STRATEGY TO 2020
Advancing the science of nature
F oreword Everyone’s experience of the Natural History Museum is personal. It can touch lives in different ways.
Some visitors will cherish memories, others will re-tell fascinating stories. Some people will be inspired to make changes to their own lives. And some people will go on to change the world. Our principal purpose is to challenge the way people think about the natural world – its past, present and future. The Natural History Museum (NHM) is the guardian of one of the world’s most important natural history collections. Through our own unrivalled expertise and by opening up access and participation for all, we are unlocking answers to the big issues facing humanity and the planet: • The origins of our planet and life on it, and the impact of change • The diversity of life and the delicate balance of ecosystems that ensure the survival of our planet • The security of our food supply, the eradication of disease and the management of mineral and ore scarcity This strategy sets out a five-year journey that lays the foundation for two further decades of transformation for the NHM. It will affect how we create scientific knowledge and share the benefits of scientific research, how we develop and care for the collection for future generations and how we make engaging with science a part of everyone’s lives and integral to our nation’s culture. By bringing our programmes of public engagement and scientific research ever closer together, we aim to promote the collection – and all that follows from it – as one of the world’s greatest scientific resources for both experts and the public.
Sir Michael Dixon Museum Director
Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint Chair of the Trustees
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DARWIN CENTRE We are redefining the role of natural history museums and the Darwin Centre is a clear statement of the NHM’s intent. Alongside state-of-the-art facilities for over 40 million specimens and modern research laboratories, the Darwin Centre offers new ways for people to engage with the science we do. An innovative walk-through gallery cuts straight to the heart of the collection, explaining the Museum’s scientific work and its relevance to society. In the Attenborough Studio, visitors interact with Museum scientists every day. Citizen science programmes that actively involve the public in scientific research are run through the Angela Marmont Centre for UK Biodiversity, while in the Sackler Biodiversity Imaging Facility we pioneer new ways to digitise our collection to make it accessible to all.
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O ur vision We live in a time of extraordinary scientific and technological discovery while facing formidable environmental challenges.
The Natural History Museum – with its vast collection and pioneering research programme – is powerfully placed to engage audiences with the science they need to know and the decisions we need to make. The Museum’s purpose is to challenge the way people think about the natural world – its past, present and future. We aim to stimulate public debate about humanity’s future and equip our audiences at every level with an understanding of science. That purpose has never been more important or more urgent. Species and ecosystems are being destroyed faster than we can describe them or understand their significance. The very resources on which modern society relies are under threat. This strategy describes how we will redefine the NHM over the next five years to take up these challenges. We will use the unique combination of our collection, expertise and public reach to engage people with three big narratives that together underpin an understanding of the natural world and our place in it: Origins and evolution The 4.5 billion year history of our solar system, the Earth and life Diversity of life Today’s natural diversity across species, habitats and ecosystems Sustainable futures The future of the natural systems on which our society depends
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NATIONAL IMPACT As a national museum we engage audiences across the country, working with regional partners to inspire young people to continue to study science and support Britain’s knowledge economy. For more than a decade the NHM has worked with UK museums, developing collaborative programmes to unlock the potential of their natural history collections to involve students with science and nature. These programmes have created a community of science education professionals who share their expertise and experience. The Real World Science programme has, over the past 10 years, reached more than 4,000 schools and 150,000 students nationally. Students participate in hands-on workshops and debates, meet research scientists and curators, and enjoy behind-thescenes collections access, looking at topics ranging from microfossils to human evolution.
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O ur impact Our ambition is to redefine the Natural History Museum and its impact on society. We will take advantage of scientific and technological advances to make fundamental contributions to science and to inspire people to engage with a new age of discovery.
Our strategic priorities for the next five years are organised to reflect our commitment to extending our impact – digitally, nationally, internationally, and in London. Digital We will use technology to deepen engagement with the collection, including mass digitisation of specimens, engaging virtual communities worldwide and creating innovative digital platforms. National We will create national networks to support science in schools, engage society with UK biodiversity through citizen science, and open up the UK’s natural history collections by sharing skills and facilities. International We will develop our global relationships to create new commercial opportunities, build capacity among our partners, and tackle major scientific challenges, such as biodiversity loss, the spread of diseases and the supply of scarce minerals. London We will build on our position as one of the world’s great public museums in a truly global city to enhance the experience of our visitors through a series of major capital developments to improve the grounds, the Hintze Hall, galleries and learning centre. To achieve these goals we will develop a new business model that builds our potential to increase income from membership, commercial opportunities and philanthropic and corporate partnerships. We invite you to join us on this journey of discovery.
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INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP The NHM leads a consortium of 20 European organisations including universities, private companies, museums and botanic gardens in the creation of an integrated research infrastructure. The SYNTHESYS project delivers three strategically important elements: access, networking and collaborative research. Europe-based scientists receive funding for short-term visits to SYNTHESYS partners to make use of collections, staff expertise and analytical facilities, with more than 11,000 visitor days supported. The partners share good practice in both collections care and development of digital and physical access to collections. They collaborate to find new ways to digitise collections and increase the pace of digitisation, including activities involving the public in extracting information from the labels and registers of natural history specimens housed in collections across Europe.
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K ey projects We will monitor our progress against the objectives identified in this strategy using a combination of quantitative and qualitative targets.
The list below highlights some key projects and milestones in our journey. Big, open data Digitise major parts of our collection and make it openly available to public and scientific audiences worldwide Innovative technology Create a new Museum website and apps to share our expertise and collection and engage virtual communities such as NHM members, citizen scientists and amateur naturalists Citizen science and UK biodiversity Establish a collaborative centre of excellence in citizen science, combining broad public participation with high-impact science Learning outreach Lead a programme working with national and regional organisations to enhance science learning in schools and beyond Biodiversity discovery Develop a twenty-first-century toolkit to allow rapid discovery, description, identification and conservation of global biodiversity Scientific grand challenges Devise science programmes focused on challenges of global scientific and societal relevance, including environmental change, world health, and the supply of food and mineral resources The Hintze Hall and grounds Refurbish the iconic central hall and grounds to welcome visitors to the Museum Inspirational galleries Build major new public galleries on Life on Land and Butterflies, Insects and Plants Learning centre With a new learning centre, establish the Museum as a centre of excellence in informal learning and educational outreach
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SPECIMENS THAT CHANGED THE WAY WE THINK Our rich history has shaped the Museum of today into a unique scientific repository in which to examine the specimens and people that have challenged our thinking about the natural world and humanity’s place within it. Through authentic specimens and compelling stories we aim to inspire our visitors to ponder these questions. Treasures in the Cadogan Gallery epitomises this philosophy by gathering together on permanent display, for the first time in the NHM’s history, 22 of the world’s greatest scientific and cultural objects, including the skull of the first-discovered Neanderthal and the famous London specimen of the first bird, Archaeopteryx. These precious specimens provide a blueprint for our ambition to reimagine almost all of our major galleries over the next two decades.
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O ur history The roots of the Natural History Museum lie in the Age of Reason, the culmination of 200 years of intensive scientific discovery in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that revolutionised humanity’s perception of its place in nature. It was a time that saw an extraordinary appetite to collect, understand and debate the natural world.
In 1753, Parliament took the decision to create a ‘universal’ collection of natural, cultural and literary objects ‘not only for the inspection and entertainment of the learned and curious but also for the general use and benefit of the public’. The result was the British Museum, which continued to grow until 1881, when the natural history collection was separated and the Natural History Museum created as a distinct physical entity. The ‘Cathedral of Nature’ that houses the Museum today was built by Alfred Waterhouse as a stunning celebration of natural diversity. Its architecture continues to inspire as one of the most recognisable and best-loved buildings in the world. Since its move to South Kensington the Museum has carried on expanding its horizons, most notably through the incorporation of the adjacent Geological Museum and Walter Rothschild’s Zoological Museum in Tring. The natural history elements of the original collection, gathered since the late seventeenth century by Sir Hans Sloane, form the nucleus of the NHM’s remarkable collection. Comprising over 80 million specimens, the present collection contains some of the world’s greatest scientific and cultural treasures: specimens from expeditions by Charles Darwin, Alfred Russell Wallace, Mary Anning and Dorothea Bate; iconic objects such as the world’s oldest bird, Archaeopteryx; the first-discovered Neanderthal skulls; and moon rocks from the lunar landings. It is a unique scientific repository in which to examine the specimens and people that have changed how we think about the natural world. The collection has always been, and continues to be, a resource for scientific discovery and debate. In 1842 Richard Owen (the first ‘superintendent’ of the NHM) described for the first time a group of extinct species which he called Dinosauria. These ‘terrible lizards’, the fossilised remains of which were then being excavated from the quarries and cliffs of southern England, revealed a lost world, and along with many of the Museum’s other treasures, played a leading role in once again revolutionising our understanding of the origins of natural diversity and our own species. This rich history is fundamental to our future. The Natural History Museum has the breadth, authority, experience and public impact to reinvent the role of natural history museums in the twenty-first century.
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CITIZEN SCIENCE The NHM is a national centre of expertise for monitoring UK biodiversity. The focus for this activity is the Angela Marmont Centre for UK Biodiversity, which leads on citizen science projects – acting as a hub to bring together amateur naturalists and the wider public – on questions such as the impact of air quality on biodiversity in urban areas, the effects of climate change on flowering plants and their pollinators, and the spread of non-native species. We create tools that underpin scientific work on UK biodiversity, including the official index of names of UK organisms that underlies the systematic recording of British wildlife and Leafsnap UK, an app that uses visual recognition software to identify 156 tree species from photos of their leaves.
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O ur present The NHM is a trusted source of knowledge about the natural world. Our unique influence derives from our extraordinary collection, our pioneering international research and public enthusiasm for the stories that we tell.
We provide access to one of the most important natural history collections in the world. Documenting 4.5 billion years of the solar system and life on Earth, the collection contains more than one million ‘type’ specimens that are used to define species – more than any other natural history collection in the world. We are also home to an extensive library of written and illustrative natural history materials and the collection continues to grow, most recently with new molecular and digital holdings. The collection’s continuing development, along with its unique historical, geographical and taxonomic extent, makes it an immensely powerful tool to explore the science of nature. The world’s scientific community draws extensively on the NHM and its expertise. As we enter a new age of scientific discovery, our collection and research are playing an increasingly important role in making new discoveries and testing new theories. Together with universities, research institutes and museums around the world, we are bringing scientific disciplines together to discover new biological and mineral species, highlight the impact of climate change on natural systems that support life, combat the loss of biodiversity and the spread of diseases, explore new sources of scarce minerals and reveal the evolution of our own and other species. We lead the world in examining the natural world and, with our research partners, tackle questions of fundamental importance to science and society. We also provide outstanding education, training and learning opportunities. We host school groups from across the UK and develop teaching and learning materials and experiences to support the national curriculum. At more advanced levels, we train postgraduate students, deliver a wide range of specialist training courses, and play a lead role in major European training programmes. Our diverse and accessible public programmes also successfully engage families and adult learners. Overall, the NHM inspires people about the natural world across generations and across the globe. Over five million people visit us in London and Tring, Hertfordshire each year. We reach millions more around the world through our touring exhibitions, websites, apps and social media. Through our programme of exhibitions and events, we act as a forum for debate on contemporary challenges to society and the natural world, and we pioneer new ways to engage people with nature, history and science.
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HIGH-IMPACT SCIENCE We use our unique collection and expertise to address scientific and societal challenges that will shape the future. We are tracking how quickly species respond to global warming in order to predict the impact of future changes. We are studying the effects of change on biodiversity, helping to design better global conservation strategies. Our work on parasites is used in treating neglected tropical diseases to improve human health, and our knowledge of plant biology is fundamental to interpreting genomic information on crops to feed the world’s growing population. Research on geological materials has found new ways to extract scarce minerals needed for modern technologies, and our understanding of space science is used to prevent damage to the global communications network of satellites.
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O ur narratives Three big narratives underpin how we develop the collection, pursue our research and shape the stories that we tell.
Origins and evolution Understanding the past is one of the most powerful tools in interpreting the present and the future. Uncovering the vast history of our solar system, planet Earth and the evolution of life represents one of humanity’s finest intellectual endeavours. The NHM’s collection, expertise and public reach offer a unique opportunity to deepen our knowledge of that history and engage a broad audience in exploring this fascinating narrative. Our scientists study the mechanisms that underlie the formation of our solar system and planet; the key transitions in this 4.5 billion year story; and the origins, evolution and diversification of life, including our own species. With a deep understanding of the past, we look to identify the direction and impact of future changes. Diversity of life Biodiversity is of supreme relevance to a series of pressing global challenges, many of which disproportionately affect the world’s most vulnerable people. By mapping global patterns of diversity across species, habitats and ecosystems – from the deepest oceans to tropical rainforests, from the remotest deserts to urban landscapes – our experts assess the current state of biodiversity and reveal relationships among species with respect to their place in the tree of life and their role in nature. Using new technologies, the NHM is developing a twenty-first-century toolkit to collect, identify and document natural diversity. We engage the public directly in this crucial scientific mission, and their valuable insights are allowing us to help conserve and restore important habitats and ecosystems. Sustainable futures Our planet is entering a period of rapid environmental change. Such changes threaten the stability of the natural systems on which human wellbeing depends as well as the supply of resources that underpin global economies. Working with other organisations, we study the effects of biodiversity loss, pollution, mineral extraction and spread of diseases and provide the expert knowledge on which to build innovative solutions to these challenges. At the same time, our public profile as a voice of authority on the natural world allows us to engage the public in the debate on sustainable approaches to how we use our natural resources.
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O ur priorities An ambitious programme of change and investment will redefine the Natural History Museum’s impact on society.
Digital The digital revolution is transforming how science is done, how information is shared and how people engage with the natural world and the process of scientific discovery. We will embrace these changes to reinvent how we make our collection and expertise available to scientific and general audiences worldwide: • Big, open data Deliver a programme of large-scale digitisation to make our collection available to everyone • Global virtual communities Build online communities and our NHM membership scheme around our three big narratives and issue an engaging, topical stream of information, news and commentary •T echnology innovation Create platforms to enhance the experience of our visitors prior to, during and after their visit, develop a virtual forum that complements what we offer members and other groups and expand our commercial revenue streams
Key projects Mass digitisation of collections; new website and social media channels; rich digital content for use both in-gallery and for mobile devices
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National A longstanding appreciation of the natural world provides an extraordinary starting point to engage UK audiences with contemporary science. We want to use regional networks to increase Britain’s capacity in scientific, learning and curatorial disciplines. We will raise the visibility and impact of our activities across Britain, including at our site at Tring, by developing collaborative projects: • UK biodiversity and citizen science Create tools to monitor UK biodiversity, and become a centre for developing UK activities that engage audiences with the natural world through public participation in citizen science and touring exhibitions • Learning outreach Lead a programme working with national and regional organisations to enhance science learning in schools and beyond • Opening up the nation’s collections Forge a collaborative network of natural history collections, sharing expertise and best practice and developing shared collection use and storage facilities
Key projects Innovative tools for recording UK biodiversity; collaborative citizen science centre; national programme of learning outreach; expert network of collections and training
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International We must act at a global level to tackle the most important scientific and societal challenges faced by the natural world and humanity. We will play a more visible leadership role to forge international partnerships and pursue large-scale scientific, public and commercial initiatives: • Partnerships and leadership Pursue an international programme of activities and exhibitions, engaging a global audience in our three big narratives and developing new commercial opportunities to better exploit the Museum’s brand, collection and expertise •N ext-generation biodiversity discovery Lead an international consortium to develop a twenty-first-century toolkit for the discovery of biological diversity and apply this to explore hyper-diverse systems •S cientific grand challenges Use our collection and expertise to tackle questions of fundamental relevance to science and society, including environmental change, the spread of diseases and the supply of food and scarce minerals
Key projects Global touring exhibitions; expert consultancy business; next-generation toolkit for biodiversity discovery; research centres focused on grand challenges
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London We are immensely proud to be one of the world’s great public museums in a truly global city. We will continue to make our collection and research available to all who visit. To engage our visitors with debates on our three big narratives, we will create innovative new galleries, exhibitions and events: • Inspire our visitors Establish new authoritative galleries and an appealing programme of exhibitions and events that inspire new audiences, engage them with debates on the natural world and encourage them to become NHM members • Informal learning Expand our learning centre and programme of activities to increase our engagement with those in formal education, families and community groups • Visitor experience Improve the NHM experience by creating better circulation in our grounds and building, increasing capacity and providing better information to reduce queuing and provide a richer experience
Key projects The Hintze Hall and grounds redevelopment; new Life on Land and Butterflies, Insects and Plants galleries; inspiring exhibitions and events; expanded learning centre; new circulation route
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TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY COLLECTION The Natural History Museum is constantly developing the collection in response to the needs of the global scientific community. Molecular technologies have revolutionised how biological science is done and how our collection is used. Over the past five years we have created a new molecular collection facility and an ‘ancient DNA’ laboratory where next-generation sequencing is used to read DNA from very old and very small samples. We can now extract genomic information from almost any biological material to tackle questions we would never have dreamed of a decade ago. Our genomic collections are being used to monitor the spread of tropical diseases and changes in UK biodiversity, support citizen science programmes and create a genebank for endangered species.
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O ur future To achieve our aims we must be outward-looking and responsive to our audience needs.
We will work in cross-disciplinary teams and build meaningful partnerships with outside organisations, involving scientific collaboration, sponsorship, commercial projects, media programming and shared technology platforms. We must prioritise our resources to focus on our key objectives: People An expert and passionate community of people work, study and volunteer at the Museum. Our people provide the foundation for all our activities. The rich combination of their skills and the relationships they form fuels the potential for ideas that will change the future. We will continue to recruit and develop talent from around the world and cultivate an environment where we share, internally and externally, to succeed. Infrastructure The next 25 years will witness the transformation of our South Kensington building, one of the nation’s most iconic, which has stood for nearly 150 years. At each stage of the transformation we will improve the fabric and infrastructure of our estate to meet the needs of our activities and audiences. We will also invest in systems and technology that make us more effective at managing information and mobilising our data to enrich global scientific knowledge. Finance A strong financial performance will give us greater control of our future. We must develop a new business model to expand our sources of self-generated income, including commercial activities, philanthropy, sponsorship and externally-funded awards. This will require investment in our commercial ventures and in our ability to engage with sponsors, supporters and volunteers. Beyond 2020 The next five years provide the foundation for our longer-term plans. These include redeveloping several more of our major galleries and further programmes of digitisation, outreach and exhibitions based on our collection. We will also embark on a major new venture: the Earth and Planetary Sciences Centre. The Centre will provide world-class facilities for collections, research, learning and engagement in earth and planetary sciences to complement our investment in the life sciences in the Darwin Centre. 21
All images © The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London Page 2 The Acropora millepora is a branching coral species native to the Indo-Pacific. This specimen was collected in 1973 and is part of the Morris coral collection donated to the Museum in 2011. NHM scientists study corals to understand and conserve marine biodiversity hotspots Page 4 Specimens stored in spirit jars in state-of-the-art facilities in the Darwin Centre are accessed by scientists from all over the world Page 6 Secondary school pupils participating in a human evolution workshop at the Natural History Museum Page 8 Swallowtail butterfly Papilio machaon, one of the 181,544 specimens of British and Irish butterflies digitised as part of the NHM’s iCollections project, our first pilot project for the digitisation of our insect collection Page 10 Archaeopteryx lithographica, the type specimen, is around 147 million years old. This spectacular fossil helped prove that modern birds evolved from dinosaurs and provided key support for Darwin’s theory of evolution
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Page 12 Bluebell Hyacinthoides nonscripta growing in the grounds of the Natural History Museum. Since 2006 the Museum has invited the public to participate in an annual survey to build a nationwide picture of when bluebells, both native and non-native species, start flowering each year
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Page 14 Large mass of silver-white skutterudite, a cobalt arsenide mineral, from the Bou Azzer mine in Morocco. Through field trips, NHM curators are enhancing the breadth of the Museum’s collection with ore suites from this unique locality. Our researchers are working with industry partners to find new ways to discover and extract scarce elements in a sustainable way
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Page 20 Children taking tablets of praziquantel to treat the parasitic infection schistosomiasis in Senegal. The NHM is a World Health Organisation collaborating centre for the identification of schistosomes and their snail hosts and actively contributes to treatment programmes in affected regions
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