Canterbury City Council
Herne Bay Museum
William Street
Brief Specification
Page 1 of 8
Introduction
Canterbury City Council is seeking to contract Herne Bay Museum to an appropriate Delivery
Partner. This specification document sets out what the Council wishes to achieve from
management arrangements.
The successful tenderer will be responsible for the provision of museum services from Herne Bay
Museum in William Street , Herne Bay. The contract will begin on 1 April 2015 for a term of five
years, with the potential to extend for a further five years if performance and financial targets are
met.
The Heads of Terms sets out in detail the areas of responsibility for both the Council and the Delivery
Partner, and should be read in conjunction with this specification.
Funding Periods and Budget
The initial term of the Contract shall commence on 1 April 2015 and continue until 31 March 2020,
unless otherwise terminated in accordance with the Contract.
Funding Period 1:
1 April 2015 – 31 March 2018 (three years)
During the first Funding Period, 1 the management fee will be fixed at £20,000 per year, paid in
advance upon the Council’s written agreement of the Delivery Partner’s Annual Delivery Plan and,
for 1 April 2014, agreement of the three year Business Plan.
Funding Period 2:
1 April 2018 – 31 March 2019 (one year)
The management fee will be agreed by the parties, with an assumption that the fee will be reduced
by a minimum of 10%. The agreed management fee will be paid in advance upon the Council’s
written agreement of the Delivery Partner’s Annual Delivery Plan and two year Business Plan.
Funding Period 3:
1 April 2019 – 31 March 2020 (one year)
The management fee will be agreed by the parties, with an assumption that the fee will reduce by a
further 20% as a minimum. The agreed management fee will be paid in advance upon Council’s
written agreement of the Delivery Partner’s Annual Delivery Plan and any revisions to the two year
Business Plan.
Extension to the contract
The Council will retain the option to extend the initial term subject to the availability of funding and
the Delivery Partner achieving agreed key performance targets and management fee savings during
the initial term. Any such extension of the Contract shall be agreed by the parties no later than 12
months prior to the end of the initial term.
Best Value
The Council has a duty to ensure Best Value in the provision of public services, whether delivered by
the Council or a third party. As such, the Delivery Partner will be expected to pay due consideration
to the social, environmental and economic impact of the museum and museum activities on the
local community.
Page 2 of 8
The Delivery Partner will be expected to support the delivery of the Council’s Museums and Galleries
Strategy (attached) and the key objectives set within it, using this to drive continuous improvement
of the service for customers and residents.
Whilst Value for Money does not necessarily mean making cuts to budgets, the service provider will
be expected to evidence how the service provided is delivering outcomes in the community through
the annual delivery plan and performance indicators. The Delivery Partner will at all times ensure
services are delivered efficiently and effectively, reducing the cost to the Council over the period of
the contract and the relative proportion of the Council’s funding to the Delivery Partners’ overall
cash flow.
Management and Operation of Herne Bay Museum
The Delivery Partner will bring the experience and knowledge required to run a local community
attraction. The Delivery Partner will be expected to deliver the following minimum management
and operational standards, as part of the contract, which will ensure the museum remains an asset
to the local community and users of the service.
The below sets out the key areas of management and operation responsibility of the Delivery
Partner for the museum:
Delivery Plan and Business Plan:
As set out above, the Delivery Partner will be expected to develop and implement an agreed annual
Delivery Plan. The Delivery Plan will set out the key activities for the forthcoming year, what they
aim to achieve and how they support the delivery of the Council’s Museums and Galleries Strategy.
For Period 1 a three year Business Plan will also be required, which will set out the financial and
operational plan for the museum over the three year period, including income and funding
opportunities, expenditure and business opportunities and risks. Period 2 will require the
development of a two year Business Plan which will take into account savings targets and the future
direction of the service post-Period 2. Period 3 will allow for any revisions to the two year Business
Plan.
Both the Delivery Plan and Business Plan are required to release the annual management fee.
Building Management:
The Delivery Partner will be responsible for the day to day management of the buildings and
associated outdoor spaces (gardens and patio areas). The Council will maintain responsibility for the
general maintenance and repairs to the building, including planned works and ground maintenance.
Whilst key holder management and security of the building are the responsibility of the Delivery
Partner, the Council’s Client Officer should be issued with a list of current key holders, which should
be reissued as required.
The Delivery Partner will be responsible for Health and Safety of staff, volunteers and visitors, and
hold Employer’s Liability Insurance of £10m. This is a requirement of the contract.
Responsibility for out of hours call outs, in relation to security or fire alarms, will be the
responsibility of the Delivery Partner. The Delivery Partner will be responsible for implementing the
Page 3 of 8
Council’s Museums and Galleries Emergency Plan for the museum and informing the Council of such
implementation in a timely manner.
Opening Hours of the Museum:
The museum is currently opened on a seasonal basis. This provision was based on extensive work on
visitor numbers and income potential, as well as links to key holiday periods throughout the year.
Whilst the Delivery Partner will not be expected to deliver the opening times on a like-for-like basis,
a minimum number of annualised hours will be expected. Based on current opening dates and
hours, the minimum number of hours the museum should be open in any one financial year is 730
(seven hundred and eighty).
The rationale for any changes to the current opening hours should be established in the Business
Plan.
If the Delivery Partner, for any reason, sets out a financial or other recommendation to reduce the
number of annualised hours below the minimum 730, this will need to be formal agreed by the
Council Client Officer and Executive Members – this process can take up to four months to action.
Collections Management:
The Council will remain the legal owner of the museum collections, but will loan all collections based
at the museum to the Delivery Partner for the duration of the contract. The Delivery Partner will be
expected to manage, monitor, maintain and insure collections on behalf of the Council for the
duration of the contract.
The Delivery Partner will be required to maintain the Arts Council England Accreditation Standard for
the museum for the duration of the contract. Whilst a museum professional will need to be engaged
in an employed or voluntary capacity, the Council has agreed provision of an Arts Council England
qualified Curatorial Advisor at no cost to the Delivery Partner for the duration of the contract.
Conservation of collections will remain the responsibility of the Council, however, the Delivery
Partner will be expected to conduct monitoring, through visual checks of the collections,
environmental monitoring equipment, and security equipment, at regular intervals to ensure their
condition of the collections is maintained for the duration of the contract.
The Delivery Partner will inform the Council’s Client Officer in the event of collections or equipment
relating to the monitoring or security of the collections, being of concern or risk. The Council will be
responsible for prioritising remedial or preventative conservation case and appointing any ICON
registered professional conservators as appropriate to budget and priority.
The Delivery Partner will be expected to manage the accessioning, movement, and/or loan of
collections through the Council’s Collections Management System, for which full training will be
provided. The Delivery Partner will manage the collections in accordance with SPECTRUM
standards, for which training will be provided.
The Delivery Partner will not add to the collections, by way of accession or loan, without the
approval of the Collecting Body, which for the duration of the contract will remain as the Council.
Applications to add additional collections should be made through the Council’s Client Officer, with
reference to how the collections would further the Council’s Collections and Acquisitions Policy.
Marketing and Communications:
Page 4 of 8
The Delivery Partner will be responsible for the marketing and promotion of the museum and
associated services, with activity detailed in the annual Delivery Plan and costed in the relevant
Business Plan.
The Delivery Partner will be expected to use marketing and communication tools to increase
attendance at, and awareness of, the museum to the local community and communities of interest.
How the Delivery Partner wishes to market or communicate with audiences is at the sole discretion
of the Delivery Partner, but should not bring the Council’s name into disrepute by association with
the Delivery Partner.
Impact on the local community and visitors
As well as managing the day to day operation of the museum, the Delivery Partner will be expected
to consider how the activity and opportunities it provides positively impacts and contributes towards
the Council’s Museums and Galleries Strategy objectives and outcomes. The vision for the service
and key objectives are detailed below:
Vision:
To be East Kent’s gateway to art, culture and heritage, making a major contribution to the
international significance of the area reflecting its past and shaping its future
The Delivery Partner will be expected to develop and implement an annual Delivery Plan that puts
the Council’s Vision for museums and galleries at the heart of its activity planning. The strategic
objectives for museums and galleries are detailed below, and will be essential aspects of any agreed
Delivery Plan.
To preserve, share, enhance and develop the collections for our public:
The day to day management and care of the collections, and processes for monitoring and using
collections, is detailed in the sections above.
Beyond this, the Delivery Partner will be expected to put the museum collections at the heart of
their Delivery Plan and associated activities to ensure the collections remain at the heart of the
museum offer.
To deliver a distinctive, diverse and excellent learning programme:
Learning in this context refers to any opportunity for the museum to play a role in enhancing
attainment levels, developing creative potential, developing skills and providing opportunities to
increase the employability of residents through lifelong learning.
The Delivery Partner should put learning opportunities at the heart of what it does and these must
be evidenced through the annual Delivery Plan.
Target audiences for this objective include:

Local schools and colleges, including the development of teachers to make better use of the
museum as an educational resource;

Young people not in regular education, employment or training programmes (NEETS) who
would benefit through volunteering opportunities;
Page 5 of 8
To broaden our appeal and build a larger, more diverse and engaged audience:
The Delivery Partner will be expected to increase the visibility of the museum within the local
community, and further afield as appropriate. The use of effective, but efficient, marketing and
communications will be crucial to ensuring current and future audiences can access the museum in a
way that is meaningful to themselves and their lives.
The Council would expect that the annual Delivery Plan would include diverse activities to encourage
the use of the museum by the widest possible audiences, especially those that are most likely not to
visit the museum.
Relationships and partnerships will be key in delivering an exciting programme of events and
exhibitions, and the Council would expect to see through the Delivery Plan how these are being
developed and utilised to make best use of the collections and museum spaces.
Target audiences the Council would expect to see benefit through this objective includes:

Under-represented audiences who are most at risk of being at an economic, social or
personal disadvantage in accessing or enjoying the museum and collections

Infrequent users of the museum or museum activities

Audiences that require specialist or alternative communication and/or marketing styles or
information
To make the best use of the available resources to develop a resilient museums service:
Ensuring the museum and collections are accessible now and in the future underpins the whole
museum strategy. The Council, being aware of the significant financial and management pressures
of running a large and dispersed museums service, has already made the first steps in delivering this
objective for this museum by encouraging greater community ownership of the museum, collections
and future potential.
The Delivery Partner will be expected to take this commitment further, developing Delivery Plans
and Business Plans that ensure a resilient service going forward. Innovative and experienced staff
and volunteers will be at the heart of delivering this objective. The Council would expect the
Delivery Partner to source new funding opportunities, develop sustainable and long term
relationships and partnerships, and drive efficiencies through the attainment of effective service
delivery.
The Council would expect the Delivery Partner to engage with other cultural and heritage
organisations and support networks both locally and regionally, developing the Delivery Partner’s
staff and volunteers to become key in the delivery of services and advocates of the impact of the
museum on the local community.
The Council would expect the Delivery Partner to evidence this commitment to a resilient museum
and management organisation through the Business Plan and Annual Report, which will be
monitored by the Council’s Client Officer.
Performance Management
Annual Report:
Page 6 of 8
The Delivery Partner will be expected to present the Council with an Annual Report, which will detail
how the Delivery Partner has met its targets within the Delivery Plan and Business Plan. Receipt of
this report will be a condition of the annual management fee being released.
The format and content of the Annual report will be agreed in advance with the Council’s Client
Officer.
Performance Indicators:
The Council has adopted a balanced scorecard approach to performance management, which looks
at three key areas of the business and attaches key performance indicators to each. These
indicators will remain for the term of the contract. The performance areas and indicators are
detailed below:
Performance Area
Performance Indicator
Annual Baseline
Annual Target 2015/16
6,300
6,300
Operational Indicators
Number of visits to
Herne Bay Museum
(Monthly Reporting)
Accreditation Retained
(Annual Reporting)
Retained
Retained
Customer Indicator
Percentage of people
satisfied with Herne
Bay Museum
(Quarterly Reporting)
New Indicator
85%
Finance Indicator
Council funding as a
proportion of Museum
Turnover
(Annual Reporting)
53%
80%
Annual performance targets will be agreed in consultation with the Delivery Partner.
Any changes to the above Performance Indicators will be agreed between the Client Officer and
Delivery Partner prior to each Funding Period.
It will be the Delivery Partner’s responsibility to put actions into place to collect and collate data
suitable for assessing the above performance.
Adequate provision of staff and volunteers
It will be the responsibility of the Delivery Partner to ensure that the museum and associated
activities are staffed by employees of the organisation of volunteers for the organisation. The
Council will not stipulate how many staff are required at any one time, although the Delivery Partner
will ensure they are compliant with Health and Safety regulations and the fire and emergency
procedures for the building. Where loan working is employed, it is the Delivery Partner’s
responsibility to ensure staff can be contacted by, or make contact with others from, the Delivery
Partner’s organisation.
Page 7 of 8
The Delivery Partner is under no obligation to provide paid staff to deliver museum management or
activities. Regardless of whether paid staff or volunteers are used to deliver the museum service, it
is the responsibility of the Delivery Partner to ensure they are fully trained and aware of their
responsibilities under Health and Safety, Disclosure and Barring Service, Equalities, Arts Council
England Accreditation standards and the Museum Associations Code of Conduct.
The Council expects that as a fully commissioned service of the Council, that staff and volunteers at
all levels of the organisation consider the reputation of the Council in any and all undertakings
delivered through or by the museum, where the Council can be identified as a funding partner.
Page 8 of 8