Renaissance Review Update – September 2008. 

Phase 1 of the Renaissance Review, commissioned by MLA and led by an independent panel chaired by Professor Sara Selwood, is well underway. A number of stands of work have been commissioned - several nearing completion. The major planks of phase 1 of the Review include:
 
• Online submissions to the Review - with over 150 submissions were received. A report summarising the feedback will be made available to those who wrote in, in early October.

• A series of interviews/discussions with:

Primary funding partners such as local authorities and other national bodies, on what outcomes will these funding partners be looking to achieve with Renaissance funding from 2009;

Key sectoral organisations such as the Museums Association, the University Museums Group, National Museum Directors’ Conference and the Association of Independent Museums on what they  regard as having been achieved as a result of  Renaissance funding, and what achievements they  envisage as being possible in the future as a result of Renaissance support.

• An assessment of Renaissance programmes – analysing what has been delivered and how effectively, whether Renaissance’s objectives have been met, and what difference it has made. Work on the review of the hubs and hub partners is being carried out by consultants, Education for Change & Acumen; on the non-hub museums and museum development programme by Julia Holberry Associates; and a review of the other strands (including the Designation Challenge Fund and Subject Specialist Network) by Gaby Porter + Associates. Other consultants engaged on the project include Egeria and the National School of Government. 

• A review of the data collected for Renaissance, a literature review of best practice and an analysis of the programme’s finances are also underway. 

It is expected that a set of interim findings and recommendations by the Advisory Group will be presented to the MLA in December. Phase 2 of the Review will start early next year.