Arts Council England
Museum Transformation Programme
About this funding
Thank you for your interest in the Museum Transformation Programme. The fund was announced by Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy on 21 January 2026. Arts Council England is running this programme on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), who have set the aims and criteria of this fund, and will continue to be a partner throughout the funding period.
Context of the Programme
The case for Arts Council England’s 2025/26 Museum Renewal Fund (MRF) demonstrated the urgent need for support and transformation for England’s key regional museums. MRF delivered rapid, short-term funding which enabled these key institutions’ finances to be stabilised and a measure of business model transformation to be scoped and undertaken. Many of these museums are prepared to evolve how they operate and present their work, and the Museum Transformation Programme will support and help realise these ambitions.
Aims of the Programme
The Museum Transformation Programme is designed to build on the funding need identified during 2025-26 by enabling museums to address the longer-term challenges they face – supporting them to undertake the fundamental shift in their operational models that is required to stabilise their finances and continue to deliver for their audiences and communities.
The Museum Transformation Programme is focused on supporting regional museums to develop work which will enable their increased long-term financial resilience and operational sustainability. The Programme responds to the ongoing challenges local authority supported museums face and the opportunities which local government reorganisation and devolution present to museums.
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