Museums need to carry out a root and branch review of community engagement work, according to a report by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

The report, Whose Cake Is It Anyway? follows a two-year investigation into the way in which 12 UK museums work with the public.

One of the aims of the research, carried out by consultant Bernadette Lynch, is to help the foundation and other funding bodies direct resources in ways that will deepen community participation in museums.

A key finding is that a dependence on project funding for engagement work means that these activities remain marginalised in museums. Project funding leads to short-termism, a lack of strategic planning and pressure to produce positive reports to secure future funding, rather than honest assessments of what works.

Community partners were often left disillusioned by offers of collaboration and co-production, which result in what Lynch described as “empowerment-lite”.

In light of funding cuts, the report said “the time is ripe for a root and branch review of the purpose and fundamental goal of this work”.

Lynch said the best work often took place at small museums that were embedded in communities. She added that this could be scaled up to larger museums if new ways of working were adopted.

Piotr Bienkowski, a board member of the North West Federation of Museums, has developed a three- to four-year programme to address some of the issues in the report. Only the 12 museums that took part in the research will be allowed to apply for a share of the programme’s proposed £3m fund.

The Paul Hamlyn Foundation will decide whether to go ahead with the programme at a board meeting on 5 July.

The 12 participants were Belfast Exposed; Bristol Museums; Museum of East Anglian Life; Glasgow Museums; Hackney Museum, London; Lightbox, Surrey; Museum of London; Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales; Manchester Museum; Ryedale Folk Museum; Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums; and Wolverhampton Arts and Heritage Service.