Our Impact

Our latest Annual Review highlights the support we have provided to the museum sector, our delivery on the aims of Scotland’s Museums and Galleries Strategy, and our achievements as an organisation. 

It includes an introduction from our CEO Lucy Casot and details about our values, grant-making, finances, and partners. 

Our actions have been made possible with the support of the Scottish Government, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the People’s Postcode Lottery,  Art Fund, The Baring Foundation, and Esmee Fairbairn.   

You can access our online annual review by clicking on the link below.  

We award targeted grants that build the resilience of Scotland’s museum sector and respond to its needs. 

We receive funding from the Scottish Government for distribution to museums and galleries. This supports the museum sector to develop their work and deliver against the priority areas of Scotland’s Museums and Galleries Strategy. 

We also distribute funding from other sources such as The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Art Fund, and The Baring Foundation. This third-party funding is often connected to specific projects and programmes that we run. 

In 2024/25 we awarded 54 grants, through 4 funding streams, to a value of £1,746,181. These grants supported 49 museum organisations across Scotland. 

We maximise our impact on Scotland’s museum sector by investing in the development of the workforce. 

We organise Scotland’s Museums and Galleries Strategy Symposium, an annual event which addresses the shared strategic objectives of the museum sector. The February 2025 Symposium was attended by 275 delegates.

In 2025 we completed our Workforce for the Future project. We succeeded in raising awareness of museum sector careers and developing key skills among pupils in schools across all 32 council areas in Scotland.  

Our Delivering Change programme, which aims to embed anti-oppression into Scotland’s museums and galleries, continues into its second year. In October 2024, programme participants attended a Parliamentary Reception which we organised on the topic of Museums Addressing Legacies of Empire and Slavery. 

Our Developing My Leadership course, Modern Apprenticeship programme, lunch and learn sessions, and one-to-one marketing support surgeries have all offered museum workers further opportunities to gain new skills and expertise. 

We also run skills-sharing sessions and Knowledge Exchange events for the museum sector workforce. Our staff write and commission advice guides on a wide range of topics, and collate case studies of best practice by museums and galleries across Scotland

We use our role as a national development body to amplify the voice of Scotland’s museum sector. 

We work closely with the Scottish Government to advocate for the strategic priorities of the museum sector, ensuring that the perspectives of museums and galleries are represented in relevant consultations, in Parliamentary Committee panels and inquiries on Scotland’s culture and tourism, and across the Scottish Government’s Culture Strategy. 

We regularly meet with museum services and museum sector leaders to ensure that we’re able to advocate effectively on their behalf. In 2024-25, we made 169 visits to 96 museums across Scotland.  

We work closely with UK-wide organisations to strengthen our advocacy and key messaging and find shared solutions and opportunities. 

We have established the Scottish Museums & Galleries Advocacy Group to support collaboration and knowledge sharing. 

By working in partnership with stakeholders within the museum sector and beyond, we’re able to make the most of our knowledge, skills, and resources. 

Our work on the delivery of Scotland’s museums and galleries strategy continues to involve close collaboration and consultation with a wide range of organisations and individuals. 

We work closely with VisitScotland on joint marketing campaigns and other supported activity to help raise the profile of museums and galleries to a public audience. 

We have an ongoing partnership with Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, and Creative Scotland to support the safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Scotland. 

The Scottish Museums Climate Network, which we created in 2024 to facilitate guidance, training, and conversations across the museum sector, now has over 100 members.