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DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund 2025-27

For over 20 years, DCMS and the Wolfson Foundation have worked together to jointly fund grants to support museums as they improve displays, enhance collections care and make exhibitions more accessible to visitors. The DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund 2025-27 is now accepting applications for capital projects at eligible organisations. The deadline for applications is 14 November 2025.

  • Opening date: (Midnight)
  • Closing date:

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Contents

Summary

Grants are available up to £400,000 towards eligible capital projects. Bids submitted for consideration must meet at least one of the following criteria:

  • material improvements to the display and interpretation of collections, in permanent galleries, exhibition spaces and public spaces, to enhance visitor experience

  • improvements to access and/or interpretation for visitors with disabilities, children and young people, and/or underrepresented audiences

  • improvements to environmental controls, collections storage and conservation facilities to enhance the care of collections

Please bear in mind that funding should not be sought to cover the basic maintenance of existing facilities, such as routine repairs and cleaning, but rather for projects that improve the physical infrastructure of the institution concerned to enhance the display, care and accessibility of significant collections. All projects are expected to be environmentally sustainable and to have environmental considerations embedded in their planning.

Eligibility

The Fund is open to bids from accredited museums, museum services and galleries in England falling into one of the following categories:

  1. Museums/museums services and universities with at least one Designated collection

  2. Current Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs)

Please note that only one capital project bid per museum, gallery, museums service or university will be considered. Read the Guidance note for applicants (including a list of institutions eligible to apply to the fund).

Objectives

The DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund aims to support museums across England to improve audience access to and experience of collections through targeted capital investment in galleries, accessibility and collections care facilities, as set out under the 'summary' section.

Dates

  • September 2025 - Applications open

  • 14 November 2025, 5pm - Applications close

  • February 2026 - Expert panel meeting

  • Mid March 2026 - Outcomes communicated to applicants

  • From late March 2026 - Announcement of awards

  • 1 April 2026 (at the earliest) - 31 March 2027 - Successful applicants able to claim in up to four drawdown windows

  • End May 2027 - Grantees to return project evaluation

How to apply

All bids must be submitted on the standard pro forma which can be found on the Gov.uk guidance page.

  • The completed bid pro forma must be received in DCMS no later than 5pm on 14 November 2025 and should be sent to dcmswolfsonfund@dcms.gov.uk.

  • Applicants are asked to submit their pro forma in both Microsoft Word and PDF format.

Please direct any enquiries to dcmswolfsonfund@dcms.gov.uk.

Supporting information