As awareness of the huge impact that digital technology can have on museums and their work to engage the public increases, alongside an understanding that the focus needs to be on the impact of this work, not on the technology, there have been several recent initiatives designed to support and develop digital capacity.
The Digital Culture Compass is an online toolkit funded by innovation foundation Nesta and Arts Council England (ACE) to support arts and heritage organisations to integrate digital technology into their work. The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Digital Skills for Heritage programme promotes and supports skills development and leadership across the sector.
There is also Towards a National Collection, a programme led by the Arts and Humanities Research Council to create a unified “virtual collection” from the UK’s museum, library and heritage collections. These join existing initiatives such as One by One, a collaborative project to explore and develop digital literacy in museums led by the University of Leicester.
This points to a step change in the use of digital, as the sector develops strategies to embed skills across organisations. But there are challenges. One is the danger of duplication – after all, there is already a national online platform for public art collections, Art UK. This was built largely with public funding, and more than 3,250 UK collections use it to show their art.
Another issue is ensuring that everyone benefits from these digital support initiatives. It is vital that they reach organisations across the UK and that activity is not just focused on larger, well-funded institutions. Nesta and ACE’s Digital Culture 2019 survey found a growing gap in how large and small organisations perceive the impact of their digital work.
Museums also need to make sure digital projects cater for all their audiences, particularly those with disabilities. Plenty of work is going on to embed inclusive practice in the sector, and digital can play an important part in this.
There are so many opportunities for using digital technology. But the mistakes of the past must not be repeated, and digital initiatives must be developed in an open, fair and ethical way, to ensure scaleability, connectivity and longevity.
Simon Stephens, editor, Museums Journal
