IWM Corporate Plan 2018-21 - Imperial War Museums
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IWM Corporate Plan 2018–21
Introduction
We are a global authority on conflict and its impact on people’s lives – from 1914 through to the
present day and beyond. We continue to lead on our mission of developing and communicating a
deeper understanding of the causes, course and consequences of war. Our vision is to help
people, as global citizens, make sense of an increasingly unpredictable world. We do this, in
part, by helping people have a deeper understanding of the connections between past conflict
and the contemporary world. This is about exploring the way war has shaped the local and the
global, about appreciating diverse views, and about challenging our audiences to become ready
to engage in difficult decisions for themselves, their communities and their world.
Throughout this Plan IWM will develop its own voice, provide a forum, enable questions to be
asked and answered, lead and enhance contemporary debate and speaking with a confident and
authoritative voice about the world around us and the conflict it inherently creates. We will
challenge our audiences in 2018 as we mark the end of the First World War Centenary with our
incredible Making a New World season. Making a New World will explore how the First World
War has shaped our society in a range of innovative exhibitions, installations and immersive
experiences. We will also be working in partnership with other organisations, such as 14-
18NOW, Peter Jackson and the BBC to bring our unique film archive footage to twenty-first
century audiences and continue to lead the pioneering First World War Centenary Partnership.
The launch of the IWM Institute for the Public Understanding of War and Conflict pilot in spring
2018 will maximise the impact of our global citizenship learning programme and research
activities by further creating and nurturing sustainable partners and audiences for IWM.
Beyond 2018, we will deliver our new Second World War Galleries and the Holocaust Galleries,
build new office accommodation for staff and create new storage buildings for our vast collection,
ensuring that both front of house and back of house are as good as they can be. Through our
programming, partnership work and significant capital projects we will continue to lead on our
mission of developing and communicating a deeper understanding of the causes, course and
consequences of war. This Plan reflects our response to the opportunities and challenges for
IWM to impact people’s lives.
People connect with us in a wide variety of ways; through visiting one of our branches, through
online engagement, through volunteering, through becoming a member, in supporting us by
making a donation or perhaps by participating in a learning session. Critical to us building on and
sustaining these connections will be IWM’s capacity to innovate, to continue to reach beyond the
boundaries of our museum and our website through partnerships and collaboration, to embed
change with ambition and to build a resilient and inclusive organisational culture that is
increasingly confident and dynamic. These are the ways in which IWM will remain relevant and
impactful. And the bedrock of this work will be our teams; making sure they are skilled and
confident – proud of our work in the knowledge that what IWM does is making a difference to
people’s lives now and for generations to come.
Diane Lees, CBE
Director-General
11. Our strategic aims
Imperial War Museums is a global authority on conflict and its impact on people’s lives. We
collect objects and stories that give an insight into people’s experiences of war, we preserve
them for future generations, and we bring them to today’s audiences in the most powerful way
possible at our five branches (IWM London, IWM North, IWM Duxford, Churchill War Rooms and
HMS Belfast) and across our digital channels. By giving a platform to these stories, we aim to
help people understand why we go to war and the effect that conflict has on people’s lives. Our
vision is to be a leader in developing and communicating a deeper understanding of the causes,
course and consequences of war. Using the personal stories and experiences in our unique
collections, our objective is to challenge people of all ages to look at war and conflict from
different perspectives.
Our strategic aims are to:
Increase our financial sustainability – we will secure our long-term financial viability and
create an entrepreneurial and dynamic working culture. As a result, we will build our
income and financial flexibility so that we can continue to invest in our offer. We will
improve our financial performance, build our resilience and strengthen IWM as a result
Prioritise our audiences – we will create excellent, inspiring and relevant visitor and
learning experiences. As a result, people will have a deeper understanding of the causes,
course and consequences of war and its impact on all of our lives. We pride ourselves on
the excellent customer service we will provide across all of our work
Deliver effective stewardship of our collection – we will develop and care for our
collection through effective management, building expertise, maximising access and
improving storage. As a result we will ensure our collections and knowledge remain
relevant and accessible for audiences now and for generations to come, not least, by
maintaining the momentum around reviewing and developing our collection
Build our brand – we will build our reputation as a global authority and our ability to
deliver our purpose and vision by providing high quality products, services and
experiences and communicating consistently in everything that we do. The strength of
our brand is directly related to the scale of impact we are able to achieve
In developing our CP18, we have carefully considered both risk and opportunity and how we
respond to both. We have also framed this Plan in the context of our long term ambition over the
next 10 years and beyond; no doubt there are challenges across our estate both in terms of
maintenance and improving the public offer, but this Plan demonstrates real progress on all
fronts if income and fundraising targets are reached. Our planning is informed by, and takes
account of, government priorities, from driving economic growth and sustaining excellence, to
encouraging participation and access for all. We have a strong part to play in making Britain a
secure, prosperous, tolerant and outward-facing country.
2. What are we all about?
We are one IWM – a single organisation made up of five unique branches and underpinned by
our core values to be courageous, authoritative, relevant and empathetic. Our collections are
vast and rich. We look after them in perpetuity on behalf of the nation. We aim to make them,
together with our branches (some of which are historic sites), accessible to the widest possible
audience through exhibitions, research, digital activity, learning programmes, tours, handling
2sessions, filming, lectures and many other different activities. The revenue we generate is
essential to our ongoing operation, particularly in the context of reduced government funding in
real terms. The profit that we make is re-invested into our programmes and activities to ensure
that we continue to deliver our vision and mission.
There is no admission charge to visit IWM London and IWM North. At these branches, which
both cover the full IWM remit (looking at conflict from 1900 to the present day), we offer
permanent exhibitions, updated on a periodic basis, together with an exciting programme of
changing temporary exhibitions. At Churchill War Rooms, HMS Belfast and IWM Duxford, we
charge for admission. Our ticket prices are regularly benchmarked with similar organisations and
we offer concessionary rates (for example, for booked groups). We regularly undertake market
research to inform our programming and to ensure that we are meeting visitor needs and
expectations.
We offer a wide range of public engagement and learning services and programmes as well as
exciting opportunities for people to get further behind the scenes. These range from hosting an
event with us at one of our unique venues, to booking a private tour, or even a flight in a historic
aircraft at IWM Duxford. We have an active volunteering programme, where people get directly
involved in our work and a membership scheme for those who want to regularly support us,
engage with us, and enjoy the fantastic benefits we can offer.
3. Our achievements to date
In 2017, we have run a vibrant and diverse programme of exhibitions and programmes across
our branches, including piloting our new public engagement and learning programme which
moves away from a traditional, classroom-based approach towards a creative, immersive, and
critical programme designed with our audiences in mind to take place onsite, offsite, and online.
Activities we trialed this year include for Shadow of the Future, an immersive audio visual game
by theatre-makers Coney which explores decision making and consequences in the context of
the Cuban Missile Crisis and Documentary Challenge that sees students create a mini
documentary to uncover stories that are too important to stay in the museum walls.
We also launched our first seasonal programming Syria: A Conflict Explored at IWM London. The
season staged Sergey Ponomarev: A Lens on Syria, the first UK exhibition of photographs
addressing the consequences of the Syrian conflict by award-winning Russian documentary
photographer Sergey Ponomarev. This exhibition will sat alongside Syria: Story of a Conflict
which was an intimate display exploring the origins, escalations and impact of the Syria conflict.
There was a series of associated events alongside the exhibitions, including an artist residency
by creative collective Anagram. The residency explored information and misinformation relating
to the Syria conflict through data collection, interrogation and storytelling interventions with the
public. The successful season will be transferred to IWM North in early 2018.
Our major exhibitions at IWM London, People Power: Fighting for Peace and Age of Terror: Art
since 9/11 both received critical acclaim, being described as ‘a subtle, dispassionate, and
intellectually nuanced show, attractively designed throughout, which raises important
philosophical questions’1 and ‘the most important show you'll see this year’2 respectively. Our
discussion provoking programming continued with the opening of Churchill and the Middle East
1
Sooke, Alastair, ‘People Power - Fighting for Peace, IWM London, review: A moving, nuanced look at the anti-war movement
across the decades’ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/art/what-to-see/people-power-fighting-peace-iwm-london-reviewa-moving-
nuanced/
2
Khan, Tabish, ‘What Were the Best Exhibitions of 2017?’ https://londonist.com/london/art-and-photography/what-were-the-
best-exhibitions-of-2017
3opened at the Churchill War Museums. The new permanent display looks at the impact and
influence of Winston Churchill on the modern Middle East, which is still subject to debate and
controversy today. At IWM North, we successfully opened Wyndham Lewis: Life, Art, War which
charted the controversial Lewis’ life including his ‘underground’ period of reflection and
reinvention after the First World War, and his period of self-imposed exile in North America in the
1940s.
At IWM Duxford we celebrated the centenary since work began on RAF Duxford with Duxford’s
first ever contemporary art installation, the innovative DX17 sound sculpture. The large futuristic
sculpture was created by Nick Ryan and emitted 100 bright lights each representing a
discoverable memory from IWM Duxford’s history. Nearly 23,000 visitors experienced the
immersive installation where through scanning the light the light magically transformed into the
voices of those telling their stories of IWM Duxford.
We developed our new Audience Development Strategy to support our strategic goal to prioritise
audiences. The strategy provides the context around which we can design and create excellent,
inspiring and relevant visitor experiences. The Audience Development strategy focuses on
visiting members of the public but also considers visitors to our website, social media followers,
customers in our shop or academic researchers engaging with our collections, because IWM is
committed to putting our visitors, customers and users first.
Another key strategy developed this year is our Digital Transformation Strategy. Digital
technologies offer IWM the opportunity to transform how we achieve our vision to enrich people’s
understanding of the causes, course and consequences of war and build our brand and extend
our reach to new audiences. Through digital working we will widen access to our collection, and
deliver curation and interpretation through new channels and digital experiences and we will
contribute to our sustainability through raising income. The strategy outlines a four-year
programme of transformation which sets IWM the ambitious aim of placing ourselves in the top
tier of British cultural organisations.
The First World War Centenary Partnership launched Women’s Work 100, a partnership
programme to tell the experiences of women during the First World War which was timed to mark
the centenary of the Representation of the People’s Act. The programme is a new way of
partnership working for IWM based on the principles of using IWM’s collection, expertise,
national status and sites to support and illuminate the work of the wider cultural heritage sector,
build capacity for IWM to work in partnership in the future, and tell a more complete story of the
experience of war and conflict.
The Cultural Change Ambassador Network (CCAN) continued to champion our cultural change
agenda by creating opportunities for staff to network and showcase their work through a
showcase in September 2017, where teams set up stalls to demonstrate their work and provided
the opportunity to ask questions on three different days at IWM London, IWM North and IWM
Duxford. There were opportunities to hear about projects at other organisations at the Art of the
Possible events where external speakers come and present noting their successes and failures.
Speakers this year have included representatives from The Lost Palace project at Banqueting
House and the Migration Museum to discuss using digital immersive experiences and generating
discussions on contemporary topics. CCAN also organised an IWM centenary celebration for
staff in May to celebrate our successes of the past 100 years and to look ahead to the next 100
years.
To support culture change, we’ve made progress in supporting staff development and new ways
of working, including gaining trustee approval of the Training and Development strategy and the
4development of the training and development programme to be launched in spring 2018. We’ve
also made progress on our apprenticeship programme through contributing to the development
of apprenticeship standards by taking part on trailblazer groups, identifying apprenticeship
positions across IWM and developing guidance and materials for apprentices and their
managers.
The second phase of Transforming IWM London (TIWML) has continued with the developed
designs being approved for the Second World War and Holocaust Galleries, which will be
delivered in 2020. The fundraising campaign to support TIWML is successfully underway with
over half of the target achieved. The IWM Duxford masterplan implementation plan has been
drafted setting out how we will achieve our long term vision of IWM Duxford the leading must-see
attraction in the East of England.
Collections movement and storage planning and development to support the above projects has
made major strides. This includes the planning and designing of our new paper store and the
building of a new conservation facility at IWM Duxford. We also secured the Licence to Occupy
at the BFI’s Master Film store for our nitrate film. This shared solution will allow us to store our
nitrate film in the appropriate conditions and reduce our estates costs. We achieved the key
landmark of having all of our collections meet the agreed inventory standard, which we will
continue to maintain with all new acquisitions. We developed a Contemporary Collecting Strategy
outlining the future development of our contemporary collecting in what is a difficult field to
navigate. Our collections continue to inspire and engage audiences both at IWM and around the
world, through several high profile loans including: nine landscape paintings by William Orpen
travelled to the National Irish Gallery; seven items went to the Tower of David Museum of the
History of Jerusalem in Israel; and John Singer Sargent’s masterpiece, Gassed, which has been
continuing its four-venue tour of the United States.
Maintaining our estate is vital to ensure our financial sustainability and ensure our audiences and
staff visit and work in a safe and comfortable environment. This year we have made fire safety
improvements across the estate to ensure we are in line with the increased vigilance and fire
safety checks in the aftermath of Grenfell Tower. Other significant estate works this year have
included repairs to roofs at IWM Duxford including on the Land Warfare Hall and Airspace to
prevent and manage leaks, and work on HMS Belfast such as refurbishing toilets, improving
sewage works and conducting a condition survey.
Our commercial performance has been mixed in what has proved to be a challenging year.
Areas of the business reliant on visitor numbers are one of the most affected, such as temporary
charging exhibitions, even though IWM is performing better than others in the sector. There have
been a decline in visitor numbers across the sector, with most DCMS sponsored museums
seeing a decline in numbers in 2017 when compared to 2016 figures. There are several reasons
for this decline, including the reduction in consumer confidence and spending, and domestic
tourists choosing to not travel to Central London for both economic and security reasons.
However, in spite of the downturn our retail and public catering businesses have performed well,
including a successful Christmas season of corporate events. The successful launch of our
Membership scheme in November 2017 will generate a more robust income revenue which is
less reliant on visitor attendance and encourage secondary spend. Our Air Shows were
particularly successful this year; the Battle of Britain Air Show saw the highest sales on an Air
Show weekend we have ever had.
54. Doing things differently
We have made major changes to our staffing structure over the last three years. We recognise
that our people are an essential ingredient in our success and place heavy emphasis on evolving
our ways of working. Part of this is about how we become a learning organisation where we are
increasingly outward-facing and inclusive, building partnerships, as well as experimenting with
new ideas and then evaluating and learning from their success or otherwise. We also know that
ongoing change, in particular, new ways of working (as our Culture Change Ambassadors
Network help us find new ideas to try) will be an important part of how IWM continues to operate.
We want to work in an increasingly agile and responsive way so that we are positioned to
capitalise on opportunities and effectively manage risk, building our organisational confidence as
we go.
Our new HR Strategy will include a strong focus on training and development so that we
effectively support all staff to increase their skills, knowledge and understanding. We are placing
particular emphasis on leadership skills during the initial phases of this work, along with ideas
that will help us truly embed our brand values. Alongside this, we are delighted to be offering
further apprenticeship opportunities across several different areas of our operation to increase
the diversity of our workforce and build IWM’s reputation as a learning organisation. A key part of
embedding culture change is our staff accommodation, so we are taking the opportunity to create
new office space at All Saints as part of Transforming IWM London phase two.
To ensure that we remain relevant, we must strive to increase the breadth of our audiences,
staff, volunteers and supporters so that we can be truly representative of the communities that
we serve. How we think about diversity, access and equality and how we commit to building this
into our thinking and planning to achieve change over the long term will be outlined in our new
Access and Inclusion Strategy. The strategy will see us delegate responsibility to all departments
via our planning and performance reporting structure so accessibility and inclusive practice is
considered and embedded across IWM.
Our new Digital Transformation Strategy sets out how digital can become so embedded in IWM
that it becomes business as usual. This digital transformation will mean that we successfully
build up capability and improve processes across the whole of IWM. Our particular opportunity
and challenge in increasing our digital ways of working, processes and platforms is to create
immersive and joined-up digital enhancements of our objects, exhibitions, events and other
activity or commercial offers. IWM will integrate digital outputs into our public programme and
curatorial work, with energy devoted to these just as it is to in-gallery analogue content. The
result will be a customer experience that has intrinsic digital presence, with IWM’s expertise and
narratives guiding audiences through rich digital as well as physical experiences onsite, online
and via mobile.
Working in partnership with individuals, organisations and key stakeholders will strengthen our
position, open up our perspective and bring mutual benefit. At the heart of this will be the launch
of the IWM Institute for the Public Understanding of War and Conflict pilot during 2018. The
Institute will bring together our research, learning and programming activity so that we maximise
both our impact and our standing within the academic and cultural sector. We will invite active
dialogue and lead debate internally and externally to help challenge our thinking and make sure
that we keep striving to evolve, create, review and improve. The Institute will help us to lead new
thinking, building expertise and understanding across a range of partners and activities.
We have made huge progress over recent years in reviewing, documenting and digitising our
collection, as well as continuing to deliver major storage upgrade projects. We have a more
6sustainable and dynamic collections management approach, strategically shaping our collection
by identifying key acquisitions and managing the targeted disposals programme. We are also
working hard to build and share research, knowledge and understanding around our collection.
The coming years will also see us embed the delivery of our Contemporary Collecting Strategy
so that our collection reflects contemporary conflict and supports us in building on the notion of
global citizenship as a lens for learning and engagement. Our aim is to hold our collection
accountably and so that we can exploit it fully for audience and user benefit.
In terms of collections storage, we have a strategy that will deliver wholesale change at IWM
Duxford, ensuring that both large and small collections objects are stored in the correct
environmental conditions and laying the foundations for the delivery of the masterplan at
Duxford.
Over the past year there have been instances where our performance and the delivery of
planned activity has not met CP17 targets or our planned timeframes. Examples include, the
delay in the completion of a HR Strategy due to staff changes, and the roll out of the IWM
Institute pilot. The latter has been delayed until spring 2018 to make sure we had consulted with
all of the relevant external stakeholders and experts and had the staffing in place to ensure we
can effectively launch the pilot.
We also know that there is an ongoing need to closely monitor our cost base, seek all possible
efficiencies, maximise profit and build financial sustainability, as set out in our Financial Strategy
(see page 18). This is essential so that we can continue to invest in our collection, our
programming and our offer, and increase financial robustness. Our Estates Strategy sets out how
we will manage and maintain our property assets over the next 10 years. We will continue to
focus on maximising the return on our investment (in terms of financial, audience, collections and
brand impact) through the delivery of our Commercial Strategy. This is will build customer loyalty
and, as a consequence, increase our net profit levels and financial sustainability over time.
5. Looking ahead
This Corporate Plan describes how, in the three years 2018 to 2021, work towards our long-term
strategic goals will continue. It lays the foundation for major development at our branches over
the next decade and beyond. During CP18 we have major projects that will take us forward as an
organisation. Our highest priorities are:
o Transforming Imperial War Museum London phase two;
o Delivering our collections storage masterplan at IWM Duxford and related
Accommodation Strategy at All Saints;
o IWM Duxford masterplan, including developing the implementation plan and achieving
formal protection of IWM Duxford on the ground and in the air;
o Implementing our Customer Relationship Management system;
o Digital Transformation;
o Building a successful membership scheme
o Implementing the Public Engagement and Learning Strategy;
o Launching the IWM Institute;
o Developing our staff and supporting new ways of working.
By 2030, we will have completed major masterplanning exercises to upgrade each of our
branches and the majority of associated change will have been implemented. This work will
focus on improving the customer experience and achieving this will also help us to build our
7commercial returns through admissions income at the charging branches and as a result of
secondary spend, for example, in the cafes and shops at all of our branches.
Our collections management approach is increasingly responsive, such that our world-leading
collection remains relevant to our audiences, and is dynamic, accessible and usable. By 2030,
our storage masterplan for our collection will be complete and the objects in our care will be in
the right place and stored in the correct environmental conditions. Crucial to this will be the
ongoing digitisation of our collection. This Plan sees us make significant progress in generating
digital content for access and preservation purposes and linking this to a coherent and ambitious
Digital Transformation Strategy which will mean that digital ways of working are fully embedded.
In terms of public engagement, learning and exhibitions, we will adopt a truly audience-focused
approach, delivering programmes and activities that are innovative, inclusive, sector-leading,
impactful and sustainable. We will increase our reach by running our programmes onsite, offsite
and online focusing on the impact our programme has on our audiences. This is reflected in our
KPI figures on page 22. Over the coming years, we will focus on becoming a learning
organisation with clearly defined audiences and high quality, targeted and innovative learning
programmes so that by 2030, this change will be fully embedded and will mean that we have
revolutionised our approach to learning and engagement, measuring impact and prioritising our
audiences in all that we do.
Our commercial ambition is substantial. Along with effectively managing our fixed costs, building
net profit will be a primary lever in ensuring that we are financially sustainable over the long term.
The performance measure table at page 22 illustrates that over a 15-year period, we are seeking
to build our income by a margin. By 2030, our CRM system will be well established, the IWM
membership scheme will be thriving and very well supported, and net profit through commercial
activity (including our corporate events, retail, public catering, licensing and publishing activity)
will be at £10 million per annum.
Along with increasing self-generated income and net profit, we will also continue to deliver our
Estates Strategy. By 2030, we will have addressed our substantial backlog in capital
maintenance, systems and infrastructure projects.
Our masterplanning goals are stretching and ambitious. Our success in delivering major capital
change will be contingent on bringing stakeholders, and in particular, funders, with us. Over the
next three years, we will create and embed a clear, targeted Stakeholder Strategy that identifies
the primary influencing and advocacy relationships that support our business and those that we
will nurture at each of our branches. We will also build unrestricted giving by focusing our energy
on maintaining these important relationships. The creation of the IWM Institute will focus our
research and programming output and allow us to build up endowment funds to support this core
work.
Allied to this, our impact and reach is amplified by working in partnership. By 2030, we will have
a National and International Partnership Strategy that is fully embedded, describing how we
support and nurture strategic partnerships that bring rich mutual benefit.
Using our strategic goals, the table below illustrates the activity that we plan to deliver during
CP18, laying the foundations for achieving our long term plans, and the impacts and outcomes
we expect.
86. Our priorities and planned activity during CP18
Immediate plans (CP18 activity ) Long term strategy (10 year view and outcomes)
BUILDING FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
1.1 Change programme
Our Financial Sustainability Strategy identifies the We will have a staffing model and organisational
need to build on the change programme and culture that supports agile, effective and
ensure that we effectively manage our fixed costs, productive cross departmental working
build net profit and increase our financial flexibility. Our workforce will be fully flexible, with the right
We will be focusing heavily on new ways of resource in the right place, and salaries
working, including supporting the Culture Change commensurate to expertise and professional skills
Ambassadors Network so that our ways of In terms of our HR approach, we will have a clear
working evolve framework of expectation, behaviours, recognition
We will implement a new training and and rewards
development programme and continue to change Our training approach will mean that our people
and evolve our ways of working throughout the are highly engaged and motivated
CP18 period Our staff are clearly working to organisational
We need to ensure that we are working efficiently priorities
and effectively. Part of this will continue to be
careful cost control as well as supporting current
and new revenue streams and business
development
1.2 Volunteers
We have ambitious plans and seek to make best We will be recognised nationally and
use of our available resource internationally for our pioneering work with
Volunteers provide incredible support to IWM and volunteers across our organisation and beyond
add value in key strategic areas of our operation
We have a strategy that shows how we will build
on successes to date
The strategy will help us to build support and
ensure that we continue to offer life-enhancing
opportunities to our volunteers
1.3 Commercial Strategy
We will implement our Commercial Strategy by Our Commercial Strategy will mean that we
achieving customer loyalty through a greater continue to operate with a wide portfolio of
understanding of what motivates our customers revenue streams
and by improving our customer experience. Our We will be in a position to fully exploit our assets
CRM project is the cornerstone of this work and and digital channels will be crucial to this
further phases will be rolled out throughout this Our commercial net profit will be £10m+
Plan We will have built a loyal and engaged
Over the next three years we will ensure that we membership base
remain focused on building profit, that we operate Our hotel at IWM Duxford complements the visitor
a flexible and responsive commercial operation offer and adds to our diverse revenue streams
and that we build our digital sales capability
We will also build upon the successful launch of
our membership scheme to meet ambitious plans
for growth.
The hotel development at IWM Duxford will
progress significantly with it expected to be open
to the public by the end of the Plan
1.4 Fundraising
9Immediate plans (CP18 activity ) Long term strategy (10 year view and outcomes)
We have an ambitious programme of major We will build philanthropic support with an
projects and in the immediate future, our ongoing focus on high profile capital campaigns
fundraising focus is on supporting Transforming that allow us to deliver our ambitious and
IWM London phase two audience-focused masterplanning projects across
We will deliver a Development and Fundraising the branches
strategy that links to our ongoing stakeholder work We will also build our unrestricted fundraising
and helps us to build unrestricted income income and this will mean that we will have
We will generate endowment monies and increasing financial flexibility as we build up our
research funding through the operation of the IWM reserves
Institute
1.5 Estates Strategy
We have a 10 year Estates Strategy that sets out Our backlog in FM investment will largely be
how we manage our property portfolio and addressed and we will have made major progress
capitalise on this by effectively exploiting our in managing our strategic risk
assets. This will be refreshed for Board review in We will have sufficient funding to deliver ongoing
September 2018. The backlog of investment in lifecycle work and development
our infrastructure and plant continues to present Our estate and infrastructure is modernised,
challenges efficient and effective and we have the means to
We will continue to take a risk-based approach to sustain this position
estates investment. The FM team will focus on New funding models have been identified
supporting the delivery of our major projects
including a new staff Accommodation Strategy
(delivering substantial change with new build at
our All Saints site during between 2017 and 2019)
but will continue to use our lifecycle data to
upgrade and replace plant and equipment as
required
We will be reintroducing our forward maintenance
register, planning our maintenance over the next
10 years.
1.6 Information Technology
We have set aside resource so that we can Our systems and infrastructure will be fit for
continue to modernize our business by investing purpose, reflect ongoing business need. They will
in our IT infrastructure but again, this is by be flexible, secure and responsive (future
prioritising the highest risk activity first proofed) as we evolve and develop our ways of
Priorities during this Plan period include key working
infrastructure and network upgrades Again, we will have sufficient funding to deliver
We will also look at systems and upgrades that ongoing development work that meets our
support us in modernising our business and business needs
ensuring we remain fully compliant
In 2018 this work includes upgrading Digital Asset
Management infrastructure, and upgrading our
firewall
We will achieve Cyber Essentials Plus
accreditation.
PRIORITISING OUR AUDIENCES
2.1 Public programming across all branches
Exhibition highlights during this Plan period We will offer a seasonal, responsive and
include displaying the Poppies: Wave and innovative programme across all branches
Weeping Window at IWMN and IWML from
10Immediate plans (CP18 activity ) Long term strategy (10 year view and outcomes)
September 2018 as part of the Making a New Our planning will be holistic and we will repurpose
World Season content (research, curation, collections
We will build our audience evaluation activity so management, digital, planning, commercial,
that we understand, better meet, and exceed their marketing and communications)
needs, expectations and motivations We will have a well-established evidence base
Exceed customer expectations and build our and a good understanding of our impact (desired
reputation by delivering against our customer and actual)
service standards. We will have loyal audiences because our
approach will have relevance and resonance
The values of global citizenship will be embedded
in our work
We will lead and enhance contemporary debate
on the world around us and the impact of conflict
on it and we will constantly challenge thinking
(our own and that of our audiences)
2.2 First World War Centenary Partnership Programme
We will continue to lead and support the highly The legacy of our immensely successful and
successful First World War Centenary Partnership impactful five year centenary programme will be
Programme (with over 3,800 member well established. We will build on the successes
organisations from 62 different countries to date) and momentum of work to date enabling and
We will finalise our legacy plans for the strengthening our own and our partner
Programme ensuring we sustain and build on the organisations through this way of working (see
model of working and the key strategic section 4.2 International Working below for further
partnerships we have forged details).
We will update our Partnership Strategy to reflect
this work. This will be presented to the Board in
July 2018
2.3 Digital Transformation Strategy
Through the implementing of our Digital Roadmap Our digital and physical offers will be linked,
we will build and develop digital skills amongst cohesive and engaging
staff Digital ways of working will be fully embedded
We will focus on improving our existing digital We will offer multi-channel experiences (creating
estate, including integrating our CRM system product in our digital studio) and different forms of
We will create new digital products such as a new delivery through learning, collections, commercial
mobile platform and developing the Second World and public activities and programmes
War Galleries and The Holocaust Galleries
2.4 Masterplanning
Transforming IWM London phase two is our major The IWML masterplan will have completed the
audience facing project and new Second World chronological treatment of the IWM remit, rising
War and Holocaust galleries are due to open in through time in the IWML building. This will mean
September 2020. We will also create new a substantially upgraded visitor experience and a
learning, event, and corporate spaces at IWML total shift in the overall financial sustainability of
The IWMD masterplan was approved by the IWML
Board of Trustees in September 2016. The The IWMD masterplan will have progressed
phased delivery of the IWMD masterplan includes significantly and the transformation of the site will
incremental change to the site to significantly have started, driving higher visitor numbers and
upgrade the customer experience, including beginning to increase long term financial
Airspace. The Collections storage projects sustainability. We will have formal protection of
undertaken in CP18 will enable this work. We will the site, of both the air and ground
also secure formal protection for the site, air and The impact of a consistently focused, targeted
ground, to protect the site’s long-term viability and high quality exhibition, public engagement
2018 marks the centenary of the RAF and we will and learning offer will mean that we build loyal
take this opportunity to promote IWMD and highly engaged audiences at IWMN
11Immediate plans (CP18 activity ) Long term strategy (10 year view and outcomes)
Our investment strategy at IWMN includes a We will maintain a high quality visitor experience,
refocused and enhanced exhibition programme. including ongoing investment in the Churchill
We will open Lest We Forget as part of Making a Museum and maintenance of the historic rooms.
New World season in 2018. This will be balanced with the need to sustain the
We will create a short, medium and long term plan financial sustainability of the site through visitor
for CWR that factors in the need to maintain admissions income and corporate events
audience levels alongside building our corporate There will be a complete fundamental shift in the
events business and net revenues. visitor experience that allows us to build audience
We will create a short, medium and long term plan levels alongside ongoing support for our
for HMSB once the results of the survey work in commercial business (in particular corporate
March 2018 are known; this will include a total events) on board
upgrade of the interpretation on board, and the
piloting of a new streamlined visitor experience
model using volunteer support and engagement.
EFFECTIVE STEWARDSHIP OF OUR COLLECTION
3.1 Collections management
Our inventory will be maintained as new items Our inventory will continue to be fully maintained
enter IWM's management control as new items enter IWM's management control
We will progress reconciliation of objects with their We will have completed the reconciliation process
full records, this will be prioritised according to our activity during 2021–22 which was prioritised
major priorities such as Transforming IWML phase according to our major priorities
2 Our core collection management check
A complete programme of management checks programme will be fully embedded
for core collections activity will be implemented
prioritised to support our major projects and
priorities
3.2 Collections storage
We are investing in our collections storage The storage strategy will be complete with a new
programme on the Northside of IWMD which will campus model created at IWMD and all of our
be completed by 2021, prioritised according to our collection stored in correct environmental
major priorities such as Transforming IWM conditions
London Phase 2
As part of this work and to support the delivery of
our masterplan, the first phase of the large object
storage and conservation facility will be in place at
IWMD by 2021
3.3 Collections digitisation
We are making progress in the strategic We will have made major progress with a higher
digitisation of our collection (for access, proportion of our collection digitised as we
preservation and commercial purposes) but our continue to prioritise content in terms of our major
collections are vast and therefore will be priorities, and commercial, access and
prioritised according to our major priorities preservation needs
We will continue to focus on the highest
digitisation priorities
We will also make significant progress in
conservation terms according to our major
priorities, for example the Victor project at IWMD
and ongoing work on HMSB following survey work
undertaken in March 2018
12Immediate plans (CP18 activity ) Long term strategy (10 year view and outcomes)
3.4 Contemporary collecting
We have identified the importance of Our strategy for contemporary collecting will be
contemporary collecting and will implement the well established, properly resourced, responsive
updated strategy and effective
We will connect our curatorial activity to public This will support our programming across a range
outputs, building and sharing our knowledge and of activities and ensure that we remain relevant to
understanding internally and of course, with our our audiences
audiences
Our approach to contemporary conflict will be
framed by thinking around the values of global
citizenship and this will be further developed
through our public engagement, learning and
programming work
We will collect strategically to fill gaps in the
collection where they relate to the Holocaust and
Second World War and our planned new galleries
BUILD OUR BRAND
4.1 Stakeholder Strategy
We will launch a new Stakeholder Strategy that We will be clearly positioned and will have a
brings our work together and focuses on helping strong, influencing voice both directly and through
to position us, responding in particular to the our network of advocates and partners
external opportunities, risks and issues that may
impact our operation. This will be presented to our
Board of Trustees in July 2018
We will focus on creating the capacity for us to
challenge and lead debate, building our reputation
and influence
4.2 International Working
The development and delivery of a National and We will have a new National and International
International Partnerships Strategy in 2018 will Partnerships Strategy that is embedded into our
focus on advocacy, positioning and the impact of ways of working and defines our role in terms of
our national and international working soft power and influence clearly
Through the strategy we will identify next steps to We will use this strategy to extend our reach and
ensure we build on the momentum and successes to establish and nurture powerful connections
of First World War Centenary partnership work–
widening our focus so that we incorporate all the
work of IWM, the Institute and interests of our five
branches in London, Manchester and
Cambridgeshire going forward
4.3 IWM Institute for the Public Understanding of War and Conflict
We will launch the IWM Institute pilot in spring The IWM institute is an established, well
2018, bringing together our research, expertise respected source of new thinking, critical thinking
and public programming so that we are able to and debate on war and conflict
demonstrate our impact in the broadest sense and We engage a broad range of stakeholders in the
on an international platform work of the Institute and build strong support year
Working in partnership, the Institute will help us to on year
push boundaries so that we pioneer new thinking, We will have built endowment funds that continue
spark and lead debate and build support for our to support, and allow for the ongoing expansion,
activities and programmes of this work
4.4 Compliance
13Immediate plans (CP18 activity ) Long term strategy (10 year view and outcomes)
We will continue to review all policies, plans and We will have renewed ACE Accreditation and
procedures to ensure that they remain current and Archive Service Accreditation at the agreed
support staff cycles
We will contribute to and implement any We will be alert to changing external validation
necessary changes as a result of the schemes to maintain our standards
implementation of SPECTRUM 5
We will be GDPR compliant
4.5 Knowledge mapping
Through the development of our Training and We will have a balance of expertise and
Development Strategy, we are identifying experience across all areas of our remit
opportunities to build knowledge All curatorial teams will have a strong focus on
Our focus moving ahead will be to build public engagement and public output
knowledge, especially where we have identified Our research activity will feed directly into public
gaps and opportunities, using in-house expertise outputs
and partner organisations
147. Risks and opportunities
Threats to the financial resilience of IWM will continue to prevail over this Plan period and
uncertainty will shape the UK economy in 2018, largely due to the unknown impact of Brexit. The
outlook in terms of economic growth for the year ahead is conservative with the UK GDP growth
estimated at 1.4 per cent, (down from 1.7 per cent in 2016). This might impact IWM as slow
economic growth could result in Government pressure to further reduce public spending in the
Comprehensive Spending Review, expected in early 2019. Additional pressure may also result
from rising inflation, which is estimated to be 2.7 per cent in 2018. This is likely to affect our
commercial performance as customer confidence and spending reduces.
In combination, these financial pressures significantly threaten the achievement of our objectives
and the provision of services and activities along current lines. Whilst timelines can be extended,
significant lack of investment will result in decreasing visitor satisfaction. In terms of mitigating
controls, we are positioned to manage as a result of the Change Programme which has given us
greater financial flexibility through a reduction in fixed costs. In CP18 we continue to have set
aside a high level of contingency as a buffer against these risks and financial uncertainty with £3
million allocated over the Plan period.
The economic context does provide us with opportunities which we have planned to maximise
over this period. A devalued pound brings opportunities for audience growth. After records set in
2017, Visit Britain has forecast another thriving year in 2018 for international inbound volume and
spend. Visit Britain predict there will be 41.7 million visits in 2018, an increase of 4.4 per cent on
2017 and £26.9 billion in visitor spending, an increase of 6.8 per cent on 2017. Furthermore this
trend could see the return of the staycation effect, where UK families choose to remain at home
rather than travel abroad, presenting opportunities for a growth in domestic audiences. In 2018–
19 the end of the First World War Centenary and high impact programming around our Making a
New World season is an opportunity for increased profile and audience engagement.
We have prioritised IT investment where it mitigates cyber security risks as any breach could
have serious reputational repercussions for the museum. We successfully achieved cyber
essentials in January 2018 and will be aiming to achieve cyber essentials plus during this Plan.
In CP18 funding continues to support a programme of testing and works to protect the integrity of
our network and the assets and information that we hold. On a broader level the current security
level for terrorism is severe, meaning that an attack is highly likely. While there is little we can do
to remove this threat completely, we have taken every measure we can to ensure that the
appropriate levels of vigilance and checks are in place. We are investing in upgrades to our
security systems and continue to keep our Business Continuity Plans up to date with a regular
regime of testing. Our Audience Development Strategy identifies audiences which are more
resilient in the unfortunate event of a terrorist incident on British soil and how we might adapt our
marketing plans accordingly.
IWM has a large estate which requires significant investment and resource to manage. Whilst we
continue to invest in our buildings and infrastructure this is necessarily determined on a risk and
priority basis. Projects to be delivered during CP18 include investment in our collections storage
at IWM Duxford. This will fulfill one of the fundamental principles of IWM’s Estates Strategy – the
relocation of collections material to IWM Duxford – and is an enabler of the Transforming IWM
London phase two project. Most significantly it will see over 75 per cent of our collections stored
in appropriate conditions by the end of this Plan period (currently less than 25 per cent). Such
projects may mean short-term disruption for staff and our operations but bring about substantial
future gains for IWM, not least by effectively managing the risk around damage to our collection.
15Our staff are our most valuable asset and we continue to build our working culture so that we
improve our daily working lives. The start of CP18 marks three years since our new staffing
structure was implemented in April 2015. Since that time much progress has been made, with
centralised teams working more efficiently and effectively across all areas of IWM. A regime of
continued change and improvement has now become a norm, and during CP18 we will continue
to focus on engendering culture change. This will be informed by our Cultural Change
Ambassador Network who have a remit to bring about changes to our working culture. Over this
period we will also see new ways of working, with a greater appetite for being experimental and
taking risks with our public programming as we continue to progress to become a learning
organisation – learning from mistakes, trying different things and unleashing the creativity of our
staff.
168. Impact and outcomes
In terms of strategic objectives, we are seeking to achieve the following:
Building our financial sustainability
We will secure our long-term financial viability and create a flexible, entrepreneurial and
dynamic working culture
We will incrementally build our income and net profit levels, increasing our financial
flexibility so that we can strengthen IWM and continue to invest in our public offer over
the long term
Prioritising our audiences
We will create inspiring, inclusive and relevant visitor and learning experiences and
people will have a deeper understanding of the causes, course and consequences of war
and its impact on all of our lives
Using global citizenship as a lens for programming, audiences will make personal
connections to our content and ideas
We will build and engage loyal and diverse audiences, partners and supporters, using the
IWM Institute to channel our research work into a public offer that is dynamic and
responsive to audience feedback
Delivering effective stewardship of our collection
We will develop and care for our collection
We will ensure our collections and knowledge remain relevant and accessible for
audiences now and for generations to come
Every year we will work towards having fully accessible and accountable records and
images of our collection so that we can maximise the value of these assets
Build our Brand
We will cement our profile as an innovative, influential, internationally renowned museum
through excellent product and customer service of the highest standard and we will
nurture and build key partnerships for mutual benefit
We will be leaders in our field with a reputation for excellence and innovation
179. Our Financial Strategy
Financial overview
We have created a Plan that balances income and expenditure over the three year period. Given
the phasing of the major projects this utilises funds specifically designated in the previous
financial year for these in addition to DCMS loan funding.
The major projects for Transforming IWM London and the collections storage improvements for
the Northside of IWM Duxford are on the same critical path. They both require significant
expenditure in 2018-19 and 2019-20. In addition creating new office accommodation to the rear
of the All Saints site will require work to start imminently to meet the exit timetable. This produces
a net cash outflow in years 1 and 2. It is proposed that this is financed by applying for a grant to
the DCMS Loan fund available under the Museums’ Freedom Scheme. This would be for £5.0
million in total, repayable over 3 years. Trustees will be requested to provide assurance to the
Department that such finance is the best option to provide cashflow for the projects in this case
and that IWM will be able to make the repayments in due course. This approach leaves the
longer term reserves held by the IWM Development Trust intact as the ultimate contingency fund
for the Museum. Year 3 sees a positive cash position with the major works achieved chiefly. A
premium will be received from the lessee of the existing building in this year as well. Funds are
available to repay the loan fully at this juncture.
Our trading income increases by 11 per cent over the Plan period. In 2018–19 we expect our
visitor numbers and associated income streams to lift as a result of the Poppies and the close of
the First World War centenary period. This will grow by 5% and 4% in the years thereafter,
excluding the impact of the lease premium receipt. Whilst running costs, combined with priority
investment, reflect the impact of inflation over the next three years, our salary budget (which
remains a substantial proportion of our fixed costs) reduces marginally over the Plan period
starting at c. £19.2 million (it is higher in year one reflecting the inclusion of some key fixed term
posts that support business development and change) and levelling at £18.6 million by year 3.
Contingency funds total £3 million over the three-year period and this provides us with some
flexibility should we need to respond to unexpected events.
CP18 Financial overview
Figures shown in £000s 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 CP18 Total
Income
Trading income 26,324 26,804 29,237 82,365
External funds 7,997 18,673 10,423 37,093
Grant in Aid 19,742 19,742 19,742 59,226
LIBOR 948 200 200 1,348
Subtotal 55,011 65,419 59,602 180,032
18CP18 Financial overview
Figures shown in £000s 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 CP18 Total
Expenditure
Running costs 26,032 23,553 24,143 73,728
Priority investment 15,927 22,756 10,646 49,329
Salaries 19,130 18,641 18,629 56,400
Apprenticeship levy 87 85 82 254
Contingency 1,000 1,000 1,000 3,000
Subtotal 62,176 66,035 54,500 182,711
CP18 Financial overview continued
Figures shown in £000s 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21
Net Position
Income less Expenditure (7,165) (616) 5,102
Museum Funds brought 2,878
forward
Net (4,287) (616) 5,102
Financed by:
Loan Finance from DCMS 4,500 500 (1000)
Net Cash Flow 213 (116) 4,102
Priority investment
This Plan provides investment to meet our strategic objectives through the delivery of our major
projects and other specific, high priority activity. This is the activity that will drive IWM forward
over the next three years, laying the foundations for our long term success, supporting our
ongoing business transformation.
The breakdown of this investment is shown in the table below. A total of £49 million is set aside
over the next three years. 60% of this funding is channelled towards activity that is audience-
focused, primarily the delivery of the next phase of our masterplan at IWM London and our digital
transformation. Our temporary exhibition and public programmes are included within running
costs.
Work to build our financial sustainability includes investing in our estates and infrastructure as
well as developing new systems that will help us modernise our business. As well as building
commercial return, this will help us manage our fixed cost base (systems and infrastructure)
more effectively. Just under a quarter of our priority funding is set aside over the Plan period to
support this.
Almost a fifth of our priority funding goes into improving collections management, including a
major phased collections storage project at IWM Duxford to ensure that we provide the correct
environment for both large and smaller collections objects and facilitate the implementation of the
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