The bulk of the Designation Challenge Fund (DCF) will be allocated to projects that take forward ideas from the Museums Association's (MA) Collections for the Future report, according to the funding guidelines.
The rising market value of art is making it an even more tempting target for international crime syndicates who use it as collateral in drugs and arms deals, the Rogues Gallery conference concluded last month.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has published guidelines for museums that want to collect or borrow cultural material from the UK and overseas.
London museums are hoping that a partial recovery in attendances following the July terrorist attacks will allow them to claw back revenue lost over the summer.
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has launched a consultation on its future priorities amid fears that the amount it will have to distribute each year will fall from £330m to about £200m.
A scheme to attract more black and minority ethnic curators to the sector could be expanded nationwide if the current initiative to place people in 11 London museums and galleries is successful.
European museum leaders are thrashing out plans to improve the mobility of collections across the continent following a conference held in Manchester at the end of last year.
A 20-year campaign for a national African and Caribbean heritage centre came to an end last month when it was announced that a site has been secured in London.