NMDC Response to the Museum Partnership Report

NMDC welcomes the Museum Partnership Report published by DCMS today.

This report demonstrates the vast array of partnership work undertaken by national museums and provides a great platform for better knowledge exchange and engagement across the sector. 

Following the Mendoza Review and the Strategic Review of DCMS Sponsored Museums (2017), the report responds to the recommendation that while excellent work is already taking place, national museums partnership work needs to better shared and evidenced so it can be more widely understood and celebrated. 

The broad catalogue of activities captured in this report show museums acting as lenders, borrowers, researchers, schools, universities, advisors, trainers, mentors and experts depending on the needs of their partners. These activities in turn support families, teachers, learners, young people, carers, health workers, Government and other museum professionals.

The report shows that museums’ partnership working is extensive and not limited to museum-to-museum activity but instead covers a huge range of national and international partners to deliver different benefits to the sector, audiences, society and the economy.

The report also demonstrates how national museums’ partnership work takes place within a broader ecosystem of support offered from within the sector, from funders, sector bodies and networks all working together.

Following the publication of the report, and as a result of ongoing conversation between national programme and partnership managers, the national museums will explore better communication, collaboration and coordination of their partnership work. On the ground this means more sharing of ideas, evaluation and learning between museums.

The national museums will also continue to help develop a better environment for lending and borrowing, which is a key part of many successful partnerships.