{"id":33478,"date":"2022-06-02T18:15:13","date_gmt":"2022-06-02T17:15:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsblogsnew.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=33478"},"modified":"2022-06-02T18:15:13","modified_gmt":"2022-06-02T17:15:13","slug":"ihbc-signpost-to-the-heritage-fund-2022-ihbc-yearbook-heritage-sector-is-resilient-despite-economic-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=33478","title":{"rendered":"IHBC signpost to the Heritage Fund & 2022 IHBC Yearbook: Heritage sector is resilient despite economic challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Organisations have a positive financial and strategic outlook, says the Heritage Fund, as Eilish McGuinness, Fund CE and foreword author of the IHBC\u2019s 2022 Yearbook<\/em><\/a> said: \u2018It is great\u2026 that organisations have greater confidence and a stronger financial outlook now \u2026.\u2019<\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

\u2026 heritage sector has faced its gravest threat since the Second World War\u2026<\/span><\/em><\/h2>\n

The Heritage Fund writes:<\/p>\n

In our first UK Heritage Pulse survey \u2013 which ran from 4\u201327 February 2022 \u2013 we asked the UK\u2019s heritage sector about their confidence, the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, including on staffing, and their strategic priorities.<\/p>\n

COVID-19 restrictions in England had just lifted when the survey launched. Restrictions in Northern Ireland lifted half-way through, while Scotland and Wales restrictions were in place throughout.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo know that organisations are emerging confident and with a stronger financial outlook is good news. But it\u2019s also clear that our respondents face challenges to achieving their ambitions in the current economic climate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anne Young, Director of Strategy and Innovation at the Heritage Fund<\/em><\/p>\n

What we found<\/h2>\n

Confidence<\/strong><\/p>\n

From the 230 complete and 47 partial responses to the survey, we found that confidence in the viability of heritage organisations was strong. On a scale of 1 (not at all confident) to 5 (very confident), respondents rated their confidence to survive beyond the next six months at an average of 4.3. 53% of respondents said that without generating any further income, they had cash reserves to last them more than six months. They rated confidence in visitor or customer demand at 3.8 out of 5.<\/p>\n

Negative impacts<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, there was only a small proportion of respondents (9%) who had not been affected by COVID-19 restrictions and the Omicron wave, which reached a peak in some parts of the UK during the survey period. 73% of respondents had made COVID-19-related adaptations, 72% experienced event or other booking\/order cancellations, and 75% had to deal with staff or volunteer absence. 40% of participants reported that recruitment of specialist staff had been so challenging that it had an impact on their operations during the past six months.\u00a0 In a marked change from the sentiment of 2020, most respondents (84%) felt the risk from another COVID-19 wave like Omicron would be low or moderate.<\/p>\n

Strategic priorities<\/strong><\/p>\n

When we asked survey respondents to tell us their top strategic priority, financial and organisational resilience was high among the list of aims. But it was accompanied by some important wider ambitions, including contributing to a sense of place and community.\u00a0 Asked which three areas had the most relevance to their strategic priorities, participants answered:<\/p>\n