Spark! leadership programme

Strengthen your professional and personal resilience with this programme of support and development for independent museum leaders. Share your challenges and opportunities with a small peer group of museum directors and senior leaders. Reignite your creativity, re-energise your teams and face the future for your organisation with confidence.

Who is the Spark programme for?

This is a programme for those who are motivating and leading the overall team in their museum. We particularly welcome people with a significant leadership role including individual museum directors and other senior leaders.

As the programme is funded by Arts Council England, priority will be given to applicants in England.

What benefits does the programme offer?

The pandemic has greatly challenged the sector and had a marked impact on our organisations, our teams and ourselves. As a museum leader you will have been under particular pressures and stresses over the last 18 months.

Guided by experienced consultants, this targeted programme of support and professional development is designed to enable you to pause, reflect and plan. Participants expected to continue reflecting on their practice between sessions.

It is also designed to be a safe space to raise difficult issues and gain ongoing support from a network of peers – which will be part of the legacy of participating.

Delivery features

The programme is inter-active and offers a range of development opportunities. The programme is delivered online.to a cohort of 12 participants. It will include:

• 3 x 3 hour Action Learning Sets (two groups of six)

• 2 x 2 hour workshops to cover topics selected by you. We will work with you to shape the workshop content

• These could include:
  • Restructuring and managing organisational culture and reputational risk
  • Recasting roles for volunteers
  • ED&I considerations in recruitment and retention
  • Supporting the Board exercise governance
  • Developing your team(s)
  • Leaving and moving on

You will also be offered two individual, hour-long coaching sessions.

Programme dates

2pm – 5pm 25 October 2022 – Action Learning Set

2pm – 4pm 7 November 2022 – Workshop

2pm – 5pm 28 November 2022 – Action Learning Set

2pm – 4pm 16 January 2023 – Workshop

2pm – 5pm 30 January 2023 – Action Learning Set

How to apply

To apply for a place on the Spark! programme, email Margaret Harrison, Head of Programmes at AIM on margaret@aim-museums.co.uk and provide the following information:

• Your name, role and organisation
• What you think will be the biggest challenges of the next 6 – 12 months?
• What you hope to get out of the programme both personally and for your organisation?
• What has been the most challenging situation for you and your organization in the last 18 months?
• How many staff does your museum have?
• Has your funding been cut, grown or stabilized in the last 18 months?

Deadline: 9am on 13 October 2022.

Participants are asked to make £100 contribution towards the programme, which will be invoiced once their place has been confirmed.

Feedback from previous participants

This programme is intended to a springboard for the next phase of your career and was particularly well received by participants of the 2021/22 Spark! programme:

“I would unreservedly recommend the Spark! programme.  The programme leaders were excellent and the opportunity to network with peers was inspiring.”

“I think many leaders of museums/heritage would benefit.”

I”t was extremely useful, relevant and well led.”