Over a third of independent museums in the UK may rely purely on volunteers, research finds

Over a third of independent museums in the UK rely purely on the work of volunteers: Research from the Association of Independent Museums (AiM) has found that 39% of independent museums in the UK may rely purely on volunteers, having no paid employees. This statistic highlights the crucial role and contribution of volunteers for many museums across the UK, suggesting that without whom they could simply not survive. 

 

AiM represents, connects and strengthens the UK’s independent museum and heritage organisations and these findings were revealed in their latest Economic Impact of the Independent Museum Sector Report. The report included responses from 166 AiM members, equating to 18% of their membership, across museums of different sizes and determined that only 61% have paid employees.  

 

To understand the vital contribution of volunteers to the independent museum sector, AiM asked respondents specific questions about regular volunteer numbers and total volunteering days. They applied these figures across their entire membership (940 members as of June 2024) and estimate there to be in the region of 38,900 regular volunteers contributing 518,000 days per year to the sector. If you apply the 2024 minimum wage rate, and assume a standard working day of 7 hours, the scale of volunteer days is estimated to be valued at more than £41 million per year.

 

However, in addition to volunteer roles, the reports also highlights that there are upwards of 7,200 paid jobs in the independent museum sector, 4,700 of which are full-time positions (again the AiM applied respondent data to their entire member base). The report indicates that the majority of paid employees live locally, with 70% of jobs based in the same local areas as the independent museums themselves. This localness indicates the direct and positive impact these institutions have on employment rates in their surrounding communities. 

 

The findings in this report indicate clearly that local employment and volunteer support are both vital to underpin and sustain the independent museum sector.

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