NI Executive sets out policy goals for museums

The Department for Communities has set out its policy goals for museums in Northern Ireland.

In a framework document published this month, the department outlined its vision for museums to “strengthen, connect and innovate” over the next 10 years.

Strengthen

• Build resilience
• Grow capacity
• Ensure sustainability

Connect

• Realise potential
• Build connections
• Forge partnerships

Innovate

• Foster innovation
• Fuel growth
• Increase reach

The document comes amid the ongoing development of a new Museums Policy for the nation, which will focus on how museums can make an impact in three areas: people and communities; places; and partnerships.

The document references how museums can support “positive health and wellbeing through engagement and participation”, as well as “inspiring creativity and supporting opportunities for life-long learning”.

People and Communities

• Supporting positive health and wellbeing through engagement and participation.
• Inspiring creativity and supporting opportunities for life-long learning.
• Supporting access to trusted information and resources.
• Working innovatively to drive participation and engagement.

Places

• Providing safe, accessible and inclusive spaces for everyone.
• Preserving local histories including collections, traditional skills and crafts, and stories for people and communities.
• Celebrating and representing cultural diversity through collections, programming and storytelling.
• Contributing to the public awareness of Northern Ireland’s environmental challenges through sustainable operations, local actions and provision of information and resources.

Partnerships

• Demonstrating the value of the museum sector in meeting government outcomes.
• Investing to support a vibrant and connected accredited museums sector.
• Working with others to preserve, grow and celebrate local heritage, arts and culture.
• Working innovatively with others to support positive outcomes for people and communities.

The framework was produced for the department’s Heritage, Culture and Creativity (HCC) Programme.

First announced last year by communities minister Gordon Lyons, the HCC programme is designed to address what it describes as the policy vacuum in relation to arts, culture and heritage policy in Northern Ireland.

Its goal is to demonstrate and develop the connections between investment in the heritage, culture and creativity sectors and progress on the wider objectives of the Northern Ireland Executive.

The first phase of the programme includes the aforementioned review and renewal of the Museums Policy, which was first created in 2011.

The new framework aims to “support the growth of the contribution of our culture and historic environment; the appreciation of this contribution and the role of the department as a focal point for this, helping it to significantly influence relevant strategies across central and local government”.

The framework includes a set of guiding principles that will form a common thread throughout the HCC’s policy development for the sectors overseen by the Department for Communities.

The principles are that those sectors and their activities should be valued by all; be inclusive, recognising and respecting the diverse makeup of our society; support equitable access to, and opportunity for, participation; enhance the lives of people and communities; and support sustainability in the face of economic and environmental challenges.

Sharon Heal, director of the Museums Association, welcomed the publication of the principles.

Heal said: “The principles that culture should be inclusive, support equitable access, enhance the lives of people and communities and support sustainability in the face of economic and environmental challenges are very much aligned with our Museums Change Lives campaign.

“It is good that the framework recognises the challenges around funding, skills, capital infrastructure and partnership working and we look forward to the new Museums Policy which we hope will address these challenges.”

Also this month, the Department for Communities launched the Northern Ireland Historic Environment Fund (HEF).

The grant programme will support the repair, research and regeneration of Northern Ireland’s heritage assets including listed buildings, scheduled monuments and community heritage projects.