Museum Development South East

Photograph of people in a conference room

In addition to National Portfolio Organisation funding, Arts Council England has also awarded Norfolk Museums Service significant funding to lead on museum development. Norfolk Museums Service and Brighton & Hove Museums manage Museum Development South East. This is on behalf of more than 370 museums across the East and South East of England. We deliver Museums Development South East in partnership with: 

Cambridgeshire County Council 
Colchester and Ipswich Museums
Hertfordshire County Council 
Suffolk County Council

Many others contribute to our programme through their skills, resources, time, and support.

Our mission and outcomes

Museum Development South East's mission is to support and develop a thriving, inclusive and dynamic museums sector which reflects the diverse heritage of the South East.

Since 2009, Norfolk Museums Service and Brighton & Hove Museums have supported museums through:

Innovative skills-sharing
Training
Guidance for staff and volunteers

We've:

Invested in development opportunities
Brokered partnerships
Helped museums improve services and sustainability

In 2024-25 alone, the programme supported 80% of the region's Accredited museums through:

Development programmes
Grants schemes
Seventy-one training events attended by over 1,110 delegates

We awarded 106 grants with a total value of £172,536.

Programme for 2024-28

We've developed our programme for 2024-28 in consultation and collaboration with the sector. It is flexible, responds to needs and we've designed it for museums of all sizes.

Our plans include:

Developing museums' understanding of audience data to increase visitor numbers and improve visitor experience
Improving museums' financial resilience through developing income generation and supporting funding applications
Supporting museums to adopt environmentally sustainable practices
Diversifying the workforce of museums to improve long-term resilience
Helping museums develop family-friendly activities and practices

You can find the full programme on www.mdse.org.uk.