Forum Connections Project Evaluation

Between 2020 and 2025, Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS) delivered the Forum Connections project, a nationwide initiative funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The project aimed to strengthen geographic museum and heritage forums in Scotland, who offer essential peer-support and opportunities for collaboration.

Forum Connections was launched in response to the growing need for place-based support and peer networks, particularly during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The project provided dedicated funding, training, and strategic support to help forums thrive.

Forum Connections supported 12 geographic forums across Scotland, each representing a unique mix of museums, heritage, and cultural organisations. The project delivered:

• A dedicated Forums Facilitator and MGS staff representatives to support each forum.
• Inter-forum meetings to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange.
• A Forum Connections Fund, awarding over £134,000 to support local projects.
• Training and facilitated sessions tailored to forum needs, including climate literacy, fundraising, and forward planning.
• Resources and support to help forums develop sustainable operating models.

The project was independently evaluated by Diffley Partnership, who conducted interviews, focus groups, and analysis of project documentation to assess its impact.

The evaluation identified 10 key recommendations to guide future support for Scotland’s museum forums:

1. With the agreement of any funders, MGS should continue to design and adapt support programmes to suit the needs and circumstances of organisations.
2. Refer to the Factors of Success according to forums found in the evaluation report in designing any roles or responsibilities for MGS staff.
3. MGS should continue to make its best efforts to acknowledge external funding and help beneficiaries of programming to understand attribution.
4. MGS to update key information about their support for forums and make clear as soon as possible. MGS should be clear on whether or how this will apply to forums with diverse membership which is not limited to museums.
5. MGS to create opportunities for forums to collectively consider and discuss ways to best support them in the coming period.
6. MGS to seek ways to share the activities and impact of the Forum Connections dedicated fund. For example, this evaluation report includes a compiled list of activities supported by the fund and the themes and examples collected through this evaluation.
7. Look into the most effective way for forums to share outputs going forward such as recordings of talks, toolkits, templates resulting from funded projects with other forum across Scotland.
8. MGS to help showcase and share relatable examples of collaborative working for the benefit of the sector and in connection with the museums strategy.
9. MGS to consider how to encourage collaborative funding applications and delivery of collaborative projects. MGS to explain whether there is scope for a dedicated fund, or ring-fenced funding, dependent upon its available budgets.
10. Consider ways to help forum committee members regularly share their experiences and learning from their operating models across the different, and unique forum.