Public sector bodies, registered charities and other not-for-profit organisations in the UK can apply for grants to create catalogues of important archival collections that are accessible to the public.
The funding aims to ensure that significant archive collections, representing the lives and perspectives of all people across the UK, are made accessible to the public for research and enjoyment.
Grants of up to £50,000 are available for the cataloguing of archive collections, with at least 20% of each award reserved for public engagement activities.
The grants usually pay for a trained, professional archivist to work with the collection, as well as public engagement activities. The fund can be used for complementary activities in the cataloguing process, such as the provision of storage materials, however, this should not be the focus of the application.
The funding can support organisations with owned or deposited collections, providing they can provide a commitment from the depositor that the collection will not be withdrawn from public access or sold within 10 years of the project end date.
Partnership and consortium bids are welcome.
The programme is highly competitive. Typically, around 80 to 100 applications are received, of which around 15 full grants will be awarded in each grant round.
There are three more application rounds for 2025-26.
Round 3 is now open with a deadline of 9 October 2025 for consideration in January 2026.
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