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A decorative logo of three dark purple stylised arches sits alongside the text "Museums Galleries Scotland". A text line underneath reads "Supporting Scotland's Museums

Strategy actions refresh survey

This year marks the midpoint of the seven-year Strategy for Scotland’s Museums and Galleries. This survey will inform the next iteration of the strategy. The strategy’s three strands - Connection, Workforce, and Resilience - and its 10 priority areas remain unchanged. Our focus is on reviewing the actions that sit beneath them. Your feedback will help ensure that the strategy remains relevant to you and the communities you serve. We invite you to comment on the refreshed actions.

The deadline for responses is Friday 30 October.

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1.(These questions are for us to group responses for analysis) Are you? (Please select one option which aligns best)
2.What type of museum or gallery do you currently work or volunteer for?
MGS Action
Resilience Strand
3.Starting with these actions for Financial Resilience, do you support each of these actions for MGS? Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement for each action
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Don't know
Support the sector to develop effective governance models and business plans.
Attract a diverse range of funders by advocating for the contribution of museums towards life in Scotland.
Enable museums to develop resilient and enterprising business practices by delivering training, sharing learning, and providing funding opportunities.
4.For Collaboration, do you support each of these actions for MGS? Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement for each action.
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Don't know
Demonstrate best practice in building sustainable relationships and effective, mutually beneficial partnerships and co-production.
Foster a strong relationship with the Scottish Government Culture Division and make the case for museums’ impact across other portfolios.
Connect museums and galleries to culture sector and non-sector partners.
Create opportunities for museums to connect and learn from each other.
5.For Climate Action, do you support each of these actions for MGS? Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement for each action.
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Don't know
Share tools and resources to enable museums to take action for climate and nature recovery.
Maintain climate sustainability networks and share best practice across the museum sector.
Support the museum sector's move to climate and nature recovery, including an understanding of intersectionality.
Advocate for the role museums play in climate resilience and nature recovery and facilitate participation of museums in strategies, opportunities and programming around this.
Through grant funding, require supported projects to consider and mitigate environmental impacts, support biodiversity, and contribute to environmental sustainability and Net Zero ambitions where appropriate, monitored through the use of grant conditions.
6.Is there anything missing for MGS relating to Resilience?
Workforce Strand
7.For Fair Work, do you support each of these actions for MGS? Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement for each action.
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Don't know
Support delivery of Fair Work practices by sharing access to relevant toolkits and resources.
Review existing Fair Work materials on the website, update toolkits and Fair Work jobs checker.
Ensure that organisations which receive MGS grant funding meet good fair work practices.
8.For Diversity, do you support each of these actions for MGS? Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement for each action.
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Don't know
Seek out and develop partnerships to support diversification of the future workforce and provide opportunities for all including a range of career entry and progression routes.
Promote recruitment and retention practices which actively support diversity.
Build the ability of the sector to support a diverse workforce through anti-oppression training and supporting connections between museums and communities.
Support an increase in the number and diversity of volunteers through engagement with programmes such as Make Your Mark
9.For Skills and Confidence, do you support each of these actions for MGS? Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement for each action.
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Don't know
Continue to lead on delivering accredited learning, including Modern Apprenticeships, through the MGS Skills Academy and increase our MA volumes to deliver more MA places. Create an MGS grant to support MA places that have face additional barriers to employment.
Develop structured pathway from School to Workplace - This pathway will include delivery of Marseum, Heritage careers activities and Heritage Careers Schools Qualification through to our MA offer.
Embed supporting skills and confidence using the Organisational Health Checker data and programming through Museum Futures to identify and support sector need.
Audit and collate all MGS skills and workforce development resources and materials and explore the opportunity to migrate to a centralised digitally accessible resource.
Lead Skills Investment Plan (SIP) reporting and mapping for the museums and galleries sector.
10.Is there anything missing for MGS relating to Workforce?
Connection Strand
11.For Inclusion, do you support each of these actions for MGS? Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement for each action.
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Don't know
Support museums to improve literacy and understanding of anti-oppression practice and the actions needed to embed this
Advocate for museums as centres for cultural democracy, where museums are proactively democratising their work by involving the people of Scotland in shaping museums work
Support the museum sector to work in a global context, learning from good practice in working in collaboration with those who have local, national and, international connections to better understand collections.
12.For Place, do you support each of these actions for MGS? Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement for each action.
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Don't know
Connect museums and galleries with wider place-based initiatives and policy developments to strengthen the role that museums can play as part of Scotland's social and civic infrastructure.
Celebrate successful place-based collaboration in the museum sector, share learnings, and connect place-based work at regional and national level.
Work with external organisations to safeguard Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in Scotland.
Ensure that museums and galleries are considered within emerging place and infrastructure policy and investment frameworks, and that their contribution to local communities is recognised and supported.
13.For Health and Wellbeing, do you support each of these actions for MGS? Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement for each action.
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Don't know
Support and advocate for health and well-being work in museums and galleries working within wider social and economic contexts (for example, Covid-19, anti-racism, climate, cost of living)
Promote and offer training and confidence-building opportunities to support health and well-being programming, including through MGS grant funding.
Identify and support opportunities and connections between museums and health and social care providers.
14.For Education, do you support each of these actions for MGS? Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement for each action.
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Don't know
Support museums to build relationships with the education sector by brokering introductions, advocating for the role museums can play in learning, attainment, and skills development, and connecting efforts at regional and national levels.
Support the sector to engage with areas of progressive change within the curricula through offering training, case studies, and relationship development with key partners.
Guide the sector on how to engage with the Anti-Racism in Education Programme (AREP), the Building Racial Literacy Programme (BRL) and Anti-Racist Mentors Project , which aim to articulate and embed anti-racism in school life.
15.Is there anything missing for MGS relating to Connection?
Sector actions
Resilience Strand
16.For Financial Resilience, do you support each of these actions for the sector? Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement for each action.
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Don't know
Undertake timely, informed, and effective organisational planning, governance, and delivery.
Increase and diversify sources of sustainable income.
Improve our ability to demonstrate the value and impact of museums.
17.Next, for Collaboration, do you support each of these actions for the sector? Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement for each action.
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Don't know
Share expertise and resources through local, national, and international forums and networks to build knowledge and strengthen collaboration.
Recognise the cultural power of communities and collaborate with people who have local, national and international connections to collections, fostering mutual learning and deeper understanding.
Collaborate with national, regional, and local groups and agencies to strengthen community resilience through sustainable tourism activity.
18.Lastly, for Climate Action, do you support each of these actions for the sector? Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement for each action.
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Don't know
Improve Climate and Nature literacy and understanding of the actions needed.
Encourage investment in energy efficiency and low-carbon technologies that reduce emissions and improve long-term financial sustainability.
Improve the environmental sustainability of museums and galleries by using circular economy principles, supporting local suppliers, and enhancing biodiversity.
Use collections, cultural programming, and indoor and outdoor spaces to help visitors to engage with the climate and biodiversity emergency.
Strengthen the role of museum buildings in climate adaptation by enhancing their resilience and considering how they can support communities during climate emergencies.
19.Are there any high-level actions for the museums and galleries sector you think are missing for Resilience?
Workforce Strand
20.Starting with these actions for Fair Work, do you support each of these actions for the sector? Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement for each action.
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Don't know
Invest in development opportunities for all staff and volunteers.
Implement fair and progressive practices across all areas of work including recruitment, pay, and contracts.
Pay the real living wage and only use zero-hours contracts in appropriate ways.
21.Next, for Diversity, do you support each of these actions for the sector? Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement for each action.
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Don't know
Review and improve recruitment and employment practices to attract and retain a more diverse workforce.
Understand and address barriers within organisational cultures, including embedding anti-racism and anti-ableism practices, to build inclusive workplaces that support and attract a more diverse workforce.
Value and embed a range of career entry and progression routes, including vocational learning, to provide opportunities for all.
Proactively increase the diversity of sector leadership.
22.Lastly, for Skills and Confidence, do you support each of these actions for the sector? Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement for each action.
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Don't know
Prioritise the development of skills essential to delivery of the strategy at all organisational workforce levels including vocational routes, leadership and ongoing continuous professional development.
Support the development of core museum skills to meet identified skills gaps
Encourage innovation and enterprise and positive leadership
23.Are there any high-level actions for the museums and galleries sector you think are missing for Workforce?
Connection Strand
24.Firstly, for Inclusion, do you support each of these actions for the sector? Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement for each action.
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Don't know
Improve understanding of museum audiences and proactively engage and sufficiently resource working with audiences who are underrepresented due to experiences of marginalisation.
Proactively democratise the work of museums by involving the people of Scotland in shaping museums work through co-production, to promote meaningful and equitable relationships
Improve literacy and understanding of anti-oppression practice and the actions needed to embed this
Ensure that the communities museums serve have an effective voice and are empowered to speak out and be listened to, in particular those who are underrepresented due to experiences of marginalisation.
25.Next, for Place, do you support each of these actions for the sector? Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement for each action.
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Don't know
Enable people to celebrate local stories and collections, connect regionally, and understand and share how they connect to national and international contexts, including those related to the legacies of empire, colonialism and slavery.
Help to improve places by actively participating in community life, developing meaningful relationships with communities and local partners, and working collaboratively with local and regional networks to respond to local needs.
Be places where local intangible cultural heritage (ICH), is valued, understood, developed, shared, and safeguarded, working with communities to ensure the long-term viability of cultural practices that they recognise as part of their heritage.
Be visible participants in the wider place ecosystem, contributing to local and regional conversations about local needs, challenges, opportunities and aspirations and being a trusted space for dialogue and civic engagement.
26.Next, for Health and Wellbeing, do you support each of these actions for the sector? Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement for each action.
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Don't know
Engage with, and co-develop, inclusive programmes to support health and wellbeing (including volunteering), by partnering with external organisations.
Engage with social prescribing (eg through volunteering opportunities and linking with providers in the local area).
Use museum spaces to nurture a sense of belonging with each other and our environment, challenging stigma and anti-ableism, better understanding mental and physical health.
Recognise, and support research on, the negative impact that exclusion, barriers, and cultural erasure can have on people's wellbeing, and develop programmes to redress this.
Promote and offer relevant training opportunities around workforce Health and Wellbeing, prioritising skills development in this area and supporting a thriving workforce.
27.Lastly, for Education, do you support each of these actions for the sector? Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement for each action.
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Don't know
Build relationships within learning structures (including after-school groups, schools, higher education and systems of education outside of school), working with pupils and educators to develop and deliver programming and activities.
Engage and build relationships across disciplinary areas to support learning in STEM/STEAM, Global Citizenship Education, literacy, climate, and social studies, helping schools to support pupils to become effective global citizens.
Support areas of progressive change and ambition within the curricula, including anti-racism, attainment, play-based learning, and the professional development of the museum sector education workforce.
Build relationships with teachers and learning practitioners, supporting the delivery of the Curriculum for Excellence and its review, to include an emphasis on embedding a decolonised curriculum and alignment with national priorities.
28.Are there any high-level actions for the museums and galleries sector you think are missing for Connection?
We are keen to highlight a range of examples which show the work of the sector in relation to the strategy priority areas. If you have an example you would like us to consider, please click on the following link to provide details. Examples of museum activity.
This information will be held separately to your responses above about the sector actions, so that those remain anonymous.