Away from the inane “tweet me quick” instant chatter of online social media, there are still old-fashioned oases of calm, where friends and colleagues continue to meet face to face to discuss their working lives.
In the museum world, it is the regional federations that keep these lines of communication open, offering the latest news about training, grant and job opportunities, as well as advice and guidance on the latest heritage-sector happenings – all to the folk who otherwise might not hear about them.
“A federation can help people who find it difficult to network because of isolation,” says Museums Association (MA) director and federations fan Mark Taylor.
“If you’re in your first job in a rural institution after your museum studies course, you may be the only ‘professional’ there. In a local-authority museum, you might find that you can’t get out as often as you would like.
“There is no doubt that there are many smaller museums in this country that have felt over the past 10 years that they have been cut off from the mainstream. They have hardly any money and even less support.”
Taylor says that smaller museums have been confused by Renaissance and the loss of area museums councils. Then the regional agencies were abolished and now the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) is going. “It’s the federations that are able to keep everyone in touch and help them find out what’s going on,” he says.
The first federations formed as independent membership organisations in the 1920s and 1930s. There are currently 10 covering most of the country – historical regional anomalies mean that there are no official bodies in London or the south-east – but they generally pull together museum professionals and give them a voice in places out of reach of the MA.
“In light of the closure of the MLA, their role is more important now because of the lack of any other regional structure,” adds Taylor.
More sustainable
As voluntary bodies, federations can wax and wane according to individuals’ enthusiasm and endeavour. Finding people to come in for a couple of days a week to arrange meetings, send out the newsletter and keep the website up to date makes them more sustainable.
Like many of its regional equivalents, the NW (North West) Fed has undergone considerable transformation over the years to ensure that it remains relevant in an ever-changing museum world. Chairman and museum consultant Piotr Bienkowski says: “We are now a limited company and a charity, as our previous guise as an unincorporated organisation had little legal standing, which prevented our applying for a lot of grants and employing staff.”
A partnership with National Museums Liverpool to deliver positive-action traineeships with a £350,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Skills for the Future programme would not have been possible under its old constitution, for example.
Similarly, a grant from the MLA’s innovation fund was secured to enable the federation to commission a consultant to help with its work leading a sector-wide partnership to devise the North West Museums Strategy.
“The fed is the only regional organisation whose whole existence does not depend on finances from London. It’s our responsibility to act now for the future. As a membership organisation, we know that, whatever happens, our work will continue,” according to Bienkowski.
The old federation welcomed institutional membership, but it became clear during discussions on its future operations that people preferred to be supported as individuals, adds Bienkowski. “Museums can change people’s lives, and we are dedicated to supporting everyone who works in them in pursuit of that objective,” he says.
The Scottish Museums Federation has 100 members. They pay £12 a year, which allows them to attend conferences and a range of social events, as well as to apply for grants towards continuing professional development.
Most professions are represented – indeed, membership is open to all heritage agencies, not just museums – and the federation has a partnership agreement with the University of St Andrews that enables students on the only museum-studies course in Scotland to attend events and network with professionals.
Two student reps help the federation tailor its programme to staff of all ages, says Rowan Brown, director of the Scottish Mining Museum and president of the federation, which she joined in 2001.
“At that time, I was on the museum-studies course at the University of Leicester. My work placement was at the Museum of Transport in Glasgow, where my mentor advised me to join the federation to get to grips with the issues the sector faced, as well as to meet the people involved,” she says.
“That was particularly important to me as I was keen to work in the Scottish sector after studying on a museums course in England, and I needed to know the differences in provision and structure between the two countries.”
Opening doors
Brown says that, through the federation, she got to know lots of people quickly, which put her in a better position when she applied for jobs. Moreover, the federation network meant she knew which projects were coming up and where there might be opportunities.
“When we plan our events now, we ensure that everyone is represented, from the big nationals to the tiny institutions that do great work using grants or in-kind support in order to show what is possible on even the most limited of budgets,” she adds. “In times such as these, that help and advice is crucial.”
Following the demise of the Council for Museums in Wales (CMW) in 2003, responsibility for the museums was taken on by CyMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales. However, because of its political status as an arm of the Welsh Assembly Government, it cannot undertake advocacy work on behalf of museums and galleries. But this can be done by the Federation of Museums and Art Galleries of Wales.
“Lots of museums in Wales are two-man bands, with one curator and someone front of house, and they need help to champion their work,” says Rachael Rogers, the president of the Welsh Federation and curator at Abergavenny Museum.
“So the federation decided to change the way we worked. Using residue funds from the CMW, we turned ourselves into a charity, with the idea of advocating on behalf of museums, while also getting involved in higher-level, strategic decision-making.”
The federation played a very active role in CyMAL’s recently released Museums Strategy for Wales, and has been charged with tasks including looking at Welsh terminology for museum collections.
“We are still involved at a grassroots level, and our regular question-and-answer email bulletins have created a self-help community where people can tap into the expertise and experience of others,” says Rogers.
The federation also stepped in to prevent a small-scale funding crisis after CyMAL ceased handing out grants of less than £5,000. “The odd £100 here and there is a big deal for museums running on a shoestring, so we decided to apply to CyMAL for a large grant, which we then carve up to hand out to smaller institutions,” says Rogers.
“A lot of the strategic work we do takes time to filter down to the smaller museums, and it’s probably common for them to wonder what we are doing. The grants programme is one way of showing the ones that probably miss the hand-holding style of the older federation that we are still out there, working hard on their behalf.”
The Yorkshire and Humberside Federation is undergoing its own modernisation programme to make it fit for purpose in the 21st century, according to president Paul Goodman, head of collections and knowledge at the National Media Museum, Bradford.
“We don’t want to be seen as just another training provider, so we are repositioning ourselves to be fully engaged in advocacy discussions and wider network opportunities,” Goodman says. “We were, perhaps, not punching our weight in terms of influencing the sector. We now want to be seen as more of a major player. People were going to the MLA or Renaissance and bypassing us completely.”
Goodman says the federation is toughening up to take on more of a lobbying role on behalf of the museums and their staff.
“It might have been easy in the past to see the federation as a cosy membership organisation that was supportive but didn’t really contribute much to the working lives of people in the region,” he adds. “We’re now looking to be far more proactive and reach out beyond our borders to work with other federations.”
Needed more than ever
The South West Federation has been in existence for 76 years and was the inspiration for setting up the regional museum agencies, which have now all but disappeared.
“When there was a strong regional agency, we weren’t as needed,” admits federation chairwoman Alison Bevan, director of Penlee House Gallery and Museum in Penzance. “But there has never been such a time when museums need a strong voice as they do now, and the federations are a unique way of providing it.” The south-west is an enormous region with great contrasts, and it is a challenge to bring everyone together, adds Bevan.
She says Cornwall has a rich heritage, with a diverse range of museums. “Up the road, Bath has probably the only profit-making museums service in the country, with a well-off catchment area as well as tourism. Then there are places such as Bristol and Swindon, each with their own particular issues.
“Nevertheless, there is still more understanding and mutual sharing of knowledge and skills than could possibly be achieved on a national basis. Federations are uniquely placed to be a conduit for support and the essential sharing of expertise.”
The Museums Association is hosting a meeting of federations on 17 January. Contact Georgie Stagg for more details: Email: georgie@museumsassociation.org