Museums are not doing enough to exploit their “social capital”—or their ability to improve cohesion within communities—said Peter Latchford, chief executive of Black Radley Culture consultancy, at the resilience to prosperity session at the Museums Association conference.
“The sector is not being brave and saying what is can do in relation to society as a whole,” he told delegates, likening the current funding and morale crisis to a meteor hitting the earth.
Latchford shared the findings of the recent digital research project Insight, which was launched last year by Black Radley Culture in collaboration with researchers from Bath Spa University’s Centre for Creative Computing. Ninety-five museums provided data, giving insights into the commercial operations and resilience strategies of a range of institutions.
“What we see in the sector is a tight control over activity,” said Latchford, likening management styles to Soviet-bloc style regimes. Museum management should be less dictatorial in its approach, said Latchford. “Key leadership roles create a sense of shared meaning,” he said.
“Size matters… and visitors are attracted to venues with a clear market position. Why do people come? They come for a cup of tea and slice of cake, and then see the collections,” Latchford added. His call for “clarity of purpose” from all museums prompted a number of contributions from the floor, as delegates debated whether their institutions are indeed fit for purpose.
Another hot topic was accreditation and why this may need to be revised. “Why do we persist that there should be a single standard for museums?” said another speaker, Alison Hems, course director in heritage management at Bath Spa university.
The session ended when Iain Watson, the director of Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums asked where change should come from in organisations, the top-down or organically throughout? “The most effective leaders must come together to deliver new models of joint delivery,” concluded Latchford.
“The sector is not being brave and saying what is can do in relation to society as a whole,” he told delegates, likening the current funding and morale crisis to a meteor hitting the earth.
Latchford shared the findings of the recent digital research project Insight, which was launched last year by Black Radley Culture in collaboration with researchers from Bath Spa University’s Centre for Creative Computing. Ninety-five museums provided data, giving insights into the commercial operations and resilience strategies of a range of institutions.
“What we see in the sector is a tight control over activity,” said Latchford, likening management styles to Soviet-bloc style regimes. Museum management should be less dictatorial in its approach, said Latchford. “Key leadership roles create a sense of shared meaning,” he said.
“Size matters… and visitors are attracted to venues with a clear market position. Why do people come? They come for a cup of tea and slice of cake, and then see the collections,” Latchford added. His call for “clarity of purpose” from all museums prompted a number of contributions from the floor, as delegates debated whether their institutions are indeed fit for purpose.
Another hot topic was accreditation and why this may need to be revised. “Why do we persist that there should be a single standard for museums?” said another speaker, Alison Hems, course director in heritage management at Bath Spa university.
The session ended when Iain Watson, the director of Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums asked where change should come from in organisations, the top-down or organically throughout? “The most effective leaders must come together to deliver new models of joint delivery,” concluded Latchford.