Visitor Insights and Impact Survey Provider

• Estimated Annual Budget: £20,000 (ex. VAT) – to be pro rata’d for 2026/27.
• Contract Period: 2026/27 (single survey), then (two surveys) annually thereafter.
• Proposal submission deadline: 31 August.

Executive Summary and Context

Birmingham Museums Trust (BMT) is one of the UK’s largest independent museum trusts. In 2025/26, BMT welcomed over 880,000 visitors across its portfolio. Supported by additional funding from Birmingham City Council, 2026/27 will see extended opening hours and all portfolio sites publicly accessible, with an ambition to both continue to grow our audience, while making it more demographically representative of our city.

While BMT currently collects ad-hoc audience data via QR codes, post-visit HubSpot surveys, Tripadvisor, and on-site qualitative tools, we lack a standardised, impartial, and statistically representative data-collection method across all sites — particularly at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery (BMAG), which is free-to-enter with no ticketing transaction point.

BMT is seeking to appoint an experienced research agency to deliver bi-annual, in-person visitor surveying to capture demographics, satisfaction, and begin to support the measurement of wider impact.

Core Objectives

BMT requires a unified dataset to achieve three core goals:

• Visitor Demographics: Understand who our visitors are to ensure our audience reflects the diversity of the communities we serve across Birmingham.
• Satisfaction and Sentiment: Measure overall experience, Net Promoter Score (NPS), and general comments across our sites.
• Impact Measurement: Implement the measurement of emerging impact metrics tied to BMT’s Theory of Change to measure social, civic, and community value. 

Methodology and Sampling Strategy

In-Person Intercept Surveying:

• Fieldwork must be conducted in-person on-site across BMT portfolio sites.
• Twice-yearly collection cycles:
  • Wave 1: Winter 2026 (focusing on open/year-round sites).
  • Wave 2: Summer 2027 (covering full portfolio, including seasonal sites).
• Fieldworkers must EITHER utilise systematic random sampling (e.g., every  visitor selected at designated exit/entry points) to ensure demographic equity and avoid self-selection bias OR propose an alternative approach that delivers the same aim of impartial data collection.
• Cumulatively, Wave 1 and Wave 2 must yield a statistically valid sample size across the portfolio as a whole and allow for site-by-site breakdown.

NB: Taking 2026/27 as Year 1 we recognise that it will be too late to undertake a survey during summer. We therefore propose that for 2026/27 there be a single survey, undertaken as early as is practicable in order to survey before the winter closure of sites.

From 2027/28, we would be seeking to normalise the pattern of surveying as per above.

Scope and Site Portfolio

Fieldwork will take place across BMT’s venues including:

• Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery (BMAG)
• Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum
• Historic Properties (including Aston Hall, Blakesley Hall, and Museum of the Jewellery Quarter; Sarehole Mill, Soho House, and Weoley Castle may fall outside of the surveying requirement - TBC)
• Museum Collection Centre 

Key Deliverables and Reporting

Raw Dataset (CSV / Excel)

Complete, anonymised raw survey data delivered after each wave (Winter and Summer).

Annual Insights Report (PDF / Powerpoint)

To be developed with input from BMT’s User Insights & Reporting Co-Ordinator so that formatting and analysis is in line with existing and required reporting, a comprehensive summary report containing portfolio-wide analysis, site-by-site cross-tabulations, and demographic profiling.

Presentation (In Person / Virtual)

Annual presentation delivered directly to BMT Senior Management and (TBC) members of BMT’s ‘Experience’ circle to highlight strategic takeaways and actionable recommendations.

Note: BMT retains ownership of all raw data. Survey design must remain flexible, as BMT's internal Theory of Change impact metrics are in active development and may be refined prior to deployment. 

Indicative Timeline and Budget

Estimated Budget: £20,000 (inclusive of all fieldwork expenses).

Key Milestones (2026/27)

• Proposal submission deadline and contractor selection: August 31st.
• Questionnaire finalisation and pilot testing: Early Autumn 2026.
• Interim data handover: Early 2027.
• Annual report and briefing: March 2027.

For years 2027/28 onward, cycle to be agreed on appointment and subject to change depending on site opening, major programmes etc.  

Submission Criteria for Bidders

Interested agencies should submit a proposal via email (details below) by 31 August outlining:

1. Methodological Approach: Strategy for  visitor selection (or other proposal) and ensuring statistical validity within budget.
2. Relevant Experience: Examples of delivering visitor research within the museum and / or broader cultural and heritage sectors.
3. Data Security and GDPR Compliance: Procedures for handling anonymous public data.
4. Cost Breakdown: Detailed itemisation for surveying, data analysis, and reporting and presentation.