In the heritage world, where reliable trend data is rare, the West Midlands is leading the way. FAST FORWARD presents the facts, the stats, the statements and analysis that paint a full picture of museums and galleries in the West Midlands since 2000. It provides evidence of continual improvement in museum services in the region, statistics on professional standards, the customer experience, the workforce and the collections.
As highlighted by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Visit Britain in their new report Investing in Success, “Heritage – and particularly heritage-based tourism – has never been more important to the UK’s economy.” The contribution of West Midlands museums and heritage to the region’s domestic and national tourism economy should not be underestimated. FAST FORWARD recognises that museums can and do contribute to government tourism agendas as well as social and community cohesion, participation and identity agendas. Investment by government through Renaissance in the Regions and other programmes has led to improvements to the museum visitor experience across the region.
FAST FORWARD proves the value that communities place on museums and galleries, for example, almost 4000 people in the West Midlands give their time as volunteers. The sector, which employs about 1900 paid staff, could not do without their commitment. During the recent display of the Staffordshire Hoard at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, volunteers pledged over 5000 hours to assist with the visiting crowds.
We believe findings will be of interest outside of the West Midlands. Other regions are likely to recognise some of the patterns within the findings, especially where clear regional comparisons can be made, for example in the national roll-out of Renaissance funding and the growing numbers of Accredited museums.
Since 2008 Renaissance West Midlands Hub has had responsibility for Fast Forward. The 2008 Fast Forward Executive Summary, detailed analysis and supporting statistics are available below. The survey will be repeated during 2010.
Fast Forward 2008 Executive Summary (PDF 1.5MB)
Fast Forward 2008 The Analysis (PDF 1.35MB)
Fast Forward 2008 Appendix 1 - Explanation of Appendices 2-5 (PDF 125KB)
Fast Forward 2008 Appendix 2 - Information and Services (PDF 160KB)
Fast Forward 2008 Appendix 3 - Staff and Visitor Numbers (PDF 141KB)
Fast Forward 2008 Appendix 4 - Evaluating Performance (PDF 92KB)
Fast Forward 2008 Appendix 5 - Collections Data (PDF 182KB)
Previous editions of Fast Forward are available below. Consultations took place for the 2010 Fast Forward data collection in January.
Fast Forward 2006 (PDF 1MB)
Fast Forward 2004 (PDF 396KB)
Fast Forward 2002 (PDF 1MB)
Spotlight on Museums
In 2007, a comprehensive survey of Wales’ museums and collections was published by the Welsh Assembly Government. ‘Spotlight on Museums' was commissioned by CyMAL, the Assembly Government’s Museums, Archives and Libraries division to inform the development of a new museums strategy for Wales. The document can be found below.
Spotlight on Museums (PDF 1.2MB)
If you have any further queries, please contact Heather Dewell, Administrative Officer for Renaissance West Midlands, at heather.l.dewell@birmingham.gov.uk or +44 (0) 121 675 3500.