Which museums to fund? Examining local government decision-making in austerity

Abstract

The paper develops a conceptual framework to analyse empirical data relating to the bases, both ‘evidence’ and assumptions, on which decisions about museum provision were made by two local authorities where budget cuts prompted the restructuring of museum services. Its specific focus is on why some museums retain funding and status as part of direct public provision while others are identified to be transferred to community groups via the asset transfer process. The paper demonstrates why certain types of museum are more vulnerable to funding cuts and being transferred to community-management. Whilst acknowledging the pressure local authorities are under to both save and generate money from their museums, the article questions the implications of this approach to deciding which museums should be transferred as it indicates a reworking of conventional notions of universal entitlement and results in transferring museums that may prove to be financially unviable without continued state support.