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Arts Council England, in partnership with CyMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales, Museums Galleries Scotland and the Northern Ireland Museums Council, have yesterday launched a revised Accreditation Scheme for museums and galleries across the United Kingdom.

The revised scheme focuses on the issues relevant to museums in the 21st century, including collections development. It puts a greater emphasis on visitors’ needs, encouraging museums to develop new and imaginative ways for visitors to interact with collections, and acts as a more focused development tool for museums aiming to improve.

Setting the standard

Accreditation sets the standard that museums and galleries should aspire to for the benefit of users, today and in the future. It sets out what good practice looks like and is the recognised quality standard for UK museums and galleries.

Alan Davey, Chief Executive of Arts Council England said:

‘Our ambition is for more people to experience and be inspired by museums and galleries. Accreditation is an important way to improve the quality of that experience and to help ensure each visit is as culturally rich as possible. We also want to encourage museums to develop and adopt innovative and sustainable ways of working that will allow them to be more resilient for the future, and the revised Accreditation scheme does just that.’

Open for application

The scheme reopens for application to museums and galleries across the UK from 13 December. Full details of the new standard, how to apply, and the new supporting guidance documents are available here. The process for obtaining Accredited status has also been streamlined to allow museums to focus on their aims and ambitions for the future.

Four organisations – Ashby de la Zouch Museum Trust, Bury Fusiliers Museum, Orkney Islands Council and Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust – which collectively operate 11 museums, were invited to test out the revised process in order to meet the new Accreditation Standard. They successfully met the criteria and are now the first museums to hold full Accreditation against the 2011 Standard.

Dr Delia Garratt, Head of Collections and Interpretation at Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust said:

‘The Accreditation Standard helped us take a good look at our policies, processes and plans in a clear and structured way. The external assessment and commentary provided by Arts Council England and the Accreditation panel helped us identify areas for improvement. It gave us confidence that we are operating to a good level of professionalism.’

There are currently around 1,800 Accredited museums and galleries in the UK, with around 100 additional museums expected to apply for Accreditation against the new status over the next two years.

Accreditation is a renewable status. Museums currently Accredited under the 2004 standard will be invited to renew their status against the new standard over a five year period, which will respect their existing planning cycles.

The scheme’s focus on improving visitor experience and supporting museums in becoming more resilient and sustainable reflects Arts Council England’s ambitions as set out in Culture, knowledge and understanding: great museums and libraries for everyone. The document is the companion to its 10-year plan for the arts Achieving great art for everyone and revisits the Arts Council’s strategic goals in light of its wider remit, making sure that museums sit firmly with the arts at the heart of the organisation.