MRL is a year-long programme to develop future leaders for the cultural sector and is designed to help those working in the cultural sector to become resilient and entrepreneurial leaders.

The programme provides leadership skills in the cultural, political and commercial spheres and includes two three-day residential retreats, eight one day masterclasses, an overseas study trip and personal mentoring support.

During the programme Sally McDonald, Director of MOSI, Michael Day, former CEO of Historic Royal Palaces, and Elaine Heumann Gurian, international museum consultant, will be giving workshops on governance, leading change and the social purpose of museums. There are a number of practical sessions on finance, money making and entrepreneurship at the Black Country Living Museum and also at a local social enterprise.

The Overseas Study Visits are a highlight of the MRL year with previous visits including excursions to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Heureka Science Centre in Finland, Royal Ontario Museum in Canada, Oakland Museum of California, and the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

Recent graduates include senior staff from the National Trust, British Museum, Tate Modern, Historic England, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Bletchley Park Trust and Culture Coventry.

Directors Stephen Feber and Nick Winterbotham launched the programme with the Black Country Living Museum in 2013.  BCLM, as a largely self-financing museums, puts financial sustainability and organisational resilience at the core of its thinking and offers a commercially-focused base for the programme.

“MRL is designed for passionate, curious entrepreneurial people who have acquired a taste for leadership and want to develop their understanding and practice further,” say organisers.

Applications for the 2018- 2019 programme, which begins in May 2018, are now open and will close at 5pm on Wednesday, 31 January, 2018.

For more information on the programme and for more details on the application process visit the MRL website.

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For more information on the programme and for more details on the application process visit the MRL website.