Do museums really need consultants?

At the risk of putting the cat among the consultants and talking myself completely out of a job, I’m going to say it anyway.

Museums and galleries across the land – you’ve got to stand up for yourself. Your budgets are being blown to smithereens and the world as you know it is changing at a rapid rate of knots.

It’s scary, it’s unchartered territory and let’s face it, it’s a whole lot easier to get a consultant in, so if it all goes the proverbial way up, you only did what they advised you to do.

I get that. What worries me is that in most cases you’ve got funding for one bite of the cherry, one chance to work with an ‘expert’ to address your aims and dreams. Seems to me that across the arts and heritage sectors right now there’s a lot of guilt money coming from the powers that be.

“OK, so we’ve taken away your core funding and expect you to deliver twice as much with half as much but here’s 50p to get a whizzy consultant in to show you how it can be done…”  Sound familiar?

So spending that 50p wisely is important. The consultancy market is about to be flooded with redundant in-house professionals wondering what can be so hard about this consultancy malarkey.

And at the other end of the scale there are the large consultancies on a timesheet treadmill wowing you with regurgitated models stolen from the corporate sector.

There is undoubtedly a time and a place for consultants but it’s less about the big I am and much more about the big you are. Because you are pretty impressive. Not just the sector giants but those of you at the coal face. It never ceases to amaze me how little confidence you have in your own fabulousness.

In these challenging times, what about getting some of your peers, stakeholders or audiences in a room just to talk about the issues out loud, listen and gain some new perspectives?

Could you develop a skills bank to invest in, and use partners from within the sector and outside it? Could you pool budgets for greater impact? Have you explored all the great free stuff available online?

Sometimes, the situation and context will dictate that a consultant who can provide specialist skills and an objective viewpoint is really what’s needed. (I would say that wouldn’t I?)

When that situation arises, don’t just think of the outputs of the work, think of the legacy. In those terms the responsibility lies with you.

The most exciting moment of consultancy is when the ‘expertise’ flows two ways. Expertise and insight can come from a range of sources, from the six-year-old you chat to in the gallery, to your colleague in the next town who’s already overcome the challenge you’re facing.

So next time you think you need a consultant, think again.

Emma Courtney is the director of Courtney consulting