Museum Development Services
Museum Development Officers (MDO's) and the Museum Development Fund (MDF) enable Renaissance and the MLA to support and advise museums across all counties in our region. Renaissance plays a significant role, alongside South West local authorities, in supporting MDO activity and posts.
Some MDO's are funded directly by local authorities while others are funded jointly; some are sub-regional MDO's, whilst others are focused on a particular theme. Whatever the administrative set up is in your county, MDO's can offer you advice and support to meet your needs.
The Accreditation Scheme
The Museum Accreditation Scheme (MAS) is open to any museum who wishes to demonstrate that they meet minimum standards as a public museum. The scheme was launched by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) in 2004 to succeed the highly successful Registration Scheme.
A revised and refreshed standard will be launched in the autumn of 2011, with the management of the scheme being transferred along with other MLA functions to Arts Council England. The outgoing phase of the Accreditation standard in now closed to new applicants.
For museums in the process of applying for Accreditation and pre-application advice in our region, contact us and please include your unique RD number in all correspondence.
To access further information on the Museum Accreditation Scheme please visit the 'Accreditation' section of the MLA Council website.
County Groups
The county groups provide a forum where representatives of museums within a county area can meet and discuss matters to their mutual benefit. Museums Development Officers work closely with the county groups in developing joint activities and training.