Unleashing Heritage Funding Strategies for Creative Projects

Harnessing Heritage: how to make the case to funders Rachel MacFarlane (National Lottery Heritage Fund), Emilia Sando (Arts and Humanities Research Council), John Simpson Wedge (Arts Council England)

Introductions

Who we are: We are the national development agency for creativity and culture. We invest money from Government and the National Lottery to support creativity and culture across England so that everyone, wherever they live can lead a happy, healthy and creative life. We fund organisations, consortia, and individuals. Our vision: By 2030, we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish, and where every one of us has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences.

Who we fund: We support individuals and organisations with a registered office in the UK, who are delivering work which will benefit people in England. We support eight disciplines; Music Theatre Dance Museums Libraries Visual Arts Literature Combined Arts We know that people work in all sorts of settings and ways. We encourage all kinds of ideas, as long as your activity has a clear focus on one or more of our artforms and disciplines.

National Lottery Project Grants Our lottery-funded open-access project funding for arts, museums and libraries. Projects can range from directly creating and delivering creative and cultural activity, to projects which have a longer-term positive impact, such as organisational development, research and development, and sector support and development. NLPG Unlocking Collections A time-limited Project Grant priority enabling museums to develop their collections-based work and increase public engagement with, and use of, their collections. Open until March 2025

What is heritage? Things from our past that we value and want to pass on to future generations People s stories and memories Cultural traditions Histories of people, communities, places and events Land and nature Historic buildings and monuments Objects, collections and archives Industrial, maritime and transport heritage And much more!!!

We fund not-for-profit organisations, including: Registered charities Who can apply? Community Interest Companies Charitable Incorporated Organisations Local authorities Schools and educational institutions Community/voluntary groups Also: Private owners of physical heritage (up to 250k where public benefit outweighs any private gain) Partnerships

Background: scale, purpose, eligibility UKRI works with government to invest over 7 billion a year in research and innovation through collaborations with academia and industry. As part of UKRI, AHRC funds around 110 million each year in the arts and humanities, including heritage investments like GLAM Hubs, Towards a National Collection (TaNC) and the Exhibitions Fund. Only universities and certain IROs/PSREs can receive AHRC funding directly, but other orgs can be involved in collaborations.

What do we mean by heritage? AHRC continues to build upon its previous investments and enhance its work in heritage research through partnerships with other agencies, targeted funding opportunities and collaborations both in the UK and internationally. AHRC has developed a strategy for heritage research involving leadership and support for the continued development of heritage research as a vibrant, innovative, highly collaborative and cross-disciplinary research field. The strategy takes a broad view of cultural heritage, incorporating, for example, the tangible, intangible, digital, intellectual, and artistic, and the connections between them, and of heritage-related processes.

What funding is available? Support early-stage collaboration and networking Novel ideas generation to advance research agendas Curiosity Awards (0- 100k) Catalyst Awards ( 100k- 300k) Research Grants) ( 300k- 1.5m) Research and Innovation Ecosystem Starter Develop independent research leadership Collaborative research projects Support leadership activities Support professional skills development Consolidator Impact within and beyond academia Self-defined eligibility Enable research networking Advanced Follow On Funding *currently under review (0- 100k)

Eligibility Timescales Process Decisions Scale Deadline Arts Council England Organisations with a registered office in the UK. 8 weeks for decisions on Under 30,000. Apply via ACE s online system Grantium. Under 30,000 are assessed by a decision making panel as part of a pack, Under 30,000 (minimum 1k) or Over 30,000. Unlocking Collections- Must apply by March 2025, National Lottery Project Grants Museums do not need to be accredited. 12 weeks for Over 30,000 Mandatory Expression of Interest stage for Over 100k applications Projects can last for a maximum of 3 years. any other NLPG- No deadline, always open for application. Over 30,000 are appraised and then a decision making panel will award funding. Individual Creatives aged 18+ with a UK home address. Application includes a form, and any mandatory attachments. Activity must be of benefit to people in England.

Eligibility Timescales Process Decisions Scale Deadline Heritage Fund Not-for-profit organisations or partnerships led by not-for-profit organisations. On completion of application checks: Optional Project Enquiry service for 10k- 250 applications. Grants up to 250k are decided by regional/country Head of Investment. Grants of 250k- 5m are decided by Area Committee. National Lottery Heritage Grants: 10k- 250k max. length 5 years No deadline for applications up to 250k. National Lottery Heritage Grants 8 weeks for applications of 10k- 250k. No deadline for submission of Expressions of Interest. Quarterly deadlines for applications of 250k- 10m for successful EOIs. Mandatory Expression of Interest stage for 250k- 10m applications. National Lottery Heritage Grants 250k- 10m includes 2 stages: Development (max. 2 years) and Delivery (max. 5 years) Private owners of heritage for National Lottery Heritage Grants: 10,000- 250,000, where public benefit outweighs private gain. 12 weeks for applications of 250k- 5m. Apply online via our application portal.

UKRI AHRC Eligibility Timescales Process Decisions Scale Deadline Curiosity Awards Must be of postdoctoral standing (or equivalent). Approx. 6 months Apply via UKRI s TFS platform. Evaluated by assessment panel, no feedback. 0 to 100k, up to 5 years in duration. No deadline for applications, always open. Details of opportunity and how to apply are on UKRI Funding Finder. Apply via UKRI s TFS platform. Must be employed by eligible HEI, IRO or PSRE. Catalyst Awards As above. Approx. 9 months Evaluated by three expert reviewers, after which the PI provides a response. A moderation panel then reviews all comments and assigns a final grade. 100k to 300k, up to 5 years in duration. No deadline for applications, always open. Cannot be a current/former Lead on AHRC or other UKRI research/ fellowship grant at point of application, with exceptions. Must be of postdoctoral standing (or equivalent). Details of opportunity and how to apply are on UKRI Funding Finder. Research Grants Approx. 9 months Apply via UKRI s TFS platform. Evaluated by three expert reviewers, after which the PI provides a response. A moderation panel then reviews all comments and assigns a final grade. 300k to 1.5mil, up to 5 years in duration. No deadline for applications, always open. Details of opportunity and how to apply are on UKRI Funding Finder. Must be employed by eligible HEI, IRO or PSRE.

Common Issues And how to avoid them!

Common Issues Eligibility The Project Team & Partners Time Need & Demand Money Evaluation

Decision Making Introducing the Harnessing Heritage Fund

The Harnessing Heritage Fund This fund is for projects which use local heritage assets to; Develop and strengthen local sense of identity and pride, Foster individual wellbeing and social cohesion, Enhance and sustain local economic prosperity. Projects must have a clear start and end, and evidencable outputs, as well as 10% match funding. Application is via an online form. This fund does not exist (sorry)

The Harnessing Heritage Fund Applicants are asked the following prompts; How will your project meet the aims of the Fund? How will you manage and deliver your project? How will you know if your project is successful? You are a Decision Maker! This week you have four applications in your pack. You have a total budget of 45,000 and a total ask of 81,000 What would you fund?

The Harnessing Heritage Fund Preference Modelling Task. Working with your neighbours, read the four applications and deciding for each one; Does it meet the aims of the Fund? Is it likely to be well managed and delivered? Is there likely to be appropriate evaluation? Would I prefer to fund this application? Then decide which application(s) you would most prefer to fund. You have 15 minutes and 45,000!

The Harnessing Heritage Fund Proposal 1: Brayshaw Museum & Whimsy Words Pros: Experienced practitioners Training for Museum staff increases long-term legacy Good partners for promotion of activity Cons: Role of MH practitioner unclear Match funding from ticketed gigs- four of them? Level of commitment required from participants Participant outputs limited

The Harnessing Heritage Fund Proposal 2: Springland Libraries & East Star Digital Pros: Clear target audience and clear outputs Strengthened library/museum partnerships for long-term legacy Experienced practitioners Cons: Complex project to manage (multiple groups, multiple venues etc.) Short turnaround on creating digital content for exhibitions. No info on how exhibited work will be displayed, or how long it will be present for

The Harnessing Heritage Fund Proposal 3: Barclay Museum of History Pros: Clear output (public exhibition of works) Cons: Underdeveloped. Not clear how the project meets the HHF funding aims Limited strategy to attract participants No evidence of demand for project

The Harnessing Heritage Fund Proposal 4: North Denton Museum & Impetus Pros: Clearly meets aims of HHF Clear outputs (exhibition, work skills development) Strong partnership opportunities Cons: Exhibition budget is limited Complex project to deliver- work skills scheme almost separate project to new exhibition development

Questions & Discussion

Useful Links

ACE National Lottery Project Grants home page: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/ProjectGrants ACE National Lottery Project Grants access support: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/access-support ACE National Lottery Project Grants guidance library https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/ProjectGrants/national-lottery-project-grants-guidance-library ACE NLPG additional guidance for Museums and Collections: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/sites/default/files/download- file/NLPG_InfoSheet_Museum_and_collections_01122021_0.pdf ACE NLPG Unlocking Collections guidance: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/sites/default/files/download-file/NLPG_InfoSheet_Unlocking_Collections_0.pdf

Project Enquiry Service (10k-250K project ideas) https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/funding/national-lottery-grants-heritage-10k-250k/project-enquiry-form Expression of Interest ( 250k- 10m project ideas) https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/funding/national-lottery-grants-heritage-250k-10m/expression-interest-form-grants- above-250k National Lottery Heritage Grants Programme Information https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/funding Good Practice Guidance https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/funding/good-practice-guidance

Simpler and Better Funding (SBF) and the Funding Service Simpler and Better Funding (SBF) and the Funding Service AHRC s responsive mode schemes AHRC s responsive mode schemes Recordings and transcripts of webinars on AHRC website Main SBF info page How applicants use the service How research offices use the service How reviewers use the service Recordings of past SBF webinars Subscribe to the SBF newsletter here Full scheme details in the UKRI Funding finder Summary of changes and further info on dedicated page on AHRC website. Jaideep Gupte s blog about the new schemes released on 23 May 2023 Profile of Curiosity Awards scheme in Research Professional