NATIONAL MUSEUMS LIVERPOOL Board of Trustees 17 September 2015, 10.00am (World Museum) PRESENT: Professor Phil Redmond (Chair), Philip Price, Carmel Booth, Andy McCluskey and Dr Clive Elphick In Attendance Staff Dr David Fleming, Carol Rogers, James Best, Sharon Granville, Melanie Lewis, Louise Parnell and Christine Simm 1. Introductions and Apologies for Absence There were apologies for absence from Dr Nicola Thorp and Laura Carstensen. The Chairman explained the reason for the change to meeting date, brought forward from October, as per his email to Trustees. 2. Declarations of Interest The Chair invited members to indicate whether they had any conflicting or prejudicial interests within the items of business set out below and besides the standard Register of Interest for Trustees, no additional declarations were made. 3. Minutes of the last meeting and Matters Arising The minutes of the meeting of the Board of Trustees of 6 July 2015 were approved for signing as a correct record of proceedings. Minute 4 (b) the current Trustee recruitment, via a firm of head hunters, is progressing well, with the deadline for applications extended from 8 to 18 September. Applications have been better than expected. The panel will shortlist on 22 September and interviews are to be held on 9 and 10 November, with, hopefully, new members joining for the first Board of 2016. A formal induction pack and process is currently being prepared, and will be shared with Trustees when ready. 1
Minute 16 EXEMPTED MATERIAL: The details of this item of business have been removed from this version of the minutes because they relate to the effective conduct of public affairs that might be prejudiced by disclosure. 4 Chairman s Over the Horizon View The Chair provided a verbal update on the purpose of this agenda item and the grouping of several matters under the umbrella title, as all interlinked. a) Fundraising Discussion Paper The Board considered a report seeking agreement to a new direction for corporate and individual fundraising development and growth, within an updated income generation approach, noting that: a) the direction of this report wholly aligns with NML s Strategic Plan to increase income, and sits alongside the Commercial Income Generation Strategy previously approved by the Board of Trustees; b) the report does not cover commercial income generation within NML and NML Trading Ltd (NMLT); c) NML has had considerable success in fundraising for capital and revenue projects e.g. Museum of Liverpool (approximately 60m). This has largely been achieved more recently via the Education and Curatorial teams through public sector funding such as Heritage Lottery Funding (HLF) and The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF); d) EXEMPTED MATERIAL: The details of this item of business have been removed from this version of the minutes because they relate to the effective conduct of public affairs that might be prejudiced by disclosure; e) we need to identify areas that are unique to NML and maximise fundraising against them, seeking support for initiatives rather than particular events, e.g. House of Memories and our international work; and f) EXEMPTED MATERIAL: The details of this item of business have been removed from this version of the minutes because they relate to the effective conduct of public affairs that might be prejudiced by disclosure. 1) the report be noted; and 2) NML to continue to progress this issue and only if the 2
recommended resolution were to use external consultancy to achieve this would the Board need to approve this. b) Income Generation Update The Trustees considered a report on the Income Generation Group and the progress of current projects, noting that; a) in order to develop and deliver the income generation strategy, as detailed at the last meeting, a sub group of cross directorate senior managers, both within NML and NML Trading Ltd, has been established, reporting into the Income Generation Executive Team on a monthly basis; b) a number of key projects were initially identified as potential income generation streams, and the senior manager group have taken accountability to research, model, and execute, the projects, with clear financial projections, identifying all costs, and forecasted profits. Clear measures are defined to enable the review of each projects success; and c) support from all divisions across NML is required to deliver successful income generation. To achieve this, a communication strategy has been implemented. 1) the report be noted; and 2) an update on progress be brought to the next Board meeting. c) NML Trading Ltd The Trustees considered a verbal update on plans to present to the NML Trading Ltd Board of Directors, at their meeting on 29 September, the business case and funding plan for capital works to the Catering, Events, and Retail spaces, within World Museum, noting; a) the proposed works have the full approval of NML s Executive Team; b) if the business case is approved by NMLT s Board, there would likely be a paper presented to this Board to approve funding of the project, via the purchase, by NML, of more of the share capital the company holds; and c) NML Trading Ltd continue to explore potential opportunities to expand the commercial offer and income generation for Sudley House. The Chairman offered to liaise with the City Council as to land ownership issues. 3
1) the verbal update be noted; 2) the Chairman be provided with relevant information for his discussions with the City Council re access, parking, and plans for the walled garden; and 3) a request for purchasing additional share capital, if NMLT s Board approve the World Museum project, could be done via email resolution outside of the meeting schedule, in order to meet project deadlines. d) Strategic Plan 2015-2018 The Trustees considered the latest draft version of the Strategic Plan 2015-2018, noting that; a) the draft plan submitted is a revision of the document presented at the Board of Trustees meeting of 6 July 2015, to cover the financial period 2015-18, and reflects known, and possible future, Government budget cuts, and will form the basis from which Directorate, Divisional, and Departmental Plans, are derived for the period; and b) this version will be subject to review following the autumn budget statement. 1) the report be noted; and 2) Trustees approve, subject to the minor amends agreed, this version of the Strategic Plan 2015-2018, for implementation and circulation. e) NML 30 Year Review EXEMPTED MATERIAL: The details of this item of business have been removed from this version of the minutes because they relate to the effective conduct of public affairs that might be prejudiced by disclosure. 5 Use of Cloud Computing Solutions The Board considered a report requesting permission to consider the use of cloud computing solutions, where appropriate, noting that; a) the last discussion re cloud based solutions was in spring 2013, when considering an email upgrade. At the time the Trustees did not wish for any NML data to be held within the cloud, as it was a relatively new option, and not many public sector organisations 4
were using the cloud. Use of cloud solutions is now widespread, including in other Government Departments; b) a large percentage of possible IT software solutions are now cloud based with data being stored by a third party and access via an internet connection; c) as we review the suitability of solutions for NML we will encounter more and more solutions that are cloud based and would like to consider these alongside the traditional on premise solutions; d) all decisions will take into account the requirements of the particular solution, paying particular attention to the needs of the department, and overall organisation, in terms of, security, availability, flexibility, etc.; 1) the report be noted; 2) the Board approve the consideration of cloud solutions when reviewing future systems needs, ensuring that any legal obligations to retain hard copies of required documents is also met; and 3) as a museum service consideration should also be given to retaining hard copies of any documents considered important from a governance, social, or historical, perspective. 6 NML Pay Award 2015/16 EXEMPTED MATERIAL: The details of this item of business have been removed from this version of the minutes because they relate to the effective conduct of public affairs that might be prejudiced by disclosure. 7 Any Other Business There were no matters discussed under this agenda item. 8 Date and time of next meeting The next formal meeting will be held on the already scheduled date of Tuesday 8 December 2015 at 2.00pm, venue to be the Maritime Museum Any matters requiring attention before that date would be dealt with outside of the meeting schedule. An Away Day will be held on 3 November, venue and timings to be confirmed. 5
6 ---------------------- CHAIRMAN