The Natural History Museum (NHM) is a world-class visitor attraction and leading science research centre. We use our unique collections and unrivalled expertise to tackle the biggest challenges facing the world today. We care for more than 80 million specimens spanning billions of years and welcome more than five million visitors annually and 17 million visits to our website. 
​
​
Our subject matter is planet earth and life on planet earth. Yet we know that life is under threat. Recent decades have seen a catastrophic acceleration in the rate of biodiversity loss. We appear to be heading for only the sixth mass extinction event in over 3 billion years of life on planet earth, and for the first time an extinction event caused by the activities of a single species: humanity. Our response has been to move from passive observers and chroniclers of the decline to active participants in the struggle to reverse biodiversity loss before it is too late. We also know that action, solutions and impact are best engendered from the basis of hope - that there is a future where both people and the planet thrive.
Vision & Strategy
Against this backdrop, we set out our Vision and Strategy 2031 at the heart of which is the task of creating advocates for the planet: individuals who feel sufficiently informed, confident and motivated to make wise decisions, and to use their influence and actions to make a positive difference to our global future. Five strategic priorities will underly our activities:
-
securing the future of the collection
-
engaging and involving the widest possible audience
-
transforming the study of natural history
-
developing our gardens and galleries
-
creating a resilient and sustainable organisation
As the world comes to terms with the pandemic, with a new heightened awareness of the impact human behaviour has on the planet, the NHM has never been a more relevant and potentially influential organisation. It holds the power to inspire millions of people to care about the natural world and make the positive changes in their daily lives that will create a world in which both people and planet can thrive. 
The Director of the Museum, Dr Doug Gurr has brought fresh vigour to the organisation which gives its staff and supporters every confidence of delivering the strategy and we are already seeing our visitor numbers returning pre-Covid levels. Next year we are delighted Sir Patrick Vallance will join the Board of Trustees as Chair.  
​
The  Museum has also secured investment from the UK Government to build a new science and digitisation centre at Thames Valley Science Park. The purpose-built centre will house much of the Museum's collection. The centre will include laboratories, digitisation suites, collaborative research spaces, computing labs, conservation labs and workspaces. It will help put the UK at the forefront of tackling global challenges such as climate change, resource scarcity, biodiversity loss and emerging diseases. 
​
Moving the collection will free up space in our South Kensington buildings, allowing us to reopen major gallery spaces to the public and put more of our collection on display so we can transform the visitor experience. A major part of this job will be to raise funds to support this work.
​
50% of the Museum’s funding comes from government grant-in-aid through the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). This funding is set for a number of years, and the Museum provides reports to DCMS on how it has met its agreed targets. The remainder of the funding for our core work comes from fundraising and the Museum's commercial activities, which are conducted through the Natural History Museum Trading Company. Further details can be found in the Annual Report and Accounts and our Strategy to 2031.