NTS Report 4 Aug 2010 - National Trust for Scotland

30
National Partnerships
Working Together for the Benefit of Scotland
In 1931, when the NTS was founded, the charity aimed to be
Scotland’s leading organisation in preserving and promoting our
national heritage.
Today there are many other organisations and agencies working
in the same field – Historic Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage,
the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical
Monuments of Scotland, the Historic Houses Association, and
many others spread across the charity and community sectors.
The Economy, Enterprise and Tourism Committee of the
Scottish Parliament, in a report of 2008, has criticised what it
calls their ‘silo mentality’ and called for them to adopt a ‘Team
Scotland’ approach.
Since then, a number of MSPs at Holyrood have proposed – in
the aftermath of the economic crisis – economies of scale
through joint-working and the more concerted marketing of both
heritage and environmental tourism.
Some of these concerns were also expressed during the Review’s
lengthy consultation process. A small number of participants
called then and in the press, for NTS to merge with the National
Trust or Historic Scotland.
We accept that a marriage to the larger sister organisation south
of the border could bring significant economies of scale. But we
ruled out such ideas right from the start. Apart from doubts
about whether the NT would be a willing suitor, we regard such
a proposal as being totally inappropriate to a devolved Scotland.
If NTS has problems, it is for NTS to find Scottish solutions.
We have also rejected proposals to merge with Historic
Scotland. In our view, it would be quite inappropriate for a
charity with a voluntary ethos to be subsumed in a Government
executive agency.
The Review has therefore concentrated on a programme of
internal reform of the Trust, aimed at giving it a greater sense of
strategic direction which, in turn, will allow the organisation to
address the issues of financial sustainability.
Administrative Partnerships
Part of that reform process will be seeking greater cooperation
with other heritage organisations and the sharing of costs in
areas which do not jeopardise the independence of the Trust.
We acknowledge that there are differences between the
legislative regulations – in VAT, for example – within which
charities and public bodies work.
We believe that there are real advantages, both in efficiency
savings and in conservation benefits, in NTS seeking more
partnership agreements in such areas as joint ticketing,
education, procurement, warehousing, management of
collections and buildings, and joint marketing.
A good deal of work is already being carried out on a bilateral
basis and through forums such as the Historic Properties Group,
Built Environment Forum Scotland and the Heritage Education
Forum. We list examples in the table on page 31.
P17: The Review proposes that the Chief Executive should
report in 2011 to the Trustees on opportunities for more
partnership working with other organisations.
Among areas which it may be helpful to explore are:
• Procurement – bulk purchasing of common base stock, to be
branded separately.
• Marketing – the development of common campaigns to
attract visitors both at national and local level.
• Ticketing – an extension of the Homecoming Pass for
overseas visitors to the domestic market, giving access to NTS,
Historic Scotland and other properties and sites.
• Publications and Leaflets – joint production where these can be
targeted at common audiences both locally and nationally.
• Electronic Point of Sale – the development of common
systems and their maintenance across the sector.
• Visitor Information Centres – their location in NTS properties,
bringing in income through servicing a range of other heritage
and tourism agencies and local enterprises as well.
“Through Historic
Scotland, I want the
Government to work
with the National Trust
and the private sector
— not in competition,
but in collaboration.“
Michael Russell MSP, Minister of
Culture, 11 November 2009