Funding is available to produce a report that incorporates expert advice on a range of areas relating to collection management and the development of organisations collection.

The funding of up to £3,000 is available to museums and other public bodies, registered charities and not for profit organisations that hold collections. 

The grants are to produce reports that incorporate expert advice on a range of areas relating to collections management and the development of an organisation’s collection.

They will provide:

• an overview of the current status of the collection
• analysis of its overall condition, significance, existing and potential use, levels of access, and existing documentation
• a conclusion with recommendations about next steps and development goals for the service

The programme operates on a rolling basis and organisations may apply at any time. Applications are assessed four times a year to allow for quick decision-making.

To be eligible, organisations need to be a public body, registered charity or other not-for-profit organisation and must have an archive collection which is the subject of the application. If the archive is not currently accessible for public use, there must be an intention of finding a way to make the collection freely accessible to the public.

The grant funds an external consultant to conduct a collection assessment report which enables strategic planning of next steps and advocacy internally and externally to gain support for projects. Awards are paid directly to the consultant once the report is delivered.

Application is open to organisations whose main objective is not making collections but who have acquired or generated a collection that would benefit the public if accessible.

Dates currently announced for 2022 are:

Round 14: Monday 28 February 2022 (decisions announced week commencing 28 March 2022)

Round 15: Tuesday 24 May 2022 (decisions announced week commencing 13 June 2022).

It should be noted that the fund is heavily oversubscribed, and there is currently funding to award four Scoping Grants per application round.

For full details and guidance, visit The National Archives website.