Training programmes
Bolster your skills with training on areas of museum practice: collections care and management, marketing, sustainability, learning, audience engagement and more.
A significant part of our training offer is delivered through a joint arrangement with Museum Development South East, in which we provide places for London museums on their online training events.
Much of the training in equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and environmental responsibility is delivered as part of national programmes run by the Museum Development England partnership.
Who's eligible?
All paid and unpaid staff working for non-national (and non-NPO), accredited museums in London are eligible to apply for places. Non-accredited, national, NPO and museums outside London may be allocated places if there is space, but will be a lower priority due to our core funding criteria.
Accessibility
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Our statement describes the standards of accessibility you can expect with our training.
Upcoming events
10am – 12pm (Online)
Trainer: Adam Koszary
What will be covered?
Humanity has changed a lot over the millennia but one thing remains constant: we love a good story.
The only thing that’s changed is the technology available to tell those stories and which enable us to reach a far greater number of people.
Websites, social media and other technologies offer a huge variety of ways of telling stories, but the core of what makes a good story remains unchanged.
This course will cover:
- how we can take advantage of digital tools and platforms to tell stories about our collections, people and organisations
- how effective stories are structured, including case studies from within and outside the cultural sector
- common digital storytelling formats, including websites, articles, social media, VR, AR, podcasts and onsite experiences
- ethical and reputational considerations when choosing and telling stories
Who should attend?
- Anyone involved with digital content (whether it’s in your job description or not)
- Museum and archive professionals responsible for interpretation and public engagement
Museum and Archive staff working in a local authority service, or one supported by the local authority will be given priority booking for this course.
By the end of this course, you will:
- understand how to use your collections, staff and programme to create digital stories
- understand how to plan and structure digital stories using suggested formats and processes
- be aware of what options are available in terms of tools and platforms
- understand the strategic, ethical and reputational considerations
- be confident in taking next steps for creating digital stories
10am – 12.30pm
Trainer: Sarah Wickham, Freelance archives consultant
What will be covered?
Advocacy is key for museums and archives. It helps influence decision makers, highlights your value and supports both daily operations and long-term sustainability. This session will introduce core approaches to define the purpose of advocacy work and plan to carry it out. The session will introduce participants to:
- defining advocacy and your objectives
- building your advocacy strategy – stakeholders, messages
- planning your advocacy work
You will be invited to identify an opportunity for advocacy within your own context and work on developing a message and approach during the session.
The session is suitable for people who wish to learn core concepts and tools or take practical steps towards advocating for their service. The course will be suitable for anyone in the cultural and heritage sectors.
Who should attend?
- museum and archive professionals responsible for managing services
- staff and volunteers with responsibility for service development and advocacy
Museum and archive staff working in a local authority service, or one supported by the local authority, will be given priority booking for this course.
By the end of this course, you will:
- understand what advocacy is
- develop skills to define objectives for advocacy
- develop skills to use effective stakeholder analysis
- understand how to devise an effective message
- understand the basics of planning an advocacy campaign
Places have been purchased for London museums on the online training events being run by Museum Development South East.
Most of these events are open to London museums. Look for those carrying the Museum Development London logo halfway down the page and the wording "If you are working or volunteering for a museum in London you are eligible to attend this session".
The award-winning Roots & Branches, environmentally-driven collaborative project between Museum Development England, The Carbon Literacy Project and Manchester Museum has launched a new programme for the next two years, running from June 2024 until March 2026. They will be running a series of series throughout the programme.
The Roots & Branches online programme includes:
- carbon literacy courses
- trainer support sessions
- Seeds for Action connect and co-work
- Seeds for Action in focus
- Seeds for Action case studies
If you have any questions about the programme, please contact Alison Criddle at Museum Development North or contact the Museum Development London team.
Past programmes
You can watch recordings of some of the past training sessions on our YouTube channel.
More on supporting museums
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Grants & development
We have a range of intensive programmes and grants for museums
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Support
How we can give your museum support, including accreditation advice
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Museum networks
These museum networks give a platform for the exchange of skills and info between museums
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News
The latest news from us and the wider museum sector
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Annual surveys
Highlighting trends in the museum sector and supporting benchmarking and advocacy
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Contact the team
Get in touch with our Museum Development London team
