Advice

About the UK Museum Accreditation Scheme

The Accreditation Standard is a handbook for running a successful museum, ensuring participants have essential policies, plans and procedures in place. The requirements cover three broad areas of museum activity: organisational health; collections; and users and their experiences.

The Scheme safeguards long-term access to public collections and provides a framework for ethical museum practice. It links directly with Spectrum – the UK collections management standard, and the Museums Association Code of Ethics.

Once Accredited, participants need to maintain the requirements of the Standard. The Scheme best supports organisational development when a virtuous circle of consultation, planning, review, improvements, and evaluation is in place.

The scheme is managed as a UK Partnership between Arts Council England (ACE), the Welsh Government, Museums Galleries Scotland and Northern Ireland Museums Council. It is run for museums and galleries of all sizes and types across the UK.

To find out more about the scheme, follow this link.

What are the benefits?

Gaining Accreditation is an endorsement. It’s the mark of a professionally run museum and an achievement to be proud of. It provides reassurance to funders, lenders, donors and other stakeholders that a museum has a solid foundation.

Accreditation helps with advocacy, particularly within larger organisations like local authorities, universities or professional bodies where museum activity is not the primary purpose of the organisation.

It also helps with accountability, providing reassurance to Board members in their oversight role.

The Scheme enables museums to assess their current performance, as well as supporting them to develop their services. There is an emphasis on forward planning for a successful and sustainable future.

For applicants and participants, the Accreditation assessment process represents a useful external check.

Who can apply?

Museum Accreditation is a flexible and inclusive Standard. It’s used by all types of public museums – from small volunteer run organisations to national institutions. The requirements are tailored according to museum size and type.

Accreditation is awarded to individual museum venues (a physical site/space/building), rather than collections.

The application process

The Accreditation Scheme has a two-stage application process. Applicants are first asked to complete an Eligibility Questionnaire. Speak to your Museum Development Adviser or Accreditation Adviser and determine if you meet the basic criteria. If your museum meets key eligibility criteria, you’ll gain Working Towards Accreditation status. You’ll then have up to three years to prepare and submit an Accreditation application.

If your application demonstrates that you meet the requirements of the Standard then Arts Council England will award Full Accreditation. Once Accredited, museums must keep ACE informed if they experience any change which impacts on their ability to meet the Standard.

Your Accreditation award lasts until your next review. This usually takes place every five years and is based on an assessment of your Accreditation Return.

You can find guidance, resources and templates to support you through each step of the process in the Accreditation Guidance Library.

MD North Accreditation Advice 

Museum Development North aims to provide all museums in the North of England with advice and support towards achieving and maintaining ACE Accreditation.

Our Accreditation Adviser provides general Accreditation advice, to:

• Museums preparing a return
• Museums preparing to submit an Eligibility Questionnaire application
• Museums Working Towards Accreditation who are preparing to submit an application
• Museums recognised as Provisionally Accredited whilst addressing their Required Actions towards meeting the Accreditation Standard
• Museums continuing to work towards maintaining the Accreditation Standard in their everyday practice between Return submissions.

MD North Accreditation Adviser

For Accreditation support please email accreditation@museumdevelopmentnorth.org.uk.