Historic Environment Scotland to Launch Partnership Fund End of June 2022

Third sector organisations across Scotland will be able to apply for multi-year funding to support projects and activities that deliver key strategic outcomes aligned with the policy aims of Historic Environment Scotland.

Following a public consultation last year, Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has announced a new grant-making framework to guide future activities and streamline its application process. As part of this new framework, the new Partnership Fund will replace elements of HES’ Organisational Support Fund and provide multi-year support to projects that align with HES’ new grant priorities for 2022: 

  • Increase understanding of and engagement with Scotland’s historic environment.
  • Enhance communities’ use of the historic environment in place-making.
  • Strengthen the resilience of Scotland’s historic environment.
  • Use the historic environment as a catalyst for climate action.
  • Increase the quality and availability of historic environment skills.
  • Increase economic benefits from the historic environment sustainably and inclusively.

Funding will support a variety of activities, including but not limited to:

  • Professional or volunteer training programmes addressing recognised historic environment skills gaps at a national level.
  • Developmental, advocacy or capacity-building activities that enable the sector to achieve strategic outcomes in line with national priorities.
  • Outreach activities or learning programmes that deliver high-impact outcomes for audiences across Scotland.

Funding will cover direct costs and appropriate levels of indirect costs where these are associated with funded activities (ie not general core funding), and support the costs of delivering up to three different areas of activity (Activity Streams) for up to three financial years (from 1 April to 31 March).

There will be a two-stage application process, wherein applicants must submit an online Expression of Interest before being invited to submit a full application.

The Partnership Fund will open for Expressions of Interest from 30 June 2022 until 15 August 2022. 

(This report was the subject of a GRANTfinder Newsflash.)