Integrating Forms of Care: Building Communities of Practice around Reserve Collections

'Integrating Forms of Care' follows on from an earlier collaborative research project 'Who Cares? Interventions in 'unloved' museum collections'. This initial project worked with the Science Museum, the Museum of English Rural Life and the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust to explore the role of enthusiasm, creativity and affection in the stewardship of 'unloved' or under-appreciated collections. 'Who cares?' exposed the significant role that enthusiast experts (independent researchers with a clear expertise in and passion for a particular subject or collection) play in caring for museum collections, particularly those which others may find difficult to engage with due to their repetitive or specialist nature. Despite the majority of museum staff being dedicated to improving collections access, negotiating a suitable level of physical access and playing a part in decision making processes around the reserve collections could be challenging due in part to a potential clash of cultures between enthusiasts and professional museum staff. It was this finding in particular where a clear but unexpected pathway to impact and engagement emerged.

In order to help democratise heritage decision-making and open up reserve collections to a wider audience, this follow-on project will bring together a group of museum curators and enthusiast experts into a single collaborative working group. Together this group will form a unique community of practice embarking on a programme of knowledge exchange events which focus on the Science Museum Group's (SMG) 'Energy' collections, a diverse group of objects dispersed across its sites in London, Manchester and Wroughton. The working group will come together regularly through the schedule of project activities, visiting each of the SMG's stores in turn and taking part in focussed discussions which 'problematise' these reserve collections from multiple perspectives. The project activities will be based around three strands of knowledge exchange: community asset mapping, collaborative problem solving and activities to facilitate wider public engagement. We recognise that members of the working group may have very different frames of reference and priorities concerning reserve collections, one of the key aims of the project is to acknowledge these and give them space to be heard and understood. Through the example of SMG , the working group will ultimately devise a clear set of policy guidelines for wider museums and heritage organisations on how to design more flexible forms of preservation policy that allows for potentially more varied forms of access and 'use' of objects.

Over the course of the project the working group will be accompanied by Creative Practitioners who will facilitate the discussions and create visible reference points, such as a publically accessible dynamic map, which aims to capture the complexity of these conversations. The creative practitioners will also create a project documentary to be hosted on the project website, giving visibility to enthusiast research practices and skills and encouraging new users to make use of reserve collections.

'Integrating Forms of Care' will work alongside the SMG's large scale 'Collections Review Programme'. This is a timely opportunity to influence forward-thinking and sustainable collections management practices in a National Museum context, which will ultimately aid the recognition of the plural values that museum collections represent. However, the focus of the project will be outward looking and felt by a much wider group across the Museum Sector. Through dissemination of project's collaborative outputs by the project team and working group at a Public Workshop and via social and professional networks, this knowledge exchange programme will have a wider societal and professional impact to other museums in the UK and beyond.

This follow-on project will impact the primary audiences of the 'Who Cares' research (museum professionals and enthusiast experts), providing a structure and forum for knowledge-exchange that will bring these groups into productive dialogue. This dialogue will impact policy in a National Museum i.e. the Science Museum Group (SMG). Through their networks the working group, PI, Co-I and RA will reproduce that impact across the museum sector. 'Integrating Forms of Care' benefits UK STEM history enthusiast experts, by raising their profile within key decision making discussions and promoting their contributions to UK heritage to new audiences. Additionally, the project extends the impact of 'Who Cares' to new audiences, in framing the issues under discussion in creative ways, it will generate resources that increase the accessibility of stored collections to new non-specialist publics.

MUSEUM PROFESSIONALS Museum practitioners have long been calling for imaginative solutions for collection sustainability that address the role of stored collections in heritage practices. The importance attached to the audit of a major national collection make this project a highly visible experiment in knowledge-exchange and participatory practice, and one which will be welcomed, within the SMG, and across the UK museum sector.
All the members of the project working group are well situated to effect knowledge transfer from the project to their respective communities. Co-I Kirby, Head of SMG's Collections Services will use the project to directly inform the Collections Review across the organisation. The PI, Co-I and participating curators are all active museums professionals, who are well placed to disseminate the conversations of the knowledge exchange to the broader professional community; formally through an AHRC report, informally via social media, professional networks, and teaching post-graduate students.

ENTHUSIAST EXPERT GROUPS The desire for increased access, regular consultation and the possibility of a more 'integrated' approach to STEM heritage are ongoing concerns of these groups. The project directly addresses these concerns.The enthusiast expert participants are well connected in third sector heritage communities. They publish regularly within their respective groups and are highly respected members of these organisations. An online forum and a public workshop will extend the knowledge-exchange to even greater numbers by inviting contributions to the project forum from other relevant organisations (see CfS). Finally, the project supports two public presentations by the enthusiast participants, enabling them to share the outcomes of the knowledge exchange in peer-led events across the UK.

NEW COLLECTIONS USERS Studies have revealed that the public has only a vague understanding of the purpose and scale of stored collections within the UK heritage landscape. The creative mapping, and videos will create a structured visualization of the sites and activities 'behind the scenes' in the museum. The 'tool kit' written collaboratively with the experts and curators will describe the process of carrying out independent research in the stores. These resources will provide insight for potential new users of the collections into the experience of conducting research in the stores, and increase their confidence to approach museum staff with questions and work plans.

The creative practitioner, John Wallett and his team were selected because of their proven track-record in working with communities to create visualisations of resources and dialogues that are meaningful and captivating for diverse audiences. The SMG has long-standing expertise in using digital media (websites, video and social media) to promote interest and dialogue around its collections The project will draw on the museum's existing reputation, expertise and networks to maximize the spread and intensity of the impact of these resources beyond the organisation itself.