Museums and Heritage Highland

What Museums and Heritage Highland does

Museums and Heritage Highland (MHH) is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO, Charity Number SC049088) founded in March 2019 and headquartered in Inverness, Scotland. It operates as a membership-based network and coordinating body for museums, galleries, and heritage organisations across the Scottish Highlands, with member institutions spanning from Bettyhill to Fort William and Grantown to Gairloch, and extending to Orkney. The organisation evolved from the Highland Museums Forum and functions as a regional intermediary between small, often volunteer-led rural museums and national sector bodies such as Museums Galleries Scotland, The Space, and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

MHH's product portfolio comprises digital platforms (Museum of the Highlands, a free digital learning hub for schools with over 300 objects and nearly 200 curriculum-aligned resources, and Highland Threads, a digital exhibition platform), coordinated programmes (Pathways to the Future, an eight-museum shared-services pilot; Highlands and Islands Digital Heritage Network, a nine-museum digital skills pilot with the National Lottery Heritage Fund), professional convening events (the Air Faire annual summit), and a growing library of freely available toolkits covering climate action, workforce wellbeing, young volunteers, remote volunteering, and travel trade development. The technology stack is built on third-party platforms (Smartify, eHive, WordPress) rather than proprietary infrastructure; MHH does not develop or own core technology products.

MHH's business model is a hybrid of recurring membership subscriptions from member museums and galleries, and grant-funded project delivery from national bodies. Specific membership fee tiers are not publicly disclosed. Project funding comes from Museums Galleries Scotland, The Space, National Lottery Heritage Fund, and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, with individual project commissions ranging from £12,000 (Wellbeing on Track) to £18,500 (Cromarty Smartify commission) and embedded project staff salaries quoted at £30,000–£38,000 per annum. Core operations are lean (5 employees), with additional project staff embedded across member museums and freelance coordinators funded through grants.

Name

Museums and Heritage Highland

Legal name

Museums and Heritage Highland

Website

https://museumsandheritagehighland.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Museums and Heritage Highland is a Scottish charitable network that coordinates, advocates for, and delivers shared services to small rural museums and heritage organisations across the Scottish Highlands, including Orkney.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Heritage Sector Support Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Business Associations (813910), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Experiential & Cultural Programming (Tours, Activities, CSR/Voluntourism) (THAHADAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Event Production & Theming (Décor, Creative, Entertainment Booking) (THAHADAH)

Keywords

• Museum sector network
• Heritage sector support
• Digital learning platforms
• Shared services programs
• Professional development workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

Highlands (region)

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: MHH is a registered SCIO (Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation) that generates revenue through membership fees from museums, galleries, and heritage organisations across the Highlands. Members pay to join and participate in the network, access resources, and benefit from collaborative projects.
2. Project Grants and Funding: MHH receives grant funding from Museums Galleries Scotland, The Space, National Lottery Heritage Fund, and other bodies to run sector-support projects including Pathways to the Future, Highlands and Islands Digital Heritage Network, climate ambassador programmes, and workforce development initiatives. These grants fund specific project staff and activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

MHH is a registered Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) that operates as a membership-based regional network and forum for museums, galleries, and heritage organisations across the Scottish Highlands. It coordinates member engagement, advocates for the sector at national level, and delivers grant-funded collaborative programmes (such as Pathways to the Future and the Highlands and Islands Digital Heritage Network), digital platforms (Museum of the Highlands, Highland Threads), professional development events (Air Faire summit), and a published library of free practical toolkits covering climate action, workforce wellbeing, young volunteers, remote volunteering, and travel trade development.

Product overview

Museums and Heritage Highland is a membership organisation and forum for museums and heritage organisations across the Highlands region. Rather than offering a unified software product, MHH provides a portfolio of digital platforms, professional development programmes, and practical toolkits to support its member museums. Key digital products include Museum of the Highlands (a digital learning platform for schools with object-based learning resources), Highland Threads (a digital exhibition platform), and the Highlands and Islands Digital Heritage Network (a digital skills development programme). MHH also coordinates shared-services initiatives like Pathways to the Future, delivers professional summits such as Air Faire, and publishes practical toolkits covering climate action, workforce wellbeing, young volunteers, remote volunteering, and travel trade development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Museum of the Highlands: A digital learning hub with objects and activities that tell the stories of the Highlands, supporting schools with object-based learning resources.
• Highland Threads
• Pathways to the Future
• Highlands and Islands Digital Heritage Network
• Air Faire

Products and services

• Museum of the Highlands A digital learning hub with over 300 objects from Highland museum collections and nearly 200 learning resources aligned with the 21st-century Scottish Curriculum for Excellence, supporting object-based learning for primary and secondary schools.
• Highland Threads An innovative digital exhibition platform showcasing museum collections from across the Highlands region, developed to support museums through post-pandemic recovery.
• Pathways to the Future A shared-services pilot programme embedding Administrative Managers, Museum Operations & Support Coordinators, and a Commercial & Sustainable Growth Manager across eight independent rural museums in the Highlands to increase earned income, reduce administrative pressures, strengthen governance and leadership, and develop a financially viable shared-services model.
• Highlands and Islands Digital Heritage Network A National Lottery Heritage Fund digital development programme helping 9 rural museums across the Highlands and Islands build digital skills, engage new audiences and share their unique heritage stories, coordinated by MHH with a freelance Programme Coordinator.
• Air Faire MHH's flagship annual summit for Highland museum and heritage professionals held in Inverness, featuring panels on fundraising, volunteering, workforce wellbeing, youth engagement, Gaelic in museums, LGBTQ+ representation, and anti-racism, with speakers from national heritage bodies.
• MHH Membership Network Membership programme for museums, galleries, and heritage organisations across the Highlands, providing access to the MHH network, member resources, participation in collaborative projects, free digital toolkits, professional development events, and collective advocacy. Annual subscription; specific fee tiers not publicly disclosed.
• Climate Action Toolkit A comprehensive toolkit equipping independent Highland museums with resources and methodologies to incorporate climate action into their operational framework, including step-by-step guides, lists, glossaries, and do-it-yourself policy kits covering sustainability and net-zero planning.
• Wellbeing Toolkit (Workforce Wellbeing Toolkit) A toolkit helping museums identify and address workforce wellbeing concerns, covering policies and practices, team working, culture, and collaboration and consultation, with templates and best-practice guidance for small museums.
• Young Volunteers Toolkit A toolkit helping museums identify why young volunteers would benefit their organisation, how to recruit them, and providing tools, templates and tips to ensure safe and positive experiences for young people in heritage settings.
• Remote Volunteering Toolkit A toolkit helping museums build remote volunteering opportunities, allowing people from all places to work with museum resources and collections.
• Travel Trade Toolkit A toolkit supporting museums in attracting new and repeat audiences through offers directly aimed at the travel trade, explaining distribution markets, how to create bookable products, and tips for getting products to market.

Quantifiable outcome

• Pathways to the Future aims to increase earned income, reduce administrative pressures, strengthen governance and leadership, and develop a financially viable shared-services model across eight rural museums by June 2028.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered secondary, core and minor.

• Arctic Convoy MuseumsecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Arctic Convoy Museum co-designed the Remote Volunteering Toolkit with MHH, creating guidance and templates to help museums build remote volunteering opportunities. The museum also benefits from the digital heritage network and HIDHN programme.
• VisitScotlandsecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026VisitScotland partnered with MHH on its tourism project to develop a travel trade toolkit for museums, helping them attract tour operators and travel trade distribution. MHH can refer museum members to VisitScotland for further tourism support and partnership development.
• Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025MGS is MHH's primary national funding and strategic partner. It provides grant funding for MHH's core projects including Pathways to the Future (Pathfinder's fund), the Future-proofing the Highland Museum Workforce project, Climate Ambassador training, and Breathing Space residencies. MHH actively participates in MGS national advocacy campaigns, including the 2026 Scottish Parliament election campaign 'Museums: Scotland's Stories, Scotland's Future'. MGS also provides sector-wide guidance on collections, interpretation, and governance that MHH disseminates to its members.
• The Space (Arts Scotland)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025The Space co-funds MHH's workforce development initiatives alongside Museums Galleries Scotland, including the Future-proofing the Highland Museum Workforce project, Breathing Space professional development residencies, and the Young Volunteers toolkit. The Space is a National Lottery funded body that supports arts and culture in Scotland.
• AOC ArchaeologyminorOthers · 1 January 2025AOC Archaeology sponsored the Air Faire 2025 summit, contributing financial support alongside Museums Galleries Scotland and The Space. As a commercial archaeology and heritage consultancy, AOC Archaeology's sponsorship aligns its brand with the Highland heritage sector.
• Vernon SystemsminorOthers · 1 January 2025Vernon Systems sponsored the Air Faire 2025 summit. Vernon Systems is a collections management and museum software provider, and its sponsorship aligns its brand with the Highland museum sector.
• Ki Futures (Ki Culture)secondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Ki Futures is an international coaching and training network connecting cultural practitioners with sustainable action. MHH partnered with Ki Futures to deliver its Climate Ambassador programme, providing a tailored 6-month training programme for three Climate Ambassadors who then supported Highland museums to develop sustainability action plans and statements. Ki Futures also contributed to MHH's Climate Action Toolkit development.
• Poetic Film School (Robert Aitken)secondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Poetic Film School, founded by Sutherland filmmaker Robert Aitken, has partnered with MHH member museums (Timespan Helmsdale, Strathnaver Museum) to deliver film training, community cinema events, and the In-Between Place Film Festival across far north Highland venues. The initiative brings accessible filmmaking skills to communities and creates filmed heritage stories.
• Brora HeritagesecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Brora Heritage co-designed the Workforce Wellbeing Toolkit with MHH, partnering on the development of templates, workshops, and guidance to help heritage organisations improve workforce wellbeing, policies, team culture, and consultation practices.
• XpoNorth Digital / Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023XpoNorth Digital is HIE's specialist digital support programme for creative and heritage sectors. It partnered with Smartify and MHH to bring six Highland museums onto the global Smartify app platform. XpoNorth's Digital Heritage Specialist (Nicola Henderson) played a key role in coordinating the Smartify partnership and oversees HIDHN project delivery.
• SmartifycoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2023Smartify is the world's most downloaded museum app. Through the XpoNorth/MHH partnership, six Highland museums (Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, Gairloch Museum, The Highlanders' Museum, Cromarty Courthouse Museum, Brora Heritage Centre, Stromness Museum Orkney) launched digital experiences on Smartify, including audio guides, collection tours, and walking trails accessible to global audiences.
• Dingwall MuseumsecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Dingwall Museum co-designed the Young Volunteers Toolkit with MHH, contributing to the development of best-practice resources for recruiting and managing young volunteers in small heritage organisations. The collaboration ensured the toolkit was grounded in the practical experience of a working small museum.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• Museums Association: Long-established UK-wide membership association for museum professionals and institutions. Comparable in its role as a sector coordinator and advocacy voice, but with a much broader national scope and established brand in accreditation and policy.
• Museums Galleries Scotland: The national development body for Scottish museums and MHH's primary strategic partner. Operates broadly across Scotland's museum sector with overlapping priorities in workforce, digital transformation, and sustainability — but at national rather than regional level, and as a funder rather than a peer network.
• Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations: National membership body for Scotland's voluntary sector. Operates a parallel model to MHH (membership + advocacy + capacity-building for member organisations) but at a wider sectoral scale and with more established infrastructure — useful as a structural peer for governance and income-diversification approaches.

Direct peers

• Heritage Alliance: UK-wide alliance of heritage organisations acting as a membership-led advocacy and convening body. Comparable to MHH in network-coordination role, advocacy focus, and reliance on member subscriptions and project funding, though at UK rather than regional level.
• South East Museum Development Programme: Regional development programme supporting museums across the South East of England through training, consultations, and collaborative projects. Comparable to MHH in regional scope, membership-driven model, and capacity-building focus for small museums.
• Museum Development North West: Regional museum development programme supporting museums in North West England with training, advice, and shared services. Mirrors MHH's regional coordination role for dispersed, often small and independent museums — highly comparable in structure and service mix.
• SHARE Museums East: Regional museum development service for the East of England, providing training, networking, and shared services to museums in a defined region. Operates a near-identical model to MHH — convening, capability-building, and advocacy for dispersed small museums — making it the closest functional peer.
• Association of Independent Museums: UK membership body for independent museums, providing shared services, advocacy, training, and congress events. Directly comparable in mission (supporting independent museums) and model (membership + project work), though operating at UK rather than regional level.
• Museum Development Yorkshire: Regional museum development body for Yorkshire museums, providing training, mentoring, and project support. Closely comparable to MHH in being a regional sector-support organisation with public funding and member-facing services.

Others

• Historic Environment Scotland: Lead public body for Scotland's historic environment. Adjacent to MHH's heritage remit at the national level, with overlapping concerns around preservation, tourism, and education — though focused on physical built heritage rather than small museum support.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/museums-and-heritage-highland

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Museums and Heritage Highland