Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales

Our strategic partnership with Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales is committed to developing regional, national and international heritage ecosystems, combining our efforts and talents to create social and economic impact.

As anchor institutions in Wales, we have a long history of collaborating with Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales on addressing research and civic and societal issues. In early 2023, we signed a 5-year strategic partnership to enable a greater alignment of expertise, experience, and resources, and work together on strategically aligned aims.

Our strategic partnership will focus on

research and innovation
safeguarding and restoring the environment
the creation of digital cultures and adaptive technologies
skills, talent and lifelong learning
ensuring wellbeing and inclusive representation through an appreciation of heritage.

Aims and objectives

Research and innovation is an enabling strategic theme across all work streams. Our partnership is focused around the following key strategic themes:

Digital cultures and adaptive technologies: The ability for an organisation to adapt its digital technology for the future is a key element for growth and survival. We are working together to create new ways of reaching wider and unrepresented audiences through digital technologies whilst driving innovation through adaptive technologies.

Wellbeing through an appreciation of heritage: Inspirational places and experiences are key to individual and collective wellbeing. Amgueddfa Cymru's estate is rich in inspiration and both organisations have a deep seated and strong sense of place, not just in the Wales’s capital city, but also pride in our country rich heritage.

Everyone represented: Aligning itself to Welsh Government plans and the Future Generations Act, this theme will focus on ensuring that public and community engagement through all joint activities helps to make individuals feel they belong, can share in creativity and curiosity and also participate.

Safeguarding and restoring the environment: Plans to meet NetZero targets across both organisations’ estates require rapid development of new technology, behavioural and societal change, and an infrastructure revolution to support this switch. Success will depend on evidence-based solutions to accelerate innovation and support operationally, as well as new understanding of behaviour and demand management.

Skills, talent and lifelong learning: The strategic partnership will support more structured engagement around skills development, graduate opportunities, talent and lifelong learning for both organisations.

Theme leads

The following academics are helping to steer and develop joint opportunities with Amgueddfa Cymru counterparts.

Theme	Cardiff University theme Leads	Amgueddfa Cymru theme leads
Digital Cultures and Adaptive Technologies	Alison Harvey, Archivist, University Library Services Dr Thomas Woolley, School of Mathematics	Jess Hoare, Digital Innovation Lead Kristine Chapman, Principal Librarian
Wellbeing through an Appreciation of Heritage	Professor Bella Dicks, School of Social Sciences Judith Ingram, Student Health and Wellbeing	Sharon Ford, Health & Wellbeing Programme Manager
Everyone Represented	Dr Ryan Prout, School of Modern Languages	Sioned Hughes, Head of Public History and Archaeology, and Public and Community Engagement
Safeguarding and Restoring the Environment	Dr Kersty Hobson, School of Geography and Planning Dr Pan He, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences	Kate Mortimer Jones, Senior Curator: Invertebrate Biodiversity (Marine Invertebrates) Sara Younan, Youth Engagement Coordinator
Skills, Talent and Lifelong Learning	Professor Holly Furneaux, School of English, Communication and Philosophy Dr Liam Turner, School of Computer Science and Informatics	Gemma Brown, Research Development Officer

Collaborative projects

Past successful collaborations have included work on the CAER Heritage project, hands-on bioscience-related projects across Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales’s sites, and research such as the Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded “Refugee Wales - The Afterlife of Violence”.

Future plans include the development of tailored courses for the next generation of heritage graduates, more bilateral staff secondments, and more students and postdoctoral researchers undertaking projects, placements, and internships.

There are also plans to develop new civic mission and widening participation activities, immersive, interactive exhibitions and community-based projects themed around key, societal issues, co-working with local communities on events and exhibitions relevant to their local area.