Archive Consortium Grant

This programme can fund consortia with members that hold archival collection(s) including deposited collections, that are able to provide access to the collection for the public in the UK for at least ten years following the grant’s completion. Not all participants in the consortia have to hold their own collection(s); there may be members who are providing technical expertise or other inputs, without holding a collection. Consortia may have any number of members.

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.

Consortium will need to select one organisation to be the ‘lead’: we envision that this will usually be an organisation holding a collection, but this is not mandatory. This organisation will hold the contract with Archives Revealed and will be responsible for ensuring project delivery and fulfilment of contractual requirements. This organisation will need to ensure that it is able to fulfil all of the eligibility requirements detailed in this section.

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 consortia must make all their catalogued 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 or project than that previously assessed.

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

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 and projects, which are of highest priority.

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 Consortium Grant, please contact the team by email at: archivegrants@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

Archives Revealed Consortium Grants offer funding of up to £150,000 for groups of organisations to deliver projects that will help the programme realise its goal of ensuring 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. At least 20% of each grant 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 Consortium Grant programme are to:

• Increase access to previously unavailable archive material.

• Empower the archive sector to address larger scale and shared challenges through increased funding.

• Develop existing relationships and create new opportunities for collaboration in the archive sector, building a community of good practice and fostering knowledge sharing.

• 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 sustainably build resilience and capacities.

Archives Revealed Consortium 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 with on following timetable – dates of future funding rounds will be listed on our website:

Round 1

Open: 2 September 2024Closes: 25 October 2024Panel: 15 January 2025

Round 2

Open: 24 February 2025Closes: 4 April 2025Panel: 10 June 2025

Archives Revealed Consortium 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, head over to our 'How to Apply' webpage.