At the end of February the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) announced a big shake-up of its operations that will mean the regional agencies will in effect cease to exist from June next year.
The move has been driven by a number of factors. The MLA's core budget was cut by 25 per cent as a result of the comprehensive spending review so there is a pressing financial imperative behind the reorganisation.
There is also an ongoing department for culture review of regional operations looking at how the department's agenda is delivered in the regions, and how it works with organisations such as the Regional Development Agencies and the Regional Cultural Consortia.
The review is being chaired by culture minister Margaret Hodge and aims to establish a more joined-up and streamlined government presence in the regions.
But the changes at the MLA also stem from chief executive Roy Clare's desire to avoid regional duplication and create a more coherent and unified organisation.
At the moment each of the nine regional agencies is an independent charity with its own constitution. In theory the regional agencies should work in partnership with the national MLA, but in practice this has meant ten separate organisations, each with its own take on what and how it should deliver in the regions.
To complicate matters further the chair of each of regional agency has a place on the national organisations's board - meaning that the regions could in effect out vote the centre if they wanted to.
The structure has been described as a mess by leading figures in the sector and Clare has made it his mission to sort it out. As a consequence the national structure is being trimmed down, core services will be moved to a new headquarters in Birmingham, and a new unified structure with a smaller board will be introduced with no more than four people employed in each region.
Clare's vision is that the smaller regional teams will deliver the MLA's strategic message and work closely with other regional organisations.
He then sees the hubs taking centre stage as the main focus for service delivery; so if museums want help, support and advice they can go straight to the hubs.
It is anticipated that responsibility for accreditation will be outsourced to the MDA, and that Culture24 (formerly the 24-Hour Museum) will be given the role of helping museums with their digital content and online presence.
While most of the regional agencies will no longer exist by next summer the exception could be London. Its budget for this year has been cut by 38 per cent, but it has funding from a number of other sources and both the London and national MLAs have said decisions about its future will not be taken until the outcome of May's Greater London Authority elections.
The restructure will inevitably lead to a reduction in the number of staff. There are currently about 150 people employed in total in the regions, and the mood is understandably gloomy among those who work in the regional agencies.
But so far reaction from people working in museums in the regions has been muted. There was only one abstention at the board meeting in February that agreed the reorganisation plans, and there has been little protest against the move since its announcement.
MLA Yorkshire has announced that it will wind up its operation by the end of the year but other regional agencies have issued phlegmatic statements echoing the national organisation's line about radical restructuring to improve service delivery.
The lack of objections could be indicative of how much the regional agencies are actually going to be missed. It looks like most of the services that regional agencies provide for museums - museum development officers; accreditation; advice and support; and training and development - will remain in place in one form or another.
The reality is most people in museums don't care who provides these services so long as they are there. And strong central leadership with a unified voice could be the key to success in future spending rounds.
The move has been driven by a number of factors. The MLA's core budget was cut by 25 per cent as a result of the comprehensive spending review so there is a pressing financial imperative behind the reorganisation.
There is also an ongoing department for culture review of regional operations looking at how the department's agenda is delivered in the regions, and how it works with organisations such as the Regional Development Agencies and the Regional Cultural Consortia.
The review is being chaired by culture minister Margaret Hodge and aims to establish a more joined-up and streamlined government presence in the regions.
But the changes at the MLA also stem from chief executive Roy Clare's desire to avoid regional duplication and create a more coherent and unified organisation.
At the moment each of the nine regional agencies is an independent charity with its own constitution. In theory the regional agencies should work in partnership with the national MLA, but in practice this has meant ten separate organisations, each with its own take on what and how it should deliver in the regions.
To complicate matters further the chair of each of regional agency has a place on the national organisations's board - meaning that the regions could in effect out vote the centre if they wanted to.
The structure has been described as a mess by leading figures in the sector and Clare has made it his mission to sort it out. As a consequence the national structure is being trimmed down, core services will be moved to a new headquarters in Birmingham, and a new unified structure with a smaller board will be introduced with no more than four people employed in each region.
Clare's vision is that the smaller regional teams will deliver the MLA's strategic message and work closely with other regional organisations.
He then sees the hubs taking centre stage as the main focus for service delivery; so if museums want help, support and advice they can go straight to the hubs.
It is anticipated that responsibility for accreditation will be outsourced to the MDA, and that Culture24 (formerly the 24-Hour Museum) will be given the role of helping museums with their digital content and online presence.
While most of the regional agencies will no longer exist by next summer the exception could be London. Its budget for this year has been cut by 38 per cent, but it has funding from a number of other sources and both the London and national MLAs have said decisions about its future will not be taken until the outcome of May's Greater London Authority elections.
The restructure will inevitably lead to a reduction in the number of staff. There are currently about 150 people employed in total in the regions, and the mood is understandably gloomy among those who work in the regional agencies.
But so far reaction from people working in museums in the regions has been muted. There was only one abstention at the board meeting in February that agreed the reorganisation plans, and there has been little protest against the move since its announcement.
MLA Yorkshire has announced that it will wind up its operation by the end of the year but other regional agencies have issued phlegmatic statements echoing the national organisation's line about radical restructuring to improve service delivery.
The lack of objections could be indicative of how much the regional agencies are actually going to be missed. It looks like most of the services that regional agencies provide for museums - museum development officers; accreditation; advice and support; and training and development - will remain in place in one form or another.
The reality is most people in museums don't care who provides these services so long as they are there. And strong central leadership with a unified voice could be the key to success in future spending rounds.
At a glance
June 2009: regional museums, libraries and archives councils will cease to exist. They will be replaced by a maximum of four people in each region employed by the MLA nationally
Posts managing specific programmes (including Renaissance in the Regions) and corporate services (including HR and finance) will move to new MLA headquarters in Birmingham leaving a core staff of fewer than 25 people in London later this year
Services such as accreditation will be outsourced to third party organisations
June 2009: regional museums, libraries and archives councils will cease to exist. They will be replaced by a maximum of four people in each region employed by the MLA nationally
Posts managing specific programmes (including Renaissance in the Regions) and corporate services (including HR and finance) will move to new MLA headquarters in Birmingham leaving a core staff of fewer than 25 people in London later this year
Services such as accreditation will be outsourced to third party organisations