Partnerships with Purpose is a pilot project, supported by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, to provide opportunities for museums, charities and community groups to develop ways of working together. Events have been held in Sheffield, Swansea and London, and there is one planned for Fife.
To use a flight analogy, a good pilot takes people where they want to go and makes the journey enjoyable. The events provide space for different types of organisation to identify shared aims and develop ways in which to reach these aims together.
Speakers at our Sheffield event included Maddy Desforges, the chief executive of Voluntary Action Sheffield; Kim Streets, who leads Museums Sheffield; and Magid Magid, a British-Somali activist and politician who has been the lord mayor of Sheffield since May 2018.
In Swansea, artist Owen Griffiths and Zoe Gealy, the senior learning officer at the National Waterfront Museum, told us about their community garden project. And in London, Horniman Museum chief executive Nick Merriman discussed co-curation, while Maria Adebowale-Schwarte, from the Living Space Project, addressed placemaking and inclusive spaces in the capital.
At each event, health and wellbeing expert Michelle Howarth spoke about the role of social prescribing, where health centres “prescribe” activities that bring people together, increasing their chances of being happier and healthier.
The conversations at the events are being captured by artists from MoreThanMinutes in large, lively drawings. Emerging themes include wellbeing, walking routes, rural enterprise and the community as a critical friend.
A key message emerging from the events is that local people are a huge asset for developing ideas. “Find out what matters to them, not what’s the matter with them,” said one participant. Their neighbour agreed, while also questioning the idea of “us and them”.
This summer, we will produce Partnerships with Purpose materials and share what we have learned about effective support for partnership work.
To use a flight analogy, a good pilot takes people where they want to go and makes the journey enjoyable. The events provide space for different types of organisation to identify shared aims and develop ways in which to reach these aims together.
Speakers at our Sheffield event included Maddy Desforges, the chief executive of Voluntary Action Sheffield; Kim Streets, who leads Museums Sheffield; and Magid Magid, a British-Somali activist and politician who has been the lord mayor of Sheffield since May 2018.
In Swansea, artist Owen Griffiths and Zoe Gealy, the senior learning officer at the National Waterfront Museum, told us about their community garden project. And in London, Horniman Museum chief executive Nick Merriman discussed co-curation, while Maria Adebowale-Schwarte, from the Living Space Project, addressed placemaking and inclusive spaces in the capital.
At each event, health and wellbeing expert Michelle Howarth spoke about the role of social prescribing, where health centres “prescribe” activities that bring people together, increasing their chances of being happier and healthier.
The main focus of Partnerships with Purpose is learning from one another. Sheffield attracted a particularly diverse range of organisations, including Sheffield Dementia Action Alliance, Rotherham Rise, which supports young women, Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust, Heeley City Farm and Sheffield Cohesion Advisory Group.
There were also academics, funders and representatives from museums of all sizes, including the Imperial War Museum and Clifton Park Museum.
The conversations at the events are being captured by artists from MoreThanMinutes in large, lively drawings. Emerging themes include wellbeing, walking routes, rural enterprise and the community as a critical friend.
A key message emerging from the events is that local people are a huge asset for developing ideas. “Find out what matters to them, not what’s the matter with them,” said one participant. Their neighbour agreed, while also questioning the idea of “us and them”.
This summer, we will produce Partnerships with Purpose materials and share what we have learned about effective support for partnership work.
Amber Alferoff is the Partnerships with Purpose project officer at the Museums Association
