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Literary pedigree

Famous authors who have lived in the South East or written novels inspired by the region and its many beautiful towns and landscapes include Jane Austen, A.A.Milne, Rudyard Kipling and Charles Dickens.

A SEE-IN partner

Museums, libraries and archives: Regional agencies

Regional Agencies
Regional agencies that affect and influence the sector include:

 

 
 

MLA South East is the strategic development agency for museums, libraries and archives in the region. The organisation is part of the wider MLA Partnership with the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) and the eight other regional agencies.

 Their work aims to improve people's lives by building knowledge, supporting learning, inspiring creativity and celebrating identity. The Partnership acts collectively for the benefit of the sector and the public, leading the transformation of museums, libraries and archives for the future.

They receive core funding from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council and also support the largest number of museums, libraries and archives in any English region.

MLA South East operates from a head office in Winchester, with an additional sub-regional office located at Chatham Historic Dockyard.

 

 amh is a team of specialists in the field of arts marketing, research and project management. amh offers a wide range of services, as well as friendly advice and support for arts work. amh provides four principle services: market intelligence, evaluation, audience development and research.

 The organisation has received support from MLA South East to fund a two-year Marketing Development Manager post. The development manager is conducting a marketing needs assessment for museums, libraries and archives in the South East. A recent project with five museums - Museums Data Gathering Pilot - has explored how amhs Arts Index South East (AISE), a sustained programme of data collection from venues in five of the regionҒs major towns, can be applied to museums.

 

 

Arts Council England is the national development agency for the arts in England, distributing public money from Government and the National Lottery. It believes that the arts have the power to transform lives and communities, and to create opportunities for people throughout the country. Its vision is to promote the arts at the heart of national life, reflecting Englands rich and diverse cultural identity and for people throughout England to experience arts activities of the highest quality.

Of particular relevance for the museums, archives and libraries sector is the South East Reader Development Forum.

 

English Heritage ensures that the historic environment of England is properly maintained and cared for. By employing some of the country's very best architects, archaeologists and historians, English Heritage aims to help people understand and appreciate why the historic buildings and landscapes around them matter.

English Heritage manages the Historic Environment Forum (HEF).  They are also working with MLA South East on a project to look at the Black communityҒs attitudes to museums, libraries and archives and the heritage environment.

 

Screen South's mission is to promote talent, support the studios, locations and regional facilities and find ways of presenting exciting film to new audiences.

Screen South and MLA South East have received 15,000 from SEEDA to assess the commercial potential of audiovisual collections in the region. The first phase of this work has included the production of a report and a toolkit to help those with audiovisual collections in the South East generate income by meeting the needs of potential commercial partners. The next stage of the project involves five commercial case studies between commercial providers and collections in the South East including a partnership between BBC Motion Gallery and the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu.

 

SEEDA is responsible for the economic and social development of the South East - the driving force of the UK's economy. SEEDA aims to create a prosperous, dynamic and inspirational region by helping businesses compete more effectively, training a highly skilled workforce, supporting and enabling communities, while safeguarding natural resources and cherishing the South EastÒs rich cultural heritage.

MLA South East's Strategic Partnership Manager is a joint-funded post with SEEDA and sits on the Culture Team.

The South East Hub, funded by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), under the Renaissance in the Regions programme, is a partnership between four museums:

  • Hampshire County Council Museums and Archives Service (lead partner)
  • University of Oxford Museums
  • Royal Pavilion, Libraries and Museums, Brighton and Hove
  • Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust

 The Hub Partners are working together to become beacons of excellence and to provide leadership in museum modernisation and best practice for the museums and galleries community in the South East.

 MLA South East's Museum Development Manager works for the South East Hub two days a week to help co-ordinate Hub and MLA South East Renaissance activity and deliver the Specialisms Fund programme. MLA South East forms part of the South East Hub Management Team and the Hub's steering group for the Education programme. Recent collaborative projects have included a skills sharing programme for museums and a database of schools' use of museums.

Tourism South East aims to optimise the economic and social benefits from tourism in the region by sustaining, improving and developing the performance of the travel, tourism and leisure industry by working in effective partnership with public and private sector stakeholders.

 With over 10 million people visiting the regions museums each year, the sector is providing a major tourist attraction within the South East.