Museus e Monumentos de Portugal is a majestic plural. A plural of majesty is a plural of modesty: when we say we, we mean I, you, he and she. We rely on the complicity of all professionals in the field of culture who now join us, true ambassadors of our mission and values. We rely on collective intelligence.
Our story remains a never-ending story. Our story is to be continued.
Collections
Museus e Monumentos de Portugal cares for, articulates and projects the collective memory of the main national museum collections. It is up to us to protect its materiality, to promote its knowledge, to bet on its dissemination.
The museological management of museums, palaces and monuments requires constant monitoring and updating of norms and procedures. We have to open new horizons and lines of work, and to encourage partnerships and projects.
The items on display circulate and acquire unforeseen dimensions and meanings in new contexts. It is paramount to ensure the development of national collections and monitor the circulation of cultural assets and their movement abroad, ensuring the application of national and international legislation.
Museums and monuments cannot be crystallized structures, but rather living organisms that respond to the challenges of our present, such as climate change, sustainability, and the social impact of cultural practices. Good practices help designing preventive conservation plans and strategies – particularly in the field of reclassification of reserves – and the reinforcement of the network of labs, in close cooperation with the José de Figueiredo Laboratory, and the promotion of inclusion practices.
Communication
Museus e Monumentos de Portugal cares for, articulates and projects the collective memory of the main national museum collections. We have the task of protecting its materiality, promote its knowledge and ensure its dissemination.
Public relations must ensure effective communication in the whole perimeter of Museus e Monumentos de Portugal and its workers – around one thousand cultural professionals – should be the ambassadors of its mission and values. PR ensure the company's relationship with the media, partners and key interlocutors, conveying an image based on the values of accessibility, inclusion and sustainability and actively promoting patronage policies.
Marketing is there to ensure differentiated acknowledgement, commercial appreciation and dissemination of the cultural offer, and provide the right conditions to magnify the visitors' experience.
It is imperative to enhance the visibility and notoriety of Museus e Monumentos de Portugal at the international level, working with foreign markets and joining relevant international networks and organizations. More than a goal, internationalization is our natural vocation, in a universe where monuments classified by UNESCO as World Heritage coexist and museums with internationally relevant collections.
It is up to it to promote the academic, literary, visual and graphic excellence of the editorial activity in all actions. When assessing and consolidating existing editions, it must safeguard the ambition to propose new collections and to make sure its editorial acquis is part of a wider and more valuable distribution circuit.
Spaces
Safeguarding museum spaces means gathering knowledge from the research and treatment of qualified information about buildings and collections. The Spaces Directorate ensures the exemplarity of all interventions, from the point of view of conservation and adaptation of historical buildings to contemporary functions, encouraging environmentally friendly practices and accessibility.
Maintenance is planned and developed at different stages to achieve sustainable results, both from a financial point of view and with a view to its implementation over time. The creation of action control indicators is an added value for its self-assessment.
Prior to the works, it is essential to perform surveys – architectural, structural and infrastructure surveys, log of interventions, and maintenance control, among others – to support informed decisions.
Opening up to technological innovation optimizes the resources of museums, monuments and palaces, with positive effects on their environmental and energy sustainability. The change in recent habits, combined with the uptake of some traditional practices, enhances the desired reduction of the ecological footprint.
Risk management is a key tool to safeguard buildings and collections. The identification and prioritization of different risks, in particular those arising from climate change, assist the allocation of resources in order to implement mitigation measures, protect people and assets more effectively.
Cultural Mediation, Inclusion and Engagement
We work as a team and with teams, both as promoters and facilitators of various initiatives, projects and programs — from museography to publishing, from public events to the provision of mediation and educational services — aiming at a better and stronger relationship between the national Museums, Palaces and Monuments and their audiences.
In pursuing the goal of promoting policies of broad and inclusive access to the State’s cultural spaces and activities, or those funded by it, it is equally important to devise programs and initiatives through which our spaces — and what we curate and display in them — may expand beyond their physical and geographical limits. All events, activity programs or publications will be like the “souvenirs” one brings back from a visit. They will all be objects of memory.
The cultural mediation and education services in our museums play a central role in bringing institutions and their audiences closer together, advancing inclusion, accessibility, and the appreciation of cultural heritage.
In this context, the Education and Mediation Coordination is guided by collaborative practices, pedagogical innovation, and continuous team training, in an effort to improve the quality of our educational and cultural mediation services. Its work is divided into three main areas of focus: continuing education and training, the sharing of experiences, and connecting professionals and institutions. Continued training advances the development of technical, pedagogical, and relational skills, while the sharing of efficient practices encourages collective learning and innovation. Networking with educational services, cultural institutions, and other partners contributes to more consistent, inclusive, and sustainable projects. This Coordination department is also in charge of monitoring and bolstering the MMP Volunteer Program, valuing its contributions to cultural mediation and audience engagement.
The Editorial Coordination strives for a more regular and well-timed editorial programming, ensuring its continuity and coherence, and reinforcing its connections with multiple audiences. Both in the MMP’s own editions and in partnership publications, we aim to prioritize historical and institutional collaborations, highlighting work stemming from the study of the heritage under our guardianship and produced by those who carry it out internally with technical and scientific thoroughness. The editorial department is also entrusted with the task of promoting major historical libraries as spaces of both heritage preservation and increasingly agile access to knowledge.
The main objective of the Production and Events Coordination is to contribute to the enhancement of the cultural offerings of the MMP’s facilities, promoting the strategic planning of activities and the development of methodologies for their accomplishment, the sharing of resources and, in a medium- and long-term perspective, the creation of transversal projects. The mission of this Coordination department is structured around three main axes: supporting the programming and productions of our Museums, Monuments and Palaces; promoting collaborative initiatives, the sharing of constructive practices, and the development of transversal projects; and producing and supporting public events held by the MMP.
Management
The corporatisation of management does not mean imposing an economicist logic on the reality of cultural heritage, but rather the affirmation of a challenging vision of a company pursuing its activity in an efficient and innovative manner. This Directorate is in charge of planning, implementing and monitoring forward-looking management elements, the optimal administration of its financial resources, raising national and international funds and disclosure of financial reporting information.
The financial implementation of multi-annual strategic planning is one of its main tasks. It prepares – in articulation with other Directorates and with directors of museums, palaces and monuments – the Activity and Budget Plan and other strategic documents, monitoring their implementation and ensuring their funding.
Ensures the good performance of procedures inherent to financial and budgetary execution, in line with best practices; manages treasury, anticipating risks and outlining ways to mitigate them; monitors revenue collection and generates reliable and complete budgetary and accounting information.
It follows a transparent and efficient public procurement policies. Ensures the design, planning and submission of pre-contractual procedures. Analyses and appreciates proposals, following up several training stages and execution of contracts, in articulation with the other Directorates.
Innovation
The work of Museus e Monumentos de Portugal cannot focus on the managing alone of what is already there, but must be guided by the principle of innovation. It is important to promote new ideas and projects, as regards organisation and programmes, and to bet on strategic thinking, networking, multidisciplinarity and social inclusion.
We set about to rethink museums, monuments and palaces of the 21st century, enhancing memories, knowledge and skills, going beyond traditional borders, risking new horizons. We should rely on new partners, both inside and outside the cultural and artistic sector, and propose and deliver special projects in healthy articulation with the activity of museums and monuments. The qualification and boldness of the cultural offer should enable us to increase the notoriety and number of visitors, attract patronage and act positively in society. It is important to turn museums and monuments into places of reflection and citizenship.
People
People, with their often specialised and unique knowledge, are essential to the pursuit of the activities of Museus e Monumentos de Portugal and to safeguarding our cultural heritage. Hence the need to implement a people-centred strategy, involving them in the changes to be introduced, in the reinforcement of a sense of belonging and the creation of a joint and long-term vision, along with the increase of digital transition in the administrative processes of human resources management. Museus e Monumentos de Portugal also seeks to promote the physical and emotional well-being of its team, promoting the balance between professional activity and rest and leisure moments.
By promoting a transparent and ambitious recruitment policy, the Staff Management captures, retains and expands the promotion of talent, articulating it with career management in line with the present and future needs of Museus e Monumentos de Portugal. People are heritage and resources – national treasures – hence the firm and continuous commitment to their training, improvement and qualification. It simultaneously seeks to motivate, attract and support people, promoting their social protection, in a closer relationship, internal and external support network, both during the working period and during periods of rest and leisure.
Technologies
We are a “force of the past”, but the present and the future inspire us. We will prioritize the implementation of new solutions, based on disruptive thinking and innovation, with the help of information technologies.
This Directorate ensures the operation of information and network infrastructures, and manages and administrates computer systems, complying at all times with all cybersecurity needs.
Preserves a customized policy for the collection and processing of applications & data related to the presence and digital circulation of the company, e-commerce and relevant customers. Ensures the implementation of best data protection practices at both internal and external level.