Funding for museums will be based on criteria of "excellence" rather than top-down targets, if a policy review published last month by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is implemented.
In his report, Supporting Excellence in the Arts: From Measurement to Judgement, ex-director of the Edinburgh International Festival, Brian McMaster, said the DCMS and Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) should make "funding decisions based on professional judgements of what is, and what is not, excellent".
An MLA spokesman welcomed the report as "a far-reaching expression of ambition" for the arts and cultural sector. "We will now consider how we should respond and take forward the recommendations for the sector we represent, and for the MLA itself."
McMaster's proposals follow a decade dominated by performance indicators. A spokeswoman for the DCMS said: "We have no idea what the outcome will be. These are only recommendations."
DCMS performance indicators for national museums for 2006-07 include the number of unique website hits, repeat visitors and adults attending museums from lower socio-economic groups.
Culture secretary James Purnell insisted that there is not "a single new target" in the review. "If used long term and set externally, too many targets can demotivate people," he added.
Sandy Nairne, director of the National Portrait Gallery and a member of the McMaster review sounding board, backed a degree of performance-led assessment.
"The policy review is a great opportunity," he said. "But it would be crazy to drop all performance indicators. We don't want to lose important aspects of measurement as we must show good use of public money. I'm not going to stop counting the number of visitors or website hits."
But John Holden, visiting professor in cultural policy at City University, said the "definition of excellence needed further work". "Issues of access and social justice remain, and James Purnell seems to recognise that," he added.
To download a full copy of the McMaster Review, click here (pdf)
In his report, Supporting Excellence in the Arts: From Measurement to Judgement, ex-director of the Edinburgh International Festival, Brian McMaster, said the DCMS and Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) should make "funding decisions based on professional judgements of what is, and what is not, excellent".
An MLA spokesman welcomed the report as "a far-reaching expression of ambition" for the arts and cultural sector. "We will now consider how we should respond and take forward the recommendations for the sector we represent, and for the MLA itself."
McMaster's proposals follow a decade dominated by performance indicators. A spokeswoman for the DCMS said: "We have no idea what the outcome will be. These are only recommendations."
DCMS performance indicators for national museums for 2006-07 include the number of unique website hits, repeat visitors and adults attending museums from lower socio-economic groups.
Culture secretary James Purnell insisted that there is not "a single new target" in the review. "If used long term and set externally, too many targets can demotivate people," he added.
Sandy Nairne, director of the National Portrait Gallery and a member of the McMaster review sounding board, backed a degree of performance-led assessment.
"The policy review is a great opportunity," he said. "But it would be crazy to drop all performance indicators. We don't want to lose important aspects of measurement as we must show good use of public money. I'm not going to stop counting the number of visitors or website hits."
But John Holden, visiting professor in cultural policy at City University, said the "definition of excellence needed further work". "Issues of access and social justice remain, and James Purnell seems to recognise that," he added.
To download a full copy of the McMaster Review, click here (pdf)
McMaster at a glance
Removal of top-down targets
Work on diversity should be at the core of cultural sector
Cultural organisations should take risks
Every board should feature at least two artists/practitioners
All publicly funded cultural organisations should remove admission charges for a week every year
The 10 most innovative cultural companies to receive 10-year funding packages
Cultural organisations should embrace staff development
Removal of top-down targets
Work on diversity should be at the core of cultural sector
Cultural organisations should take risks
Every board should feature at least two artists/practitioners
All publicly funded cultural organisations should remove admission charges for a week every year
The 10 most innovative cultural companies to receive 10-year funding packages
Cultural organisations should embrace staff development
