Community Hub Seed Corn Grants

The Spaces, Places and Belonging: Community Hub is a new programme for communities across the United Kingdom led by The National Archives, in partnership with Leeds Museums & Galleries, the National Library of Wales, and the Community Archives & Heritage Group.The programme aims to respond to the long-standing challenge of how “to make innovation and learning from community-facing projects more sustainable, transferable, and accessible” in the UK’s GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) and heritage sectors. Through a supportive funding structure, it aims to help communities and organisations share their work more widely and contribute to a growing body of knowledge that others can learn from and build upon.Seed Corn Grants offer funding of between £500 and £5,000 to support early-stage, exploratory projects that aim to spark new ideas and innovative approaches to community engagement with heritage. These grants are particularly designed to help organisations test concepts, build partnerships, or pilot activities, with a strong emphasis on experimentation and learning.There will be two application rounds for Seed Corn grants, and the panel will review applications within two months of the application deadline. Eligible applicants include community groups, galleries, libraries, archives, and museums and other heritage organisations across the UK.Eligible costs could include:

• Staff time or freelance fees for project delivery

• Materials and supplies for workshops, exhibitions, or events

• Venue hires or equipment rental

• General organisational overheads or core running costs

• Travel and subsistence for project participants

• Community consultation or co-design activities

• Digital tools or platforms to support engagement

• Evaluation and documentation of pilot activities

By applying to a Seed Corn grant, you will also gain access to a dedicated skills development and training programme, offering a wide range of learning opportunities tailored to the unique challenges faced by organisations and practitioners in the sector. This will be made available to all applicants, whether successful or not. You will be able to expect interactive workshops, expert-led webinars, and collaborative activities designed to strengthen professional skills, encourage peer networking, and share best practice. The programme will be shaped by feedback from local communities and sector partners, ensuring its relevance and practical value to those taking part. The programme is still in development and more details will be published on our website in 2026.

Are you eligible for funding?

To determine your eligibility for funding, consider whether you are a GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums) or Heritage organisation, or part of a community group as defined below?Then consider whether your proposed activity would fall into the scope of community heritage: does your project work to record or share histories, cultures or stories? Does it explore our senses of space, place or belonging? Are you trying to shift the focus from the usual national histories to a more localised narrative?If your work aligns with these definitions, you are likely eligible to apply. For comprehensive criteria and application details, consult the relevant How to Apply pages.

What is Community Heritage? What is a Community Group?