Two major initiatives were progressed in the biennium that extended across the organisation, involving staff at all sites and in the central supporting teams.
An audit of all Tate's learning activities in 2003 led to the commissioning of a Tate-wide interpretation and education strategy. This major project was progressed in 2004 and discussed by the Board of Trustees in January 2005. It described the strategic framework within which Tate interpretation and education projects might develop over the following five years and in particular the areas in which all sites could collaborate to achieve impact at a national level, as well as continuing to deliver distinctive programmes that responded to local situations and communities.
In consequence of the strategy, a number of achievements have already been made. The creation of a pan-Tate youth programme, Young Tate, has resulted in the first Tate-wide programme for young people. Tate Teachers has developed Teachers in Partnership, a programme of continuing professional development for educators across all sites and published in one national brochure; an online resource for teachers, Tate Tools, has also been developed. The Tate Learning site was given added impetus by the site teams' resolve to work together, with the content being regularly updated and new features added. i-Map, Tate's site for the visually impaired, was updated with six new works, and won the JODI award 2006 for web accessibility.
Two major pieces of work were undertaken on diversity. A cross-Tate Diversity Group was formed to review Tate’s performance to date across the range of its activities. In response to this, a strategy and plan, Tate for All, was drawn up and discussed widely across the organisation. This described Tate’s achievements to date, and set out what needed to be done if Tate is to fulfil its vision. A central theme was that diversity is not an additional programme of activity but a set of principles that will be carried out by all, over time.
The period 2004–6 also saw the start of an audit of the British
art collection to highlight gaps, the beginning of a far-reaching, cross-cultural
programme stemming from Tate Britain's Interpretation and Education
Department, the launch of the Inspire curatorial Fellowship at Tate
Modern, and the continuation of dynamic outreach programmes from all
Tate sites. Tate Liverpool was invited to provide training in diversity
for Liverpool City Council and Tate joined the Global Graduates Museums
and Galleries Programme in London, intended to attract bright young
people from diverse backgrounds to work in museums. In addition, Visitor
Services at Tate pioneered practices such as flexible working and secondments.
