Results from October 2024 Panel Research
In October, a total of 272 UK Heritage Pulse panel members responded to at least one question in the survey. This was the second of an updated edition of “Pulse Monitor”, questions which track the individual and organisational resilience of respondents. These questions were previously asked quarterly, and as of September 2024, are now being put to the panel monthly.
Pulse Monitor
Pulse Monitor is a monthly health check on the heritage sector, measuring the resilience and confidence of both people and organisations in the heritage sector.
Panel members remain confident in their objectives and surviving the next 12 months
227 panel members completed this question.
Both the measures of confidence in surviving the following 12 months (from 7.2 to 6.9), and the level of understanding of objectives and performance (from 7.4 to 7.2) dipped slightly this month, perhaps linked to this being a period of time dominated by speculation around the new government’s first budget. Respondents’ confidence in their ability to respond to cost increases (5.8 / 10) and ability to recruit (5.5 / 10) remain flat on September 2024.
Panel members continue to believe their heritage is valued by their community
224 panel members completed this question.
Respondents’ belief that their organisation can adequately care for its collection / area of heritage increased again to 6.1 / 10, ending the round slightly below September 2023 level. However, the perception that organisations and the heritage they are responsible for is valued by their community grew and is now level with its score in September 2023.
Respondents are less likely to say they intend to stay at their current organisation for 12 months or more
223 panel members completed this question.
There is greater movement in the scores relating to the respondents as individuals, rather than on behalf of their organisation. The proportion of respondents stating that they hope to stay at their current organisation for 12 months is now 11% lower when compared with September 2023.
The reported stress of panel members decreased on last month, but remains ahead of previous rounds in September 2023 and March 2024. Responses to this question were more spread out on the scale and further away from the mean, indicating some disagreement amongst panel members.
When segmenting by turnover and number of employees, we see panel members facing additional challenges:
The ability to recruit and train volunteers as needed varies between organisation type and size
When asked about recruiting and training new volunteers / staff as needed, the panel scored this as 5.5 / 10. Organisations with a turnover greater than ÂŁ1 million found this less of a challenge, reporting an average of 6.2 / 10 (n=53). When segmenting for voluntary organisations, this decreased 4.7 / 10 (n=57), 0.8 points lower than the average for the panel, showing a greater perceived challenge for these organisations.
Signposts
The National Lottery Heritage Fund provides Good Practice Guidance on volunteering at
heritagefund.org.uk/funding/good-practice-guidance/volunteers
Non-leaders are less confident that organisations can adapt to financial pressures
When asked about their ability to adapt to challenges around reduced income or increasing costs, the Heritage Pulse panel average was 5.8 / 10, indicating slight agreement with the statement amongst respondents.
However, when segmenting for those respondents not on their organisation’s leadership team, these panel members averaged 5.2 / 10 (n=58), 0.6 points lower. This group of respondents are less certain about whether their organisation can change when faced with challenging finances.
Voluntary organisations find their mission less well-defined and heritage less valued
Respondents from voluntary organisations (n=57) were less likely to agree with the statement that they clearly understood their objectives and how they were performing against them (6.6 / 10, 0.6 points lower). They were also less likely to agree that their organisation or the heritage they care for is valued by their communities (6.6 / 10, 0.6 points lower).
Read more
Read about the experiences of Heritage Pulse panel members in recruiting volunteers, at heritagepulse.insights-alliance.com/updates/march-23-executive-summary/
How representative of the Heritage Pulse panel were the October 2024 respondents?
Compared with the entire Heritage Pulse panel, respondents from the South East of England and Yorkshire and the Humber were overrepresented. As a percentage, there were fewer responses from panel members in the West Midlands and Northern Ireland.
What is your reaction to these results? Please let us know at hello@insights-alliance.com, or connect with us on LinkedIn or on social media with the hashtag #UKHeritagePulse
