The political and economic landscape has changed, and the advocacy environment has changed with it.
As a sector we have historically depended on our quangos to advocate on our behalf (the likes of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council and English Heritage). And they’ve been obliging.
But as a consequence of the Tories’ localism agenda, designed to devolve power to communities and individuals, quangos have fallen from grace. Considered unanswerable to the public, many face an uncertain future.
Pre-election rhetoric talked of our quangos as “grant givers”, a phrase that fails to recognise their role in developing the sector and advocating for it. Camelot has been lauded for its 5 per cent admin costs and our quangos have been duty-bound to follow.
To be leaner and meaner we’ve seen MLA “rationalise” over the last year or so, and Arts Council England (ACE) figures show it has reduced its admin and management costs to 3 per cent.
At the same time, these quangos have taken their fair share of pain in recent department for culture cuts – 3 per cent across the board and 4 per cent for ACE – a drop of £23m this year). Simply put, there are fewer people to advocate for the sector and a lot less money to do it with.
In March the treasury launched Reforming Arm’s Length Bodies, setting out restrictions around external lobbying and PR support.
It’s harder than ever to buy-in your advocacy cavalry. Add to this a growing cynicism towards communications in political circles and the advocacy landscape for quangos looks challenging. And it was recently suggested to me that the term advocacy is tainted by its proximity to the “dark art” of lobbying.
How much harder can it get?
Local authority cuts will have a major impact on museums. And with chancellor George Osborne inviting the public to decide where the cuts will fall, it’s crucial to advocate at local level. With localism in the ascendance, efforts should focus on communities as much as local authorities.
So who can advocate for museums? Simple: Museums themselves. It has been too easy to depend on others to lead the charge. We shouldn’t see advocacy as someone else’s job. There’s lots we can do. We can be battle-ready.
We can advocate with a unified voice. We can value our independent bodies and draw on their efforts. We need to find new ways to advocate, predicated on partnership, efficiency and value and directed to those on our doorsteps.
To help you, the latest ...Love Museums web resources are online (see link below)
Stacey Arnold, advocacy associate, Museums Association (as part of a Cultural Leadership Programme Peach placement).
www.museumsassociation.org/lovemuseums
There will be a ...Love Museums session at the Museums Association conference
www.museumsassociation.org/conference
As a sector we have historically depended on our quangos to advocate on our behalf (the likes of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council and English Heritage). And they’ve been obliging.
But as a consequence of the Tories’ localism agenda, designed to devolve power to communities and individuals, quangos have fallen from grace. Considered unanswerable to the public, many face an uncertain future.
Pre-election rhetoric talked of our quangos as “grant givers”, a phrase that fails to recognise their role in developing the sector and advocating for it. Camelot has been lauded for its 5 per cent admin costs and our quangos have been duty-bound to follow.
To be leaner and meaner we’ve seen MLA “rationalise” over the last year or so, and Arts Council England (ACE) figures show it has reduced its admin and management costs to 3 per cent.
At the same time, these quangos have taken their fair share of pain in recent department for culture cuts – 3 per cent across the board and 4 per cent for ACE – a drop of £23m this year). Simply put, there are fewer people to advocate for the sector and a lot less money to do it with.
In March the treasury launched Reforming Arm’s Length Bodies, setting out restrictions around external lobbying and PR support.
It’s harder than ever to buy-in your advocacy cavalry. Add to this a growing cynicism towards communications in political circles and the advocacy landscape for quangos looks challenging. And it was recently suggested to me that the term advocacy is tainted by its proximity to the “dark art” of lobbying.
How much harder can it get?
Local authority cuts will have a major impact on museums. And with chancellor George Osborne inviting the public to decide where the cuts will fall, it’s crucial to advocate at local level. With localism in the ascendance, efforts should focus on communities as much as local authorities.
So who can advocate for museums? Simple: Museums themselves. It has been too easy to depend on others to lead the charge. We shouldn’t see advocacy as someone else’s job. There’s lots we can do. We can be battle-ready.
We can advocate with a unified voice. We can value our independent bodies and draw on their efforts. We need to find new ways to advocate, predicated on partnership, efficiency and value and directed to those on our doorsteps.
To help you, the latest ...Love Museums web resources are online (see link below)
Stacey Arnold, advocacy associate, Museums Association (as part of a Cultural Leadership Programme Peach placement).
Links
www.museumsassociation.org/lovemuseums
There will be a ...Love Museums session at the Museums Association conference
www.museumsassociation.org/conference
