MGS calls on politicians to back a positive vision of effective public sector reform
MGS is calling on the Scottish Parliament to recognise the role museums can play in delivering public service reform, with the Museum Futures programme providing a model for innovation, collaboration, and long-term sustainability.
In our response to the Scottish Parliament’s Public Sector Reform Committee’s pre-budget scrutiny, we have highlighted the contribution Scotland’s 450+ museums and galleries already make to public life, from supporting health and wellbeing and education to strengthening communities, local economies and civic participation.
The submission argues that public service reform should not be focused solely on reducing expenditure, but on changing how services work together to deliver better outcomes.
Lucy Casot, CEO of Museums Galleries Scotland, said:
“Public service reform cannot just be about asking services to do more with less. It should be about creating the conditions for organisations to work differently, collaborate, and deliver better outcomes for people and communities. Scotland’s museums are already doing this. They are trusted civic spaces and community assets, working with schools, health and social care partners, local authorities and communities to deliver outcomes that reach far beyond cultural policy.
“Museum Futures shows what is possible when we invest in the capacity to change. It is helping museums move beyond survival, test new ideas, and develop more sustainable and collaborative ways of working.
“The first year is showing real promise, but this is not a quick fix. If Government wants to learn what works in public service reform, it needs to give promising approaches the time and investment needed to deliver.
“Museums are not a cost to be reduced. They are national infrastructure to be better used.”
Museum Futures provides a practical example of this approach. The £4 million programme, delivered by MGS in partnership with The National Lottery Heritage Fund, is helping museums strengthen their organisations, develop leadership, test new approaches and explore collaborative models of delivery.
We are calling for continued multi-year investment in Museum Futures, allowing the programme’s work to develop and its emerging learning to be shared more widely.
The submission also highlights the wider potential of Scotland’s museum network. With more than 450 museums and galleries reaching communities across the country, this national network of trusted civic spaces, collections, expertise, buildings, and volunteers is an under-used public asset.
We are urging politicians to consider how this civic infrastructure can contribute more fully to Scotland’s priorities around prevention, wellbeing, education, place, and community resilience.
