About these grants

Programme Overview

The Engagement Grants Programme offers grants of up to £3,000 for organisations to conduct outreach and engagement projects that will connect archives with their communities in places across England and Wales.

Our engagement grants are often responsive to cultural events and days of national importance. Each opportunity is advertised on our website, Twitter and Jisc mailing list.

This year, grant applications should be based on the concept of ‘Community‘. You can find out more about the current round below.

Programme context

As part of our leadership role for the archives sector in England and Wales, and to deliver Archives Unlocked, the Government’s vision for archives, we provide grants for skills, innovation and engagement in the archives sector.

Our approach to our leadership role is a collaborative one: supporting partnerships and working to encourage a sustainable and innovative sector. We want to prepare the archives sector for the future in an uncertain world. We will invest in:

• the skills of the archives sector workforce
• research to lead innovation in technology and archival practice
• engagement to connect archives with changing societies in places across England and Wales

Each year we look for applications that are accessible, inspiring and inclusive for audiences. Projects can be based at your archive service or involve outreach work with your collections.

Current round

The theme for the current application round is ‘Community’. We are asking applicants to consider their collections, and how they could use them to engage with new and existing audiences and in new and creative ways, to explore ideas relating to ‘Community’.

Whether that be communities formed around place, practice, interest or circumstance, we want to see applications that reflect the way in which communities connect and unite us, and do so in a way that is inclusive of all.

Archives have an important and unique role in bringing people closer together to explore stories of people, places and events that have defined our shared history.

Your Engagement Grant application might be inspired by the national commemorations for VE and VJ Day in 2025 – or by something completely different. We simply want to support engagement with archives that is meaningful for you, your place and your communities.

Previous rounds

Grants awarded in 2023/2024 were based on the idea and concept of ‘place’. In future years, themes will often be responsive to cultural events and days of national importance.