@LondonMusDev E-update for London’s Museums – 27 May 2021 Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND) The MEND grants scheme is an open-access capital fund targeted at non-national Accredited museums and local authorities based in England. Details of How to Apply are available on the ACE website. The scheme opens for expressions of interest from 01 June 2021. A webinar has been set up on 7th June for anyone considering an application, via Eventbrite. Closing date for applications: 05 July. As outlined in the ‘roadmap’ for England to move out of lockdown, museums are now able to open. The government has published the ‘COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021’ document, which outlines the plan in more detail. The move out of lockdown is reliant on four conditions which must be met before moving on a step – so these dates should be used as guides for the time being. Government has recently announced the Restart Grant scheme which supports businesses in the non-essential retail, hospitality, leisure, personal care and accommodation sectors with a one-off grant, to reopen safely as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. The grants are available now through your local authorities and consist of either up to £6,000 in the non-essential retail sector (likely to reopen on 12th April) or up to £18,000 in the hospitality, museums, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gym sectors. You can find out more on the Gov.uk website and by contacting your local authority. The Government has updated regulations around the information that re- opened organisations must collect for Test and Trace. Venues which have re- opened must now ask every customer and visitor (over the age of 16) for their information for Test and Trace, unless those individuals have checked in using the NHS Covid-19 app. Designated venues in certain sectors that must have a system in place to request and record contact details of their customers, visitors and staff to help break the chains of transmission of coronavirus. You can find the information you should collect on the gov.uk website under ‘Information to collect’. You can find more information on these changes on the MA’s website. The Accreditation scheme will begin its phased reopening this month and is now open for applications from museums and galleries in England applying for the first time. ACE has updated the FAQs on their website, which includes more information around what’s happening with Accreditation and their plans for phased reopening. You can find out more on ACE’s website. The National Museum Directors’ Council (NMDC) has updated the Good Practice Guidelines for Reopening Museums it produced with support from DCMS and the Museums and Galleries Working Group. This guidance is for museums that are planning to open in line with the Government’s roadmap out of the current coronavirus restrictions. There is also a related and accompanying checklist to the (original) Guidelines produced by AIM working with Museum Development England. If you would like help or advice with reopening, do contact your MDO. Government guidance on how organisations are expected to support the NHS Test and Trace for staff, customers and visitors is available on the Gov.uk website. Museums Association - Museums + Heritage Awards Huge congratulations to London’s museums who have made the shortlist! This includes London Transport Museum in the ‘Best Use of Digital – UK’, The Cartoon Museum as one of the ‘Fundraisers of the Year’, the Vagina Museum and London Transport Museum feature in the ‘Shop of the Year’ category and the Museum of London in ‘The Pandemic Pivot Award’ section. Further information can be found here. David Green, Director of the Florence Nightingale Museum, has been shortlisted for the COVID Special Recognition Award. You can vote for him here! Arts Council England’s relaunched National Lottery Project Grants have been designed to help fund organisations, creative practitioners and freelancers as quickly as possible. New supplementary guidance for museums can be found on their website. In addition, the relaxation of the need for 10% match funding has been extended until 31 August 2021, so if you don’t have the full 10% expected (or any match funding at all), you’ll still be able to apply. Further details about the National Lottery Project Grants can be found below and in this video. We have now started advertising further Skills Plus sessions for our 2021 – 2022 programme. We have just advertised new sessions on ‘An Introduction to the Spectrum Standard’ and ‘An Introduction to Fundraising from Different Communities’. We will continue to offer one-to-one advice to museums from their local MDO and specialists on Organisational Health, Audiences, Digital Technologies and Collections. You can find the support you need on this page. 1. Sector News: Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND); Accreditation Scheme update; Updates to Test and Trace requirements; Museum of the Year; Covid-19 Consumer Sentiment Tracker; Updates to Good Practice Guidelines; Furlough Scheme; Modern Apprentices and Museums; ACE Accreditation Newsletter; Redundancy Hub; Culture at Risk; 2. Funding and Funding Support: Coronavirus Restart Grants; National Lottery Grants for Heritage; National Lottery Project Grants; Creative People and Places; Trusts and Foundations for London Museums resource 3. Training, advice and resources: An Introduction to the Spectrum Standard; An Introduction to Fundraising from Different Communities; Regional Collection Care Training; Kids in Museums resources, VocalEyes – Self- description for inclusive meetings resource, Resources for planning for post Covid re-opening; Arts, Culture and Heritage Sector after Brexit guidance; Kickstart scheme; NCVO Volunteers’ Week; Volunteering during coronavirus; Ticketing resource; ACE Resources on Government and Wider Support; GEM – Transforming our Practice, Transforming our World; Getting your Collection Online – free webinar 2 4. Job Vacancies: Programme Officer, Community Engagement Officer, Curator, Exhibition and Oral History Project Officer, Youth Participation Officer, Volunteer Programme Facilitator, Digital Heritage Consultation, AIL Panel and Designation Scheme Panel Members. 5. Exhibitions and Events: Online family workshop; Public Events; Know our place: Sharing and Saving Whitehall 1. Sector News (to top) Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND) The MEND grants scheme is an open-access capital fund targeted at non-national Accredited museums and local authorities based in England. Details of How to Apply are available on the ACE website. The scheme opens for expressions of interest from 01 June 2021. A webinar has been set up on 7th June for anyone considering an application, via Eventbrite. Closing date for applications: 05 July. Accreditation Scheme update The Accreditation scheme will begin its phased reopening this month and is now open for applications from museums and galleries in England applying for the first time. ACE has updated the FAQs on their website, which includes more information around what’s happening with Accreditation and their plans for phased reopening. Guidance is available for applicants, to help consider any changes or updates to applications and returns, as well as a recently published supplementary note, outlining prompts for all applicants – whether new or returning – to help them plan and respond to Covid-19. All potential applicants should read both this note and the Accreditation guidance before applying or submitting a return. If you would like further advice around Accreditation, please do contact your MDO. Updates to Test and Trace requirements “Museum sector bodies have raised concerns about significant changes to the requirements for the UK Government’s NHS Test and Trace programme, which institutions in England will have to comply with when they reopen in May. The changes in procedure mean that all members of a visitor group age 16 and over will be obliged to provide their contact details; previously just one member was permitted do so on behalf of a group.” Read the full article on the MA’s website. You can find the information you should be collecting, when you re-open, on the gov.uk website under ‘Information to collect’. VisitEngland Covid-19 Consumer Sentiment Tracker VisitEngland has published wave 30 of their Consumer Sentiment Tracker which covers fieldwork conducted between 4-9 May. You can find this report, along with previous reports, on their website. Updates to Good Practice Guidelines for Reopening Museums The National Museum Directors’ Council (NMDC) has updated the Good Practice Guidelines for Reopening Museums it produced with support from DCMS and the Museums and Galleries Working Group. This guidance is for museums that are 3 planning to open in line with the Government’s roadmap out of the current coronavirus restrictions. There is also a related and accompanying checklist to the (original) Guidelines produced by AIM working with Museum Development England. If you would like help or advice with reopening, do contact your MDO. Government guidance on how organisations are expected to support the NHS Test and Trace for staff, customers and visitors is available on the Gov.uk website. Furlough Scheme The Chancellor announced that the Furlough scheme will once again be extended, now until September 2021. The government will continue to cover 80% of any hours an individual is unable to work, up to a maximum of £2,500 per employee per month. You can find more information on the Gov.uk website. Modern Apprentices and Museums On 09 June, Museums Galleries Scotland is running an online knowledge share event where you’ll hear from the Scottish Crannog Centre Apprentices as they discuss their vision for a fair, inclusive and accessible museum. You will also hear from the apprentices, their workplace assessors and the organisation about their experience of vocational learning. Find out more and book your place online. ACE Museums Newsletter Arts Council England has recently revived its quarterly newsletter about all things Accreditation. If you'd like to sign up for it, you can use this link.