Reflections on the Museum Futures programme interim evaluation report
Gillian Simison, Head of Museum Development at MGS, shares her reflections on the first year of Museum Futures, the key findings from the interim evaluation, and what comes next as the programme moves into year two.
Image: Staff at Dundee Heritage Trust participating in our climate training course. Credit: Rob McDougall.
Museum Futures is a pioneering programme of essential support which has been developed in direct response to the significant and ongoing financial and capacity challenges faced by the sector. Delivered in partnership with the Scottish Government and The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the programme offers funding and wraparound support, designed to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Scotland’s Museums.
An interim evaluation report was published by Social Value Lab, in June 2026, covering the first eight months of the programme’s delivery, from its launch in July 2025 to April 2026.
Looking back on the first year of Museum Futures, what would you say have been the key highlights?
One of the biggest highlights has been the way the sector has engaged with the programme. We’ve had a strong take up, with lots of organisations getting involved and completing organisational health checks. Through the programme we’ve been able to start to address some of the key challenges the sector has been telling us about for years, so that’s why we’ve had such a good response.
The fact we were able to make the leadership capacity fund available has been an important part of year one. We know the lack of capacity has been the biggest barrier for meaningful change and development across the sector. Combined with the Organisational Health Checker, this is really supporting museums to take a step back and identify clear strategic priorities.
There have been challenges that we know the sector has been grappling with for years and it’s really encouraging to have some things we can do to help. We’ve been so fortunate to work with some great partner organisations to provide training based on the real needs of the sector, and we’ve also been able to offer consultancy support where we feel this will really benefit the organisation. Being able to fund museums to take a risk with innovative ideas has been great too.
Providing support that is fully informed by the organisational health checker has been a huge benefit. We’re grateful for the way organisations have engaged with it, approaching it in an open and honest way, which has helped us, and them, better understand the support they need.
One of the unexpected highlights of the programme has been the value of peer learning. Seeing organisations come together to share challenges, experiences and ideas has shown us, and them, just how much they can learn from one another. It’s something we’ll be looking to build on in year two by creating more opportunities for museums to connect, collaborate and support one another.
What does the Interim Evaluation Report tell us?
What really stands out to me from the report is that progress is fragile – and is utterly dependent on continued support. Year one of the programme is only the start.
It’s also clear from both the report and our ongoing conversations with organisations that there is so much ambition within the sector. That ambition and those creative ideas already exist. What they’ve often lacked is the time, space and capacity to make those ideas happen and embed them. Museum Futures provides the opportunity to revisit those ambitions and finally put them into action.
The report also reinforces something we’ve seen first-hand throughout the programme: relationships matter. The relationship-led approach between the Museum Futures team and participating museums, was the highest rated element of year one. Taking the time to build trust has created space for honest conversations, meaningful support and a partnership that feels more collaborative.
The organisational health checker has also been well received. Rather than just feeling like it’s another hoop to jump through, it’s helped organisations step back, clarify their priorities and identify actions they can take. 96% of respondents to our recent survey reported this positive impact. That’s exactly what it was designed to do, so it’s been really encouraging to see museums embrace it in that way.
What are some standout examples of funded activities that demonstrate the programme's aims?
There have been so many – some of which are quite unique to the organisation, but others could be replicated by other museums. All are equally inspiring and help demonstrate how the programme is enabling museums to test new models, strengthen operations, and better serve their communities.
I’ve been particularly excited to see some excellent Pathfinder Pilots funded. They’re supporting collaborative initiatives that can be scaled across the museum sector, helping museums test sustainable new approaches and tackle shared resilience challenges. It’s been especially encouraging to see projects such as shared staff posts across the Museums and Heritage Highland Forum and an exploration of shared storage across Perth and Kinross, Dundee and Angus.
Other funded activity that has really stood out include the Museum of Lead Mining’s investment in low-carbon infrastructure, using the water of a nearby stream to provide renewable heating for the museum. The Scottish Football Museum is enhancing its visitor experience with a new pop-up retail shop, creating an additional income stream in the process. And Grampian Transport Museum is transforming unused space into a heritage vehicle garage and tool library, helping to generate income, safeguard specialist skills, and offer more hands-on activities for the local community.
What are the key learnings from year one that will help shape the programme in year 2?
In year two, we will continue to offer targeted funding and wraparound support, but we’ll also be deepening our learning around what are the conditions and factors that really support museums to make long-term change. We’ll also be looking to further tailor the programme to meet the needs of different types of organisations.
Capacity is still a real challenge. I think that’s loud and clear within the report and something that we will have to work with in year two. It’s really challenging to create capacity, so we’re taking our time to look at the Leadership Capacity Cohort and explore which models have worked and which ones haven’t. In the second round, we will use that information to better advise applicants.
We will check in with all participating organisations one year on from their original organisational health check conversation to look at progress and review priorities. Year one has been largely about stabilisation and building the foundations for longer-term outcomes. We’ll support organisations to put their learning from training into practice and to start looking at wider resilience issues, such as their connections with their communities.
A key priority for year 2 will be to get more pathfinder pilots underway. We are already having conversations with a number of groups around innovative, collaborative new models that could generate great learning for the sector and new ways of working that could be taken up more widely.
There’s still scope for museums who are not yet engaged to get involved, so we will be continuing to use the Organisational Health Checker to start those discussions.
The interim evaluation report shows just how important this programme is and the difference it’s already starting to make. We’re excited to build on this momentum in year two and continue working with our partners to support museums on the next stage of their journey.
