Helpdesk

Iplicit

FuseMetrix

Planday

My ePayWindow

Intranet

Category: Key update

  • Useful Information – Forging Ahead FAQs

    Useful Information – Forging Ahead FAQs

    In response to some excellent questions that staff and volunteers have been asking about BCLM: Forging Ahead, you’ll now find a Forging Ahead Frequently Asked Questions document in the ‘Useful Information’ section of the ‘Documents’ tab above.

    This will be updated as more questions come in but if you’d rather ask your own questions in person don’t forget that Lisa Cowley, Deputy Chief Executive (Visitor Engagement & Operations) is available on the last Wednesday of every month from 5.30pm – 6.30pm in the offices above Hartills. These sessions have now also been added to the Museum Calendar.

  • BCLM: Forging Ahead – Visitor Welcome Architects announced

    BCLM: Forging Ahead – Visitor Welcome Architects announced

    After a highly competitive European-wide tender process which saw 24 architectural practices enter the design competition for our new Visitor Welcome facilities, we are now delighted to announce that Napier Clarke Architects Ltd have been selected.

    The Visitor Welcome is a key element of BCLM: Forging Ahead. It includes the relocation the Museum’s entrance to the higher southern end of the open-air site in order to create a physical link between BCLM, the other attractions at Castle Hill (including Dudley Zoo, Castle and Canal Trust) and the new access infrastructure that has recently been completed.  This will support the wider Dudley and Black Country strategies to create a tourism hub, capable of attracting 1m visitors per annum.

    The winning design proposed by Napier Clarke (see image above) will see the construction of a new contemporary Visitor Centre, which provides a fit-for-purpose admissions point for 5,000 visitors per day and an introductory exhibition, food & drink and retail facilities. This enables the current Rolfe Street entrance building to be repurposed as a dedicated Learning centre.

    Napier Clarke Architects Ltd, brought together a team of Donald McIntyre Design Ltd, BWB Consulting and Red Kite Network Ltd. Together they presented a robust and attractive design, and our selection panel felt that their approach and skills match the Museum’s requirements.

    We are looking forward to working with them on this essential aspect of the project and will keep you updated with progress on the design.

    Andrew Lovett

    Director and Chief Executive

  • Funding Success – Arts Council England, National Portfolio Organisation

    Funding Success – Arts Council England, National Portfolio Organisation

    I’m pleased to let you know that we have this morning received confirmation from Arts Council England (ACE) that our application for £2.2million of National Portfolio Organisation investment 2018/19 – 2021/22 has been successful.

    We will receive £550,000 for each of the four years of investment, a significant amount of which will support our major development project BCLM: Forging Ahead including the growth and development of our STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Maths) Learning Programme and Community Engagement Programme with communities across the Black Country.

    Our four years as a National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) will immediately follow our successful three years as an ACE funded Major Partner Museum (MPM). NPOs and MPMs now merge into one National Portfolio made up of 831 organisations including museums, libraries and arts organisations.

    In order to finalise the funding agreement, we must produce a number of action plans, including an Audience Engagement Plan and Digital Policy and Plan for submission in January 2018 in anticipation of investment beginning in April 2018.

    You can find out more about the new National Portfolio, including how else ACE is investing in our area, by visiting the Arts Council England website – www.artscouncil.org.uk/NPO

    In the meantime, if you have any questions about the portfolio or what this means for you or the Museum, please direct them to your line manager in the first instance.

    Andrew Lovett

    Director and Chief Executive

  • Join the ‘Visitor Manifesto’ Working Group

    We would like to create a working group of staff from across all Museum teams to review the draft Visitor Manifesto and consider how we can train and support staff and volunteers to understand and implement it in their roles. It will involve two workshop sessions of up to two hours. We would like you to join this working group to help us deliver the best visitor experience possible. We are limiting places to two staff members per team and two volunteers from across the Museum. If you are interested in getting involved please let HR know by 17 July.

    Delivering a compelling visitor experience, day-in-day-out, is the most critical and challenging thing the Museum does. It goes to the heart of what we are here for, and it is essential to our success, financial sustainability and continued growth.

    The drafted visitor manifesto sets out what all of us, staff and volunteers, can do to provide an outstanding visitor offer and deepen relationships between visitors and the Museum.

     

  • BCLM: Forging Ahead – watch us on ITV and BBC!

    BCLM: Forging Ahead – watch us on ITV and BBC!

    UPDATE: If you missed us on ITV Central and Midlands Today, see below.

     

     

    The original announcement on 14 June below:

     

    I’m pleased to say that tomorrow (Thursday 15 June) we will be making a public announcement about our recent Round One Heritage Lottery Funding success.

    We are hoping that the media will be as excited as we are about this important stage in our BCLM: Forging Ahead project and in the future of the Museum. So keep a lookout over the next few days in your local press, on local radio and hopefully on TV as we share this big news!

    In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek at the video that we’ll be sending out with the press release and using on our social media channels.

     

    Thank you for your patience and confidentiality over the last few weeks – just one more day to go!

     

    Laura Wakelin

    Deputy Chief Executive (Communications & Marketing)

  • UPDATE: We have a winner for DCT Real Ale Festival Tickets

    UPDATE: We have a winner for DCT Real Ale Festival Tickets

    Dudley Canal Trust have kindly provided the Museum with 2 complimentary tickets for their Real Ale Festival which is taking place between 28 June and 1 July, including 2 free drinks!

    To be in with a chance of winning this pair of tickets, please send your name and contact details to [email protected] or pop up to see us in Rolfe St and let either Carmel or Michaela have these details by 5pm on Thursday 22 June.

    Names will then be selected randomly and the winner announced on the intranet.

    Best of luck!

    Update 23/06/2017:

    Natalie Banks from our Bookings team has been drawn as the winner of the 2 complementary tickets and 2 free drinks per person for the Dudley Canal Trust Real Ale and Cider Festival taking place between 28 June and 1 July 2017.

    Have fun Natalie!

  • Staff Consultative Forum – 6 June

    Staff consultative forum will take place on Tuesday 6 June where your representative Josefine Frank will bring up any issues that you may have.

    These meetings are designed to give you a chance to be listened to as well as have your say on a range of topics. If you’ve got any suggestions, please put them to Josefine in advance. These could centre around making things run a little bit better, asking for clarification on a certain topic or just suggestions for improving your work environment.

     

     

  • Update: work exchange at the British Museum

    Update 26 Jun: applicants have now been selected.

    Sara Orlandi, Gifts & Donor Support Manager at the British Museum will be joining the Development Team in September to find out more about our membership recruitment and looking at what processes are in place around this. She’ll also be sharing what the British Museum do and her experiences there with us.

    Abby Bird will be joining the Digital & Communications Team at the British Museum to explore how we can better make use of our CRM as well as take part in general knowledge exchange around social media and other digital trends. In return she will share how we use our CRM, and provide insight into the overall marketing strategy.

    If you’ve ever fancied going behind the scenes at the UK’s most popular attraction (6.42m in 2017), now is your chance!

    We’re delighted to announce that the Museum has been selected as on of the partners in the British Museum’s Knowledge Exchange Programme for 2017. Knowledge Exchange offers the opportunity of a fully funded and co-ordinated five day professional exchange between paid staff, in any role, at selected partner museums and the British Museum. The British Museum will take on one employee from each of its partner museums, and as part of the scheme pays for all travel, accommodation and subsistence costs associated with the exchanges.

    The programme is part of the wide-ranging National Programmes at the British Museum, which partners with around 250 UK organisations a year through single-object spotlight tours, touring exhibitions, partnership galleries, loans and skills development initiatives. The exchanges are organised by the UK Partnerships Co-ordinator at the British Museum and are made possible by the generous support of the Vivmar Foundation.

    “My experience during my exchange at the British Museum exceeded my expectations and hopes. I returned to my museum not only with new ideas and insights but also with increased confidence in what we already offer at our museum and a fresh inspiration to adapt and develop our activity” – Knowledge Exchange participant, 2016

    Each exchange is unique and it is created based on the selected participants’ application form. Please not that unfortunately, this exchange is not available for volunteers.

    How do I apply?

    In order to apply, please review the structure of the British Museum and complete the below application form by 5pm on 12 May 2017 and return to [email protected]. Applications will then be sent to the British Museum who will select a candidate for whom they can best meet the requirements and expectations of the placement. Please discuss any applications with your line manager beforehand, ensuring that you have approval before submission.

    Apply now: Knowledge Exchange Application form 2017

  • Cyber Security – an update

    In light of the current high-profile cyber attacks affecting the NHS along with hundreds of other organizations around the world, I thought I’d share some friendly best practice reminders to help keep the museum’s systems secure.

    A key fact to remember about the recent attacks – they all appear to stem from just a single employee’s actions, often opening an infected email attachment, clicking a bad link or inserting an infected USB drive. They are generally untargeted, being sent as far and wide as possible meaning they can infect all computers, no matter who they belong to.

    The museum has lots of protections in place including comprehensive backups but the most effective protection against any threat, keeping us one step ahead of the criminals is you.

    • Never open attachments or click on links in email messages unless you are absolutely certain the sender is genuine. Spelling mistakes, poor quality images, and strange layouts are often clues somethings not quite right.
    • Use best practices for creating strong passwords.
    • Never share passwords with anyone, including co-workers.
    • Try to send as little sensitive information as possible via email, and send sensitive information only to recipients who require it.
    • Exercise caution using pen drives/USB sticks. Never plug in a drive you’ve found or from other uncertain origins. The IT department can assist with checking and cleaning.
    • Remember, it is against the law to store any unencrypted personal data on removable storage; this includes CDs, DVDs, pen drives, portable hard disks and mobile devices such as phones and tablets.

    If you have questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to ask.

    Andy – [email protected]

  • Apply Now to Attend the AIM Conference on 22 June

    All staff are invited to apply for the opportunity to attend this year’s Association of Independent Museums (AIM) Conference which is being held at The Historic Dockyard in Chatham this year.

    This is a great opportunity to learn more about the world of independent museums and to network and hear from speakers on a range of topics.

    Costs for attendance as well as all travel and accommodation expenses will be met by the Museum. You can find further details can be found here: https://aimnationalconference.wordpress.com/contact/

    Please fill out this form AIM application 2017

    All applications should be approved by your line manager and returned to HR by the closing date of 12 noon on Thursday 11 May 2017.