Symbiosis: a model of resilience for small specialist museums

This website provides guidelines for the propagation of mutually beneficial relationships between small specialist museums (small defined as museums with fewer than five FTE staff) and their related industry, including a range of case studies of successful interactions.

Funding is becoming ever harder for small museums to secure at a time when the expectation is that they will become independently more resilient. This project involved 20 small museums with different specialisms and a range of businesses exploring ways that museums and industry can work together to mutual advantage. It was the first time that museums had collaborated on exploring the relationship between museums and their industries and is the only resource to provide case studies of such interactions.

Creation of the resource involved a series of collaborative stages including an online survey which explored existing practice: how museums made contact with their related industry, time spent talking to them, and the nature of any ensuing engagement; two seminars at which experiences were shared; development of four sample interactions with different companies; and creation of the resource. The latter includes an account of existing practice; a ten-step guide to developing relationships with industry with downloadable models and templates for each step; the four case studies; and a benefits analysis of the process. Peer-review was undertaken by representatives of the partnering museums and by users of the resource.

Web rather than paper publication makes it more easily available and allows users to take the path through that best suits their needs. The resource is unique: there is no other resource that aims to build museum workforce skills in interaction with industry. It is already a primary point of reference for small specialist museums, and will, in time, contribute significantly to increased engagement between museums and industries enabling museums to serve their industries better and to become more resilient.