EVALUATION BRIEF British Museum National Programme Knowledge Exchange Evaluation CONTENTS 1. Letter of Invitation 2. Programme background 3. Current Situation 4. Summary of Evaluation services 5. Budget 6. Delivery schedule 7. Proposal format 8. Report format 9. Contact details 1. Letter of Invitation Sir/Madam The provision of evaluation services You are hereby invited by the British Museum to submit a tender for an evaluation of the British Museum Knowledge Exchange programme. The Invitation to Tender from the British Museum contains Instructions and Information for Tendering and Specification of Requirements. If you wish to submit a tender, you are required to return your proposal by e-mail or post. Tender submissions must be clearly marked for the attention of Georgia Mallin and submitted no later than Monday 29 January 2018. Please send your proposal to: gmallin@britishmuseum.org Georgia Mallin UK Partnerships Co-ordinator Learning and National Partnerships The British Museum Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG We look forward to receiving your tender response. Yours faithfully Georgia Mallin UK Partnerships Co-ordinator T (UK +44) 020 7323 8266
2. Programme background The British Museum was the first national museum in the world. It was the first public institution to be called British because it was not (like the continental museums) the collection of the King but a collection for the citizen. It is therefore vital that the British Museum collection is available to audiences across the UK and not just in London. To achieve this, the Museum shares its collection across the UK and works collaboratively with partner organisations to promote, preserve and develop the excellence of museums across the country. The National Programme aims to deliver the founding mission of the Museum and maintain this spirit and identity across the programme by: Ensuring that British Museum collections and expertise are readily accessible to the widest possible audience across the UK Supporting partner museum colleagues in developing new and inventive programming Choosing to not build British Museum outposts and instead investing in the growth and varied public offer of existing museums across the UK Our approach The National Programme is part of the Learning and National Partnerships department and connects the Museum with a breadth of audiences and museums across the UK. It does this by working hand in hand with partner organisations in meaningful collaboration to develop programmes that present the best of each institution. This approach can be summarised by: A commitment to sharing the Museum s iconic collection and expertise by sharing star objects and developing high profile programmes with partners. A relevant programme that develops meaningful projects and brings the greatest local impact and resonance for audiences and stakeholders. A flexible methodology that supports partnership working with a wide range of organisations ensuring the Museum has the greatest reach. An empowering approach to partnership working that encourages partner museums to initiate, shape and lead on projects and ideas. The activity Central to the BM s approach to partnership working around the UK is the principle of sharing collections in ways chosen by partners, allowing a symbiotic rather than hierarchical relationship between museums. Rather than focusing all efforts and resources in one or two outposts outside of London, this approach ensures the widest possible public reach and helps to support local museums to serve their publics better with their existing world class collections. Through sharing objects, skills and expertise with museums of all sizes the BM plays a leading role in the UK museum sector, allowing as many citizens as possible to study and enjoy national collections. The National Programme encompasses a diverse range of activity. Collections are shared through touring exhibitions of varying sizes, single-object Spotlight tours, long- and short-term loans and Partnership Galleries. The BM s wealth of knowledge and skills is made accessible through various Sharing Expertise programmes which have been made possible by different sources of external funding over the years. The sustained support of the Vivmar Foundation has enabled the development and delivery of the Knowledge Exchange programme since 2010, as well as a series of free conferences exploring ideas and best practice in the museum sector, and free seminars, workshops and skills-sharing visits bringing together partner museum and BM colleagues. Other BM-led skills-sharing programmes include the Money and Medals Subject Specialist Network, which maps numismatics collections across the UK and provides free training and
resources to museum colleagues, and three HLF Skills for the Future programmes to date, designed to address sector skills shortages by providing paid vocational training placements to young people from diverse backgrounds in partnership with other UK museums. Knowledge Exchange programme The Knowledge Exchange programme is designed to build on the British Museum s strong network of national partnerships to the benefit of both staff and organisations. It supports fullyfunded exchanges which provide an opportunity for partner museum staff to spend a five day placement at the British Museum. In return, each partner is expected to host a British Museum colleague on a reciprocal five day exchange. The key aims of the programme are: To develop individual and organisational knowledge and/or skills To help build relationships between organisations To provide an insight in and gain exposure to specific areas of museum work To shape sustainable methods for sharing knowledge and skills across the sector Knowledge Exchange methodology Each year the British Museum recruits a new group of (usually five) partner organisations through a competitive application process. Knowledge Exchange partner organisations are chosen based on their potential for creating strong relationships with participants, their contrast in size and scope to the British Museum and the potential to introduce participants both at the British Museum and partner museums to new ways of working. Each successful partner commits to hosting one member of British Museum staff on a five-day placement, and the British Museum will host one member of staff from each partner in return. At the British Museum, the programme is managed by the UK Partnerships Co-ordinator, while each partner nominates a lead contact who will co-ordinate the application process at their organisation. Once the cohort of partners is confirmed, each organisation (including the British Museum) advertises the opportunity for its staff to take part through an open and competitive application process. All staff, at all levels of seniority and from all specialisms and backgrounds, are eligible to apply if they have the support of their line management. Based on the applications received, the British Museum will choose one member of staff to host from each partner, and each partner will choose one member of British Museum staff to host. Exchanges are then developed from the content of each successful application, and in conversation with the participant and the British Museum, to create a bespoke schedule for each participant. The UK Partnerships Co-ordinator at the British Museum leads on developing the timetable for each participant the Museum is going to host, and each partner organisation does the same for their chosen British Museum participant. The exchange lasts for a maximum of five consecutive working days at a date suitable for the participant and the British Museum. The exchanges are fully funded: travel costs, hotel accommodation and food are covered as part of the five days. The UK Partnerships Coordinator books and organises these elements in conversation with each participant. Successful participants are expected to document their exchange through a variety of formats, such as a learning log, photos and social media posts, as well as an evaluation and reflective writing after their exchange.
3. Current situation The British Museum s Knowledge Exchange is very well established as one of its flagship National Programmes skills-sharing activities. It has delivered 96 staff exchanges over ten years, with nearly 40 different museum partners. Knowledge Exchange is designed to support UK museums by building relationships, sharing expertise and investing in individuals in a way that ultimately aims to both support their current job role, and allow them to explore areas of interest and professional development that may relate to their future aspirations within the sector as well. Participants are encouraged to put the learning and ideas from their exchange to use after they return to their places of work, but longer-term benefits may come to fruition many months or even years after the exchange as relationships develop and changes start to be made. As participants change jobs and make progress with their careers, ideas developed during the programme may have come to benefit organisations beyond the participating partner institutions. It is therefore difficult to track and measure the full impact of the programme. Evaluation is undertaken in-house each year by the UK Partnerships Co-ordinator, with an evaluation form completed by each participant within one month of their exchange to assess the effectiveness of the programme delivery and the quality of their experience. A piece of reflective writing is then requested three months after the exchange, to allow the participant more space to process their learning and report back on what has proved most useful since returning to their organisation. Further anecdotal accounts received from previous participants have allowed the National Programmes team to trace some of the exchanges longer-term outcomes over the years, but no formal evaluation has been done to examine the longitudinal impact of the programme. With the current funding arrangement set to end in December 2018 after over a decade of activity, it is now a priority to gain an overview of the programme s achievements and better articulate its wider benefits to the sector. 4. Summary of evaluation services The Knowledge Exchange programme s approach to investing in individuals in order to better support the sector is relatively unique. It is anticipated that building an informed overall assessment of how the Knowledge Exchange has supported the UK museum sector will require a nuanced approach over multiple phases of work. This first phase of evaluation aims to map the impact on individual participants with a view to further evaluate organisational impact and dissemination as a subsequent phase of work. The contract will require the successful evaluator to map the reach of the programme, and evaluate its impact on participants, their work, their organisation(s) and their professional development as appropriate. This will require the evaluator to: Undertake preliminary research into previous years of the Knowledge Exchange programme using British Museum National Programmes records Research past participants, their contact details and current places of work to map out changes that have taken place since their involvement in the programme. Contact past participants for individual evaluation: o Evaluate their experience/memories of the programme against their expectations and personal/organisational priorities at the time o Evaluate their perceptions of how the Knowledge Exchange has benefitted them as individuals, focusing on their personal development (i.e. increased confidence, networking skills etc.) and professional development (i.e. any subsequent changes to career direction or progression etc.)
o o Evaluate past participants perceptions of how the Knowledge Exchange has benefitted their working practice (i.e. new ideas generated by their exchange which they have since incorporated into their work, specific projects developed from collaborations fostered by the programme etc.) Evaluate past participants perceptions of how the Knowledge Exchange has benefitted their place(s) of work (i.e. implementing new standards of good practice, expanding or experimenting with new programming, new projects developed as a result of partnerships formed during the exchange, continuing collaboration between organisations etc.) It has been estimated that the above work can be achieved through the following pieces of consultation. This is subject to agreed recommendations made by the successful evaluator: An online questionnaire aiming for at least 40 past participants In depth consultation with at least 5 past participants, ranging in job role and year of programme participation Research into existing records and paperwork held by the BM Meeting with relevant BM staff It is therefore hoped that the resultant evaluation outcomes will be: A workable database of contact information for past participants and their subsequent career changes A report on the experiences of past participants and their perceptions of the programme s impact Recommendations for the next phase of evaluation and dissemination as appropriate. 5. Budget The British Museum would welcome bids which outline an appropriate suggested budget. 6. Delivery schedule Deadline for proposal documents Monday 29 January 2018 Agreement of proposal and methodology by Friday 9 February 2018 Completion of initial research and contact mapping phase and online questionnaire, with delivery of general headline findings, by Friday 30 March 2018 Delivery of final report by Friday 13 April 2018 7. Proposal format A brief written response to the programme overview provided An introduction to and credentials of your organisation Examples of relevant projects you and/or your organisation have previously undertaken Details of the personnel proposed to carry out the work Details on how you would propose to satisfy the requirements of the brief Reference to how you propose to deliver this work (frameworks, methodologies and approaches) Budget breakdown for the project, including any VAT expenditure required. A statement of the number of days each team member will work on the project along with their job title and daily rates Details of other costs, including travel. These should be described in sufficient detail to allow assessors to consider the reasonableness of the costs and more generally the efficacy of the proposed approach Ability to meet the timescale outlined 2 References
8. Report format Report to include executive summary, recommendations and report appendices. Please could you provide as an appendix notes on consultation sessions and raw data from surveys. 9. Contact For further details regarding this project please contact: Georgia Mallin UK Partnerships Co-ordinator The British Museum, London, WC1B 3DG gmallin@britishmuseum.org Tel: +44 (0)20 7323 8266