National Museums Liverpool

Strategic Plan

2017-2020

To be the world’s leading example of an inclusive museum service

The ambitions and values of National Museums Liverpool are perfectly positioned in a city with World Heritage Status, where belief in culture, sports, social justice and human rights runs through its veins. We are pioneers in engaging with people and communities through museums, culture and heritage. We change lives.

The importance of our work, through our world class collections, has ensured that we remain funded nationally through the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). We have been entrusted with eight stunning museums and galleries with exceptional collections that include world history, social history and extraordinary works of art. We bring these collections to life to educate, deliver social impact and fight for social justice. We cover contemporary issues,exploring challenging issues including modern slavery, racism, diversity and dementia. Our worksupportsand enablescommunities to have a voice; especially those that often feel isolated.

Our ambitions extend beyond Liverpool; we are the national museum in the North of England and our work has significant impact regionally, nationally and internationally. Truly inspirational work happens every day. We are committed to beingbetter, where everyone has a voice, new ideas are encouraged, creativity flows and we challenge each other to grow.

Our aspirationsfor the future focus on maximising our social impact and inclusivity. Our priorities are to support the fight against modern slavery, improve the health and wellbeing of the most vulnerable and have a positive impact on all who engage with us.

CONTENTSPage

  1. Foreword4
  2. Who we are and what we do6
  3. Our Mission7
  4. Our Values7
  5. Strategic Context8
  6. Strategic Aims9
  7. Strategic Objectives for 2017/1810

APPENDIX

  1. Action Plan 2017/18
  2. Strategic Objectives for 2018/19/20 andPriority Developments for 2018/19/20

1. Foreword

  1. The primary audiences for this Plan are National Museums Liverpool’s own staff and Trustees; our primary funders, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS); the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCR) and office of the Mayor of the City Region; and NML’s partners and supporters, regional, national and international.
  1. This three-year Plan outlines our priorities for the period, and how we expect our activities to meet our strategic objectives.
  1. After a decade of continuous growth in visitor numbers, 2012 was our busiest year ever, with more than 3.4 million visits. Potentiallyas a result of a subsequent reduction in levels of activity, during 2013 visits declined, and numbered 2.7m. Visitor numbers stabilised in 2014/15, and despite further cutbacks in our activities after the loss of more than 130 posts, numbers were maintained in 2015/16 and grew again in 2016/17; we remain among the national museums with the lowest grant-in-aid spend per visitor.
  1. A period of national austerity has lasted for several years, and continues to prove extremely challenging for us, given our role as a national museum service based in a Northern regional city. Cuts in our DCMS grant-in-aid since 2010/11 have amounted to a reduction of c.27% in real terms. We currently have a four–year funding settlement from DCMS, which provides us with ‘flat cash’ at today’s levels through until 2020.
  1. While we are taking action to increase funding from multiple sources, this will never replace the funding cuts of the past seven years. This pattern of funding has therefore resulted in major changes to the way we work, but we are proud of the social and economic impacts we have been able to deliver, alongside our international work.
  1. We continue to strive to improve aspects of our work that underpin our massive audience growth. We have seen and acknowledge the great efforts from colleagues who have proved over the past few years that they can respond to new challenges and demanding targets, while maintaining the highest professional standards. We also acknowledge the contribution our volunteers make towards ensuring that National Museums Liverpoolcontinues to provide a great service to our public.
  1. We remain committed to finding new ways to deliver a sustainable, viable service, including formally engaging with the LCR to align National Museums Liverpool with the city region’s overall strategic plan for culture through the proposed Local Cultural Partnership, as part of the Devolution agreement between LCR and Government.
  1. Our Trustees and Executive Team are determined to maintain the best service possible. We will strive to generate income from all sources, and we are prioritising income generation in all suitable areas of activity.
  1. National Museums Liverpool remains a global inspiration, a world model of best practice, providing an energetic, high performance and inclusive national museum service.

Sir David HenshawDr David Fleming OBE

Chairman Director

2. Who we are and what we do

  1. National Museums Liverpool is one of the world’s great museum services, one of the greatest multidisciplinary services in any city in the world. We hold in trust globally important museum collections, universal in their range.
  1. Because of our national importance, we are core-funded by central Government through the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and we are governed by Trustees who are appointed by Government.
  1. We are the only national museum organisation in England based wholly outside London, and we have a unique, fourfold role: we are the core museum service for Liverpool and the Liverpool City Region; we are the North West’s largest cultural organisation (and one of the largest and most important in the UK) ; we operate at national and international levels. NML is the national museum in the North..
  1. We have an international reputation for excellence and ethical behaviour. National Museums Liverpool is influential and our professional advice and expertise is sought regularly by other museums, universities, agencies and national governments; particularly in the areas of audience development, human rights, health and wellbeing, shared service models and the development of large-scale capital projects.
  1. All commercial income is retained to support the museums and galleries, and is generated by in-house staff; this ensures that we maximise the benefits of collaborative working.
  1. National Museums Liverpool is the single main factor in attracting cultural tourists to the Liverpool City Region.
  1. Having played a pivotal role in the cultural, educational and economic life of Liverpool and the North West for more than 165 years, our success can be measured in terms of how well we combine our local and regional roles with our national and international responsibilities.
  1. National Museums Liverpool comprises eight museums: International Slavery Museum, Lady Lever Art Gallery, Merseyside Maritime Museum, Museum of Liverpool, Sudley House, UK Border Force National Museum (Seized!The Border and Customs Uncovered, funded by the Home Office), Walker Art Gallery, and World Museum.

3.Our Mission:

To be the world’s leading example of an inclusive museum service

(‘inclusive’ means available to all, regardless of age, ability, background or other factor or characteristic which might limit a person’s access to what we do)

4. Our Values:

  1. We are an inclusive and democratic museum service; we aim to maximise social impact and educational benefit for all – museums change lives.
  1. Museums are fundamentally educational in purpose.
  1. Museums are places to explore ideas and for dialogue, which use collections to inspire people; we do not avoid contemporary issues or controversy.
  1. Museums help promote good citizenship, and act as agents of social change: National Museums Liverpool believes in the concept of, and campaigns for, social justice. We embrace contemporary issues and do not avoid controversy.
  1. Museums are visitor-focussed.
  1. Museums operate most effectively through collaborations and partnerships.
  1. We believe in dignity at work and valuing each other, however challenging the environment is in which we work.
  1. We believe in sustainable development and in theconservation and protection of the built and natural environment.
  1. We believe in innovation soas to keep our public offer fresh and challenging, while behaving ethically, and working with partners who support our values.

5. Strategic Context

Liverpool’s cultural offer, including its museums, is without parallel in any UK regional city. That cultural offer has been placed at the heart of a new Devolution model for Liverpool City Region. Because National Museums Liverpool is the biggest cultural asset within the City Region, we will engage with the new Local Culture Partnership (LCP) in the shaping of a regional cultural strategy that will create a 30-year plan to help combat a host of social and economic problems, and to develop the City Region’s culture offering.

National Museums Liverpool carries a great responsibility in terms of delivering first class museums that, as part of a wider pattern of cultural and educational provision, can enhance wellbeing, confidence and social connectedness in Liverpool City Region and beyond. In a period of public spending reductions this responsibility grows even greater; we can help mitigate the social consequences of adverse economic conditions by enhancing our income-generation, by reshaping the organisation to ensure we remain impactful.

Our visitor numbers have quadrupled since the year 2000. Despite recent cuts to our Government grant we have maintained a pattern of growth, and in the last financial year have increased visitor numbers by more than 7%. Funding uncertainty remains a big challenge.

National Museums Liverpool contributes a total of £42 million in Gross Value Added (GVA) and more than 1,000 jobs for the Liverpool City Region, rising to £53 million GVA and more than 1,200 jobs for the North West.

Liverpool City Region residents experienceabove-average levels of health deprivation. Applying national research indicators on subjective wellbeing, we estimate that National Museums Liverpool’s contribution to the wellbeing of visitors is as high as £130m per annum.

National Museums Liverpool carries the responsibility of generating tourist footfall within the City Region.

We are committed to facing up to these responsibilities, and our determination to provide free access to our museums (in line with Government policy), to programme our museums so that the content represents a diverse audience, allied with the highest quality standards and enormous variety, is at the core of this commitment.

In terms of politics, the Brexit vote in the EU Referendum has impacted on our organisation in a number of ways – in the prices we pay as a result of a fluctuating exchange rate; in the value of our investments; in our ability to join with European colleagues in EU-funded projects; in our ability to recruit and retain staff from EU nations; in our ability to raise capital sums or research funding from EU sources; in the attractiveness of the UK to overseas visitors; in the movement of collections and artists. With regard to the EU Referendum result, there are diverse opinions across the Liverpool City Region. Since the Referendum there has been a widely-reported increase in racially-motivated hatecrime; this places extra responsibilities on museum services, like ours, that believe in helping create an inclusive and tolerant society.

We need to be alert to challenges and opportunities arising out of international developments, including the election of a new US President, shifts in trading and political relationships, and other global issues such as climate change, migration patterns, human rights and ageing populations.

The explosion of social media use is having consequences for museums – more people are expressing opinions, there is more debate and controversy, and the speed of dialogue and response is increasing; museums need to be very alert to this if they wish to remain relevant. National Museums Liverpool continues to increase our engagement with our audiences, through Twitter and Facebook, and social media isnow a primary conduit for extending our reach.

6. Strategic Aims

We will over the next few years aim to:

  • Widen participation in our activities, thereby fulfilling our social objectives, especially by attracting diverse audiences.
  • Offer exceptional educational opportunities to people of all ages, needs and backgrounds.
  • Be alert to political, economic, social, and technological change (especially digital) to ensure we remain focused, fast-moving and relevant.
  • Improve our visitors’ experience by upgrading our buildings, displays and facilities, offering quality and variety; and ensuring that staff have the necessary skills to deliver an excellent, customer-focussed service.
  • Pursue research that leads to greater knowledge about our collections; develop our collections to make them more representative of society, and promote their exceptional quality.
  • Create a collaborative culture that reflects our values, where we inspire each other to work to the best of our abilities.
  • Increase the diversity of our workforce.
  • Work increasingly in collaboration with other agencies – education, health, arts, business, public bodies, Non-Governmental Organisations.
  • Engage with the LCP to help develop and deliver a 30-year plan for culture.
  • Assist the UK Government in the pursuance of its soft power agenda.
  • Achieve economic benefits through developing cultural tourism, and by helping build a strong image for the Liverpool City Region.
  • Behave in an ethical manner at all times, promoting sustainable practices, and providing leadership to the global museum sector.
  • Manage risk in a positive and effective manner.
  • Drive efficiencies in resources and augment them whenever we are able, to ensure real value for money.
  • Deliver more income through investing in existing revenue streams and augment them wherever we are able by creating new products and services.

In pursuing a strategy of combining audience growth and diversity with the highest levels of professionalism, and commercialising our activities wherever we can, we acknowledge that we have created a complex and challenging working environment.

This environment is characterised by regular review of the way we do things, by the pursuit of new ideas and methods, and by the constant re-examination of traditional museum practices and of our structures.

Our success in terms of audience growth and community engagement, combined with rising standards of collections care, demonstrate the validity of this approach, and our advice is regularly sought globally on how to manage a modern, relevant and impactful museum service.

The next few years will be characterised by more change to how we do things, and to the service we provide to the public, as we continue to adapt and adjust to the overall diminution of the resources available to us; remaining flexible and agile with regard to opportunities as they arise.

It is our capacity to manage ourselves imaginatively, while continuing to align ourselves to our Values, wherein lies our future success.

A list of our key achievements for 2016/17 can be found in our End of Year accounts.

7.Strategic Objectives for 2017/18

With reference to our Strategic Aims, our objectives over the next year are:

  • To deliver an excellent, socially inclusive, diverse, motivational, entrepreneurial and viable museum service.
  • To reshape our resources to remain financially sustainable.
  • To refine existing income streams, develop new sources of income, and increase philanthropic support through corporate partnerships and sponsorships.
  • To develop appropriate partnerships which offer strategic development opportunities regionally, nationally and internationally.
  • To engage with the UK Government GREAT campaign and other soft power initiatives.
  • To engage with the future Liverpool City Region elected Mayor to develop a 30-year plan for culture, including continuing to define a new role for National Museums Liverpool within the Devolution agreement between central government and the City Region.
  • To ensure that National Museums Liverpool is a place where people want to,and are proud to, work.

The key drivers in achieving these objectives are the need to care for our collections, ensuring that the public has access to these collections, andensuring that we stimulate ideas among our public. We will see further change to what we do and how we do it, but these drivers will remain at the core of our efforts.

Appendix 1 - Action plan 2017/18

We have prioritised the development of House of Memories, the International Slavery Museum, and the Sea Galleries at Merseyside Maritime Museum, and the delivery of major exhibitions over the next few years, to maximise delivery of our strategic objectives. Key enablers to achieve these priorities are sound management, income generation, advocacy, estates rationalisation, and employee engagement.

Adopting these priorities does not exclude the possibility of other initiatives being brought forward should additional funding become available.

Our Strategic Objectives have been expanded into the Action Plan below, to inform deliverable Divisional Plans and individual Forward Job Plans. The sections are organised alphabetically and have an equal priority.

  1. Advocacy
  1. Work with supporters, including Trustees, Patrons, donors,members, Liverpool City Region, and other partners, to advocate on behalf of National Museums Liverpool.
  2. Raise our education and community health profile so as to better engage with cross-government Departmental agendas.
  3. Improve our profile with local and regional politicians, public sector providers (e.g. NHS), businesses and strategic agencies.
  4. Raise the profile and impact of our exhibition programmes, ensuring they are attractive to funders and partners and contribute to wider regional priorities.
  5. Develop corporate partnerships and sponsorships through identifying and matching corporate social responsibility criteria.
  6. Maintain a national and international leadership role within the museum profession, through representation, media activity, print and social networks.
  7. Publicise and build upon the House of Memories model to explore wider engagement and ensure that we maintain its high profile with the public, health providers, carers, stakeholders and funders.
  8. Work closely with DCMS and the British Council and support the GREAT Campaign through developing quality museums and exhibitions that appeal to international audiences, businesses and investors.
  9. Maximise the impact and opportunities that theChina’s First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors exhibition provide in raising our profile regionally, nationally and internationally; for and beyond the lifetime of the exhibition itself.
  10. Work closely with local, national and international partners and stakeholders to develop and fundraise for the next phase of the International Slavery Museum, to ensure that it retains and grows its world-class reputation as a prominent human rights museum.
  11. Continue to create opportunities for Hugh Baird University Centre students to gain retail industry experience by setting live briefs for window display schemes at the Museum of Liverpool Shop.
  12. Work with The City of Liverpool College to continue to provide apprentice chef placements with the kitchen team to train and educate young caterers to positively impact the industry.
  13. Continue to nurture key corporate clients with the view to raising awareness of key exhibitions and capital expenditure with sponsorship or support in mind.
  14. Continue to work with the Civil Service Fast Track programme by applying for Fast Track secondees to support National Museums Liverpool on business development projects, thus raising our profile with the Civil Service and providing us with a high-calibre staffing resource at no direct cost to the organisation.
  15. Continue to promote and market the Retail, Catering and Events product offer by delivering the department requirements as identified in the National Museums Liverpool Trading (NMLT) marketing calendar.
  1. Audiences
  1. Strive to reach our target of 3m visits, with an emphasis on hard-to-reach audiences.
  2. Enhance the experience of our visitors by delivering a high quality service which is welcoming and offers engaging experiences, and by developing and delivering exciting education and exhibition programmes.
  3. Increase income generation, visitor satisfaction and dwell time, developing the potential for increasing income through further spends.
  4. Deliver and develop a programme of engaging exhibitions to attract local, national and international audiences, highlights of which include the Ancient Egypt: A journey through time Gallery(April 2017); Alphonse Mucha: In Quest of Beauty (June to October 2017); Transparency – Arts Council Collection (March to June 2017); Coming Out: Sexuality, gender and identity(July to November 2017); Black Salt: Britain’s Black Sailors (September 2017 to August 2018); Tales from the city(Oct 2017 to May 2018); China’s First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors (Feb to Oct 2018); and continue to negotiate and develop a major music exhibition planned for May 2018; and the biennial John Moores Painting Prize exhibition.
  5. Build engagement with the health and social care sectors, beyond the House of Memories training experience.
  6. Develop audiences. Strive to meet our target of 2m hits to the National Museums Liverpool website and develop audiences on other digital platforms and social media.
  7. Continue a programme of audience development to reach under-represented groups including LGBT+(Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Trans +) and BAME (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic) visitors, people from poorer socio-economic backgrounds, older and visitors with disabilities.
  8. Review National Museums Liverpool’s equality objectives.
  9. Roll out a visual identity across the Retail and Catering business which makes each outlet recognisable to our customers as part of the same brand in terms of product quality and service standards.
  10. Develop an events brand in order to raise the profile of the events division on a regional, national and international scale
  11. Deliver pop-up shops and ticketing operations where feasible, eg for the Alphonse Mucha: In Quest of Beauty exhibition and theChina;sFirst Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors exhibition.
  12. Ensure effective analysis and the capture of customer data from these exhibitions to enable NML to maximise relationships.

3Buildings and Museums