Accreditation
Scheme for
Museums and
Galleries in the
United Kingdom:
Eligibility questionnaire
December 2011
Who is this questionnaire for?
This questionnaire is for organisations that wish to apply for Accredited status. Existing
participants do not need to complete this form. The specific eligibility criteria are published within
the Accreditation Standard (2011).
Terminology
Throughout this questionnaire the following definitions are used:

governing body: those individuals who corporately exercise the ultimate responsibility for the
governance of the museum, and in whom legal title of the museum’s assets is vested.
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organisation: the entity for which Accredited status is sought.
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museum: an organisation which meets the 1998 Museums Association definition of a museum.
Which type of organisation is not eligible for Accreditation?
The following categories of organisations will not normally be deemed eligible:
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privately owned museums and commercial galleries
science centres and planetaria, natural and archaeological sites, historical and industrial
buildings and sites, and heritage centres, not having associated long-term collections
institutions displaying live specimens (for example, zoos, aquaria, botanical gardens)
educational loan services
venues for temporary exhibitions with no collections
records centres (for example, biological, environmental, archaeological sites or monuments)
libraries and archives (including sound, film or photographic archives)
institutions whose collections are accessible only via the internet
Consideration may be given to such institutions if they form part of a museum service which itself
conforms to the Accreditation requirements.
Why do I have to fill this in and not an application form?
Completion of this form allows for an initial assessment to check your organisations eligibility; this
ensures public resources are not expended unnecessarily by organisations that are not eligible.
Completing this questionnaire is not an application for Accredited status and the status of ‘working
towards Accreditation’ is not an endorsement from the Accreditation Committee.
If an assessment of the information provided concludes that the organisation is eligible for the
Accreditation Scheme, the status of ‘working towards Accreditation’ will be confirmed. This status
will be useful when applying to funders, and is a specific eligibility requirement for some funding
streams.
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If eligible, which standard will the organisation be measured against?
There are two editions of the Accreditation Standard, one published in 2004, and the revised
Standard published in 2011. New applicants from December 2011 will be assessed against the
2011 edition.
How will this information be used?
Information provided on, or attached to/with this form will only be used for the purposes of
determining eligibility to the Accreditation Scheme. If your organisation is confirmed to be eligible,
then copies of the information will be held by the Accreditation administering and assessing
organisation/s in an applicant file for future reference. See ‘Declaration’ section for further details.
What will happen next?
The information provided will be assessed by an Accreditation assessor, who will determine
whether the organisation is eligible to apply for Accreditation. The primary contact named on the
form may be contacted for additional information, and you will normally be informed of the
outcome of the assessment within 4 weeks. The outcome letter will include information on the
next steps: how and when to submit a full application for Accreditation, or how to appeal. It is
anticipated that preparation of a new application for Accreditation will take a museum at least six
months.
What can I do if I disagree with an outcome of ‘non-eligible’?
Eligibility assessments will be conducted by an assessor from the relevant assessing organisation
(Arts Council England, CyMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales, Museums Galleries
Scotland or the Northern Ireland Museums Council). Appeals should be made in the first instance
to the Accreditation Manager based at Arts Council England. If the Accreditation Manager was the
assessor of your case your appeal will be directed to the Senior Manager, Quality and Standards
at Arts Council England.
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Notes
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Please complete all sections as fully as possible as this will support a faster response.
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Information provided on this form will be deemed to be valid for 12 months. If no application for
Accredited status is received in this time then organisation will be asked to revise their eligibility
questionnaire.
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Information regarding all areas of museum management and operations are available through
the assessing organisation websites below.
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Further information is available from:
o www.collectionslink.org.uk
o www.museumsassociation.org
o www.aim-museums.co.uk
o www.collectionstrust.org.uk
Any queries relating to completing this form should be directed to the relevant assessing
organisation:
Arts Council England
CyMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries
Wales
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Museums Galleries Scotland
Northern Ireland Museums Council
Contact details
(This section relates to the organisation which is applying for Accreditation)
Please provide contact information which Arts Council England can share with appropriate
assessing organisations to be used in accordance with the declaration at section eight. All
assessing organisations undertake to manage personal information in accordance with the
Data Protection Act 1998.
Governing body name:
Governing body
address:
Postcode:
Name of organisation:
Website:
Accredited number:
(if applicable)
Main contact:
Title:
First name:
Last name:
Job title/position:
Correspondence
address
Postcode
Telephone number:
Email address:
Please indicate whether these details are personal or business:
Personal
Business
For reasons of speed and cost we prefer contact by email during assessment. If you would
prefer contact by post – please tick here:
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1. Definition of a museum
Accredited museums meet the Museums Association definition of a museum (1998):
‘Museums enable people to explore collections for inspiration, learning and enjoyment. They
are institutions that collect, safeguard and make accessible artefacts and specimens, which
they hold in trust for society’
Does your organisation meet this definition:
Yes
No
Please describe briefly how your organisation meets this definition (max 200 words):
2. Collections
Accredited museums effectively manage collections and make them available for everyone.
Please confirm that your organisation holds a long-term collection of artefacts for use in
relation to the above definition. ‘Holds’ may include ownership; time limited loans or
management agreements:
Yes
No
Please provide a brief overview of the organisation’s long-term collection (max 200 words):
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3. Acceptable governance and management
Accredited museums are effectively governed and managed.
Name of governing body
What type of constitution does your organisation have?
Act of Parliament
University
Royal Charter
Registered charity
Local authority
Charitable company
Other
If you selected ‘Other’ state here
Charity number:
Company number:
Please confirm that your constitution permits the operation of a museum
Yes
No
Please confirm whether the governing body operates the museum directly or has contracted a
separately constituted management organisation:
Directly managed
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Contracted
4. Sound financial basis
Accredited museums must be able to demonstrate a sound financial basis and compliance
with the relevant financial regulation or standards and constitutional requirements. At point of
application organisations must demonstrate two years of relevant accounts. Where a
separately constituted organisation has been contracted or outsourced by the organisations
governing body to manage the museum operation, its accounts for the previous two years
must be provided in addition to those of the governing body.
Note: your organisation may have recently changed governance, for example, a local authority
museum transferring to charitable governance. In these circumstances financial evidence may
include accounts from previous governance arrangements. Where there is no antecedent
organisation, museums can work towards Accreditation but an operational period of two years
must be achieved prior to a full application for Accredited status.
Please provide two years of relevant accounts. You can provide relevant accounts as
electronic or paper documents, or by providing a link to a website:
Website link
(if relevant)
5. Regulatory environment
Accredited museums ensure that they meet all relevant legal, safety, ethical, equality,
environmental and planning requirements.
Please confirm that, in your opinion, the organisation complies with its regulatory obligations:
Yes
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No
6. Forward planning
Accredited museums demonstrate a commitment to forward planning to improve the service
for users.
Forward plans must be approved by the organisation’s governing body or through delegated
authority and forward planning should cover the following elements at a level of detail
appropriate to the named museum’s scale of operation:
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the museum’s statement of purpose
a review of the previous forward plan
an analysis of the environment in which it exists
consultation and analysis of views
its key aims
specific objectives beneath each key aim
how it will achieve its objectives
a resource plan showing the people and money available to meet its objectives
the date the plan will be reviewed
Note: your current procedures may not show all of the above elements. These should be
included within the approved plan, or as an appendix or other supporting document set, as part
of a full application for Accredited status.
Please confirm that the museum noted above has a commitment to forward planning, and that
an approved forward plan exists for the current and forthcoming year (plans for the forthcoming
year may be in outline only):
Yes
No
Please provide a copy of your current forward plan. You can provide the plan as a paper
document or by providing a link to a website:
Website link
(if relevant)
7. Application for Accredited status
Should eligibility be confirmed, the status of ‘working towards Accreditation’ will be valid for 12
months from the date of the confirmation letter. It is the responsibility of the organisation
‘working towards Accreditation’ to update the relevant assessing organisation of progress and
any changes to policies and/or plans. ‘working towards Accreditation’ must be a time limited
status and may be withdrawn should no evidence of progress be demonstrated.
Assuming that the organisation named above is confirmed as eligible, please provide a
projected target date by which time a full application for Accredited status will be submitted:
Insert date
(month/year)
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8. Declaration
How we will use your information:
Arts Council England, and where relevant, third party assessing organisations, will collect and
use the information provided within this form for the purpose of considering eligibility for the
Accreditation Scheme, producing reports for the Accreditation Committee, Arts Council
England and DCMS, compiling statistical returns as required by the Statistics and Registration
Services Act 2007, and providing relevant information updates to museums including
invitations to training events and activities. Forms relating to organisations in Wales, Scotland
and Northern Ireland will be made available to the appropriate assessing organisations
(CyMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales, Museums Galleries Scotland or the
Northern Ireland Museums Council respectively).
Arts Council England will not share any of the information provided with third party agencies or
organisations other than where the relevant responsibilities transfer to another Government
agency and the transfer of information related to your application is required or where transfer
of information is legally required. The information will be maintained securely at all times at
Arts Council England in line with the requirements of the Data Protection Act. A copy of Arts
Council England’s Data Protection policy is available on request.
Information contained within submitted forms, including any supporting documentation will be
subject to the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
I declare that I have understood this notice and that I am content with the information that I
provide to be used in this way.
To be signed as appropriate by a member of the governing body or by an individual authorised
to sign on behalf of the governing body.
Signed:
Name:
Position:
Date:
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9. Document checklist:
Documents or internet links included with this questionnaire are:
Yes
Current forward plan
Internet link to published forward plan
Accounts (audited as appropriate)
Internet link to published accounts
(Audited as appropriate)
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N/A