Recommendation 2

The Department is missing opportunities to help museums and galleries address some of the common challenges to their resilience. The Department aims to have sufficient oversight of museums and galleries while at the same time allowing them to use the freedoms they have to operate at arm’s length. For example, museums and galleries are free to decide whether or not they use Government procurement frameworks or the Department’s planned shared services system for finance. If museums and galleries were all compelled to use the same systems, it would facilitate the creation of comparative cost information that is currently unavailable. Museums and galleries face common challenges and opportunities, which can have a real and direct impact, such as the use of AI and the 3 digitisation of their collections. The Department has focused on developing a community of arm’s-length bodies, including museums and galleries, to address these common issues, by establishing various forums to share good practice. However, it lacks the means to require the museums and galleries to take the necessary action, and helping them to address challenges, such as collection storage issues, could require significant up-front investment. recommendation The Department should identify the cross-sector issues it will prioritise in its support to museums and galleries and set out its plans for taking a more proactive role in these areas and driving value for money.