Taking Standards to new heights
Image: littlemoresunshine via Flickr
M&G NSW has been delivering our Standards Program regionally since 2002. Based on the National Standards for Australian Museums and Galleries, each year we nominate an area and contact all the galleries and museums within it to see who wants to climb aboard the Standards train. It’s been a fun ride and the Standards train has trundled through interesting territory, introducing its passengers to new friends—Management, Collection Care and Visitor Experience—and getting them to sit back to review what they do and how they do it. This approach has worked well for many years with over 125 organisations and most of the regional museums completing the program.
But now a new challenge looms. On occasion, one or two of the organisations within a nominated region weren’t able to participate in the program when the train was stopped at their station. Some were too busy and already heavily committed for the year; others were on their own journeys.
So to accommodate those who missed out, from 2016 we’re adopting a new model. The program will be available state-wide to organisations through an Expression of Interest. This way we can deliver a one-on-one program to a maximum of eight organisations, each with an individually-tailored schedule.
… over 125 organisations and most of the regional museums have completed the program.
In the second half of 2016 we will also be trialling a new second tier of the program (Level 2) which will be offered to some of the organisations that have already completed the program. This is an exciting transition as it means we are upping the standards. We’ll let you know more information as we get closer to implementing this.
The 2016 program carries a fee of $1000 which is about 40% of the cost of running the program, so it’s a definite bargain! Most of the former participants were supported by their local councils, so make them your first port of call in securing a ticket to ride. We’re happy to talk to them about the benefits of your involvement, so get in touch with us if you’re interested, regardless of whether or not you’ve lined up the funding!
Standards has been both bedrock and sweetheart program for a long time: fundamental in establishing long-term networks for sustainable community museums and galleries, and these changes indicate that the sector is going from strength-to-strength providing great visitor experiences and keeping NSW’s heritage safe and secure.
