UK. The grants are towards the cost of repair,
binding and conservation and preservation of manuscripts which in the opinion of the
Trustees are of historic or educational value and towards the cost of first stage listing
but not for capital costs or equipment. Projects that are solely digitisation are not
eligible for our support.” To find out more about NMCT, their grants and their
conditions, details can be found on the “apply” section of their website.
Deadline: 01 October 2021.

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Museum Freelance CPD Fund
Museum Freelance is delighted to announced that they have secured funding to
provide 28 grants of £500 for freelancers who work with museums, heritage sites,
galleries, archives and libraries in the UK to use for their Continuous Professional
Development (CPD). The Museum Freelance CPD Fund will enable successful
applicants to invest in their professional development in a way that works for them, in
particular to enable freelancers to stay relevant and address the changing needs of
the organisations they work with after the upheaval of the last 18 months.
Deadline: 4 October 2021, 12:00.

National Lottery Grants for Heritage 2021-22
Applications are now open for National Lottery Grants for Heritage from £3,000 to
£5million. The impact of Covid-19 means that the NLHF has revised their approach
to what they will fund. They have created a supplementary document that sets out
their Priorities for National Lottery Grants for Heritage for 2021-22. To summarise,
they will prioritise heritage projects that will: boost the local economy, encourage
skills development and job creation, support wellbeing, create better places to live,
work and visit, improve the resilience of organisations working in heritage. Every
project will need to achieve their inclusion outcome, ‘a wider range of people will be
involved in heritage’. They will also expect all projects to demonstrate that they are
building long-term environmental sustainability into their plans, as appropriate. You
can explore their Outcomes and Good Practice Guidance for more information. The
NLHF has guidance for three levels of funding, grants from £3,000 to £10,000,
grants from £10,000 to £250,000 and grants from £250,000 to £5million. You can
find more information, and apply, on their website.

Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants
ACE are prioritising this programme to help fund independent organisations, creative
practitioners and freelancers as quickly as possible. The available grants range from
between £1,000 - £100,000, with a number of changes made to the fund - including
organisations no longer needing 10% matched funding to apply. You can find further
information about all of the changes to the National Lottery Project Grants on their
website. ACE has updated the Museums information sheet for the grants, with
information for museums looking to apply for funding. ACE says that projects must
“involve and benefit at least one Accredited museum, its work and its visitors”. These
projects can focus on a wide range of areas such as programming, digital work or
touring, but they must involve some element of public engagement. You can find
new supplementary guidance for the grants on their website and the updated
application guidance here. The grants remain in two streams, under £15,000 and
over £15,000, where possible they will notify applicants of the outcome of their
application more quickly than the standard turnarounds of six weeks (for applications
under £15,000) and 12 weeks (for applications over £15,000).

Beecroft Bequest Grants
Institutional members of the MA can apply for grants of up to £10,000 to acquire pre-
19th century pictures and works of art by old masters, or worthy school pictures of
old masters. Applications are decided on a case by case basis, with a simple
application process and swift decisions. The Beecroft Bequest has helped fund a
number of significant acquisitions for institutional members, including Milford House,
Ely Museum and Herschel Museum of Astronomy. Find out more on the MA website.

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New Stories New Audiences
AIM – Association of Independent Museums
New Stories New Audiences has been established to inspire museums to stay
relevant to their audiences and to increase their impact. Funded by National Lottery
Heritage Fund, New Stories New Audiences is open to all AIM members in the small
museum category (up to 20,000 visitors). They will fund projects that result in a wider
range of people being involved in heritage at your organisation. They expect you to
have identified a new story that you wish to tell and undertaken some initial research
to identify who the new audience will be. They also expect you to work with a new
partner, to work differently and to try something new. Successful projects will be
allocated an experienced project mentor and will take part in the New Stories New
Audiences network with other successful applicants. At the end of your project, you
will be brought together to share learning, contribute to the evaluation of the
experience and inform the creation of new resources. 12 museums each year will
receive up to £15K. Closing deadline is 31 October. For further information, please
visit their website.

New Discoveries film series and funding opportunities
Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
A fascinating new film series, commissioned to be released in time for the Paul
Mellon Centre’s autumn round of funding opportunities, reveals hidden stories,
fascinating objects and lost narratives. Since 1970 the Paul Mellon Centre has
funded research into British art and architecture, helping to foster new research and
unearth fascinating narratives of history. Ahead of the opening of the Autumn 2021
round of funding opportunities, the Centre has commissioned Shelbourne Films to
showcase some of the recent important new discoveries made possible by the
funding. The films not only highlight new research but also showcase important
contributions to scholarship and history. The Centre will be posting a new film each
Thursday from 12 August on their website. More information on the Autumn 2021
round of funding can be found here.

Historic England and English Heritage Call for Collaborative Doctoral
Research Partnerships
Historic England and English Heritage are delighted to announce our 2021 Call for
Proposals for our AHRC funded Collaborative Doctoral Partnership (CDP)
programme. The CDP programme provides funding for collaborative PhD
studentship projects which support the work of our organisations. Studentship
proposals should be submitted by a university based researcher in collaboration with
a named member of staff from Historic England or English Heritage, who will act as
co-supervisor. We are not looking for project ideas directly from potential students.
Proposals must match one of our published CDP Priority Research Areas 2021. For
more information, see the Historic England website.
Proposal deadline: 5.00pm on Friday 26th November 2021.

Trusts and Foundations for London Museums resource
London Museum Development has compiled an Excel spreadsheet which highlights
a large number of the trusts and foundations which offer funding and support for the
museum sector. We began compiling this document before Covid-19, so some of the
funds may not be running this financial year. Still, the resource will be incredibly
useful when looking for funding streams for your work. You can download the Excel
spreadsheet here, along with a number of our other resources.

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3. Training, advice and resources (to top)

Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel, where we will be posting
recordings of the majority of our sessions, and to click the notification button
to be notified of when we release new videos. You can view recordings of our
past training sessions here and our Tutorial Videos here.

Regional Collection Care Training
Under the Influence – influence for collection care
Wednesday 22 AND Thursday 23 September
This course will suit those working in the museum sector who have to try to
communicate policies such as collection care / collection management to audiences
that may need to be won over. The course will be of use to professionals who want
to change the way they are heard, with a view to being more effective
communicators. The event will encourage you to develop your influence skills by
considering the perspectives of others and through the clarification of your own
goals. This may be particularly attractive to those undertaking new
and additional roles in a changing museum operating climate. The training will be
interactive and participants will be asked to engage throughout, working
on their own terms, in groups, in break out rooms and with pre preparation for the
sessions. For more information, and to book your place, please visit our website.

Skills Plus: An Introduction to Evaluation
Wednesday 29 September, 10:00 - 13:00
This workshop provides an introduction to undertaking evaluation in your own
organisation, making the data useful, reporting to funders and working within your
team’s capacity. Participants will explore what evaluation is, the different types of
data and stages of evaluation, useful models and frameworks, developing targets
and intended outcomes, asking the right questions, data protection legislation and
ethics. Participants will discuss traditional, creative and online evaluation tools,
audience appropriateness, incentives and sampling. Participants will also find out
more about collating, analysing and interpreting data as well as reporting findings
internally and externally. For more information, and to book your place, please visit
our website.

Skills Plus: How to Run a Focus Group
Thursday 30 September, 10:00 - 13:00
Focus groups provide a social setting and opportunity for participants to discuss
specific topics. The group interaction can help bring out new perspectives on issues
as participants challenge, persuade and influence each other. Focus groups are
good at providing you with qualitative information and, when facilitated well, will allow
you to tease out a greater depth of information about people’s attitudes, experiences
and beliefs on your subject of focus. However, the quality of information that comes
out of focus groups is reliant on the skills and experience of the facilitator(s). This
session will help you to plan, organise and run focus groups. We will also cover what
to consider when running a focus group online. For more information, and to book
your place, please visit our website.

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Strong and Safe: Community Engagement - Developing successful
approaches
Monday 11 October, 14:30 – 16:30
This online session will help museum and archive managers think about how they
can continue to work with communities in a collaborative way so that they remain
relevant, address strategic priorities and record experiences. The training will help
delegates to explore community engagement practice and how they can utilise it to
bring people together, and enhance their work through effectively staying connected
to and working with the audiences they serve. The training will include a mix of
PowerPoint presentation, case studies, group activities and the opportunity for Q&A.
Trainers: Jane Frederick and Chloë Bird have a long standing, professional working
relationship with a focus on making heritage and culture relevant to a wide range of
people. For more information, and to book your place, please visit our website. If you
have any questions please get in touch with Yvette Shepherd.

Skills Plus: HVG Inspire Event for Volunteer Managers
Tuesday 12 October AND Tuesday 19 October, 10:00 - 13:00 Online (Zoom)
We recognise that the job of leading and managing volunteers can be challenging.
It’s frequently an isolating role, with practitioners often getting little support from
within their organisations. We believe it is time to give leaders of volunteer
engagement access to high quality training aimed at helping them manage their own
wellbeing. Day 1 - Productivity Management For Leaders and Managers of
Volunteers We all have the same number of hours every week yet often it feels like
we need more just to stay on top of our roles. In this session we’ll explore the
limitations of traditional time management approaches and focus instead on how we
can be more productive. Filled with tips and tricks this session will get you thinking in
new ways for how to make the most of those precious hours you have to get your job
done. Day 2 - Boundaries For Your Work and Life We all know the benefit of
getting this right, not just for you as a leader or manager, but also for your teams and
your family. To achieve this balance, organisations and individuals must take a
proactive approach to ensuring the health and wellbeing of their workforce and
themselves. Sadly, many people have given up on trying to achieve this or have
developed bad habits. This session will give you a “reality check” by helping you
identify what is really important to you and assist you in developing simple but
powerful techniques to establish a healthy balance and take back control. The
training is designed for participants to attend both sessions. Download a full
course outline. Please use the Eventbrite link to secure your place.

Skills Plus: Roots and Branches Carbon Literacy Training
Monday 01 November, time TBC
Online (Zoom)
To coincide with COP26, your regional Museum Development team will deliver a
Carbon Literacy course 1st November 2021 that you can sign up to. More training will
follow over the duration of the project. Carbon Literacy is a term used to describe an
awareness of climate change, and the climate impacts of mankind’s everyday
actions. Carbon Literacy is the knowledge and capacity required to create a positive
shift in how mankind lives, works and behaves in response to climate change. This
training will help museum professionals to engage with the issues, and consider how
to reduce our impact, where to get help and how to motivate others to take
action. For more information, and to book your place, please visit our website.

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Strong and Safe: Making the case – advocating the work of your museum and
archive
Wednesday 10 November (note date change from 15 September), 10:30 – 13:00
Online (Zoom)
This course will help Museum and Archive Managers to identify ways in which they
can best advocate their work. It will allow you to consider where your work aligns
with the changing priorities of funders and parent bodies and provide ideas for how
you can make your case. It will include case studies from across the wider cultural
sector. The virtual training session will include a mix of PowerPoint presentation and
break-out sessions. If you find yourself agreeing with any of the following then you
should come to this session:
•      The museum or archive is not a priority for my organisation.
•      No one knows what we do.
•      We are struggling to make a case for funding.
•      I’ve been told bins are more important than museums and I don’t know how to
       respond.
For more information, and to book your place, please visit our website.

Strong and Safe: Building Team Wellbeing and Resilience
Thursday 18 November, 13:00–15:00
Online (Zoom)
Supporting our team members and work colleagues to maintain and grow their
wellbeing is the right thing for us to do for many reasons, mostly simply because we
should be kind to each other! Apart from this, it helps us to create resilient
organisations within which people thrive. In these unprecedented times, it is even
more important that we focus on looking after ourselves and each other. This
interactive, online workshop is designed to help you to support your team members
and colleagues to maintain and grow their wellbeing and resilience in the face of our
current challenges. The workshop includes the concept and technique of Wellness
Action Planning and tools to help your team (and colleagues) to set or re-establish
clear personal direction
Trainer: Steve Wood is a coach, trainer, advisor and author specialising in personal
and organisational resilience, wellbeing and complex problem solving. He is well
known for his work within the heritage sector, most recently helping people and
teams deal with the lockdown and the new ways of working. You can find further
course details, book, and download a course outline from the website. Alternatively,
please contact Yvette Shepherd.

Developing an Inclusive Museum Training Series
Wednesday 1st, 8th & 15th December 2021 and 12th, 19th & 26th January 2022,
10:00 – 16:00 for first session, and 10:00 – 12:30 thereafter.
This multi-session training programme will encourage museums to embrace Arts
Council England's Inclusivity and Relevance Investment Principle. This is about
ensuring the creative and cultural sector better reflects and serves all communities
across England. This principle builds on the Creative Case for Diversity to
encompass programming, talent development, workforce, leadership and
governance. It means identifying who is under-represented and which communities
are under-served and taking action to address this. The series will support museums
on developing practices to bring a greater level of diversity to all areas of their
organisation, including: their programmes (exhibitions and events), collections and
voices they represent; audience development work; volunteers, staff and trustees;
and the buildings in which they operate. We will look at the key areas of diversity

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practices that can help develop a more inclusive museum, using audience data to
support and inform the work, along with case studies and presentations from
speakers across a board range of diversity practice. For more information, and to
book your place, please visit our website.
Trainers: Deanne Naula, Lisa Kennedy, Thanh Sinden, Nick Gross, and other
invited speakers/facilitators

Skills Plus: Assessing your museum's digital capacity
Thursday 03 February, 10 February AND 17 February, 10:00–12:00
For museums to be able to take full advantage of everything digital can offer, they
must first understand how and where digital sits within their organisation. The Digital
Culture Compass is a powerful tool which can help a museum to evaluate how digital
relates to their organisation. But the toolkit can be daunting to use, particularly for
smaller museums. In this 3 part workshop museum senior leadership, alongside
practitioners, will be guided through using parts of the Digital Culture Compass, to
complete an assessment of some of their museum’s digital activities. They will leave
with the confidence, tools and resources needed to complete the full toolkit within
their own organisation, involving their staff, volunteers and trustees in the process.
This online course will encourage active learning and plenty of discussion for a small
group of up to 16 delegates from 8 museums. For more information, and to book
your place, please visit our website.

Upcoming Artswork Professional Development courses
Varied dates through September and October
Welcome to the latest round-up of all things Artswork Professional Development
(APD). All our professional development courses still remain online for the
forseeable future, to ensure the safety of our attendees and trainers. Please note: All
courses with two dates are two part courses, with one part taking place on each
date.
    - 16th September: Safeguarding for Trustees
    - 20th & 27th September: Creative Facilitation with Young People
    - 4th & 11th October: Measuring Impact: Evaluating Projects with, for and by
      Young People
    - 4th October: Creating a Safeguarding Risk Assessment
    - 12th October: Managing Young People in the Workplace
    - 19th & 21st October: Behaviour Management
See the website for full details, and for links to booking portals.

Planes, Trains and… Numismatics?
Wednesday 29 September, 10:00–14:00
Another Money and Medals Network training event, this time a Celebration of
Transport-Themed Numismatic Collections. This event is to be held online, via
Zoom, and led by Money and Medals Network project curator Henry Flynn, from the
British Museum. Booking is essential. To register, or for further information, email the
Money and Medals Network.

VocalEyes Free Online Audio Description Training Sessions
Multiple dates, Friday lunchtimes.
VocalEyes is running free online sessions on Fridays at lunchtime for artists and arts
organisations interested in providing access for blind and visually impaired people to
their films using audio description (AD). VocalEyes is currently offering large
discounts on audio description through their National Lottery-funded project. In these

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free sessions, you will find out more about this opportunity, get any questions you
have about AD for film answered, and watch short extracts from a range of audio-
described films. At each session, there will one or two from VocalEyes team,
including audio describers, blind or visually impaired reviewers and the Audio
Production Manager. Visit the website for more details, and to book.

Hook your Audience Toolkit
Hook Your Audience is a toolkit of techniques to engage child and family audiences
in interactive, educational presentations. Its main purpose is to encourage you to
reflect more deeply on exactly how you hook your learners using a variety of
engagement techniques. Many of these hooks are borrowed from other professional
performers, such as magicians, stand-ups, street performers and actors. Because of
severe damage of the pandemic to our sector, the author has released the full text of
the book online until the end of October 2021.

Rethinking Capacity Strengthening for Sustainable Development
PRAXIS at the University of Leeds and the UK National Commission for UNESCO
have released their latest report on 'Rethinking Capacity Strengthening for
Sustainable Development' as part of the wider 'Heritage and Our Sustainable Future
Series'. The aim of the series is to provide insight, recommendations, and practical,
solution-led case studies for best practice on key themes from across the cultural
heritage and sustainable development sectors. Access the report here.

AMA Conference is back — and this time it's online
On 21 and 22 October the Arts Marketing Association will be bringing arts and
cultural marketers together to learn, connect and grow. The theme "Change for
Good" reflects the focus on what's worth doing, what's making a difference, and what
you might want to change. You’ll be able to tailor your Conference experience to
select what’s most relevant to you — so keep an eye on the Conference web page
as the programme will be announced in the run up to the event. Tickets are on sale
now — you can buy an individual ticket, or bring the whole team on a Team ticket.
Find out more.

TEG Marketplace: 21 & 22 October – Book your place!
This year’s Touring Exhibitions Group Marketplace will be held online and they are
delighted to announce that Earlybird booking is now open for the two day event. This
year's seminar theme across the two days is 'The Sustainability of our Industry',
including future facing topics such as equality, diversity and inclusion; digital
technology and skills and the economic situation. As always, there will be
opportunities to share your current and future projects, for 1-2-1 surgeries and to
meet with those offering exhibitions and products to our sector. For those who may
wish to take part in a Share session, the opportunity to book a slot is available on a
first come, first served basis after booking the relevant delegate place for
Marketplace. Click here to book your place at Earlybird prices.

Resources for planning for post Covid re-opening
London Museum Development has created a helpful PDF to use when planning your
re-opening, post lockdown, which signposts useful links to resources and articles
around re-opening. We will be regularly updating this resource, as more information
about how the lockdown will be lifted is published, so do refer back to it as your
planning develops. You can find the resource on our ‘Resources’ page.

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Guide to help London employers make the most of Kickstart scheme
London Councils, boroughs and the Greater London Authority have drafted a short
guide for promoting high-quality placements through the Kickstart scheme. The new
guide advises employers and Kickstart ‘Gateway organisations’ on how they can
support young Londoners to get the most out of their placement and to help Kickstart
participants understand what to expect. You can read the guide here.

DCMS guide ‘Volunteering during coronavirus’
DCMS have published their new guide ‘Volunteering during coronavirus (COVID-19)’
aimed at members of the public who are currently, or are interested in, volunteering
during the pandemic. It sets out clearly, in chapters, everything people need to know
to be able to volunteer safely. It includes advice on:
- How restrictions affect volunteering
- Travelling safely as a volunteer
- Volunteering safely with other people
- Finding volunteering opportunities with organisations and groups
- Helping others ‘informally’ in your local area
- Accessing testing and vaccinations
You can find the full guide on the Gov.uk website.

Digital Culture Network - Ticketing resource
Alec Ward, former Digital and Communications for London Museum Development,
and South West Museum Development’s Digital Engagement Officer, Rachel
Cartwright, identified the need for a resource to help museums navigate options for
online ticketing and timed entry. They reached out to Nick Kime, Digital Culture
Network Tech Champion (ticketing specialist) who has created a museum specific
resource. A must-read if you are choosing an online system and what considerations
to make when thinking about reopening, managing visitor numbers and personal
information collection and storage for NHS Test and Trace. Download the resource.
To find out more about how the Digital Culture Network can support you please
visit www.artscouncil.org.uk/dcn.

ACE Resources on Government and Wider Support
Arts Council England have a central resource setting out available Government and
wider support for organisations and individuals relevant to the cultural sector. These
pages are continually updated and are produced in consultation with DCMS.

4. Job Vacancies (to top)
Finance Officer
Charles Dickens Museum
The Charles Dickens Museum is seeking an exceptional person to fill a key position
within a small dynamic team. The Finance Officer is the financial lynchpin and is
responsible for ensuring high quality management of finance systems and activity.
This is a part-time (0.4) permanent position, that requires excellent organisational
skills and attention to detail.
Salary: circa £29,500 pro rata.
Closing date: Thursday 30th September, 17:00.
To apply: For full job description and to apply, please visit our website. Send
applications to this address.

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Committee Membership
Visitor Studies Group
The Visitor Studies Group (VSG) is managed by a committee whose role is to:
•      set the strategic direction for the Group
•      oversee the annual programme of activities
•      represent the Group professionally at conferences and workshops
•      encourage partnership working with like-minded organisations within the UK
       and from overseas
•      meet four times a year to ensure the needs of Members are discussed and
       met
 Being a part of the VSG Committee is a great opportunity to develop your skills and
extend your professional network, as well as supporting the work of VSG. We are
seeking 3-4 new committee members this autumn and are particularly keen to hear
from individuals who could lend their skills to conference planning, marketing and
comms, and budgeting. The time commitment is generally a few hours a month
(though a bit more around the conference). The term for these volunteer positions is
three years. For any questions, please get in touch.
Fees: Volunteer position
Closing Date: Friday 1st October 2021
To Apply: Visit the website to find a link to the application form.

Freelance External Evaluator
Ragged School Museum
Ragged School Museum are seeking an external consultant to support the
evaluation of a NLHF funded restoration and refurbishment project. The ambition of
the Ragged School, Ragged Children Project is to refurbish, interpret and make
accessible the RSM buildings like never before, creating a coherent, efficient,
dynamic visitor destination and community resource. The project will run between
Autumn 2021 and Autumn 2025. Interviews to take place w/c 1st November 2021.
Start date November 2021. Please visit the website for further information.
Fees: £22,500 including all expenses, all travel and materials. Excl VAT
Closing date: Friday 1st October 2021
To apply: To request the brief and information on how to apply please email
projects@glevumconsulting.co.uk.

Volunteers: Wellcome Collection Exhibition
Barts Heritage
Barts Heritage is looking for volunteers to help with the Wellcome Collection
Exhibition which begins in September and runs until early December (every Tue-Fri
11am-4pm) held in the Grade I North Wing section of St Bartholomew's Hospital.
Barts Heritage is recruiting Volunteer Welcome Hosts to give a warm welcome to
visitors and ensure the safety of the installation during its run.
Salary: Volunteer - unpaid, travel expenses
Closing date: Friday 8 October 2021
To Apply: For more information, and a full description of the role requirements,
email Fleur Chaffé with the reference Barts Heritage Volunteer Welcome Host in
the subject line.

Operations Assistant
Heath Robinson Museum
The Heath Robinson Museum is looking for an enthusiastic and energetic
Operations Assistant to support our Museum Manager in the day-to-day operations

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of the museum. This position will involve coordinating our team of Front of House
volunteers, being duty manager during opening hours, managing our group visits
and West House lettings. This varied and interesting role is a great opportunity to
learn a wide range of skills and get involved in the running of a small museum. Part
time, 32 hours p/w.
Closing Date: Sunday 10th October, 11:59
Salary: £17,600 pa (£22,000 FTE)
To apply: Visit the website for application details.

Freelance Opportunity: Project Evaluation
Roots and Branches
Museum Development North West (MDNW), in partnership with Manchester
Museum (MM) and the Carbon Literacy Project (CLP), have received £136,750 of
public funding by the National Lottery, through Arts Council England National Lottery
Project Grants, for an ambitious two-year project. ‘Roots and Branches’ focuses on
museums and environmental sustainability and aims to accelerate the museum
sector’s ability to respond to the climate crisis. We seek to appoint a freelance
evaluator/s who will: develop the project-wide evaluation framework in consultation
with MDNW, MM and CLP; collate and analyse project data and information (both
quantitative and qualitative); report to the project steering group at various stages
throughout the two-year project; produce a final report at the end of the project.
Fees: £6,000 including VAT, expenses and creative input/outputs.
Closing date: Wednesday 13 October, 17:00
To apply: Visit the MDNW website to download the project brief and application
instructions.

5. Exhibitions and Events (to top)

Summer and Autumn events at the Museum of Richmond
With final restrictions being lifted, you no longer need to book to visit the Museum
and we have been able to welcome families back to the Museum for our summer
workshops and students for the Art Summer Schools - their work is now on display in
the Museum, as part of The King's Observatory exhibition. Events through the
summer and autumn include Curators tours through August, Garden parties at the
Trumpeters’ House, workshops in September as part of the Totally Thames Festival,
and craft workshops for adults in the autumn. Check the website for dates and to
book.

‘Underground Uncovered’ at London Transport Museum’s Depot autumn event
Thursday 23 September to Sunday 26 September, 11:00–17:00
For four days this September visitors will have the chance to go behind the scenes at
London Transport Museum’s Depot in Acton, west London. The Museum Depot
houses over 320,000 objects from the Capital’s transport history and this autumn the
focus is on all things ‘Underground’. Guests will be treated to a jam-packed
programme of mini talks and vintage vehicle displays, as well as fun activities for
families. One of the highlights will be a talk by disused station history expert Siddy
Holloway, who is co-presenter of the new Secrets of the London Underground TV
series on the Yesterday channel and the Hidden London Engagement Manager at
London Transport Museum. Timed tickets must be booked in advance online.

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Chelsea History Festival
17–26 September, In Chelsea and Online
The National Army Museum, Chelsea Physic Garden and Royal Hospital Chelsea
are delighted to be running the third Chelsea History Festival which will feature over
70 exciting physical and virtual events. Highlights include Jonathan Dimbleby and
Andrew Roberts discussing Operation Barbarossa, Olivette Otele and Peter
Frankopan considering the challenges of telling stories of people and places that are
often overlooked, and a conversation between Iain Dale and Sir Anthony Seldon
marking the tricentennial of the office of Prime Minister. The festival also features a
number of exclusive pre-publication launches with Helen Fry, Robert Lyman and
James Holland. Visit our immersive outdoor History Village and learn first-hand what
life was like in Roman London or the First World War. Check out the full programme
and book online here.

Voices of North Paddington Exhibition
Until 29 September, Monday–Wednesday, 10:00–16:00
Voices of North Paddington showcases the stories from Grand Junction’s Oral
History interview archive. This exhibition explores the lives and memories of our
community, the changes to the area of North Paddington through time and the St
Mary Magdalene’s and Paddington Development Trust partnership and role in the
community. In the Undercroft of Grand Junction at St Mary Magdalene’s Church,
Free, No need to book. See the website for further details.

Keats House Lates
30 September, 17:30–20:00
On selected dates in autumn, Keats House will hold special late-night openings.
Drop in at any point during the advertised time and enjoy the house after hours. Take
the opportunity to attend a guided tour and view the Keats200 bicentenary exhibition
nearby on Hampstead Heath. Booking essential via this link. Admission charges
apply

6. Requests for help, offers and donations (to top)

Collection disposals: Epping Forest District Museum
The Epping Forest District Museum is undertaking a review and rationalisation
project. A downloadable list of items for disposal is being circulated on the Museums
Association website. The list comprises 120 various social history items ranging from
toys, models and electrical equipment to kitchen appliances. The museum is not
attaching any conditions of transfer other than that they will be offering the items to
accredited museums in the first instance and would ask any recipients to organise
the collection of any items they may wish to take. Contact Esther Green with
questions, or for further information.

Seeking expressions of interest to host touring exhibition “All Will be Well”
V&A Museum of Childhood
‘All Will Be Well’ is a small 150 sq.m exhibition which was the result of an open-call
made last May for children to submit their drawings or rainbows in support of the key
workers and the NHS. The V&A Museum of Childhood received over a thousand
emails and have now collected over one hundred drawings from up and down the
country which will go into our permanent collection. We put on the exhibition at the
beginning of December but unfortunately had to close it after only two weeks

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because of the new restrictions. Because the gallery in which it is currently situated
is scheduled for other uses in the near future, unfortunately we can’t extend its run
anymore at South Kensington. It is a very simple show to install organized around 8
large steel-backed ‘window frames’ in which the works are mounted with magnets.
Please will interested hosts contact Julia Brettell.

                                  @LondonMusDev

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