Scotland moves a step closer towards national museums strategy
Geraldine Kendall, 25.02.2011
Museums Galleries Scotland to consult its members over development of national strategy at AGM
Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS) is to discuss the development of a national strategy for Scotland’s museums and galleries with its members at its AGM on 18 March.
Scotland's culture minister Fiona Hyslop invited MGS to draw up a national museums strategy last year after a December 2010 thinktank report called for a cohesive framework for sustainable museum development across the country.
The thinktank originally recommended setting up a stand-alone national development body to provide strategic direction for the museums and galleries sector and to facilitate better allocation of resources. The report also called for the national strategy to reddress the balance between local authority, independent and national provision.
In her response to this report, Hyslop rejected the establishment of a separate body but suggested that MGS could take on responsibility for developing and implementing the strategy.
MGS has since been working with representatives from Scottish museums and galleries on the policy remit and organisational design that this would entail. MGS chief executive Joanne Orr is due to make a presentation on these findings during next month’s AGM, before taking questions from MGS members.
MA head of policy and communications Maurice Davies said: “We would hope that MGS and the nationals can work together. It is fair to say that one of the difficulties experienced in getting strategies in place [elsewhere in the UK] has been the separation between nationals and the rest of the sector.
“I hope they manage to come up with something that is a lot more incisive than some of the strategies we’ve seen over the past decade, which often seemed like they were written to please everyone and as a consequence were not as effective as they could have been.”
Scotland's culture minister Fiona Hyslop invited MGS to draw up a national museums strategy last year after a December 2010 thinktank report called for a cohesive framework for sustainable museum development across the country.
The thinktank originally recommended setting up a stand-alone national development body to provide strategic direction for the museums and galleries sector and to facilitate better allocation of resources. The report also called for the national strategy to reddress the balance between local authority, independent and national provision.
In her response to this report, Hyslop rejected the establishment of a separate body but suggested that MGS could take on responsibility for developing and implementing the strategy.
MGS has since been working with representatives from Scottish museums and galleries on the policy remit and organisational design that this would entail. MGS chief executive Joanne Orr is due to make a presentation on these findings during next month’s AGM, before taking questions from MGS members.
MA head of policy and communications Maurice Davies said: “We would hope that MGS and the nationals can work together. It is fair to say that one of the difficulties experienced in getting strategies in place [elsewhere in the UK] has been the separation between nationals and the rest of the sector.
“I hope they manage to come up with something that is a lot more incisive than some of the strategies we’ve seen over the past decade, which often seemed like they were written to please everyone and as a consequence were not as effective as they could have been.”
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