The National Audit Office has published Due diligence processes for potential donations after reviewing the systems and policies relevant to donations management in place across a number of the museums and galleries sponsored by DCMS.
The report notes that museums and galleries increasingly rely on philanthropic donations due to the reduced availability of public grant funding. Donations carry unique risks -the report summarises these and offers best-practice examples of how to manage the risks.
The report found that that institutions generally have a good understanding of issues involved in managing donations but the extent to which this had been developed into formal procedures and processes varied. The National Audit Office (NAO) will continue to work with DCMS and its arm’s-length bodies to understand the risks and pressures facing the museums and galleries sector and to make use of our unique insight to highlight further key messages.