A new group of directors of museum services in England met for the first time last month.
The Core Cities Museums Group was convened by David Fleming, director of National Museums Liverpool, who said that he hoped it would provide a "powerful urban voice on national museum issues".
The group is made up of services in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield. Fleming said the national museums strategy and review of Renaissance in the Regions were at the top of its agenda.
"We believe that a positive and forward-looking national strategy for museums should lie at the heart of all future government planning and resource allocation," he said. "The impending review of Renaissance in the Regions should inform the national strategy and provide renewed impetus for us all to build on the undoubted successes of Renaissance."
The new group comes in the wake of the winding up of the UK Affairs Committee of the National Museum Directors' Conference (NMDC). A new NMDC working group to look at national-regional partnerships and chaired by Diane Lees, director general of the Imperial War Museum, has been set up. Lees said it will review current levels of partnership work.
"We need to pin down what everyone is doing. At the moment the British Museum has one strategy and the Tate has another. We need to find the common ground and see how that fits with the review of Renaissance and the national strategy."
A senior museum source said that he hoped the Core Cities group would "restore the balance of voices in the sector which at present is overly influenced by the national museums".
The Core Cities Museums Group was convened by David Fleming, director of National Museums Liverpool, who said that he hoped it would provide a "powerful urban voice on national museum issues".
The group is made up of services in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield. Fleming said the national museums strategy and review of Renaissance in the Regions were at the top of its agenda.
"We believe that a positive and forward-looking national strategy for museums should lie at the heart of all future government planning and resource allocation," he said. "The impending review of Renaissance in the Regions should inform the national strategy and provide renewed impetus for us all to build on the undoubted successes of Renaissance."
The new group comes in the wake of the winding up of the UK Affairs Committee of the National Museum Directors' Conference (NMDC). A new NMDC working group to look at national-regional partnerships and chaired by Diane Lees, director general of the Imperial War Museum, has been set up. Lees said it will review current levels of partnership work.
"We need to pin down what everyone is doing. At the moment the British Museum has one strategy and the Tate has another. We need to find the common ground and see how that fits with the review of Renaissance and the national strategy."
A senior museum source said that he hoped the Core Cities group would "restore the balance of voices in the sector which at present is overly influenced by the national museums".