We’ve now finished reflecting on the hundreds of responses to the Museums Association’s (MA) Museums 2020 consultation.
We had written responses and comments in person, at workshops, at members’ meetings and at the MA’s annual conference, which was held in Edinburgh last year.
Many of these can be found in a report on the website, where further – sometimes heated – comments were made about the purpose and role of museums.
We also commissioned research into public attitudes to the purpose of museums and discussed the findings with stakeholders, as you can read in this issue (see p24).
Many consultation responses were positive and almost everyone recognised the value of aiming to have a social impact – even if some did not see it as part of their core purpose.
The MA board and senior staff reflected on the responses and confirmed the basic Museums 2020 proposition that museums should be led by a desire to have a beneficial impact on individuals, society and the environment.
Next month, we plan to publish the MA’s vision of the impact of museums. Museums Change Lives aims to encourage museums to raise their long-term ambitions for enriching the lives of individuals, building strong and resilient communities, and creating a more just society.
It will be aspirational and ambitious and we hope it will enthuse people in museums to increase their impact, encourage funders to support museums in becoming more relevant to their audiences and communities, and show organisations the potential partnerships they could have with museums.
The Museums 2020 responses included inspiring examples of the kinds of life-changing work being carried out by museums of all types.
Even though times are hard and some services are being cut, there are still many great things happening – museums are inviting in more people to participate, are becoming more outward looking, and are working more in partnership with others.
Maurice Davies is the head of policy and communications at the Museums Association
We had written responses and comments in person, at workshops, at members’ meetings and at the MA’s annual conference, which was held in Edinburgh last year.
Many of these can be found in a report on the website, where further – sometimes heated – comments were made about the purpose and role of museums.
We also commissioned research into public attitudes to the purpose of museums and discussed the findings with stakeholders, as you can read in this issue (see p24).
Many consultation responses were positive and almost everyone recognised the value of aiming to have a social impact – even if some did not see it as part of their core purpose.
The MA board and senior staff reflected on the responses and confirmed the basic Museums 2020 proposition that museums should be led by a desire to have a beneficial impact on individuals, society and the environment.
Next month, we plan to publish the MA’s vision of the impact of museums. Museums Change Lives aims to encourage museums to raise their long-term ambitions for enriching the lives of individuals, building strong and resilient communities, and creating a more just society.
It will be aspirational and ambitious and we hope it will enthuse people in museums to increase their impact, encourage funders to support museums in becoming more relevant to their audiences and communities, and show organisations the potential partnerships they could have with museums.
The Museums 2020 responses included inspiring examples of the kinds of life-changing work being carried out by museums of all types.
Even though times are hard and some services are being cut, there are still many great things happening – museums are inviting in more people to participate, are becoming more outward looking, and are working more in partnership with others.
Maurice Davies is the head of policy and communications at the Museums Association
