Archive Cataloguing Grant

Archives Revealed is the only grant programme in the United Kingdom (UK) dedicated to the unlocking of archival collections. The programme is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Pilgrim Trust, the Wolfson Foundation and The National Archives. The goal of Archives Revealed is to ensure that significant archive collections are made accessible to the public for research and enjoyment. The Cataloguing Grants programme provides grants of up to £50,000 for the cataloguing of significant archive collections held in the UK. The programme aims to unlock these collections for the public for research and enjoyment. At least 20% of the total grant value is required to be allocated to activities that will promote public engagement with the collection during or after cataloguing.

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Summary

Archives Revealed is the only grant programme in the United Kingdom (UK) dedicated to the unlocking of archival collections. The programme is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fundthe Pilgrim Trustthe Wolfson Foundation and The National Archives. The goal of Archives Revealed is to ensure that significant archive collections, representing the lives and perspective of all people across the UK, are made accessible to the public for research and enjoyment.

This funding programme provides grants of up to £50,000 for the cataloguing of archive collections, with at least 20% of each award reserved for public engagement activities.

Cataloguing is the process of writing detailed descriptions of the records that you are managing and how they relate to each other. It enables the records to be searched for and interacted with, using descriptions and titles within catalogues allowing individuals to find specific items of interest. Cataloguing can:

  • give you greater intellectual control over collections, creating accurate descriptions and understanding the content and potential of what you hold

  • allow you to identify preservation/conservation needs

  • widen access to descriptions and awareness of the collections themselves

  • enable you to contribute data to archive networks

  • provide a foundation for engagement with new and existing audiences

For further information on cataloguing please see: Cataloguing archive collections – Archives sector (nationalarchives.gov.uk) which contains detailed guidance on cataloguing.

Further resources on access, participation and engagement can be found on The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s website – you may wish to consult guidance on interpretationinclusion and the Heritage Fund’s investment principle on inclusion, access and participation.

Archives Revealed Cataloguing Grants funds projects lasting for up to two years from the date of award. The grant usually pays for a trained, professional archivist to work with the collection, as well as now providing funding for public engagement activities. The fund can be used for complementary activities in the cataloguing process, such as the provision of storage materials, however, this should not be the focus of the application.

Eligibility

This programme can fund most organisations with an archival collection including deposited collections, which are able to provide access to the collection for the public in the UK for at least ten years following the grant’s completion.

We recommend that organisations consult with qualified archivists when preparing their application, so that they are informed about the project and can provide informed answers to the questions. If awarded funding, grantees must have access to professional archival expertise from a qualified archivist or heritage professional with equivalent experience, to ensure adherence to archive professional standards and support recruited staff, including newly-recruited archivists, in the delivery and management of the project. Applications that are not able to clearly show the involvement of archive / heritage professionals are highly unlikely to receive funding and may be deemed ineligible.

Archives Revealed can fund any eligible organisations in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The funded collection must also be held in these countries. We cannot fund organisations based in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, or organisations whose collections are held outside of the UK.

If your project will take place in Wales, you must include the Welsh language in all aspects of your work. You must tell us in your application how you will promote and support the Welsh language and reflect the bilingual nature of Wales.

Archives are rich sources of information and Archives Revealed does not make a distinction between physical or digital (or mixed) collections. An archive collection is one that holds unique records, which can be of local, national and international importance and are often themed by place or thematic area of interest. To find out more about what an archive collection is, please visit: What are archives? – The National Archives.

For the purposes of Archives Revealed, we use the definition of an archive collection as given within the Archive Service Accreditation Scheme:

“Materials created or received by a person, family or organisation, public or private, in the conduct of their affairs and preserved because of the enduring value contained in them or as evidence of the functions and responsibilities of their creator, especially those materials maintained using the principles of provenance, original order and collective control; permanent records.”

We would encourage any archive to work towards Archives Service Accreditation, which can be used to demonstrate the strength of an archive service within an application – however it is not mandatory to be an accredited archive to apply to the scheme.

While usually thought of as handwritten or typed documents on paper, archives also commonly include: printed documents, photographs, digital objects (such as e-mail, databases etc), audio/visual material, sketches, drawings, maps and plans. This list is not exhaustive and may include more unusual items, such as the knotted cords used for record keeping by Andean cultures or a variety of types of object.

Funded organisations must make their collections accessible to people outside of their organisation for at least ten years, following the conclusion of the grant-funded project. We can fund organisations with owned or deposited collections, provided that they can provide a commitment from the depositor that the collection will not be withdrawn from public access or sold within ten years of the project end date. We will reclaim funding, where this condition is not met.

There are no restrictions on past applicants applying, however our data shows that reapplications are no more likely to receive funding than first-time applications. There is no restriction on institutions submitting an application for a different collection than that previously assessed.

You do not need to have completed a Scoping Grant, to apply for a Cataloguing Grant.

We welcome partnership and consortium bids, provided that the lead organisation satisfies all of the criteria above. Institutions may submit multiple bids in the same round, particularly where they are part of networks or consortia; however, given the competitiveness of this funding programme, we recommend that applicants focus only on the most significant collections, which are of highest priority for their organisation.

Institutions may apply to Archives Revealed if they already have funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, but should not apply directly to the Heritage Fund and to Archives Revealed with the same project.

Should you have any questions about the eligibility of your collection for an Archives Revealed Cataloguing Grant, please contact the team by email at: archivegrants@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

Objectives

Archives Revealed Cataloguing Grants offer funding of up to £50,000 for archive services to create catalogues of their archival collections. At least 20% of each grant value awarded is required to be spent on engagement activities with the public. The grant will fund projects lasting up to two years.The aims of the Cataloguing Grant programme are to:

  • Increase access to previously unavailable archive material.

  • Increase engagement with archive collections by a wider audience.

  • Enable deeper use of archive material to further understanding of collections.

  • Increase confidence and skills of archivists to enable them to successfully secure income to fund archive development.

Dates

Archives Revealed Cataloguing Grants will open for applications twice a year, usually in the autumn and spring. The first two rounds of funding are scheduled to take place on the following timetable – dates of future funding rounds will be listed on our website:

Round 1:Open: 2nd September 2024Closes: 25th October 2024Panel: 15th January 2025

Round 2:Open: 24th February 2025Closes: 4th April 2025Panel: 10th June 2025

How to apply

Archives Revealed Cataloguing Grants have a single-stage application process. Your application will be reviewed by the Archives Revealed team and other experts at The National Archives, before being shared with an independent Expert Panel made up of skilled and experienced archive and heritage professionals, which makes the funding decisions. To apply, visit the 'How to Apply' pages on our webiste.

Supporting information