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Archive Skills Bursaries
To support our leadership role for the archives sector in England and Wales, and to deliver Archives Unlocked, the Government’s vision for archives, The National Archives provides 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; in research, to lead innovation in technology and archival practice; and in engagement, to connect archives with changing societies in places across England and Wales. In particular, we want to provide funding that will confront the challenges of today: preserving and sharing the digital record, reducing our environmental impact and adapting to climate change, and helping the archives sector become more diverse, equitable and inclusive.To support archivists in building the skills needed for the future, The National Archives is delighted to be offering bursaries for the first time, for archivists seeking to access training, career professional development or mentoring that would not usually be available in their own organisational development programmes. The National Archives Skills Bursaries provide grants of up to £1000 per person, to archivists and heritage professionals, to support access to training and development opportunities The programme is open to applications on a rolling basis, with funds available for rapid distribution. The selected skills opportunity would need to be completed within a year of the award of funding. If your training is anticipated to last longer than a year, please contact The National Archives’ Grants and Funding Office prior to applying, by emailing archivegrants@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Skills Bursaries 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 any individual working with a recognised archive collection. This principally includes employees, but may also include trustees or volunteers.The programme is open to all public sector bodies, not-for-profit organisations including registered charities, and for-profit organisations including business archives.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 purpose of the funding scheme is to support the development of the skills needed for future development of the archives sector, with a focus on resilience, digital transformation, environmental sustainability and diversity, equity and inclusion. Therefore, we will not fund:
Core archival practice, e.g. the Master’s degree in Archives and Records Management or Level 7 Archives and Records Manager Apprenticeship
Other core business, management or IT skills, offered as part of organisational development programmes.
We welcome group and network applications – the award limit of £1000 is per person, and we will consider applications for group training and learning, provided this limit is not exceeded. For example, a group of five archivists could bid for a grant of £5000, to organise a shared training session. We would not usually expect to fund any individual more than once in a financial year.
The purpose of the funding scheme is to support the development of the skills needed for future development of the archives sector, with a focus on resilience, digital transformation, environmental sustainability and diversity, equity and inclusion.
The Skills Bursaries programme is open to applications on a rolling basis, with funds available for rapid distribution. To apply for funding, please complete an online application form:
As the fund is designed to enable access to training that may be arranged at short notice, your grant will be reviewed by the Grants and Funding Office at The National Archives for eligibility, and then shared with the panel who will meet on a monthly basis.
Skills Bursaries have a one-stage application process, completed through an online application form:
Applications will be assessed against the following criteria:
Need
Impact on the archive
Knowledge sharing
See our Assessment Criteria for Further Guidance: Skills Bursaries – Assessment Criteria
