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About the Project    

Detailed information on the background to the project and its partners

Background
The Regional Museums Training & Development Project is one of nine projects funded by the Regional Development Challenge Fund (RDCF), administered by Museums Galleries Scotland (formerley Scottish Museums Council). The aim of the RDCF projects is to promote regional development and encourage partnership working between museum and heritage organisations in different regions. In 2004, the East of Scotland Museums Partnership was formed to put together five proposals for projects in the areas of Edinburgh, Fife, Scottish Borders and the Lothians, of which three were awarded funding. These were the:

Each project has a Lead Partner who has responsibility for the administration of the projects. The Lead Partner for the Regional Museums Training Development Project is Scottish Borders Council. The Lead Partner also provides £74.5k in-kind support in addition to the £300k awarded to the project over the next three years.

The project is funded until the end of September 2008.  However the key aim is to implement training opportunities which will be sustainable beyond the lifetime of the project.

The priority areas identified through research conducted by the Museums Galleries Scotland were: collections care and management;business planning; leadership skills; working towards accreditation; developing ICT skills; and, marketing and fundraising. Using these areas as a starting point, the project team conducted further research into museum sector needs specific to the East of Scotland.

From the team's findings, a rolling training programme was implemented from January 2006 to November 2007 to address the requirements of the region's museum sector. The programme was targeted towards the diverse organisations and management structures that exist within the heritage sector, being flexible but also providing structure to the training opportunities available. The programme enabled staff and resource planning to be done in advance throughout the year rather than as needs and resources arise.

In addition to the training programme, the project has initiated networking and partnership working between museum organisations and the regions. By developing networks and partnerships, the project has helped improve lines of communication between partners and stakeholders leading to a sharing of knowledge, expertise and information.  Partnership working has also provide the opportunity for support between museum organisations to develop opportunities for joint-marketing initiatives, sharing of individual skills, and funding applications and thereby increase sustainability within the sector. On a practical level this means that your organisation can access people and resources to help answer queries you may have on subjects ranging from paper conservation through to how best to market educational activities to schools.

In recognition of the key role volunteers play in the heritage sector, all training opportunities were available to both paid staff and volunteers. Whilst training was free to project partners, assistance with travel expenses was available through the Training Support Fund to increase volunteer development and encourage participation from smaller organisations. 

In line with sector workforce priorities for new entrants, the successor to the Training Support Fund has been developed as The Entry to the Workforce and Networking support fund.  This is specifically aimed at supporting museum career development activities, including travel, subsistence and back fill expenses up to first manager level.  It will also fund networking opportunities for project partners.

Project Partners
Any heritage organisation based in Fife, Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and the Lothians is entitled to become a partner of the project. The following list shows some of the organisations we are already working with:

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Stakeholders
List and details of the project stakeholders:

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Museum Forums
The following are all forums in the East of Scotland with an emphasis on visitor attractions and museums:

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