Funded Access & Inclusion Audits Offer
October 2, 2025Call for Expressions of Interest – Access and Inclusion Audits 2025/26
Background to Access and Inclusion Audits
NIMC has supported Access & Inclusion Audits within the local museum sector since 2019-20.
All Accredited museums must ‘be accessible to the public’. To meet the Accreditation standard museums are required to have an approved Access Policy and an Access Plan. The Access Policy and Plan should be informed by access audits and preferably developed in consultation with museum users. It is good practice to review and update your Access Policy and Plans every 5 years.
Access and Inclusion Audits will enable museums to better understand ethical commitments and legal requirements, allowing museums to develop evidence-based plans to enhance museum access and inclusivity. Recently completed Access Audits will allow museums to apply for Access and Inclusion grants (if money become available), which will help to resource aligned improvement works.
Eligibility
Expressions of interest are welcomed from Accredited and Working Towards Accreditation status local (non-National) museums based in NI, who have not received a NIMC funded Access Audit in the last four years.
What NIMC will provide:
NIMC is securing budget to enable us to provide selected museums with the following:
An Access & Inclusion Audit that will address the following objectives:
- Support Section 7 of the UK Museums Accreditation scheme, User & their Experiences – Be accessible to the public – by providing baseline evidence of their current provision of access and inclusion from a visitor perspective.
- Deliver an Access & Inclusion Audit Report for each museum that will identify priority areas of work that will inform future planning and support funding bids to be more accessible and inclusive. The report for each museum will include priorities and approximate cost bandings with reference to good practice guidance where available.
The Access & Inclusion Audit will be carried out by an experienced Access Consultant and informed by best practice as well as responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010. It will include the following elements for each museum around the visitor journey:
- pre-visit information
- arrival and welcome
- museum facilities (cafes, shops, toilets etc if they have them)
- horizontal and vertical circulation
- gallery and collections interpretation and experience (an overview)
- post-visit information
What museums need to commit to:
If selected your museum needs to commit to the following for delivery of the project:
- Accommodate a visit from an Access Auditor in December 2025 followed up by an interview (most likely by phone) before the end of the 2025-26 financial year;
- Invite a local disability advocacy group to visit your museum and respond/ add to the Access audit report (written by Access Auditor) most likely during Jan – Mar 2026.
To express your interest in having an access and inclusion audit carried out at your museum then please complete the Expression of Interest form and return by 4pm, Monday 3rd November 2025 to info@nimc.co.uk
If you have any queries, please get in touch.
We look forward to hearing from you.