Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS) has clarified its imminent strategy in the wake of the departure of the organisation’s chief executive, Joanne Orr, in February, after 13 years in the post.
The organisation says it will continue its core functions, as well as focusing on its Skills for Success programme, which aims to diversify routes into the sector for 22 non-graduates.
It will also carry on with the ongoing review of its Accreditation scheme.
John McLeish, MGS’s interim chief executive, says a key aim in the coming months is for the organisation to continue engaging with Scotland’s museums.
“I am looking forward to getting out and about during the next phase of visits, to hear what museums are up to and how MGS can support their activities,” he says.
“By visiting a wide range of museums, MGS has been able to gather honest and constructive feedback from across the sector to inform its future work.”
An MGS statement adds that in the current uncertain financial climate, the organisation intends to provide a voice for the sector and make the case for continued support and funding.
“MGS’s ongoing Museum Connections visits programme means that MGS staff are out among the sector discussing those challenges face to face,” says a spokesman. “Since August 2017, staff have visited more than 70 museums, and MGS aims to visit every one of Scotland’s 400 museums in the next two years.”
However, some within the sector are frustrated with MGS. One museum director in Scotland, who wishes to remain anonymous, says: “They all seem very busy. It has become so strategic. What it offers is policy – and we all read the policy. It’s helpful to know what MGS’s priorities are for grant aid, but it is not earth-shattering. We see them when they dish out grants and when they handle Accreditation, but they have no other means for visibility.”
Funding for museums
Others, however, are more positive. Kathleen Boal, a learning manager at National Trust for Scotland, and chair for the Group for Education for Museums Scotland, says: “MGS is a fantastic organisation in that it represents museums in Scotland – and it’s really powerful to have that kind of organisation in your country. It delivers some great stuff in terms of its grants.”
Boal praises the organisation’s equipment and small-grants fund, the latter particularly for its turnaround time and the fact that it is “straightforward to use”.
“Some of its other applications are quite complex,” she says. “The areas that I think are more challenging, and this goes for any organisation that is trying to represent a country, is capturing the regional variations of what is going on in the country – the regional tensions and the real issues in each region.
“While MGS is fantastic at communicating to specific people, I think it would be valuable to have people whose specific roles are about engaging with the regions.”
Boal adds that some issues affecting museums in the far north of Scotland, for example, are very different from those relevant to central Edinburgh.
The organisation says it will continue its core functions, as well as focusing on its Skills for Success programme, which aims to diversify routes into the sector for 22 non-graduates.
It will also carry on with the ongoing review of its Accreditation scheme.
John McLeish, MGS’s interim chief executive, says a key aim in the coming months is for the organisation to continue engaging with Scotland’s museums.
“I am looking forward to getting out and about during the next phase of visits, to hear what museums are up to and how MGS can support their activities,” he says.
“By visiting a wide range of museums, MGS has been able to gather honest and constructive feedback from across the sector to inform its future work.”
An MGS statement adds that in the current uncertain financial climate, the organisation intends to provide a voice for the sector and make the case for continued support and funding.
“MGS’s ongoing Museum Connections visits programme means that MGS staff are out among the sector discussing those challenges face to face,” says a spokesman. “Since August 2017, staff have visited more than 70 museums, and MGS aims to visit every one of Scotland’s 400 museums in the next two years.”
However, some within the sector are frustrated with MGS. One museum director in Scotland, who wishes to remain anonymous, says: “They all seem very busy. It has become so strategic. What it offers is policy – and we all read the policy. It’s helpful to know what MGS’s priorities are for grant aid, but it is not earth-shattering. We see them when they dish out grants and when they handle Accreditation, but they have no other means for visibility.”
Funding for museums
Others, however, are more positive. Kathleen Boal, a learning manager at National Trust for Scotland, and chair for the Group for Education for Museums Scotland, says: “MGS is a fantastic organisation in that it represents museums in Scotland – and it’s really powerful to have that kind of organisation in your country. It delivers some great stuff in terms of its grants.”
Boal praises the organisation’s equipment and small-grants fund, the latter particularly for its turnaround time and the fact that it is “straightforward to use”.
“Some of its other applications are quite complex,” she says. “The areas that I think are more challenging, and this goes for any organisation that is trying to represent a country, is capturing the regional variations of what is going on in the country – the regional tensions and the real issues in each region.
“While MGS is fantastic at communicating to specific people, I think it would be valuable to have people whose specific roles are about engaging with the regions.”
Boal adds that some issues affecting museums in the far north of Scotland, for example, are very different from those relevant to central Edinburgh.