Understanding the Future:Museums and 21st Century Life is a consultation paper.It is centred around the 13 questions dispersed throughout the paper and summarised again at the back in the Annex. The key challenges and opportunities facing England ’s museums are identified and suggestions made for positive change. These provide a context for the questions with the caveat that government is not the only, or even the main, driver for the changes discussed, and part of the challenge is to identify and clarify responsibilities between government, bodies such as the Museum, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), governing authorities and the museums themselves. The responses to this consultation will form the basis of a report containing strategic directions and specific policy intentions. These in turn will feed into a DCMS delivery plan explaining how the Department will work with its sponsored bodies – and wider stakeholders – to tackle the emerging priorities. The deadline for receipt of comments has now passed. To view a copy of the report as a pdf file, CLICK HERE