It has always struck me as important that museum policy should be the product of robust debate within the sector, between politicians, policymakers and practitioners, rather than simply the result of a set of ideas and initiatives that emerge from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) or the Scottish Assembly.
As the president of the Museums Association, I have found the opportunity to participate in wider discussions with ministers and the DCMS about the museum community particularly interesting.
How museums should be funded; what, for example, should be the role of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council? It is odd to be the representative of all museums, rather than just a supplicant on behalf of the National Gallery by itself.
Two weeks ago, the National Museum Directors' Conference was asked to consider firstly, what external opportunities and challenges we face as a sector over the next five years; and, secondly, what internal issues we need to address.
The Olympics
It is customary in the arts sector to lament the fact that we won the Olympics, but I do not share this view and nor, I hope, do my colleagues.
I think that it should give clout to the DCMS in its forthcoming negotiations with the Treasury by suggesting that the Treasury needs to pay at least as much attention to issues of culture and sport as it does, for example, to trade and industry. The creative industries are now the second biggest net earner in the British economy after the financial services industry.
It means, crudely, that the Treasury should be helping, facilitating and nurturing the whole range of industries and institutions associated with culture and creativity.
Cultural tourism
I have been struck over the past three years by the contrast between attitudes to cultural tourism in, for example, Madrid and London.
My experience of Madrid is that the Spanish government is interested in promoting, supporting and funding its national cultural institutions. Having attracted the Thyssen collection to Madrid, a beautiful building to house it has been provided almost opposite the Prado.
Rafael Moneo has designed a huge extension to the Prado to accommodate major international exhibitions. I asked Gabriele Finaldi, the deputy director, how much it cost and he said he didn't know because it was to be paid for by the government.
The Renia Sofia, which already occupies a huge building on museum mile, has just had an extension added to it, designed by the French architect, Jean Nouvel.
Why are they doing this? It is not simply for the love of art, but because of national pride. The Spanish government wants to attract foreign investment to Madrid and high-spending cultural tourists to their capital city.
Digital environment
Are we doing enough to respond to the incredibly rapidly changing environment of access to information? Five years ago, Culture Online was launched with high hopes for it to be the biggest internet start-up company in the world.
In practice, its aims and aspirations have had to be curbed by less funding than was expected. It has concentrated its funding on special one-off projects of varying quality and success. Likewise, the many millions poured into the New Opportunities Fund and the People's Network do not yet seem to have given us the access we all need and which the public deserves.
Even in the National Gallery, which has devoted a lot of energy and resources to providing effective, user-friendly information about its collection, there is still a great disparity between what is publicly accessible online and the deeper levels of information maintained in the gallery's own intranet.
Lottery
We need to remember that the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) provides more funding to the museums sector than the whole programme of Renaissance in the Regions. We have probably witnessed the most new museum building projects, the majority at least partially funded by the lottery, since the late 19th century.
Making sure that the HLF remains a central source of funding for new capital developments and acquisitions must be a priority for the sector. While recognising that some lottery funds may be diverted to help with the Olympic programme, Heritage Lottery funding needs to be retained for the heritage itself.
Trusteeship and governance
What does a modern trustee board look like and how should it behave? What are the responsibilities of trustees towards fundraising and how does this affect their ability to act as representatives of the public?
Is there a confusion between the role of trustees and being guardians? What is the proper relationship between trustees and central government, which provides a significant proportion of the funding?
And, if trustee governance is an appropriate system both for national museums and for independent museums, then why not for major regional institutions, as has happened, with such conspicuous success, at Sheffield and York?
Pay
In the Evening Standard recently, it was suggested that it wasn't worth thinking about working in museums because even the director of the National Gallery earned less than the average chief executive of any municipal authority.
While this is true, I wouldn't pretend that this is the biggest problem facing the sector. It is more that years of public sector wage restraint has produced an increasing disparity between rates of pay between people working in museums and those who work, for example, in teaching, let alone in the private sector.
Acquisitions
How are we going to remain active in our core responsibility for collecting if we don't have funds available to buy things, if we can't apply to the HLF for acquisitions and if there is no central acquisitions fund? We have traditionally been machines for acquisitions, as well as for interpretation and display.
The MA's report, Collections for the Future, argued that we should all care at least as much about making intelligent additions to collections, alongside better use of what we already have.
As the president of the Museums Association, I have found the opportunity to participate in wider discussions with ministers and the DCMS about the museum community particularly interesting.
How museums should be funded; what, for example, should be the role of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council? It is odd to be the representative of all museums, rather than just a supplicant on behalf of the National Gallery by itself.
Two weeks ago, the National Museum Directors' Conference was asked to consider firstly, what external opportunities and challenges we face as a sector over the next five years; and, secondly, what internal issues we need to address.
The Olympics
It is customary in the arts sector to lament the fact that we won the Olympics, but I do not share this view and nor, I hope, do my colleagues.
I think that it should give clout to the DCMS in its forthcoming negotiations with the Treasury by suggesting that the Treasury needs to pay at least as much attention to issues of culture and sport as it does, for example, to trade and industry. The creative industries are now the second biggest net earner in the British economy after the financial services industry.
It means, crudely, that the Treasury should be helping, facilitating and nurturing the whole range of industries and institutions associated with culture and creativity.
Cultural tourism
I have been struck over the past three years by the contrast between attitudes to cultural tourism in, for example, Madrid and London.
My experience of Madrid is that the Spanish government is interested in promoting, supporting and funding its national cultural institutions. Having attracted the Thyssen collection to Madrid, a beautiful building to house it has been provided almost opposite the Prado.
Rafael Moneo has designed a huge extension to the Prado to accommodate major international exhibitions. I asked Gabriele Finaldi, the deputy director, how much it cost and he said he didn't know because it was to be paid for by the government.
The Renia Sofia, which already occupies a huge building on museum mile, has just had an extension added to it, designed by the French architect, Jean Nouvel.
Why are they doing this? It is not simply for the love of art, but because of national pride. The Spanish government wants to attract foreign investment to Madrid and high-spending cultural tourists to their capital city.
Digital environment
Are we doing enough to respond to the incredibly rapidly changing environment of access to information? Five years ago, Culture Online was launched with high hopes for it to be the biggest internet start-up company in the world.
In practice, its aims and aspirations have had to be curbed by less funding than was expected. It has concentrated its funding on special one-off projects of varying quality and success. Likewise, the many millions poured into the New Opportunities Fund and the People's Network do not yet seem to have given us the access we all need and which the public deserves.
Even in the National Gallery, which has devoted a lot of energy and resources to providing effective, user-friendly information about its collection, there is still a great disparity between what is publicly accessible online and the deeper levels of information maintained in the gallery's own intranet.
Lottery
We need to remember that the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) provides more funding to the museums sector than the whole programme of Renaissance in the Regions. We have probably witnessed the most new museum building projects, the majority at least partially funded by the lottery, since the late 19th century.
Making sure that the HLF remains a central source of funding for new capital developments and acquisitions must be a priority for the sector. While recognising that some lottery funds may be diverted to help with the Olympic programme, Heritage Lottery funding needs to be retained for the heritage itself.
Trusteeship and governance
What does a modern trustee board look like and how should it behave? What are the responsibilities of trustees towards fundraising and how does this affect their ability to act as representatives of the public?
Is there a confusion between the role of trustees and being guardians? What is the proper relationship between trustees and central government, which provides a significant proportion of the funding?
And, if trustee governance is an appropriate system both for national museums and for independent museums, then why not for major regional institutions, as has happened, with such conspicuous success, at Sheffield and York?
Pay
In the Evening Standard recently, it was suggested that it wasn't worth thinking about working in museums because even the director of the National Gallery earned less than the average chief executive of any municipal authority.
While this is true, I wouldn't pretend that this is the biggest problem facing the sector. It is more that years of public sector wage restraint has produced an increasing disparity between rates of pay between people working in museums and those who work, for example, in teaching, let alone in the private sector.
Acquisitions
How are we going to remain active in our core responsibility for collecting if we don't have funds available to buy things, if we can't apply to the HLF for acquisitions and if there is no central acquisitions fund? We have traditionally been machines for acquisitions, as well as for interpretation and display.
The MA's report, Collections for the Future, argued that we should all care at least as much about making intelligent additions to collections, alongside better use of what we already have.
