ABOUT

A multi-disciplinary, cross cutting programme designed to create a step change in the museums capacity to work with diversity. As project manager, it was it was my job to prepare the blueprint for the programme, refining the vision for the programme, scoping the projects that would be delivered as part of the programme and defining the benefits. To complete the blueprint, I built an extensive evidence base for change by adapting McKinsey 7 S model (Structure, Systems, Style, Staff, Skills, Strategy and Shared Values), the process also included a diversity audit, a policy review; benchmarking by looking at similar organisations; an analysis of user and partner expectations and a staff survey, as well as conducting an innovative network analysis. My analysis allowed me to identify key challenges including a lack staff understating of diversity exemplified by a lack of awareness of potentially offensive language used to describe the collections, lack of understanding from visitors about who the V&A are, we found that visitors often confused the V&A with the British Museum, and the continued existence of organisational policies written in the 19th Century that explicitly excluded the collection of material from either African or the Caribbean. I presented my analysis to senior staff and was able to persuade them to support a programme that I both developed and delivered that included: a new internal communications strategy to raise awareness of the strategic importance of diversity; a new glossary to enable staff to use appropriate language consistently and training for staff on its how to use it and a range of new audiences engagement activities including exhibitions, talks tours and new web content and a policy review that ultimately led to the museum changing its collecting to policy to enable the collection of material from Africa and the Caribbean.
At the end of the 3-year period the programme saw an 200% increase in BAME visitors and a significant shift in understanding from those visitors about what type of museum the V&A is; 75% staff reported higher confidence of working with diversity and all collections staff reported having greater confidence identifying and eradicating offensive language