Advisory Board of the Natural History Museum

Advisory Board of the Natural History Museum
Name	Advisory Board of the Natural History Museum
Type	Advisory body
Headquarters	South Kensington
Location	London
Leader title	Chair
Parent organization	Natural History Museum, London

Advisory Board of the Natural History Museum is an appointed consultative body associated with the Natural History Museum, London that provides strategic guidance on collections, exhibitions, research, and public engagement. The board draws on expertise from academia, philanthropy, corporate sectors, and cultural institutions to advise museum trustees and executive staff. Its activities intersect with policy, fundraising, and partnerships involving national and international organizations.

History

The advisory board emerged amid late 20th-century reforms affecting British Museum-related institutions and the restructuring that produced the Natural History Museum, London as an arm's-length body in the era of Margaret Thatcher-era cultural policy shifts. Influences include precedents set by advisory structures at the Victoria and Albert Museum, British Library, and Tate Gallery, and by philanthropic models associated with figures like Andrew Carnegie and institutions such as the Wellcome Trust. The board's formation reflects broader trends in museum governance linked to reports by committees including the Cultural Commission and recommendations following debates around collections stewardship exemplified by cases like the Elgin Marbles and repatriation discussions involving the Benin Bronzes.

Role and Responsibilities

The advisory board offers counsel on curation, acquisitions, conservation, and scientific priorities in coordination with the museum's departments such as the Department of Earth Sciences, Department of Zoology, and Department of Botany. It advises on exhibition strategy relating to major shows comparable to exhibitions previously mounted by the Smithsonian Institution, American Museum of Natural History, and Musée National d'Histoire Naturelle. Responsibilities extend to fundraising collaborations with foundations like the Heritage Lottery Fund and private patrons akin to Gates Foundation-style philanthropy, as well as guidance on partnerships with universities such as University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and Imperial College London.

Membership

Members typically include curators and scientists drawn from institutions such as the Natural History Museum, London, Royal Society, and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; donors and trustees associated with organizations like the National Trust and Prince's Trust; corporate representatives with links to firms such as BP and Shell (in some historical cases); and cultural leaders from bodies like the British Museum and Museum of London. Notable types of members have mirrored appointments seen at advisory councils of the Royal Society and boards of the Wellcome Collection, with occasional involvement by prominent individuals connected to awards including the Darwin Medal and the Copley Medal. Membership rosters have historically included figures affiliated with universities including University College London and research institutes like the Natural Environment Research Council.

Governance and Relationship with Museum Leadership

The advisory board operates under terms negotiated with the museum's trustees and executive leadership, including the Director of the Natural History Museum, London and chairs of trustee boards modeled on governance at institutions such as the Tate Modern and the British Library. Its recommendations inform but do not supersede decisions by statutory bodies such as the museum's board of trustees or government departments comparable to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The board engages with senior curatorial staff, research leads, and legal counsel in ways similar to advisory arrangements at the Smithsonian Institution and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Activities and Contributions

The board has contributed to major projects including gallery rehangs, blockbuster exhibitions, digitization initiatives, and research campaigns in paleontology and taxonomy paralleling programs at the American Museum of Natural History and Field Museum of Natural History. It has supported fundraising drives for capital projects akin to campaigns run by the Getty Foundation and advised on international loan agreements involving counterparts like the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the Royal Ontario Museum. The board has also played roles in public outreach collaborations with broadcasters such as the BBC and scientific publishers such as Nature and Science.

Controversies and Criticism

Criticism of advisory boards in cultural institutions has encompassed concerns over conflicts of interest, perceived influence of corporate sponsors like BP and Rio Tinto, and debates over repatriation and ethical collecting similar to controversies surrounding the Benin Bronzes and the Elgin Marbles. The advisory board has faced scrutiny when membership or funding links appeared to conflict with conservation priorities or when strategic advice intersected with contentious exhibitions referenced in debates at bodies like the House of Commons Select Committee on culture. Critics have called for greater transparency in appointments, echoing reform calls made for governance at the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Category:Natural History Museum, London