From separate sites to ‘One Museum' – a shared digital home, including for colleagues without a desk.
How the Royal Air Force Museum brought its people together across two locations with Involv – built on the Microsoft 365 they already had, with a branded mobile app.
- Organisation: Royal Air Force Museum (RAFM), founded in 1972, with locations in London and Cosford plus a separate storage facility.
- Problem: no central communication hub. Internal communication ran on email and the Outlook calendar, so inboxes overflowed and announcements got buried.
- Solution: Involv intranet on the museum's existing Microsoft 365 environment, rolled out in phases as “Museum Matters”, with a mobile app in the museum's own branding.
- Result: less email, one place to find news and documents, colleagues without a desk reachable, and less admin work for IT.
The Royal Air Force Museum (RAFM) has been telling the story of the Royal Air Force and its people since 1972, and has grown into one of the leading museums in the UK and worldwide. With locations in London and Cosford, plus a separate storage facility, the museum manages more than 1.3 million artefacts. Behind the scenes, hundreds of employees – from technicians and guides to administrative staff – work across these various sites.
That geographical spread made internal communication complex. Although the museum was already using Microsoft 365, there was no single place where employees could access news, documents or colleague information. RAFM therefore set out to find an accessible, integrated intranet that could simplify communication and bring people together.
What challenges did the museum face?
The biggest challenge was the lack of a central communication hub. Staff relied heavily on email, resulting in overflowing inboxes and a constant risk that important messages were missed. Events were organised through the Outlook calendar, so there was no single place where the whole organisation could see what was happening.
Teams also tended to operate in isolation. The physical distance between locations meant that many employees felt disconnected from the wider organisation. And part of the workforce does not work at a desk – in the exhibition halls, in collections care or at the storage site. That is exactly the group email reaches least well. RAFM needed a platform that was not just informative but also fostered a sense of unity.
Finally, the museum wanted to get more value from its existing Microsoft 365 environment. The foundation was in place, but many features were underused and in-house knowledge of the individual tools was limited. What they needed was a single, easy-to-manage platform that brought all these tools together – without high development costs or technical complexity, and with a better return on the Microsoft investment they had already made.
How did Involv provide the solution?
The museum was looking for an intranet that fitted inside its existing environment and that both end users and content administrators could run themselves. After a demo and a hands-on look in a test environment, the Royal Air Force Museum chose Involv intranet, which integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365. This allowed the museum to build on its existing digital environment rather than replace it.
A phased approach was adopted: launching a first version to deliver immediate value, then expanding and refining the platform based on user feedback. Over time, this grew into a recognisable communication hub known internally as “Museum Matters” – the new digital meeting place for all employees.
The intranet offered a clean homepage with news, departmental spaces and an interactive “Who's Who” directory to help colleagues easily find one another. One of the standout customisations was the automatically updated organisation chart, which syncs with Active Directory and therefore stays current without any manual work.
For colleagues without a fixed workplace, the museum added a mobile intranet app, fully branded as the museum's own. Internal communication now also reaches people who rarely sit at a PC – on their own phone, without going through a mailbox.
“Our sites used to feel like separate museums and our aim was to achieve a ‘One Museum' mindset and culture. The intranet has really helped bring everyone together. It feels like one museum now, because we have a central place where staff can find information about what is happening across the whole organisation.”
Niels FulcherHead of IT, RAF Museum
Niels FulcherBy working closely with internal ‘intranet champions' from different departments, the platform was not only set up well technically but also genuinely owned by the organisation itself.
What changed after the launch?
Since Involv went live, internal communication at the museum has improved considerably. Important announcements are now shared centrally, email traffic has dropped sharply and employees always know where to find the latest updates.
The intranet creates more connection between the locations. Employees experience a sense of “one museum” again – they see what is going on in other teams and feel part of a bigger whole.
IT gained as well: administration is simpler, integrations run automatically and the value of Microsoft 365 is used to the full. Instead of a set of loose tools, RAFM now has one integrated digital workplace that brings efficiency and overview.
- Reliance on email drastically reduced
- All employee communication in one central location
- Colleagues without a desk reached through the museum's own branded mobile app
- Less work for IT: content administrators publish themselves
- More return from the existing Microsoft 365 licences
- The organisation chart stays current automatically via Active Directory
No hard figures were recorded, but the museum notices a clear rise in engagement, satisfaction and internal transparency.
What can other organisations learn from this?
The Royal Air Force Museum's experience shows that a successful intranet is not only about technology, but above all about people. By starting small, actively involving users and improving continuously, you end up with a platform that genuinely lives inside the organisation.
Involv helped the museum make full use of the power of Microsoft 365 while strengthening a culture of collaboration. The result is a future-proof digital workplace that fits the values of RAFM: accessibility, education and connection – not only for visitors, but also for the people who make the museum possible every day.
Frequently asked questions about this case
What platform is the RAF Museum intranet built on?
On the museum's existing Microsoft 365 environment. Involv intranet runs on SharePoint Online inside their own tenant, so no new system sits alongside Microsoft 365 and the museum builds on licences it already had.
How does a museum reach staff who do not work at a PC?
Through a mobile intranet app in the organisation's own branding. At the RAF Museum, colleagues in the exhibition halls, collections care and the storage site get the news on their own phone, without it having to pass through a mailbox.
How long does an intranet project like this take?
The museum chose a phased approach: first a base version with news, departmental spaces, documents and a “Who's Who” directory, then expansion based on user feedback. That way the intranet delivers value before every wish is built.
How much work is it for the IT team?
Less than before. Content administrators publish themselves, integrations with Microsoft 365 run automatically, and the organisation chart syncs with Active Directory so it stays current without manual updates.
Read more
More customer stories from culture, education and the public sector: NatureScot, Art Fund and Kingswood School. Or browse all customer cases.
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