The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has revealed the results of a pilot programme that could form the basis for a new system of self-assessments and peer reviews for directly sponsored museums in the UK.

The three pilots were carried out at the National Portrait Gallery, Natural History Museum and Tyne & Wear Museums and each institution was asked to detail its vision, its successes and its challenges.

A peer review was then conducted at each site by a panel of three individuals. The reviewers included artists, directors, curators, producers and administrators from across the country, and from across a wide variety of art forms.

The review made 26 specific recommendations, of which two were highlighted by the DCMS.

The first suggested that funding bodies, jointly with representatives of cultural organisations, develop "good-practice guidelines for self-assessment, which focus primarily on the excellence of the art and commitment to innovation and risk-taking”.

The second calls for all regularly funded organisations to be reviewed by peers on a cyclical basis and that the process is managed by the funding body.

The peer reviews took place over three days and the panel reports include a critique of the self-assessment, an over-arching appraisal of the museums' functions and a set of recommendations for each museum to consider. Each museum was also asked to provide a management response to the peer review.

Commenting the pilot scheme, culture Secretary Andy Burnham said: "Peer review is the right way to drive forward quality and excellence across museums and the wider cultural sector moving away from the concerns about targets and box ticking.

"The museums will learn much from the exercise and become stronger and more confident as a result. I am pleased to see the evidence of how strongly they are all performing and I look forward to developing this work across the cultural sector over the coming years.”