Advocacy Toolkit Data
Useful data, reports and projects supporting the Key Messages and
Statements
This section is fluid and will be added to and edited as information and examples of best
practice projects become available over the period of the strategy. Members may add and
contribute to this section if they wish to. We will encourage members to add further details to
their projects, so that this becomes a valuable and useful tool. Some data from CyMAL’s
Spotlight survey will be incorporated to substantially enhance this section. Links will be
added to relevant sites and sources.
This section is organised around the statements, which were arrived at following consultation
with members. The statements are not strap lines as such, so we have suggested a few that
you could use or amend appropriately. You can of course create your own strap lines around
the theme of the statement. Supporting each statement is an information bank of useful
statistics for you to use and some case studies as examples of best practice and key outcomes.
These can be used to support an advocacy campaign and underpin the key messages and
statements. The examples have been linked to the statement of best fit, but many can be used
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to support more than one statement.
Statement 1
Museums collect and preserve the community’s heritage
Alternative strap lines
 Museums collect your heritage
 Collecting your heritage
 Preserving your past
 Preserving our past
 Saving a community’s heritage
This statement covers the general area of collecting and preserving or conserving museum
objects. This is a fundamental aim of museums. Spotlight data will be available and added
here in the autumn and will provide statistics about purchase and HLF grants for collections,
the volume of material and the kind of material in Welsh museum collections and their
importance and significance. There will also be conservation and storage data which could
underpin this statement. The Effective Collections Project Pilot would be included here.
Key Statistics
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Good Practice examples
Statement 2
Museums are significant centres of formal and informal learning
Alternative strap lines
 Museums are centres for learning
 Learning through objects
 Handling the past
 Museums and learning
 Museums and schools
 Museums – Not just schools
The new Spotlight data will provide statistics about school visits and activities, levels of
provision, Foundation stage, Learning and access staff employed etc
Information from Scottish surveys indicates a 90% enjoyment rate of pupils visiting
museums. Museums tend have proportionately higher numbers of special needs schools
visiting. Museums and learning is not only about formal provision for schools. There are
good practice examples from museums providing formal and informal learning to adults and
those with special needs.
Key Statistics

Education work with adults with learning difficulties; 3rd age groups. Welshpool
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Museum on Wheels goes to after and out of school clubs. Wrexham
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Improved services to schools South West Wales Museums(SWM) Ceredigion
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New education work for Foundation phase Caerphilly
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Promoting creative learning amongst older people (Gwanwyn Project) [also at
Ceredigion]. Including interviews and exhibitions Abergavenny
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Developed self directed workshops around the Castle site for school pupils.
Abergavenny
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Good practice examples
 Watercolour classes connected to Penry Williams exhibition. Merthyr
Statement 3
Museums provide services to children and young people
Alternative strap lines
 Museums for young people
 Museums for families
 Holiday workshops and events
 Work Experience in Museums
 Young Roots Projects
This message covers areas of museum activity and outreach directed at young people other
than the formal learning curriculum focussed provision. The Spotlight data will provide some
statistical information but also further examples of best or good practice.
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Working with local leisure centres – play based activities Welshpool
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Saturday workshops for disadvantaged children Egypt Centre
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Young Volunteers scheme over the summer hols. Caerphilly
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Working with youth clubs Wrexham
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Holiday Scheme with Youth Service Abergavenny
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Key Statistics
Good Practice Examples
 Work on art and heritage projects with local young people Merthyr
Statement 4
Museums make an important contribution to local identity, a sense of place and
belonging
Alternative strap lines
 Museums and Belonging
 My Heritage, My Community
 Museums Building Communities
This message is about the role museum collections have in local heritage, community
cohesion & identity and a sense of place. Museums are heavily involved in local history
publications either directly or through facilitating research. Spotlight will provide data about
the significance of collections and examples of best practice.
Key Statistics

Community project – recording people’s memories of lost communities Merthyr

Making collections work more accessible (exhibition related to collections work)
Welshpool
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Recording agricultural memories (related to objects in collections etc.) Ceredigion
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Research into Welsh costume Ceredigion
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Collections work – rationalisation, contemporary collecting. Ceredigion
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Collections/local history website launched recently. Caerphilly
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HLF funded participation project with local history societies and groups Caerphilly
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Pontypool Townscape and Community project (HLF) will record buildings in depth lots of community input. Pontypool
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Local history publications and published local walk leaflets; a town trail and a new
town guide. Montgomery
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Research into 19th century welsh dolls to understand welsh national costume
Ceredigion museum, AC NMW and Cardiff University
Project summary Welsh costume is a central component of our national visual culture. Yet in terms of
detailed scholarly research, very little attention has been paid to its origins and development. To date,
most published material in this field has concentrated primarily on evidence found in 18th and early 19th
century travelogues and prints which tend over-emphasise the unusual and the quaint. Although adult
and children’s costumes have survived in museum collections, these specimens are difficult to date
accurately and are often 20th century recreations produced for national pageants, fancy dress or folk
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Good Practice Examples
dancing.
Doliau is a partnership project to examine the establishment and development of Welsh national
costume by studying 19th century dolls in public collections. The project aims to produce a catalogue of
19th century Welsh dolls in public collections in the UK making it available online, carry out research on
those dolls to understand how they were made, create a bilingual terminology for describing them and
create a publication and exhibitions. We also hope to train museums staff in specialist handling
techniques. At the end of the project we will also know if there is more research possible on the
collections.
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Once complete we hope that we will have established the research potential of 19 th century Welsh dolls
as a component of the future study of Welsh costume, answered questions for the public on the origin
and ‘true nature’ of Welsh costume, contributed to the understanding of the place of Welsh costume and
the role of women in defining Welsh national identity and increased standards of care for historic dolls.
HendersonLJ@cardiff.ac.uk
Statement 5
Museums have accessible, well qualified and committed staff
Alternative strap lines
 The Museum Expert
 Your Curator
This message is about the importance of museum staff to the community as a source of free
expertise for talks, lectures and advice. It is about museum identification services and the
involvement of communities in heritage. Spotlight will provide data on museum staffing
levels, number of Development Officers, outreach activities and current good practice.
Key Statistics

Staff expertise a source of heritage advice Every Museum

Heritage Officer, community asset, works with local volunteer run museums.
Blaenau Gwent

Portable Antiquities Scheme National Museum Wales
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Museum Development Officer Post Conwy
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Good Practice Examples
Statement 6
Museums work in partnerships with numerous organisations
Alternative Strap lines
 Museums in Partnership
 Sharing Treasures
 Museums working together
This message fits in well with current agendas including the museum strategy. Working in
partnership saves money, shares resources and represents value for money. Many museum
partnerships were for specific projects and were more about working together than real
partnerships. This is changing and the groups in north and south west Wales are good
examples of more structured partnerships. Spotlight will provide more examples of good
practice.
Key Statistics

South-west Wales education partnership 5 local authorities

Museum Partnership North Wales various partnership projects

Loan from NMW and BM Welshpool

Lots of joint working on a High Street Histories project (Royal Comm, NLW, Cadw
etc) Ceredigion

Partnership education project with Cadw at Caerphilly Castle Caerphilly

Work with Soroptomists on a book on slavery and children sold throughout Wales.
Tenby

Involvement of town in important exhibitions (R. Recorde) Tenby

The Sharing Treasures Programme AC NMW

Research into 19th century welsh dolls to understand welsh national costume A
partnership between Ceredigion museum, AC NMW and Cardiff University
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Good Practice Examples
Statement 7
Museums provide services to diverse communities
Alternative Strap lines
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Museums and community cohesion
Museums for All
Museums breaking down barriers
Museums play an impressive range of roles beyond simply an archive of the past. There are
various reports which explore and define their role in economic regeneration, social
inclusion, employment, leisure provision, social welfare, community hub and business start
ups. Museums value a common human heritage and therefore help with community cohesion.
The importance of a wide variety of ‘communities’ involved with museums especially
through informal partnerships can be emphasised. Many museums are owned by
communities. There are social inclusion benefits from projects such as creative
intergenerational encounters. There is evidence to show that people value museums as safe
and neutral public spaces. The invaluable role of volunteers in museums can be stressed. It is
easy to show how museums link to government outcomes.
This report is worth looking at in this context. MGS: Cornerstones of Communities –
museums transforming society Sept 2009
http://www.museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk/publications/publication/275/cornerstones-ofcommunities-mgs-stakeholder-summary
Key Statistics

Involvement in multicultural events. Merthyr

Facebook site and tradition web and on line catalogue. Egypt Centre

Heritage road shows at community events with instantly available resources
developing new audiences by engaging with people where they live and work.
Accesses new volunteers and raises profile of museum. Wrexham

Small projects to reach wider audiences – more lectures which raises funds too.
Montgomery
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Widening audiences through different opening times. Montgomery

Equality – exploring sexuality, touch tours, signed interpretation, deaf awareness
events Denbighshire
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Good Practice Examples
Diverse culture – working with Black Environment Network (community quilt)
Denbighshire

Breaking the Chains project – targeting BME and under 25s specifically so they
understand and enjoy the contribution of Newport’s communities to Newport’s
heritage and future. Also working with homeless groups. Newport/National
Waterfront Museum Swansea
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Statement 8
Museums engage volunteers and many are managed by the third sector
Alternative Strap lines
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Museums in the independent sector
Voluntary run museums
Helping to run museums
This statement is about the sector using volunteers extensively. Museums have a long history
of voluntary or third sector involvement. Many of the county museums in Wales were
founded by local societies or groups. There are several independent voluntary run museums
in Wales. Museums have always subscribed to the big society concept. By working as
volunteers in museums people are given a sense of belonging and purpose. Museums create
new social networks, and make a positive contribution to the community cohesion and
confidence through their extensive involvement with volunteers. This area was explored in
the Spotlight survey and useful data will be available.
Key Statistics
Good Practice Examples

The volunteer programme Egypt Centre

Volunteers working on reserve collections Caerphilly

Strong group of Friends and volunteers. Caerphilly

Incoming funding for listening post from Local History Society Abergavenny

Volunteers who wish to pursue a museum career are strongly supported with work
opportunities Abergavenny
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Almost 10% of the population of Montgomery are volunteers at the museum
Montgomery

Community involvement in development of the museum. The Cardiff Story
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 The Road Shows uses volunteers (as well as staff). Wrexham
Statement 9
Museums contribute to the quality of life
Alternative Strap lines
 Museums – making a difference
 Museums - the feel good factor
This statement is about the contribution that museums make to an individual’s well being and
sense of society. Communities are proud of having a good museum in their area. Museums
are part of community infrastructure

Involving local children in arts and poetry Merthyr

Unusual but popular exhibitions Welshpool

Maintenance of an historic building as the museum. Tenby
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Key Statistics
Good Practice Examples
Statement 10
Museums improve our physical and mental health
Alternative strap lines
 Museums and mental health
 Museums – a safe environment
 Museums and the elderly
 Museums and remembering
 Remembering the past
This statement focuses on the role museums have and are playing in the health agenda. While
there can be direct provision targeted at the health agenda, there is an overlap with other areas
of museum activity such as volunteering. Volunteering in a museum helps people make
contacts, keeps them active and generally helps their well being keeping them healthy.
Museums in north Wales have a research project looking at a more proactive role for
museums in mental health. Carmarthen Museum is used by health practitioners as a safe nonchallenging environment to re-integrate people, who have been hospitalised with mental
health issues.
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Work placements for skills and confidence for long term unemployed; also
undergraduates to help their employability. Egypt Centre

Working with special needs groups, - visually impaired, elderly, and Alzheimer’s
/dementia and cancer groups. Hope to make memory boxes for these. Ceredigion

Fitness classes in the museums and grounds Denbighshire
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Reminiscence sessions; working with local clubs on heritage projects. Montgomery

Volunteer workforce – improves quality of life for older and retired people. Tenby

Support special needs students (autistic) with work experience Tenby
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Key Statistics
Good Practice Examples
Statement 11
Museums encourage the use and growth of the Welsh Language
Alternative strap lines
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The bilingual museum
Museums for Welsh Learners
Museums have been pioneers in bilingual presentation, publication and display. They
represent safe environments for learning the Welsh language and have strong partnerships
with Welsh language learning providers.
Key Statistics
Good practice examples
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Provision for Welsh Learners at St Fagans: National History Museum
http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/2262/
Statement 12
Museums support tourism and the economic regeneration
Alternative strap lines
 Museums and tourism
 The Value of Museums
 Museums are Economic Drivers
This message is about the importance of museums to the economy, particularly the role
cultural tourism plays in the Welsh economy in terms of marketing, secondary spend and jobs
maintained and created. It is also sustainable and environmentally friendly. Not too intrusive
and destructive. There is a substantial body of evidence and research to support this message.
Some examples include:Key Statistics
Good Practice Examples
The Historic Environment supports 19,000 jobs directly and 30,000 in total. It contributes
c.2% of Wales Gross Value Added and £1.8 billion in output especially tourism expenditure.
Value of Welsh Historical Environment Sept 2010
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/valuing_welsh_historic_environment.pdf
The Bolton study showed that for every £1 spent on Museums, Libraries & Archives £1.60
was generated in local economy.
http://research.mla.gov.uk/evidence/documents/bolton_main.pdf
Museums are a core tourism product for a visitor destination but variable in terms of visitor
numbers. Larger museums can be prime motivators for a visit. Museums are economically
important within regeneration schemes. In SE England museums contribute 2.25% of annual
regional visitor spend.
MLA South East: Assessment of the contribution of MLAs to the visitor economy July 2006
Modelling applied to all independent museums showed that the value to economy was £610
million. The report contains key statistics such as 8 out of 10 top UK visitor attractions are
museums/galleries. Heritage Tourism is worth £12.4 billion to the UK economy. Heritage is a
major motivator for visits. The report includes a Toolkit to generate data to estimate an
individual museum’s economic impact.
AIM: Economic Value of Independent Museum Sector 2010
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http://research.mla.gov.uk/evidence/documents/10000F01Assessmentofthecontributionofmus
eumslibrariesandarchivestothevisitoreconomy.pdf
http://www.aimmuseums.co.uk/images/uploads/original/dc%20research%20economic%20value%20of%20in
dependent%20museum%20sector%20120710.pdf
Heritage tourism is Britain’s 5th largest industry. Visitor numbers have dramatically increased
recently. Value to economy of museums and built heritage is £7.3 billion and a growing
sector. Heritage is main motivation for 30% of all international visits. But 60% of value is
from UK residents.
Culture is not a cost but an opportunity. HLF research shows that two thirds of expenditure
on a heritage visit is not spent on site, which is an important economic impact. The impact of
Big Pit is £2.2 million to the local economy.
Museums are the real thing not the ‘plastic’ visitor attractions that come and go. Heritage has
central role in economic prosperity. The museum at Llanberis is a good example.
HLF: Investing in Success Heritage and the UK Tourism economy. March 2010
http://www.hlf.org.uk/aboutus/howwework/Documents/HLF_Tourism_Impact_single.pdf

Economy – ghost hunts, weddings (generally raising other income) Denbighshire

Rising visitor numbers – 25% Montgomery

Art exhibitions support local artists. Includes work with children, young and
vulnerable adults in the local community. Tenby
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Good Practice Examples
Statement 13
Museums offer real value for money
Alternative Strap Lines
 Museums a Bargain at any Price
 Museums – more than you bargained for.
The message is that very little is spent but the return is huge, not just in economic terms but
in social capital. Museums do more for people than preserve their heritage. They contribute to
other agendas.
Key Statistics
Good Practice
(UK) Relying on targets and outputs to measure value of museums is flawed. Museums are
special in terms of potential to change people’s lives – social return on investment is
therefore very important.
MLA: Social Return on Investment discussion paper 2009
http://research.mla.gov.uk/evidence/documents/Community%20Engagement%20Appendix%2
06%20-%20Social%20Return%20on%20Investment.pdf
The value of museums in social change is significant – responding to voices in the
community, major supporters of the local economy. Places for understanding and cohesion
where cultural identity can be developed. Museums are a key element of economic
regeneration in towns. They have a key role of museums in tackling social change – telling
more stories nowadays rather than just curatorial care. They share power with communities,
especially the independents i.e. responding to communities. Putting people and communities
in displays not just objects. Acknowledging new histories e.g. LGBT.
Joseph Rowntree Foundation: Can museums be a potent force in social and urban
regeneration? 2008
http://www.jrf.org.uk/system/files/2262.pdf
There is a cultural impact on individuals, through exploring difficult issues, generating a
sense of belonging, new attitudes and perceptions, etc. Generic Learning Outcomes can be
used to evaluate impact.
http://www.nationalmuseums.org.uk/media/documents/publications/cultural_impact_final.pdf
Few economic impact methodologies applied to museums – usual is employment impact and
also activities using multipliers for visitor spending.
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NMDC: Making a difference: the cultural impact of museums July 2010
However these multipliers fail to capture the broad range of additional social, cultural, and
educational benefits which the sector can deliver. Need a ’social return on investment’
indices in terms of social, environmental and financial benefits (the triple bottom line). A
value on the non financial benefits.
MLA: Economic Impact Methodologies 2008
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http://research.mla.gov.uk/evidence/documents/Economic%20Impact%20Methodologies%20
June%202008%20Final%20Version.pdf
Statement 14
Museums meet high standards and offer a quality service
Alternative Strap lines
 Museums meeting Standards
 Museums quality Services
 Museums meet excellent levels of customer care
The message here is about quality and standards. Spotlight will provide evidence regarding
Accreditation and VAQAS
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Key Statistics
Good Practice Examples
DON’T FORGET MUSEUMS ARE FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Let’s have some good examples here:-