2011 has been a year of change in the sector, not all of it bad news. The winding up the MLA and the assimilation of its museum functions into the Arts Council was well managed and we look forward to developing working links with ACE. We have held several meetings with them over the year and the messages have been very positive. AIM has appointed four AIM Council members to provide a point of contact with ACE’s Area Executive Directors. We were pleased that Museum Development remains a priority under the new Renaissance Programme, although we remain concerned about the reduction in Museum Development Officer posts in many of the regions leading to the loss of ensuing support for smaller museums.

Although some have suffered more than others as a group our dependence on public sector funding being considerably less than local authority managed museums has shielded us from the levels of service reductions which many of them have and will continue to experience in the coming years. The entrepreneurial spirit and freedoms and flexibilities of independent governance has enabled many independent museums to develop new business and directions. The year has seen a number of exciting new developments including the opening of the new Tank Museum, the Brunel Institute at ss Great Britain and the extension to the Holburne Museum at Bath. Many AIM members have seen visitor numbers increase, with improved trading activity. Resilient and resourceful, our ‘can do’ mentality enables independent museums and galleries to meet the challenges we all face in the coming years.

AIM is also facing change as an organisation, and as your new Chairman I am looking forward to taking us into a new era, building on our strengths and reputation as a national charity, so ably developed by my predecessor, Bill Ferris. We were delighted that his contribution was recognised in the New Year’s Honours with an award of an OBE. We are also grateful to our outgoing Administrator, Roger Hornshaw who supported AIM’s work with efficiency and diligence during his term of office.

Following Roger’s retirement AIM Council decided that we needed to increase our capacity to meet the needs of a growing organisation delivering more services for members by creating two new part-time posts of Executive Director and Administrator and I am pleased to welcome Justeen Stone who took up her duties as Administrator earlier this year. We now have a new team in place and a three year strategic plan to deliver. Improving our membership services is a high priority, also ensuring that the interests and concerns of independent museums and galleries are represented with strength and conviction at a national level. Strengthening relationships with other national bodies is important here and I am delighted to welcome Sarah Staniforth, Museums and Collections Director of the National Trust who has recently joined AIM Council. Links have been forged between independent museums and National Trust properties in a number of areas and these can be spread further – many Trust properties think and behave as independent museums themselves.

Our membership has continued to grow over the year and we look forward to welcoming our 1,000^th member in 2012. Our thanks here go to Michael Cope, AIM’s Honorary Membership Secretary. I am also delighted to report that our 2011 Conference at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford was our most successful, attracting over 164 delegates on from across the UK. We are most grateful to Diane Lees, Imperial War Museum, for hosting us and to Judy Niner of Development Partnerships for their invaluable sponsorship, also to Emma Chaplin, Justeen Stone and Gordon Cummings for developing the programme and ensuring the administrative arrangements worked smoothly.

An important aspect of our work over the year has been supporting new projects in independent museums and galleries through the Sustainability Grant Scheme, funded by the Esmeé Fairbairn Foundation and the Conservation Grant Scheme funded by the Pilgrim Trust. This investment has supported projects to a total value of £104,512.00, ranging from £470 for Tiverton Museum in order to conserve two cloth lead seals; to £5,000 awarded to the Paxton House Trust for their rebranding and marketing project. The Bob Harding grants funded by AIM have also helped 21 museum workers attend conferences and training courses over the year. And thanks are due here to Michael Cates for administering our training grant scheme. With so few sources of grant support now available to museums, AIM’s role in supporting targeted museum development is becoming increasingly important. Opening up new sources of investment for the sector is one of my prime objectives for the coming year and I look forward to updating you on my achievements at our 2012 Conference.

Finally I would like to record my thanks to our Editor, Diana Zeuner. AIM’s Bulletin and e-news are I know seen as authorative ‘must read’ publications with a readership that extends way beyond the independent sector alone. And to Gordon Cummings who as our Honorary Treasurer has kept our finances in good order, and Colin Sibun our new Honorary Secretary. Colin replaces Tamalie Newbery who sadly steps down from AIM Council. The contributions and hard work of the whole of AIM Council make the organisation thrive and be so responsive and effective for the independent sector and I record our thanks to them too.