What we do

Making the case to government and major funders for continued investment in museums.

Supporting members in taking action to address the climate crisis is a key priority for NMDC. Read more about our work on environment and ecology issues here. 

We work to foster closer ties and better collaborative working across the museum sector, including skills and collections sharing. NMDC also promotes the partnership work museums do, including through regular research and briefing papers.

NMDC supports and represents members on a range of collections management and cultural property issues, sharing best practice across the membership and offering a forum for discussion and debate.

As any museum with a website now has an international audience and because the collections of the UK's museums tell not just stories of the UK but stories of the world, many museums have developed ambitious international partnerships. NMDC supports and promotes this work, including through the annual Working Internationally Conference.

Working to ensure that museums and galleries remain at the heart of children’s learning and development and continue to innovate to reach out to all young people in their communities.

Working with members and external partners to drive the development of museum policy.  Recent areas of focus include intellectual property, copyright, restitution and spoliation.

Working with Government and third sector organisations on ways to increase charitable giving to museums.

NMDC provides a shared service for members, working on Directors’ shared concerns and priorities.

Promoting museums' digital working, sharing best practice and developing policy on digital issues such as maximising public access to digital content and promoting financial sustainability.