Strategic Framework 2025-2030
Our mission
Inspiring museums to change lives
Museums make us healthier and happier and increase our wellbeing. They make us proud of our places and our communities, and they inspire, motivate and challenge us. Everyone should have the right to engage with and participate in museums and have access to a high-quality museum service near to where they live. Our mission is to inspire and support museums to work with their communities to make a positive difference to people’s lives.
Our vision
Inclusive and sustainable museums at the heart of communities
As we face increasing polarisation and inequality in society and significant challenges such as the climate crisis, our vision is for museums to use their collections to play a vital role bringing communities together to deliver social and climate justice.
Our priorities
- People – A representative museum workforce where diverse knowledge, skills and experiences are respected, supported and valued.
- Collections – Empowering, relevant and dynamic museum collections that reflect the rich diversity of our histories, our communities and our planet.
- Communities – Museums and communities working as equal partners to address the challenges of our time through learning, participation and engagement with collections.
- Planet – Working with museums to be confident in raising awareness, championing change, and embedding action to tackle the climate crisis.
Who we are and how we work
Founded in 1889, we are the oldest professional body for museums in the world, with a global reputation for leading museum policy and practice.
Today we represent over 11,000 individuals and 1,800 museums and galleries, with a vibrant network that engages many more in all types of museums and roles.
We are passionate and independent
We are a small, dynamic not-for-profit that advocates for museums without fear or favour of governments or funding influences.
We work collaboratively and ethically
We work ethically and sustainably and collaborate with partners to achieve our priorities, based on common aims and values.
We champion diversity and equity
We campaign for socially engaged museums and a representative workforce. We recognise and celebrate differences in culture, policy and practice across the nations of the UK and strive for equitable treatment of all our members.
We campaign for social and climate justice
We support museums to be bold in raising awareness, championing change and embedding social justice, anti-discrimination and climate action in their work.
We lead change by example
We believe that to achieve our priorities we must also do the work ourselves. We are committed to recognising our history and privilege, and to being creative and transparent about our work.
Context
The period of our last strategic framework was one of significant turbulence in society and the sector. The impacts of the climate crisis continued to increase, and events such as the global pandemic and the murder of George Floyd were swiftly followed by international conflicts and the cost-of-living crisis. Together this has led to increased social, economic and political divisions and growing cultural and political alienation.
At the same time the funding picture for the sector has worsened and museums face a number of serious challenges and need support and investment. Museum workers are under pressure from the increased cost of living and demanding workloads, which are having significant impacts on their wellbeing.
Both museums and the Museums Association (MA) have responded to these challenges with resilience, flexibility and fortitude. At the MA we adapted and responded to our members’ needs while maintaining our ethical and values-based approach to our work.
This new framework builds on the past five years and sets out a strategy of stability and consolidation. We aim to embed and develop the positive work we have achieved in recent years to advocate for museums and deliver our mission and vision for the sector.
This framework is shaped by our members, trustees, and staff and is the result of significant research, evaluation and collaboration. It sets out our aims under four priorities and five ways of working. It also sets out key measures of success for each area that we will monitor, evaluate and report on over the life of the plan.
What we aim to achieve by 2030
People
- Real living wage for all museum workers – campaign for the real living wage, including a commitment from the majority of organisational members to pay this minimum.
- New professional development offer – support professional development including a new training offer with a wider reach to all roles.
- Equality and inclusion – membership that reflects the profile of communities in areas such as ethnicity, disability and socio-economic background.
Collections
- Connect collections and communities – support work with museum collections to improve inclusion and equitable working with community partners through the Esmée Fairbairn Communities and Collections Fund.
- Champion decolonisation – highlight and support work to address the legacy of the British empire and slavery in museums.
- A dynamic approach to collections management – support museums to work with communities to research and review their collections to make them relevant and dynamic and to take a strategic approach to disposing of objects.
Communities
- Relaunch Museums Change Lives – refresh and relaunch flagship campaign focusing on social justice with renewed engagement from members.
- Embed anti-discrimination in the sector – support museums to use their collections to work with communities to tackle racism, ablism and discrimination.
Planet
- Develop Museums for Climate Justice campaign – advocate for new resources to facilitate partnership working on climate and ecological issues.
- New practical advice on climate justice work – build new support and practical advice for museums to raise awareness, champion change, and embed climate action.
How we aim to achieve our priorities
Making the case
Advocacy – work with sector bodies to demonstrate the value of museums to politicians and stakeholders in all four nations in order to get the investment that we need to create sustainable organisations.
Partnerships and research
New partnership agreements – take a refreshed approach to our partnerships, working with organisations and groups within and outwith the sector to advocate for museums and share learning and knowledge.
Research agenda – develop strategic research partnerships with universities, museums and other organisations to undertake research that supports and consolidates the campaigns we undertake for our members.
Engaging our members
Relaunch Code of Ethics – relaunch Code of Ethics for Museums so that it supports dynamic collections management and emphasises a more people-centred and equitable and collaborative approach and addresses our ethical responsibilities to the planet, including new guidance to help museums make ethical decisions about a range of issues.
Greater engagement – implement the governance review recommendations to encourage deeper participation with our work and increased engagement with our reps, stakeholders and trustees.
Relevant and practical content – review Museums Journal editorial strategy and print and digital design, to deliver the content members need when and how they need it.
Living our values
Build on progressive working practices – continue to research and refresh working policies and wellbeing support for our staff.
Understanding our history – research and publish a new history of the MA investigating and acknowledging our connection to British imperialism.
Developing new funding
Regular investment income – deliver a new approach to our investments that realises increased income and maintains reserves at Charity Commission recommended levels.
New fundraising approach – aim to find new funding streams by reviewing our fundraising resources and capability.
Our members and supporters
Our members and supporters are vital to our mission and without them we could not do the work that we do. We are grateful to all who support our work through their time, energy and funding, particularly those who volunteer their time as trustees, reps, and mentors and assessors on our professional development programmes, as well as our funders and commercial supporters.
We are committed to openness and accountability in our work and demonstrating to our members and supporters how we make decisions and spend our funds. This framework sets out our vision and priorities for the sector. Please join us so that we can support museums and make the case for the life-changing work that they deliver.
