Northern Ireland bodies to benefit from UKRI Mindsets + Missions programme

Armagh Observatory and National Museums NI are among 45 places awarded to museums, science and discovery centres, and changemaker individuals across the UK on new learning and grants programme for 2023

Mindsets + Missions is a new learning and grants programme, funded by UK Research and Innovation, which supports museums and science centres to engage underrepresented groups with knowledge, research and innovation.

For the first phase between March and April 2023, the programme will be led by The Liminal Space and bring together a cohort of organisations, creative practitioners, researchers, and experts by lived and learned experience to stimulate collaboration and peer learning. Cohort members bring expertise across cultural, heritage, creative and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and maths) learning and engagement.

Together they will explore the missions that drive this work and the mindsets that go towards achieving their shared aims. Development funding and stipends will support the involvement of each of the participating organisations and individuals.

Using the concept of “future citizens”, the cohort will consider strategies to enable people who bring diverse and plural perspectives to engage with, influence and participate in the development of the knowledge, research and innovation that our future societies will be built on.

Tom Saunders, head of public engagement at UKRI said

“Museums and science centres play an important role in inspiring the next generation of researchers and innovators, whether it’s future vaccine researchers or future historians. But we know that opportunities to engage with research and innovation through museums and science centres aren’t open to all. We are excited to be working with this cohort of individuals and organisations to explore how we can better connect underrepresented groups with research and innovation.”

Mindsets + Missions presents an opportunity to combine experimentation with an element of ambition. The programme will support work that is boundary pushing within its context and created in a way that promotes learning from the experience across sectors. The learning programme will help practitioners and policymakers to better understand how museums and science centres can engage underrepresented communities with research and innovation.

Phase 2 of the programme, launching later in the year, will push this learning further. Participating organisations will be able to apply for grants to support projects which embody the collaborative, knowledge sharing, and innovative approaches to working with diverse audiences explored by the cohort.