Our 10-year strategic objectives
A people-focused museum service
Creating a people-focused museum service requires shifting perspectives. Crafting a new Audience Development Plan will incorporate public feedback to stay pertinent and broaden our visitor base. By 2034, CofGâr aims to raise visitation by more than 60% from the 2023 baseline and show improved diversity, accessibility, and inclusion through deeper audience insights. Additionally, CofGâr will consistently provide increased wellbeing programmes, ranging from resilience activities to interventions facilitated by referral agencies.
We understand that top-notch programming benefits visitor wellbeing, engagement, and the reputation of CofGâr. Therefore, nurturing partnerships with UK museums via the Art Fund Going Places project is essential. In this initiative, we will address the decline in the young population in Carmarthenshire. Recognising young people want to influence their local cultural organisations, we will create a supportive framework to foster their involvement and build a public service that is welcoming, inspiring, and valued by them.
Leaders in change and heritage sustainability
As leaders in change and heritage sustainability, we need to enhance recent investments in museums by updating displays and content. Quality museums provide economic gains from tourism, and social benefits like community pride and cultural identity, fostering cohesion and wellbeing. Achieving this will require targeted fundraising in a competitive environment.
We understand the financial challenges faced by our communities and local authority. To mitigate core service costs and add value for Carmarthenshire residents, we will implement practical income generation strategies. These include diversifying venue hire, expanding internal partnerships, promoting a Carmarthenshire First approach to our products and services, initiating fundraising efforts, simplifying donation processes, and launching a CofGâr Annual Ticketholder scheme.
Our approach to sustainability must include our environmental impact. By improving our understanding, we’ve found ways to address the climate crisis and will integrate these into all our activities. How CofGâr objectives align with wider priorities now extends to include Sustainable Development Goals. We’re working on long-term changes to reduce our environmental impact, starting with scope 1 and 2, and planning for scope 3. Using our heritage and museum collections, we aim to engage the public with lessons from history, scientific innovation, and social movements to promote sustainable living now and in the future.
We champion local museum collections for Wales
The care and preservation of these collections are essential to the museums’ public services, partnerships, and development projects.
Collaborations with UK museums to exchange materials allow Carmarthenshire’s history to reach wider audiences and bring nationally significant artifacts to the county. The introduction of an online museum database will provide a novel and global opportunity to engage with Carmarthenshire’s heritage. Moreover, the effort to refresh content across the museums to enhance relevance and quality depends on advancing our understanding, condition, and quality of the collections.
The growing demands of our museum and arts service coupled with limited storage space mean significant changes are needed. We are advocating for more investment in collection stores while revamping our systems to improve access to collections and information.
We recognise the importance of high-quality documentation to deliver excellent service. Accurate data boosts digital accessibility, offering long-term benefits. Our commitment to improving collections care involves reviewing loans and trialling rationalisation projects. Collection development is driven by research, significance, diversity, and collaboration, shaping a prioritised and well-funded conservation plan
First in class in delivering lifelong learning
To be first in class in delivering lifelong learning, it is crucial for our new team to engage effectively with users and enhance our services. Our schools' programme will leverage the Welsh curriculum to delve into cynefin, fostering a deeper understanding of our communities locally and globally. By 2029, we aim to remove participation barriers and broaden bilingual learning opportunities, available both on-site and off-site.
Our mission to preserve, present, and progress is central to lifelong learning, allowing people to learn from the past for a better today and tomorrow. While museums have always contributed to social good, our response to current social needs will be more impactful and genuine through informed, inclusive, and collaborative efforts.
Incorporating fun into our museum developments and interactive exhibits is key. Enjoyable leisure activities boost motivation, help with memory retention, and enhance social connections. Our unmissable public programmes will be equally vibrant by bringing stories to life, sparking creativity, and embodying CofGâr values.
We are the source of new arts and heritage stories and inspiration
Our local museum collections aim to reflect Carmarthenshire's unique identity and character. Acknowledging past and present biases, we strive to present the diverse lived experiences of its people. Utilising our team's expertise in museum transformations, we'll enhance the visitor experience at the Dylan Thomas Boathouse and Carmarthenshire Museum at the Old Bishops Palace and highlight Wales's tinplate heritage at Kidwelly Industrial Museum.
More than ever, public input will guide our plans, making them relevant, accessible, and sustainable.
Our museums' distinct locations are integral to our CofGâr brand, which visually showcases the narratives and landscapes of Carmarthenshire. Be it beaches, farmlands, urban parks, or industrial areas, we strive to use our collections to emphasise the relationships between people and their surroundings, promoting new connections with nature, community, history, and identity.