When I was writing Renaissance in the Regions, regional museums were in a dire state. Most were desperately under-funded and on almost all fronts there was a huge chasm between them and the national museums.
Eight years on and the first major review of the Renaissance programme has been published. The government accepted Renaissance in the Regions as the blueprint for regenerating regional museums in England and began supporting its principles and priorities with direct funding.
The review group - led by Sara Selwood - has done an excellent job in distilling evidence into a large number of recommendations. The review is not an impact study. It is a comprehensive assessment of the programme management process. The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council does not come out of it at all well.
Recommendations include that hubs should be replaced with "core museums" and a national board take over responsibility for managing the programme. The task force did not think that hubs were necessarily for ever. They assumed that their membership would be reviewed in due course and we imagined that a system of promotion and relegation based on performance might be introduced.
The brand is still good. There are tangible achievements. A host of imaginative and successful initiatives have touched a wide range of non-traditional museum audiences.
Renaissance has released a new people-orientated vigour in programming, especially in learning and engaging with new audiences. It has also made it possible for the nationals to work much more effectively in the regions and has complemented the Heritage Lottery Fund's investment.
What is needed now is to brigade the best practice and most effective programmes into a national strategy worthy of the name for those who use museums and those who do not. The strategy should have Renaissance principles at its heart but also encompass the aspirations and needs of the museum community in general.
It is not, nor was it ever, the role of central government to fund every museum in the regions. But we can see that it is feasible for Renaissance benefits to be extended beyond the hubs, through partnerships and special initiatives such as the network of museum development officers.
Most importantly, Renaissance has shown how government policy, social priorities, the wishes of the public and the aspirations of museum professionals can all be addressed within one programme if it is well managed and adequately resourced.
There may be a way to go before the promised Renaissance transformation is evident to all, but the review does enough to show that we are on the right track.
Stuart Davies is the president of the Museums Association
Eight years on and the first major review of the Renaissance programme has been published. The government accepted Renaissance in the Regions as the blueprint for regenerating regional museums in England and began supporting its principles and priorities with direct funding.
The review group - led by Sara Selwood - has done an excellent job in distilling evidence into a large number of recommendations. The review is not an impact study. It is a comprehensive assessment of the programme management process. The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council does not come out of it at all well.
Recommendations include that hubs should be replaced with "core museums" and a national board take over responsibility for managing the programme. The task force did not think that hubs were necessarily for ever. They assumed that their membership would be reviewed in due course and we imagined that a system of promotion and relegation based on performance might be introduced.
The brand is still good. There are tangible achievements. A host of imaginative and successful initiatives have touched a wide range of non-traditional museum audiences.
Renaissance has released a new people-orientated vigour in programming, especially in learning and engaging with new audiences. It has also made it possible for the nationals to work much more effectively in the regions and has complemented the Heritage Lottery Fund's investment.
What is needed now is to brigade the best practice and most effective programmes into a national strategy worthy of the name for those who use museums and those who do not. The strategy should have Renaissance principles at its heart but also encompass the aspirations and needs of the museum community in general.
It is not, nor was it ever, the role of central government to fund every museum in the regions. But we can see that it is feasible for Renaissance benefits to be extended beyond the hubs, through partnerships and special initiatives such as the network of museum development officers.
Most importantly, Renaissance has shown how government policy, social priorities, the wishes of the public and the aspirations of museum professionals can all be addressed within one programme if it is well managed and adequately resourced.
There may be a way to go before the promised Renaissance transformation is evident to all, but the review does enough to show that we are on the right track.
Stuart Davies is the president of the Museums Association
Links
David Fleming, MJ Comment, August 2009, p14
David Fleming, MJ Comment, August 2009, p14
