Research strategy and governance
Key information
Email: [email protected]
The Museum's research is underpinned by our research strategy and follows the Museum's Code of Good Research Practice.
Research involves colleagues from across the Museum – often collaborating with others. At any one time, Museum staff are:
- Researching more than 12 exhibitions.
- Leading or participating in more than 30 externally funded research projects and programmes.
- Supporting more than 25 research students.
Our research leads to more than 125 books and peer-reviewed articles and papers each year. Find out about our publications by exploring the Museum's digital publications repository.
This section introduces the Museum's research along with how we shape and manage our research.
Research strategy
Research at the British Museum is to advance the future care, display and understanding of the collection and to help people learn, understand and be inspired by human history through objects.
Research is essential to the delivery of the Museum's public remit and over the next ten years the research programme must inspire and inform the development of new permanent galleries, the delivery of exhibitions, and enhanced physical and digital public access to the collection. Our research programme has three aims:
• To be a resource for the world: the collection is first and foremost a public resource, a library of objects, open to all to explore and research for themselves. Over the next ten years, the Museum will contribute to wider knowledge by developing new ways to preserve, understand and share knowledge about the collection as a global resource.
• To transform permanent galleries at Bloomsbury: research will generate the knowledge and ideas needed to deliver new galleries and displays in a coherent, over-arching framework rather than as isolated spaces. A new approach to conceiving and structuring research projects is required, working across departments and underpinned by local, national and global research partnerships.
• To support an innovative and impactful exhibitions and public programme: the research programme will be the crucible in which ideas essential to the exhibitions and public programme will be formed and tested. Public engagement will continue to be central to the Museum's approach, creating new knowledge and engaging audiences with the latest research.
Overseeing research at the Museum
Research at the Museum is overseen by the Head of Research working closely with Heads of Departments, as well as the Research Managers and Research Publications Editor.
The Research Board acts as the Museum's research ethics committee and meets regularly to:
- coordinate research
- review the research programme
- agree the Museum's research budget
The Trustees of the British Museum have a Trustees Collection and Research Committee that reviews the quality of our research and the success of our research strategy. The membership of this committee has both current Trustees and co-opted members from universities and other research organisations.
We are recognised by UK Research & Innovation as an Independent Research Organisation (IRO), and play an active role with other IROs to promote research across Museums, Galleries, Libraries, Archives and other Heritage Organisations.
Read the Museum's Code of Good Research Practice.
