York Museums Trust will continue to provide advice and support to museums across the Yorkshire and Humber region after securing funding until 2018.

The Trust will receive £945,000 from Arts Council England’s Museum Development Fund, part of Arts Council England’s Renaissance funding programme.

The Trust has managed the Museum Development Yorkshire team since it was established in 2012.

Michael Turnpenny, museum development manager, said:

“This award will place York Museums Trust amongst a network of nine organisations across England that have been commissioned to drive development and deliver sustainability, resilience and innovation in England’s regional museums. This confirms York Museums Trust as a major source of museum leadership within the region.

“We will remain committed to supporting museums across Yorkshire to manage their resources, look after their collections and provide services to their audiences in ways that meet or exceed recognised standards within the museum sector, helping sites and services shape their future resilience. ”

Since 2012 Museum Development Yorkshire has supported 96 per cent of eligible museums in the region. This included advice on a wide range of subjects, such as collections management, energy saving, audience development and applying for funding – with eleven cash grants won.

Museum Development Yorkshire are now keen to build on our track record of supporting museums and plan to offer more for museums, their collections and communities.

Future plans include:

Annual success review for museums
Access to more information, advice and guidance
Detailed, focussed and specialist consultancy support to museums on a one-to-one basis
Access to a small grant fund
Regional programmes focussing on:

• Collections skills
• Digital engagement
• Working to support poverty reduction, health and wellbeing agendas Encouraging youth voice