Art Fund

We worked with the Art Fund to review how they resourced digital, providing advice on a more effective team structure and new roles with clear accountabilities. Following this we helped develop a meaningful digital strategy to help them better prioritise their digital activity.

The challenge

The Art Fund has existed for over 100 years, supporting the museum sector through funding, the National Art Pass and the Museum of the Year. As an organisation the Art Fund has often been ahead of the game when it comes to their approach to digital but it had become clear to the team that there were issues with how digital work was resourced, prioritised and delivered.

The solution

Working closely with the Art Fund team we undertook a situational analysis of the existing approach, identified the main barriers hindering them from working more effectively and provided advice and guidance to maximise the impact of their digital work. We also created a digital strategy to guide prioritisation.

Situational analysis of current approach

We conducted one-to-one and group interviews across the organisation to understand the current challenges and barriers. Drawing on our experience working with many different organisations, we articulated the main issues and provided practical advice to help Art Fund improve how they resourced digital activity and structured the teams.

Digital skills survey 

Art Fund wanted to understand the digital skills levels across the organisation in addition to the teams’ confidence levels with a wide range of different technologies, and their interest in learning new skills. We designed a bespoke survey that went to everyone in the organisation and the analysed results provided Art Fund with a clear picture of the strengths and weaknesses across the organisation, and was used to develop a tailored professional development programme.

Digital strategy

Art Fund faced common issues such as poor communication between teams, siloed working, and no prioritisation of tasks or projects. These problems resulted in high energy and output, but low results. We worked collaboratively with the Art Fund’s digital team to develop a digital strategy to refine how Art Fund works on digital projects, including website developments. To this end the strategy included a prioritisation framework that was tailored to meet Art Fund’s needs. 

By addressing structural challenges and providing a clear, actionable digital strategy, we helped the Art Fund create a more effective and collaborative approach to their digital work. With improved team structures, tailored professional development and a prioritisation framework, they are now well-equipped to deliver impactful digital projects that align with their mission.