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The Heritage Fund has announced one of its biggest investments into archives this century, awarding £5m to Archives Revealed, a long-running partnership between The National Archives, the Pilgrim Trust and the Wolfson Foundation.
Heritage Fund writes:
More than five times more funding for increasing public access to archives in 2024–2027 will be possible with our investment than in the past three years. We’re supporting new grants of up to £150,000 for collaborative projects over multiple collections, and a new skills development programme.
Equipping archives for the future
Archives Revealed helps make significant archival collections that represent the lives and perspectives of people across the UK more accessible to the public. It also shares skills and knowledge, fosters relationships and builds organisational resilience across the archives sector. Through our support, more archives than ever will benefit, and public engagement and participatory work will be funded for the first time.
Jeff James, Chief Executive and Keeper of The National Archives, on behalf of Archives Revealed ‘A new training programme allows us to continue to support the archive sector as a thriving, inclusive sector which places development and professionalism at its heart.’
More support and larger grants for archives
New Consortium Grants of up to £150,000 will support projects spanning multiple archives and collections that can create a wider regional or thematic impact. With our investment, Archives Revealed will continue to offer Cataloguing Grants of up to £50,000 and Scoping Grants of up to £3,000. And our funding will enable a new development and training programme to build archive professionals’ and volunteers’ skills.
Getting the best out of the UK’s collections
By investing in the archives sector, we’re supporting our Heritage 2033 strategy for investing in heritage for the future as well as the present. Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: ‘Our archives are home to our stories. Records, collections and histories all shine a light on who we are, how we live and what is important to us. I am delighted that National Lottery funding will support Archives Revealed to unlock many more of these stories right across the UK and safeguard them for future generations’.
Jeff James, Chief Executive and Keeper of The National Archives, on behalf of Archives Revealed, said: ‘This is an exciting time to be involved in archives. This generous grant allows Archives Revealed to help more archives in the coming years, to get the very best out of their collections and make them more accessible, demonstrating that archives truly are for everyone. The addition of a new training programme allows us to continue to support the archive sector as a thriving, inclusive sector which places development and professionalism at its heart.’
