Firstly, a huge thank you to everyone who filled out the survey last year. We know it takes time during the busy period over the summer holidays, so we really want to express how much we appreciate everyone who has engaged over the last 3 years. We had an incredible response in 2017 and you can see if your museum was one of them by viewing the back page of the following report. MDEM annual museums survey report 2016-17
This benchmarking survey is aimed at museums in the region who are Accredited or currently Working Towards Accreditation and the information received from your surveys will help us – and you – to demonstrate the social and economic impact and importance of museums and heritage sites both locally and regionally to funders and stakeholders, helping to sustain investment in our sector.
For the third year we are collecting data from across our region and, as a vital part of the sector in the East Midlands, your survey returns are hugely important, not only to support us in our advocacy but so that we can get a clear picture of your annual activities and support you better as your regional museum development provider. In tough times for museums every little helps, and your stats can help enormously!
From the 2016/17 survey we know that:
• There were a reported 1,893,764 visits to museums in the East Midlands
• Museums delivered 3,843 learning and outreach sessions, engaging an estimated 149,252 participants
• These visits represented around £25.6 million in gross economic impacts to the regional economy
• There were 3,893 active volunteers at East Midlands museums outnumbering paid staff 6:1 and contributing around 408,430 hours, which was worth around £2.9 million to the region
• Museums employed around 589 paid staff, which equated to 343.7 Full-Time Equivalents
(Based on the responses of 62% (71 of 114) of East Midlands museums within the Accreditation scheme responded to the annual data survey) – this year this survey is being rolled out nationally and we want to make sure the East Midlands has a big presence and one of the highest return rates!
The survey is short and will be easy to complete by a volunteer or member of staff with a good overview of their museum’s work. The questions cover visitor numbers and audience engagement; financial operations; volunteers and staff; educational work as well as challenges and opportunities for the future. The data that you provide should be for the period 1st April 2017 – 31st March 2018.
How to complete the survey:
You can complete the survey online here: http://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/EM17-18/
You can see a preview of the questions here:East Midlands Annual Survey of Museums 2017-18
If you are a multi-site, or a museum that hosts another Accredited collection within your museum, please contact museum.development@bristol.gov.uk for a bespoke survey form.
If you are unable to complete it all in one go then you can save and return to your answers at any time. The deadline for completing the survey is Friday 14th September 2018 and we look forward to sharing the results with you later on this year. You can see a copy of last year’s result attached to this email, and view previous years and county breakdowns here.
If you have any questions about the survey or need support in completing it then please contact museum.development@bristol.gov.uk for extra guidance.
