Survey of Scotland’s Museums and Galleries Sector

Tender description

In 2012, the Scottish Government tasked MGS with launching a National Strategy for Scotland’s museums and galleries, which aimed to unite the sector in working towards a more sustainable future. The objective was to support Scotland’s museums and galleries in becoming ambitious, dynamic and sustainable enterprises, connecting people, places, and collections as well as inspiring, delighting and creating public value. Since launching the strategy, three corresponding delivery plans have been published. MGS is currently working with The Diffley Partnership to produce an updated National Strategy and delivery plan, to be published in January 2023. As part of this project, and to provide data which will serve to drive the direction of sector development for a number of years, MGS is commissioning a survey covering of all of Scotland’s 441 museums and galleries. MGS seeks to appoint a contractor to undertake this sector-wide survey, and to produce a written report providing detailed statistical analysis and segmentation of the data gathered. The report will draw high-level comparisons with data and statements contained in a previous sector survey. In 2012, the Scottish Government tasked MGS with launching a National Strategy for Scotland’s museums and galleries, which aimed to unite the sector in working towards a more sustainable future. The objective was to support Scotland’s museums and galleries in becoming ambitious, dynamic and sustainable enterprises, connecting people, places, and collections as well as inspiring, delighting and creating public value. Since launching the strategy, three corresponding delivery plans have been published. MGS is currently working with The Diffley Partnership to produce an updated National Strategy and delivery plan, to be published in January 2023. As part of this project, and to provide data which will serve to drive the direction of sector development for a number of years, MGS is commissioning a survey covering of all of Scotland’s 441 museums and galleries. MGS seeks to appoint a contractor to undertake this sector-wide survey, and to produce a written report providing detailed statistical analysis and segmentation of the data gathered. The report will draw high-level comparisons with data and statements contained in a previous sector survey. MGS invites tenders from individuals and organisations with an understanding of the nature of the museums and galleries sector, as well as considerable, demonstrable knowledge and experience of survey design and methodology, data segmentation, analysis and reporting. The successful contractor will work with MGS to design a survey questionnaire which will be issued to all of Scotland’s 441 museums and galleries. The survey will cover a wide range of subjects, including climate issues, social impact, volunteering, recruitment, equality and diversity, collections and engagement. The successful contractor will circulate the survey and follow up with individual museum and gallery organisations as appropriate. The targeted organisations have all registered with MGS to be eligible for funding programmes, and the successful contractor will have access to the relevant MGS mailing lists and contact information. Should any substantial difficulties be encountered in obtaining data, MGS staff will provide the interface between the successful contractor and the museum/gallery organisation. A full 100% response rate is not anticipated, but MGS expects a minimum survey response rate as follows:- - 60% response rate from 28 local authorities /ALEOS - 60% response rate from 10 Universities - 40% response rate from 260 organisations managing independent museums Following the survey, the successful contractor will collate, segment and analyse all data received, before condensing this into a written report. The report will highlight significant findings as well as identifying comparative trends by assessing the data against the findings of a previous national audit. The report should be in a format which can be repurposed by MGS, particularly for wider publication and reporting. Tender proposals should outline how this work will be approached, and the rationale for the chosen methodology.