Business Diagnostic 2018-22

At MDEM we’re pleased to launch our new programme of support between April 2018 and March 2022. To adapt to new challenges and opportunities we’re launching a new way of working. To ensure we provide you with specific support which matches with your museums priorities over the next 4 years we’re asking all museums who wish to engage with us to:

• re-submit or complete for the first time the Business Diagnostic in April 2020 (launch date TBC)

We will be sending out reminders when we have launched the newly revised tool, and if you have previously submitted a copy in 2018 we will be providing you with information on your last return.

If you ware submitting for the first time, we will be providing some new guidance.

Business Diagnostic: (2018 version)

You can find a pdf and word version of the 2018 diagnostic here, to allow you to see the questions and discuss them with your wider team ahead of filling in the online return. 

MDEM Business Diagnostic Template PDF – we will be updating this to the 2020 version shortly

MDEM Business Diagnostic Template Word (So you can draft your answers)

The diagnostic is a self-assessment tool for museums. It is designed to help you to highlight and celebrate your current best practice, to prioritise areas of working over the next 12 months, and to provide you with a benchmark for your work going forward. The diagnostic asks an overarching question about your museums Forward Plan and then addresses six themes:

• governance and leadership
• financial planning and sustainability
• people development and management
• working practices
• audiences
• collections

Each theme is followed by several statements for you to score your organisation against between 0-4. The information in this diagnostic will be used by Museum Development and our contractors regionally to create targeted support programmes to address need. As we repeat the diagnostic annually it will also allow you to see how your museum has evolved, highlighting where you’ve developed and potential areas for growth in the future. We will also share anonymised information nationally to inform wider sector support for museums.

Advisory report: By completing the diagnostic you will receive a bespoke advisory report with a summary of your results and suggestions of where to access support in your highlighted areas of need.

How to fill it in: We only need one submission from each museum, but we recommend at least two people engage with the process. The questions will require someone from the management of your organisation, either a senior member of the team or someone from the governing body, as well as someone involved in operations. These can be staff or volunteers. It should take no longer than 45 minutes.

If you would like support in completing the online diagnostic, or have any further questions about the above process then please do not hesitate to get in touch with the MDEM team. We look forward to building a stronger and more ambitious museum sector in the region with you over the next 4 years.