Instrumental Museum and Galley policy in Scotland Devolution - All Change?

Roots of instrumental museum and gallery policy in Scotland Local delivery infrastructure over 340 museums from Wick to Kelso, 162 independent trusts. People are passionate about their heritage often becoming an expression of local and community identity. Museums are as prolific in rural as they are in urban contexts. Contributing to a national identity based on citizenship rather than ethnicity.

The founding of a museum often involves the fervour of the collector and the enabling factor of the instrumental outcomes that have been associated with museums. Museums have traditionally been perceived to be somehow good for you. They are trusted brand often associated with educational value, and custodians of knowledge.

They have been established with instrumental reasons for example the Victorian legacy of civic pride such as Kelvingrove in Glasgow and MacManus in Dundee. More recently the industrial museums associated with regeneration in declining areas for example the Scottish Mining Museum. An integrated approach through cultural planning where cultural development is in a key position to impact in many ways – Shetland

Instrumental policy in the political and intellectual landscape Pre devolution as would be expected Scottish cultural policy was aligned with the rest of the UK. Factors influencing museum provision were centred around the registration scheme. Arguably one event did raise the political profile of museums and that was their pivotal role in Glasgow's year as capital of culture.

Post devolution culture has had a high profile on the political landscape, and this has translated in to some gradual and incremental changes of perception not all of it focused on instrumental value. In policy terms the launch of the Recognition scheme, which acknowledges the concept of a distributed national collection not owned by the national institutions but which can be funded from central government, is a fundamental policy shift. It brings all museums into the scope of government policy.

Devolution policy timeline : A National Cultural Strategy 2000 National Audit – 2002 Action framework – 2003 Strategic Change Fund and RDCF 2002 – 2008 St Andrew’s Day Speech 2003 Cultural Commission Scotland’s Culture 2006 Culture Bill Consultation Election of SNP 2007

Culture as a universal right the practicalities of entitlement. Community planning and cultural planning- the role of Local Authorities Quality Assurance Frameworks and access to services Evidence based policy making, if you collect it does it influence policy implementation?

Impact of instrumental policy upon the management of museums and galleries. Growing awareness of need to demonstrate instrumental outcomes to secure public funding. Developing the skills and capacity to collect the evidence base Self awareness of the impact of museums on individuals and communities.