AIM Hallmarks in Wales – Cynon Valley Museum Trust

Cynon Valley Museum Trust
Securing our Trajectory
Grant received: £5,986.57

“Securing Our Trajectory” funded by AIM Hallmarks in Wales brought immediate impact and has outlined the medium- and long-term trajectory of the Trust’s internal income streams. Immediate impacts have seen dramatic increases in donations and diversification of shop stock sales, whilst the upgrading to an EPOS till system has for the first time allowed the museum to accurately record sales, increased insight into sales data and reduced the time processing sales from one week to one day. The medium- and long-term trajectory has been identified through the provision of training and creation of a report recommending the future development of the museum shop.

Upgrading the till system
The museum began the project in July 2019 combining investment in shop infrastructure, training and research. The initial changes saw the introduction of an EPOS till system into the museum replacing the previous analogue till system. This resulted in staff time being saved, in total the processing of payments was reduced from 5 days every 3 months to 1 day every 3 months. In the introduction of the till system has increased sales accuracy and allowed greater insight into what is selling well and what is not. The museum is now better placed to make informed decisions on what to stock in the museum.

Training for all
With the new till system installed the museum provided training for all volunteers to learn how to use the new EPOS till. The museum also brought in a shop specialist to provide training to staff and volunteers on the art of selling. This was followed up by a sector specific event which brought museum workers together to discuss income generation, building connections and insights from across the sector.

Research for now and later
The final portion of the project was provision to carry out specific targeted research into income generation and specifically the continued development of the museum shop. This saw the completion of report split into short-, medium- and long-term actions. Short-term actions included the increase of donations thanks to changes in location of donation boxes, introduction of a recommended donation and language around asking for donations. This saw an increase in donations by 291% in comparison to the previous financial year.

Research highlighted the importance of a change in the shop appearance identifying short-term changes introducing temporary island displays and investing in new shop furniture to diversify shop units moving away from the glass display cabinets which the Trust inherited when reopening the museum.

Medium- and long-term changes have been outlined and presented to the board, building on the work of this funded project and creating a future trajectory. The museum seeks to become sustainable; identifying how the shop needs to be redeveloped to create this sustainable vision.

Securing our trajectory has enhanced the museum’s ability to manage the museum shop, insight into sales and provided the needed
training. Thanks to the research, the museum has a clear vision for the future, building on the success of Securing the Trajectory.

William Tregaskes, Museum Coordinator
Cynon Valley Museum