Cornwall Museums Partnership to close after break-up of NPO consortium

Cornwall Museums Partnership (CMP) is closing after the break-up of the consortium it led to successfully bid for Arts Council England funding last year.

The charity, which was set up in 2015 to provide strategic support to Cornish museums, announced earlier this month that it was unable to find a way forward in the “current challenging financial climate”.

The announcement comes after the arts council withdrew its offer of £1.86m National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) funding in January this year.

The NPO grant had been offered on the condition that CMP would act as the lead partner in a consortium of eight organisations, with other members comprising Bodmin Keep, PK Porthcurno, the Museum of Cornish Life, Falmouth Art Gallery, Penlee House Gallery & Museum, Wheal Martyn China Clay Works and the Royal Cornwall Museum.

However, following the announcement of the new National Portfolio in November last year, two partners, Royal Cornwall Museum and PK Porthcurno, notified the arts council that they were pulling out of the consortium.

Museums Journal understands that there was some concern in the Cornish sector about how NPO funding had previously been managed, and that it was felt that museums would have greater flexibility to develop and promote their own work by receiving the funding directly.

In a statement, the arts council said that it had “met with partner members who confirmed their intention to move forward as a cohort without CMP as consortium lead and collectively agreed to take a new approach”.

Arts Council England subsequently withdrew CMP’s conditional offer and ringfenced £1.86m to be delivered via a new group made up of the seven museum partners from the original consortium. The new cohort is led by PK Porthcurno.

Following this, CMP was offered £406,800 from the arts council’s Transition programme, which assists previous NPOs to wind down or move towards new operating and funding models.

However the charity said “an extensive strategic business and funding review has clearly shown that a secure way for CMP to move to a new operating model does not exist within the current challenging funding climate”.

CMP has confirmed that all members of staff will be made redundant and freelance contracts will cease over a phased closure period. Museums Journal understands that the charity’s focus is to support staff through the process and to end positively.  

The organisation’s Museum Development Officer role will continue until the end of this financial year. The Cornwall Heritage Awards, which the CMP established in 2018, will go ahead on 7 February 2024.

CMP is hopeful that some of its projects will be able to continue after its closure. The charity is in live discussions with funders about ensuring “the continuation and integrity of its exceptional work”.

It said: “This evolution of CMP’s work will ensure that critical funding can continue across the whole of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly’s museum and heritage sector. It will also ensure that the powerful CMP legacy and the year-round support for 70+ small Cornish museums and organisations, will continue.”

The statement added: “Everyone at CMP would like to take this collective opportunity to thank all the museum team members, funders, partners, collaborators, consultants, colleagues, board members, councillors and friends who have been part of CMP’s story to this point.

“They would also like to thank the current team and the board for their navigation, leadership, and empathy throughout this unexpected and challenging transition process.”