Appendix: Performance standards and measures used by the museums we audited

Management of heritage collections in local museums and art galleries.

Aspect of collection management	Performance standard/measure
Development of the collections	Rationalisation of the collection in consultation with other museums or galleries Add x artworks to the collection Acquisitions consistent with purchasing plan 25% of artworks acquired are by artists from the local community Not fewer than 10 sought-after items added to both natural sciences and humanities collections acquired at competitive market rates Actively seek external funding for research projects relating to museum collections by submitting at least 4 well-considered applications
Use of, and access to, the collection Use of the collection for exhibitions Presenting the collection to underscore its strength, scope, and quality Collection available for loan Responding to inquiries, and loan requests	10% of the museum’s collection is to be on display at any one time The number of exhibitions based on the permanent collection The number of loans made from the collection All inquiries acknowledged in specified timeframe Loans processed within 2 months of receipt Facilitate access to the collections – satisfy 80% of all requests for items and information
Preventive conservation Control of the museum environment Disaster preparation policy and plan Conservation survey Storage Condition reporting	Maintain humidity and temperature at set levels Meet targets for treatment and condition reporting set out in conservation programme Write a disaster policy and plan Complete conservation survey of objects in one of the museum’s collections, identifying priorities for treatment Implement a conservation programme based on priority needs Pack and re-store objects within a defined collection group by a specified date Target number of condition reports completed for loans exhibitions All incoming material into the museum is held in isolation and checked to ensure the material contains no pests 90% (aim 100%) of artefacts and specimens are housed in conditions appropriate for their type and material to international standards Collections are safe through the use of effective security measures and internal systems and processes – no damage or theft occurs Maintain 80% compliance with standards overall; security 80%, climate control 80%, fire protection 100%, lighting 60%
Resources and training workshop	Number of staff attending specified training course Object handling training given to relevant staff by specified date
Relationship with iwi	Maori Advisory Committee meets at least quarterly and actions issues raised, 4 meetings held each year

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