The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust has announce that IGMT, in partnership with Leicestershire County Council, has been awarded the Arts Council England (ACE) contract to deliver the new region-wide Museum Development Midlands programme from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2026.
Museum Development UK (MDUK) is a network of all national Museum Development providers and practitioners in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. MDUK’s overarching goal is to support diverse, inclusive, and innovative museums that welcome people from all backgrounds. The networks are an important resource for industrial heritage museums and sites.
IGMT are currently the providers of the West Midlands Museum Development programme. From April 2024 their team will join with the team at the East Midlands programme to create a new Midlands team, to provide continuity to the sector.
Arts Council England has said that it will give this new Midlands programme a grant of £571,420 per year for two years (2024-26)to fund its work providing business development support to museums and their workforces across the Midlands.
This is part of a wider re-organisation of the UK Museum Development Network that will see mergers of the existing services across England. The new Area programmes will be known as:
- Museum Development London
- Museum Development Midlands
- Museum Development North
- Museum Development South East
- Museum Development South West
It will bring the various partner organisations together to share insights and learning through a national programme, known as Museum Development England.
Further details about the new structures can be found via this link: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/supporting-arts-museums-and-libraries/supporting-museums/museum-development-programme/museum-development-2024-26
Industrial Heritage Networks 