Consultant to develop and facilitate a peer learning and support programme
Introduction
Grow Safe Access is an inclusion-focussed project funded by the Heritage Innovation Fund, created by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF). Having completed the ‘Explore’ and ‘Test’ phases, and having moved from Cornwall Museums Partnership (now closed) to the Association of Independent Museums (AIM) during the second phase, we are now working on a two-year £250k programme aimed at iterating and improving wellbeing in heritage settings for people engaging with sensitive collections and stories.
We want museums and heritage organisations to be able to support everyone who engages with their collections and exhibitions: workforce, volunteers, partners, local communities and visitors. During the Grow phase, the Safe Access programme will:
- Build a community of museums and heritage organisations determined to embed wellbeing-focussed and trauma-informed approaches in all aspects of their working practices and programming.
- Develop a resource for organisations to improve how people from marginalised communities can engage with collections, covering culture change, good working practices with communities and freelancers, and sector-wide actions.
The key element of this programme will be to bring together two cohorts of museums and heritage organisations interested in experimenting with ways to improve wellbeing and developing safer approaches to working with marginalised communities and people with under-represented perspectives and stories. The cohort organisations will receive small implementation funds to support this work.
They will also form groups for peer learning, support and professional development; building on our capacity-building approach in the AIM grant programmes New Stories, New Audiences (NLHF-funded), Re:Collections (Welsh Government), and Connected Communities (Department for Culture, Media and Sport via Arts Council England).
As well as helping the cohort organisations and individuals to engage reflectively in this work and deliver to their developmental needs in line with Safe Access, the Peer Cohort Learning & Support Programme is intended to create a core network of supporters to help spread Safe Access approaches across the sector through their practice and advocacy, both during and beyond the programme.
We now wish to engage a consultant or consultants to run the Safe Access Peer Learning & Support Programme, working closely with the Safe Access Project Manager and colleagues at AIM.
Peer cohort support programme
Participating cohort organisations will:
- Support the development of the Wellbeing Framework
Participants will be expected to help the Project Manager evaluate and shape the Safe Access Wellbeing Framework by sharing successes, challenges and what hasn’t worked in their organisation;
- Participate in a Peer Learning & Support Programme
For project leads within the organisation (staff or volunteers) to feel supported and build networks of skilled people for inclusion-focussed work within the sector. Programme activities will include action learning sets, facilitated peer-learning and sharing meetings, and a residential;
- Attend Professional Development Sessions
For organisation staff and volunteers to learn best practice from across the sector and development tools by attending workshops and masterclasses delivered by relevant experts
- Support the development of resources
Participants will be asked to contribute to externally-commissioned evaluation, provide a case study of their work, and take part in activities to provide the wider sector with support and examples of delivering inclusion-focussed culture change that centres wellbeing and lived experience.
The programme currently proposes two museum cohorts with a maximum of six organisations in each round, with one to two Project Leads from each organisation participating in the Peer Learning & Support Programme. The first cohort will run from approx. April 2025 to November 2026 and will include organisations that will support the development of the Wellbeing Framework. The second cohort will commence in approx. February 2026 and run until November 2026; participating organisations will test and help iterate the Wellbeing Framework further. We currently anticipate running two rounds of the Peer Learning & Support Programme and will take advice from the Cohort Facilitator(s) in due course as to the timing and length of the second cohort of organisations.
We expect organisations will be based across the UK and most meetings and sessions will be held online, but would like to hold at least one in-person residential over the course of the 18 months of the Peer Learning & Support Programme element. The timings of this element should take into account the rhythms of the museum and heritage sector; acknowledging that summer, Christmas/New Year, and Easter are busy times for many visitor-facing organisations which is likely to limit participants’ engagement during these times.
Consultant/s to develop the peer learning and support programme
AIM wishes to recruit a consultant or consultants to deliver the Peer Learning & Support Programme (outlined in Point 2 above). We anticipate that the programme will include:
- Regular cohort meetings
- Action learning sets
- Workshops and Masterclasses (costs for speakers and/or training will be covered by a separate budget)
- At least one in-person Residential/event for all participating organisations (event costs will be covered by a separate budget).
We are open to other proposals that reach the outcomes of enabling participants to learn from and support one another, engage in reflective activities about the work they are doing, and share knowledge and ideas.
The consultant(s) will also work alongside the Project Manager to develop and deliver a programme of Professional Development Sessions (outlined in Point 3 above), and will provide insights supporting the development and production of the Wellbeing Framework and resources (Points 1 and 4). This could include:
- Proposing speakers for masterclasses/workshops
- Identifying relevant formal or informal training for participants
- Supporting the planning and coordination of the professional development sessions, as well as other CPD opportunities that will complement the Peer Learning & Support Programme
- Providing evaluation and insight on the wellbeing framework and supporting resources, based on interactions with the Cohort organisations during meetings and sessions.
This is an exciting opportunity to be involved in a new and innovative funding stream from NLHF, and join AIM in delivering a project aspiring to provide sector-leading inclusion- and wellbeing-focussed culture-change for museums and heritage organisations.
The consultant/s delivering and facilitating the Peer Learning & Support Programme will play a key role in the AIM Safe Access team, alongside AIM staff and the freelance Project Manager.
A key element of the programme will be network building and enabling the Cohort Project Leads with the confidence and skills to be ambassadors for how organisational cultures in museums and heritage can support wellbeing. We hope the successful consultant(s) will help develop the group into the nucleus of an ongoing community of practice for this kind of work.
Person specification
We are looking for an experienced consultant(s) with substantial and demonstrable expertise in the following areas:
- A robust understanding of the challenges that people from marginalised communities can face especially when working with sensitive or difficult topics and objects as museum and heritage staff, freelancers, volunteers, and visitors
- Experience in developing and delivering peer support programmes
- Experience of facilitating leadership development activities, including Action Learning Sets
- Experience in supporting and mentoring individuals from a wide range of organisations often in complex and challenging situations
- Knowledge and expertise in the theory and practice of organisational development, strategy and change
- Are approachable, organised, capable of initiating and shaping workstreams, as well as communicating clearly and regularly with other team members.
Payment
There is a fee of £24,960 including VAT. This is to include travel and expenses but much of the work is expected to be conducted remotely. A payment schedule will be agreed on appointment.
We are keen to see proposals that set out how the consultant(s) would apportion the funds between the possible two cohorts and across the length of time of the programme, taking into account the desire for residentials (consultants should include their own time but other costs e.g. venue and board will be covered in other budgets) and the need to provide advice and insight to the Project Manager on the programme outputs.
Contract management
The role is freelance and the contractor will need to be able to work from home and provide their own IT and office equipment.
AIM has a standard self-employed contractor agreement.
The contractor will report to the AIM Programmes and Grants Officer.
How to apply
Please send us a proposal, in any format that you wish (be that a written document, collage/mind-map, voice note, video), that includes the following:
- An outline methodology for how you would deliver the programme (maximum of 2 sides of A4 / 4 minutes)
- The skills and experience you would bring to the role, specifically addressing the criteria listed above (maximum of 1 side of A4 / 2 minutes)
- The details of two referees
- A breakdown of your costs for delivering each element of the programme.
Proposals should be sent to AIM Programmes and Grants Officer, Fiona Woolley [email protected] by 5pm Monday 24 March.