Museum Development Program
MDO Program Update
Queensland Museum acknowledges the vital role of the Museum Development Program (MDP) in supporting over 500 community museums, heritage groups, and councils across Queensland, particularly in regional and remote areas.
The program has provided critical expertise in collection care, conservation, disaster response, volunteer training, and more, ensuring Queensland’s stories are preserved statewide.
We remain committed to its delivery and long-term sustainability. To ensure efficient delivery of services within available funding, we are looking to refresh the program through a review.
Queensland Museum is working closely with Museums and Galleries Queensland, as a peak body for sector, and other stakeholders to explore options for a sustainable future for this vital program. Our priority is ensuring communities continue to receive the support they need to protect and celebrate Queensland’s shared heritage.
We greatly value the contributions of all stakeholders and will provide further updates as this process progresses.
About the program
The Museum Development Program provides best-practice museum expertise to heritage and collecting institutions across the state. Queensland Museum in conjunction with Arts Queensland run a unique program that provides community organisations an opportunity to access museum expertise through professional development and project based activities. The Museum Development Officers, also known as MDOs, have extensive experience in working with regional and remote communities and understand the challenges and opportunities that community collecting organisations face.
There are five professionally qualified Museum Development Officers based in Townsville, Toowoomba, Ipswich, Mackay and Cairns. The team is available to help right across Queensland.
The MDOs work in providing care and support for Queensland’s regional community heritage collections. This includes:
- First Nations communities and Keeping Places
- Community museums
- Historical societies
- Local history libraries
- Archives
- Multicultural groups
- Regional councils and local government organisations
- Returned Services Leagues (RSLs)
Our services
The MDOs work on a range of projects such as:
- Collection management
- Exhibition development and production
- Conservation, preservation, and preventative conservation
- Disaster planning and recovery
- Collection storage and rehousing
- Museum and collection store design and fit out
- Significance and preservation needs assessments
- Strategic planning
- Policy development
- Volunteer management and procedures
- Public programs
- Cultural planning
- Grant writing
- Workshops and training (in all the areas listed above)
This work is done either on a fee for service basis or provided free of charge. Please contact your local MDO to discuss. Also visit our Queensland Museum and Community Collections blog for more information, helpful links and online resources.
View the Caring for Collection video series in collaboration with State Library of Queensland.
Contact your nearest Museum Development Officer
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