Research demonstrates value of University Museums

Research undertaken by the UMG has demonstrated the continuing importance of university museums in caring for and making accessible collections of national and international significance.  The research relates to those museums currently supported by the HEFCE Museums, Galleries and Collections Fund.

 

Key points from the research include:

  • HEFCE-funded university museums care for, and make accessible, a great wealth of collections of national and international significance. They comprise 2.3% of all Accredited museums in England, but 24% of museum collections that are Designated as being of national and international significance.  In essence, they constitute a distributed collection of equivalent quality to national museums
  • In 2014-15, the £10.5m of HEFCE Museums, Galleries & Collections funding enabled 30 university museums and galleries in England to leverage a total of £42.5m of funding from other external sources (trusts, foundations, research councils, commercial income, philanthropy and donations)
  • In addition, the HEFCE funding leveraged £13.5m of direct support from host universities, giving a total value of £56m of leveraged support at a ratio of over 5:1 to HEFCE funding
  • During the course of academic year 2014-15, this enabled HEFCE-funded university museums to engage with:

4.5 million visitors

207,000 school students

37,000 university students

16,000 further education students

 

And, in addition:

Hold 222 exhibitions and 4,120 public events

Make available 515 national and 141 international loans of 7,938 museum objects

Over 170 university museums and collections in the UK

More than 100 open to the public and 77 Accredited Museums

Holding some of the nation’s most important collections

In England and Wales, we hold 30% of designated collections

Both part of a University and part of the Museum sector

From major visitor attractions to research & teaching collections

Education

Our collections guide and inform HE research as well as community outreach and accessibility.


UCL Qatar

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