Grants are available to help UK heritage sector organisations or partnerships to establish new digital volunteering opportunities across the sector. Opportunities should focus on digital activities and/or activities that can be carried out at distance.
Fund Information
- Funding body:
- Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
- Maximum value:
- £ 100,000
- Application deadline:
- 16/08/2021
Background
The Digital Skills for Heritage initiative was launched by the National Lottery Heritage Fund in February 2020 as an initiative designed to raise digital skills and confidence across the whole UK heritage sector.
As part of this initiative, the new £1 million Digital Volunteering funding programme has been launched with the aim of boosting digital skills in the heritage sector by helping organisations develop digital volunteering opportunities. This is in response to the findings of the National Lottery Fund's 2020 Digital Attitudes and Skills for Heritage (DASH) survey and report, which found that the sector is calling out for digital innovation to help it move into a more resilient, creative future, and which has identified an opportunity to create new forms of volunteering to support this.
Objectives of Fund
The funding is to help not-for-profit organisations/partnerships looking to establish new digital volunteering opportunities and roles that will support UK heritage.
Digital volunteering opportunities might include activities that require technical skills, for example:
- Collecting, uploading or organising data.
- Website design and maintenance.
- Translating.
- Running online events.
- Providing training.
- Improving online accessibility.
The funders are also interested in organisations offering at distance volunteering opportunities. These can provide volunteers with flexibility to support heritage from any location and at times that may better suit them. This approach opens up opportunities to those who may not have had the capacity to volunteer previously due to location, personal commitments, time limitations or travel restrictions.
Value Notes
The total available funding is £1 million.
Grants of £10,000 to £100,000 are available for projects with an expected duration of 12 months (with possible extension to 18 months).
Who Can Apply
The following can apply:
- A not-for-profit organisation working in relation to heritage.
- A partnership led by a not-for-profit organisation working in relation to heritage.
Applicants will be assessed on:
- Their track-record and experience of recruiting, supporting and, where applicable, retaining volunteers (these do not need to be digital volunteers).
- The need and value of the type/s of digital volunteer role being proposed to the organisation or project.
- The likely benefit of the chosen approach to groups and organisations working across heritage in the UK, in terms of how transferable the approach might be.
- The ability to recruit and retain new and different kinds of volunteers with diverse needs in diverse locations.
- Their understanding of, and approach to, any significant risks relating to the types of digital and at distance volunteering opportunities being proposed.
Eligible Expenditure
The funding is for projects designed to support the development of digital volunteering across the UK heritage sector. These grants will help organisations to develop their own expertise in relation to recruiting and working with digital volunteers. They will also establish digital volunteering roles that support the organisation's strategic aims.
Roles should focus on either or both of the following:
- Digital activities - ie tasks that require technical skill or expertise, including:
- Building a website.
- Creating a database.
- Adding meta data to digital assets.
- Creating an online service offer.
- Ensuring online content is accessible.
- Activities that can be carried out at distance - ie tasks that are carried out via mobile or computer, where technology is used as the means of delivery, including:
- Recording a promotional video.
- Logging data.
- Delivering an educational talk online.
- Uploading images.
Successful projects will create new opportunities for people to benefit from volunteering to support heritage. They will provide opportunities for members of the public to volunteer to support organisations or a heritage project through digital and/or at distance volunteering.
Organisations will provide induction, training, support and, where applicable, access to equipment and connectivity to volunteers.
The funders are looking for projects that will also inspire and demonstrate the value of digital volunteering to other organisations working with heritage.
Location
UK
How To Apply
Guidance documents, help notes, project enquiry form examples, etc are available on the National Lottery Heritage Fund website.
There is a two-stage application process. The first stage is to fill in the Project Enquiry Form. Those who are successful at stage one will be invited to complete a full application.
Key dates:
- The deadline for submitting a Project Enquiry Form is noon 16 August 2021.
- Feedback on the Project Enquiry Form will be provided by 31 August 2021.
- The deadline for full applications is noon on 27 September 2021.
- The assessment panel will take place in November 2021.
- Applicants will be notified by 18 November 2021.
Useful documents & links
Useful Links
Addresses and contacts
For further information on how to obtain this grant locally, please contact the following:
- Customer Services Team
National Lottery Heritage Fund (Heritage Fund)
International House
1 St Katharine's Way
London
E1W 1UN
Tel: 020 7591 6044
Email: [email protected]