Being an effective trustee

Good governance is key to well-run, successful museums yet being a trustee can sometimes feel daunting. AIM’s range of dedicated support, practical guidance and inspiration is designed to help you and your Board in this critical area and has been developed with input from colleagues and experts from right across the sector.

Essential reads

Successful governance for museums

This guide is designed to be of practical help to Boards of independent museums throughout the UK.

Guides for boards – introduction to museums for new trustees

This guide offers an introduction to the museum and heritage sector, and highlights responsibilities that are particular to museum trustees.

Improving your museum governance

AIM’s Guides for Boards provide practical and expert advice on different aspects of museum governance.

Golden rules for good governance

Years of hard-won experience reveal these Golden Rules form the basis for successful governance for all independent museums and galleries – large and small.

Guides for boards – doing a governance audit

A governance audit is a process of reviewing documentation and processes and this guide will help you through that process.

Guides for boards – reviewing governing documents

This guidance is intended to help trustees of museum and heritage organisations ensure that the legal form of their organisation remains fit for purpose.

Guides for boards – successful away days

This guide is designed to offer museums and heritage organisations everything needed to plan a successful Away Day.

Guides for boards – more effective meetings

This guide introduces approaches that enable you to generate powerful decisions and far reaching results in your board meetings and conversations.

Guides for boards – running an open recruitment process

This guidance gives you simple, practical advice about planning and running an open recruitment process.

Building a diverse board

Building a diverse board is a critical part of achieving the balance between core professional skills and broader strategic experience.

Guides for boards – planning to recruit a manager

This guidance is intended to help trustees of museums and heritage organisations with planning to recruit a manager or member of staff for their organisation.

Guides for boards – framework for a trustee review

This guidance is designed to help museums with establishing a framework for Trustee review.

Guides for boards – role description for museum trustee

This guidance includes a role descriptor for museum Trustees, which you can adapt to take your particular circumstances into account.

Further reading: Charity governance codes

The Charity Governance Codes are essential reading:

England and Wales: The Charity Governance Code (opens in a new tab) Northern Ireland: Good Governance Code for NI Charities (opens in a new tab) Scotland: Scottish Code for the Third Sector (opens in a new tab)

Trustees will also find it helpful to refer to the statutory guidance provided:

England and Wales: The Charity Commission – The Essential Trustee (opens in a new tab) The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland – Running Your Charity (opens in a new tab) OSCR Scottish Charity Regulator – Guidance and Good Practice for Charity Trustees (opens in a new tab)

The Charities Act received Royal Assent in February 2022 and implements recommendations from Law Commission report (2017) and Lord Hodgson’s review of the 2006 Charities Act (2012). This briefing from governance experts Hilary Barnard and Ruth Lesirge highlights the key changes relevant to museums who are registered charities.

The Charities Act 2022: What this means for museum trustees

This briefing from governance experts Hilary Barnard and Ruth Lesirge highlights the key changes relevant to museums who are registered charities.

Get support from AIM

AIM Higher

This governance support programme provides experienced and expert consultants to help your Board

Advertise your trustee vacancies

AIM members can advertise trustee vacancies for free across on our website and social channels.

AIM resources

We have lots of resources covering all aspects of running an independent museum.

Cultural Governance Alliance

The Cultural Governance Alliance (CGA) is a light-touch collective of agencies, organisations and advocates working strategically to champion, share and promote best practice in the governance of culture.

AIM members are invited to join Cultural Governance Alliance to help promote and evolve good governance in the cultural sector. We warmly welcome participation from both individuals and organisations. Membership is free.

Cultural Governance Alliance website (opens in a new tab)

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