Migration Museums Network: Evaluation Report (2016–17)

This evaluation report reflects on a pilot year for a proposed Migration Museums Network that ran from November 2016 to November 2017.

The Migration Museum Project (MMP) coordinated this pilot to gauge the demand and need for a Network to increase and improve work on migration and related themes across the museums, heritage and arts sectors in the UK.

The aims of the Network were to raise awareness of the growth of work on the important theme
of migration, to share best practice and create opportunities for increased learning and collaboration.The pilot was supported by Arts Council England and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, and aligns with MMP’s aim of creating a permanent home for the Migration Museum in London, whilst learning from and supporting work on migration themes across the UK.The pilot was guided at all stages by a steering group that met regularly.

At the outset it was agreed that the main goals of the pilot would be to:

  • Update existing scoping research conducted in 2009 by IPPR that mapped representation of migration themes across the heritage sector
  • Conduct a wide-reaching online survey to contribute to this research and gauge interest in the Network
  • Coordinate two events, in London and Newcastle, to bring people together to learn and network
This report describes the main activities of the pilot, analyses feedback, critically assesses MMP’s learning, and concludes with proposed next steps.