How to apply

Research and Innovation Grants are open to archivists and heritage professionals working with archival collections in England or Wales. We cannot fund organisations based in Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or whose collections are held outside of the United Kingdom.

The programme is open to all public sector bodies, not-for-profit organisations including registered charities, and for-profit organisations including business archives. Funding is not available to private individuals.

The records can be in analogue or digital formats and can be inside or outside of the custody of the records creator or a recognised collecting archive institution.

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.”

Society of American Archivists

The organisation must employ or have access to professional support from an archivist or similarly qualified professional.

There is no restriction on past applicants applying, however repeat applications are no more likely to receive funding, and you are strongly encouraged to speak to The National Archives’ Grants and Funding team before submitting a second application for the same project. There are no restrictions on institutions submitting an application for a different project.

Where appropriate, archives are encouraged to propose partnership projects and consortium applications are particularly welcome in this programme.