Designation Challenge Fund
Application Guidance Notes 2006-08
Contents
1 Overview 2
2 Renaissance Vision and Priority Areas 2
3 Opening up Collections 4
3.1 Background 4
3.2 Outcomes 4
3.3 Consultation with stakeholders 5
3.4 Application process 5
3.5 Assessment process 6
3.6 Standards 7
3.7 Costs 7
3.8 Timetable 9
4 Data Collection 10
4.1 Background 10
4.2 Outcomes 10
4.3 Developing your data collection plan 11
4.4 Application process 11
4.5 Assessment process 11
4.6 Costs 11
4.7 Timetable 12
5 Evaluation and Reporting 13
6 Funding Agreements 13
7 Further Information and Queries 13
Appendix A Evaluation guidance 14
Appendix B Eligible museums for data collection strand 17
Appendix C Data collection templates 18
Appendix D General conditions of award 23
Appendix E Requirements for digital resources 27
1 Overview
For 2006-07 and 2007-08, £3.8 million has been made available from Renaissance in the Regions for the Designation Challenge Fund (DCF), with the aim of improving the management and accessibility of collections, and associated ideas and information, for the benefit of the user.
The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) will manage the DCF centrally and museums with Designated collections will be required to report to MLA on the progress of their DCF projects. Proposals should be drawn up in consultation with the Hub, the Regional Agency and other partners. The funding will be divided into two strands, as follows:
“Opening up Collections”
A competitive bidding fund open to all museums with Designated collections for innovative projects that take forward some of the recommendations from the Museums Association’s Collections for the Future report. This strand is intended to encourage the development of projects that have an impact beyond just one institution. Sharing what has been learned from projects, e.g. the results of new research or successes and failures of project methodology, whether through publication, seminars or training programmes, will be a condition of grant. Grants up to a maximum of £100,000 for a two-year project are available per museum service.
Data Collection
A non-competitive fund for all non-Hub museums that hold Designated Collections, to enable them to collect and collate core audience and other data, in line with the processes already in place for Hub museums. A maximum of £15,000 for the period July 2006 to March 2008 will be available per museum service.
More detail about the application processes and deadlines for submission for these two strands are detailed in section 3 and 4 below. Please note, in particular, that the two strands have different deadlines for submission.
2 Renaissance Vision and Priority Areas
For 2006-08 MLA is looking for a region-wide approach to Renaissance. The aim of the DCF programme is to promote excellence, raise standards and provide high-quality services, which provide the fullest possible access to the Designated collections in order to deliver the Renaissance Vision and Priority Areas (given below).
Renaissance Vision
Renaissance: increasing participation by developing world-class and sustainable museums. This vision has been developed following a review of Renaissance implementation and is aligned with MLA’s own Mission and Vision. This is what a world-class sustainable museum in the 21st Century should look like:
· users are at the centre of all the museum does;
· users represent diverse communities;
· users receive a high-quality experience through engagement with collections;
· museums and their users have high expectations of each other, met through-high quality services;
· museums support regeneration, sustainable communities and community cohesion agendas within their localities;
· collections comprising real evidence of the diversity of the cultural and natural history of people and places are valued and developed;
· knowledge and expertise is shared between institutions and all communities, where users bring their own experience and meanings to objects, and specialist staff actively facilitate learning, discovery and research;
· museums are learning organisations, where staff are developing themselves and their practice based on continuous evaluation;
· the workforce is representative of the diverse communities it serves;
· partnership-working is key to the development of services with and for users.
Renaissance Priority Areas
In order to achieve the Vision, all partners and programmes within the Renaissance framework need to deliver against the three Priority Areas, which are as follows.
· Priority Area 1: Increase and sustain user participation.
· Priority Area 2: Provide benefits to users by developing the organisation and workforce.
· Priority Area 3: Provide benefits to users through improving access to and use of collections, through better collections development, care and interpretation.
In order to increase and sustain user participation it is understood that collections and the organisation itself must be developed. These three priority areas are therefore interconnected and cannot, and should not, be tackled in isolation. This interrelation is outlined in the diagram below.
3 Opening up Collections
3.1 Background
The objective of this strand is to give all museums with Designated collections an opportunity to put into practice some of the proposals contained in the MA report Collections for the Future and the DCMS consultation paper Understanding the Future. The aim is to explore new approaches to working with collections and with target audiences. We want to give you the opportunity to stand back from the more traditional assumptions made about Designated collections, and have the freedom to explore their significance in terms of contemporary national life and their relevance to the understanding of broader themes and ideas. As the MA’s Collections for the Future report states, “New intellectual approaches…invigorate collections, and museums have a responsibility to be open to all alternative perspectives …museums need to stand back and stop being overprotective of their intellectual territory.”
In many cases, this will build upon work already undertaken through DCF and other funding. This round is intended to make the commitment to adopting or assessing new approaches more explicit, and requires museums with Designated collections to think about how they will share the lessons learnt through these projects.
This is a competitive strand for the period April 2006 to March 2008 and is open to all museums with Designated collections. Bids up to a maximum of £100,000 will be accepted per museum service.
3.2 Outcomes
The desired outcomes of “Opening up Collections” projects are:
· innovative reviews of the value and significance of Designated collections within a wider context;
· increased understanding of Designated collections and the stories they tell, for both existing and new audiences;
· the use of collections-based projects as a basis for new research and new approaches to access in its widest sense;
· the inclusion of skills development and the dissemination of good practice as integral parts of project design;
· the development of partnerships with other museums and with other types of institution.
We are inviting bids for projects under two separate themes.
Hidden Histories
Research and interpretation projects that reveal the hidden stories behind Designated collections whose place within their museums has traditionally been unquestioned. We wish to encourage innovative projects that demonstrate the contemporary relevance of your collections by teasing out previously unexplored meanings and associations behind the objects on display or in store. This may involve the redisplay of some collections, or the development of supporting programmes for existing displays. It will almost certainly involve new research, either by museum staff alone or in collaboration with other organisations and individuals. The process may include provision for documentation and/or improved collections management and conservation, where these are integral to the research and reinterpretation associated with the project.
Special Exhibitions
The creation of innovative and appealing exhibitions that either (a) use objects in your Designated collections that are not often put on public display or (b) combine objects in your Designated collections with objects from other collections. These special exhibitions must be based on new research rather than being simply a re-display. If you are keen to work on a major show and are constrained by exhibition schedules, then it would be permissible for the show to go on after March 2008 as long as the work we are funding, e.g. research and user consultation, is completed by March 2008. Other possibilities include virtual exhibitions, small exhibitions linked to existing audience development programmes and collaborations with non-museum venues. We would welcome collaborations on joint exhibitions between museums with Designated collections. As with “Hidden Histories”, you should consider how you might integrate your approaches to research, documentation, collections management and skills development into your project.
3.3 Consultation with stakeholders
Demonstrating that your project will have impact beyond your own institution is an essential part of your application. Examples include formal partnerships to develop new exhibition proposals and the development of training programmes that enhance access to and understanding of related collections.
You are encouraged to discuss your plans with museums, libraries, archives and other relevant organisations to maximise the benefit of this investment. You are also strongly advised to consult with colleagues in the Regional Agencies and the Regional Hubs to ensure that your project responds to the Renaissance Vision and Priority Areas.
All museums with Designated collections are encouraged to use the Guiding Principles set out for Hub museums in formulating their proposals. These can be found in section 2.3 of the Renaissance Planning Guidance – Hub Two Year Plans 2006-2008:
http://www.mla.gov.uk/documents/ren_hub_guidance06_08.doc.
3.4 Application process
There are separate application forms and separate submission deadlines for the “Opening up Collections” projects and for the Data Collection strand. The forms are available to download at http://www.mla.gov.uk/action/designation/desig_resources.asp.
Electronic copy
Please e-mail your completed application form to Matthew Bodley, Grants Team, at .
Hard copy
Please post one unbound hard copy, signed by the museum’s Director or Chief Executive, including any appendices, to Matthew Bodley at MLA, Victoria House, Southampton Row, London WC1B 4EA
Deadlines
“Opening up Collections” Monday 16 January 2006
Data Collection Wednesday 19 April 2006
3.5 Assessment process
Applications will be assessed by an external assessment panel made up of representatives of MA, NMDC, AHRC and MLA. MLA staff will comment on relevant sections of the applications and Regional Agency staff will comment on how the plan responds to the regional strategic context. These comments will be collated and an overall recommendation presented to the external assessment panel. The external assessment panel will meet to consider the recommendations and take the final decision on applications.
All applications will be judged on the basis of the information provided in the application form. However, each section of the form will not necessarily have equal merit in all cases but will be considered in the context of the aims and objectives of the project.
We expect all applicants to achieve fully Accredited status in the timescale agreed with the Regional Agencies. Your application may be disadvantaged if you are behind schedule.
All applicants will be informed in writing of the panel’s decision in March 2005. MLA’s decision regarding the award is final and appeals against decisions and recommendations will not be considered.
Projects that seek to do the following will be looked on favourably:
· use Designated collections in new ways and/or for new audiences through their reinterpretation or recontextualisation;
· carry out ground-breaking research in relation to the museum’s Designated collection(s) and ensure that the results of this research are made widely available;
· integrate documentation and/or collections management and conservation work into the project proposals, so that they too have demonstrable benefit for users;
· build sector knowledge and skills through professional development programmes such as training events or succession planning;
· demonstrate an impact beyond their own institution;
· include an element of partnership-working with a range of other organisations, which need not be restricted to other museums;
· make the role of the curator more visible, with regard to collections management, decisions about display and interpretation etc;
· provide curatorial support for underused collections within the museum’s own or other organisations.
3.6 Standards
All applicants must identify the standards to which they are working. Suitable frameworks include those listed below.
General
· Inspiring Learning for All: A Framework for Access and Learning in Museums, Archives and Libraries
http://www.inspiringlearningforall.gov.uk/
· Benchmarks in Collections Care for Museums, Archives and Libraries
http://www.mla.gov.uk/documents/benchmarks.pdf
· SPECTRUM, The UK Museum Documentation Standard http://www.mda.org.uk/spectrum.htm
· Any external conservation practices should be included on the Conservation Register managed by the Institute for Conservation (Icon) or an individual who is accredited by one of the recognised conservation professional bodies.
Online
· Compliance with Web Accessibility Initiative criteria (to AA level) is mandatory for projects that include website development.
http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WAI-WEBCONTENT-19990505/
· The MINERVA technical guidelines should be adopted.
http://www.peoplesnetwork.gov.uk/content/technical.asp
· eGovernment guidelines should be followed, including the eGovernment Interoperability Framework and Website Design Guidelines.
http://www.e-envoy.gov.uk/Resources/Resources/fs/en
· You will be required to make any digital content developed as part of the project available to services such as the People’s Network Discover Service (PNDS). See Appendix E for more details. You must ensure that your project budget and resources cover any work entailed in meeting this requirement.
3.7 Costs
Eligible costs
The following items would be eligible for DCF funding:
· staff (but see note below);
· training that is an integral part of the project, either for the museum’s own staff and volunteers or as part of a wider dissemination project;
· consultants;
· costs of developing policy documents and strategies, and/or commissioning research;
· equipment and materials for exhibitions and interpretation work;
· interpretation and design work for exhibition and hidden history projects;