Democratising the Museum: Birmingham Museums Trust

In the summer of 2024, 5,000 Birmingham residents received an invitation through the post, as Birmingham Museums Trust (BMT) made history by introducing the first citizens' jury to a UK museum. The invitation was signed by museum Co-CEO’s Sara Wajid and Zak Mensah, and called on citizens to come together to deliberate on the question:

What does Birmingham need and want from its museums, now and in the future; and what should Birmingham Museums Trust do to make these things happen?

Click here to watch a film about the citizens' jury.

About the process

Following a sortition process carried out by The Sortition Foundation, on Saturday 5 October 2024, 28 strangers aged 18 to 79 from across the city, all from different walks of life and backgrounds, came together for the first time in one of the museum’s spaces. The Jury was facilitated by Shared Future, with DemocracyNext acting as a critical friend and advisor to BMT’s Co-CEOs and Senior Leadership Team.

Jury members met for 30 hours across three evenings online, and three full days in person. They brought their own varied experiences of visiting (or not) the city’s museums, and shared what it means to live in, or be from, Birmingham. They visited museum sites and exhibitions, both in person and virtually. They heard from 12 ‘expert’ commentators whose expertise included museum curation and operations, museum planning and development, audiences, education and skills, and culture development in cities. They learned about the significant financial challenges faced by BMT and the museums sector as a whole. And they spent time listening and deliberating together.

To ensure a robust, fair, and unbiased process, an independent Oversight Panel was also recruited, bringing together representatives from local government, the private sector, voluntary sector, educational sector, the culture and heritage sector, deliberative democracy, and other community groups.

The Jury produced 11 ‘Roles of the Museum’, and 20 recommendations, covering four key themes: funding and marketing; community engagement and collaboration; exploring diverse perspectives; new audiences, accessibility and inclusivity.

On 30 January 2025, at a special event at Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum, the recommendations from the Citizens’ Jury were unveiled to a group of local and national stakeholders.

Click here to watch a short film from the launch event.

Speaking of their experience, the jurors made this collective statement:

“At the beginning of this process we didn’t know what to expect. Many of us haven’t been to a museum in a long time, we didn't know what Birmingham Museums Trust was about, and what it could mean to us. We were not engaged and did not feel close to our museums.

As a result of the process, we feel more pride in our museums and the city. We heard a range of perspectives speaking on diverse topics that relate to how the industry works. As a group of different people with different lives we have different opinions, but have found consensus in our shared aspirations for Birmingham Museums Trust to thrive. We feel more connected to our museums and hopeful for their future. We have enjoyed being a part of this decision-making process and it has made us advocate for and promote our museums in our own communities.

Our museums need to update how they are perceived in Birmingham and on a national stage. The re-opened Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery is much more appealing, we hope to see this continued across the other sites and that the Trust makes sure the people are aware of the amazing things it has to offer and the process it has gone through.

We acknowledge our museums are fighting for their survival; they must take risks in their bid to be inspiring, educating, engaging to all. It is important for our museums to involve and represent the communities they are responsible to, i.e. the people of Birmingham and they shouldn’t be precious about doing so. We deserve museums that are proud of us, that we can be proud of, that celebrate what’s unique about Birmingham.

The voice of the museum is to some extent, the voice of the people, and we want everyone to hear us a mile coming.”

Zak Mensah and Sara Wajid, Co-CEOs of BMT, said:

"This is a significant step forward for Birmingham Museums Trust and a new chapter in the city’s museums story. The Citizens' Jury has provided us with invaluable insights and a clear direction for the future of our museums, emphasising the importance of creating spaces that are more inclusive, accessible and relevant to local communities, while reflecting the region’s rich and diverse cultural heritage. These recommendations will be a cornerstone in our transformation and will guide us as we work to make our museums more accessible, relevant and responsive to the needs of Birmingham’s diverse communities. More widely, we hope that this thoughtful and collaborative process can serve as a model for how museums and cultural institutions across the UK and internationally can engage directly with their communities, ensuring that they remain connected to the people they serve.”

Part of a wider transformation

The citizens’ jury is part of a fundamental transformation of BMT into a resilient and financially sustainable organisation with the structure, culture, skilled workforce and audience insights to deliver its ambitious vision. BMT’s jury was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery Players, as part of BMT’s Laying the Foundations Programme.

Throughout 2025, BMT will continue to meet with the jury on a regular basis to formally report back on progress and explore other opportunities for the Jury to remain involved. They will also be invited back for further visits to the museum’s sites, and to join BMT staff sharing their findings externally at conferences and events.

Sharing learning through the Citizens in Power Network

BMT is a Founder Member of the Citizens in Power Network and DemocracyNext is an Expert Member. The network is designed to rethink the way that decisions are made in the cultural and creative sectors. It does this through the three key principles of authority giving, sortition, and deliberation. It will embrace democratic models such as citizens’ assemblies and citizens’ juries to lead decision-making processes, in which citizens are people who live, work or stay in a place - i.e. everyone.

Lessons and insight from the Birmingham Museums Trust Citizens’ Jury will be shared with other cultural organisations also looking to democratise their decision-making. You can read David Jubb’s blog on the launch of the Birmingham Museums’ Citizens’ Jury recommendations here.

About Birmingham Museums Trust

BMT is an independent charitable trust formed in 2012 that cares for over one million objects and nine museums on behalf of Birmingham City Council and the people of Birmingham.

About Shared Future

Shared Future is a community interest company working across the UK. Its aim is to provide an excellent service that makes a difference to communities and individuals and works towards a fairer, more equal society. Its mission is to move those they engage with towards greater individual and collective authority and autonomy, by supporting their ability to act wisely, confidently and in community with others.