The long-awaited national museum strategy for England will be launched at the Museums Association's (MA) conference in Liverpool in October.
Hedley Swain, head of museum policy at the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), said he hoped culture secretary Andy Burnham, who is addressing the conference, would formally present the strategy. "It is looking very positive. The strategy will be ready for the conference, and what we need to do is take what we have got so far and make sure that it is a radical, focused vision for the sector."
The strategy has been developed from the 2005 document Understanding the Future: Museums and 21st Century Life. A draft of the strategy was presented to the MA conference last year and it had been hoped that a final report would be published early this year.
Mark Taylor, director of the Museums Association, said: "What we need is a timetable that MLA is going to stick to, otherwise people will begin to lose interest. The strategy has to tie in to the cultural offer, the review of renaissance and the McMaster report."
Work on the strategy adds to a busy summer for the MLA. The restructure of the organisation is continuing, internal recruitment for all posts in the new structure has been completed, vacant posts are being advertised externally, and preparations for the move to new headquarters in Birmingham have begun.
The MLA is also overseeing the review of the Renaissance in the Regions programme (see p4) and will be conducting a review of the Portable Antiquities Scheme (see p15).
www.mla.gov.uk/policy/museum_policy
www.museumsassociation.org/conference
Hedley Swain, head of museum policy at the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), said he hoped culture secretary Andy Burnham, who is addressing the conference, would formally present the strategy. "It is looking very positive. The strategy will be ready for the conference, and what we need to do is take what we have got so far and make sure that it is a radical, focused vision for the sector."
The strategy has been developed from the 2005 document Understanding the Future: Museums and 21st Century Life. A draft of the strategy was presented to the MA conference last year and it had been hoped that a final report would be published early this year.
Mark Taylor, director of the Museums Association, said: "What we need is a timetable that MLA is going to stick to, otherwise people will begin to lose interest. The strategy has to tie in to the cultural offer, the review of renaissance and the McMaster report."
Work on the strategy adds to a busy summer for the MLA. The restructure of the organisation is continuing, internal recruitment for all posts in the new structure has been completed, vacant posts are being advertised externally, and preparations for the move to new headquarters in Birmingham have begun.
The MLA is also overseeing the review of the Renaissance in the Regions programme (see p4) and will be conducting a review of the Portable Antiquities Scheme (see p15).
www.mla.gov.uk/policy/museum_policy
www.museumsassociation.org/conference