Should the AHRC focus on support for collaborative projects or the development and sustenance of effective partnerships?
We consider it more appropriate for AHRC to focus on developing and sustaining effective partnerships. There are other sources of project funding, and long-term partnerships are likely to deliver the most benefits to museums and their users. As we outlined earlier, there is a real need for brokering and commissioning if the full potential of partnerships is to be realised. There is a danger that a straightforward call for applications for collaborative projects will only reach the small minority of museums that are already well-networked and that are already making relatively effective use of their collections. 5.15 Such partnerships must of course propose clear outcomes for their work. 5.16 How can the AHRC encourage smaller/local government funded museums and galleries to develop their research strategy in order for them to collaborate successfully with the HE sector? Many museums of this kind do not yet have a research strategy. AHRC needs to work with partners including MLA to ensu
