Award, Feedback and Reapplication
Applications will be scored by the Archives Revealed team against the assessment criteria. The team will then prepare case papers summarising applications. The scores, case papers and applications will be considered by an independent Expert Panel who will make the final funding decisions.
Feedback on your application will be communicated to you upon request following the funding decision, and there may be the opportunity to discuss your application with a member of the Archives Revealed team and/or other experts at The National Archives.
Archives Revealed’s decision regarding any application is final, and no appeal process is in place: it is the lead applicant’s responsibility to make sure that all of the information provided in the application is correct, their proposal meets the eligibility criteria, and all sections of the application are complete. Any points you wish to make should be made clearly and concisely in the application form.
There are no restrictions on past applicants applying, however our data shows that reapplications are no more likely to receive funding than first-time applications. Before asking the panel to consider a collection for the second time, you should discuss your proposed project with the Archives Revealed team.
If you are awarded funding, the Archives Revealed Team will contact you with a Grant Funding Agreement, which should be signed by an appropriate member of your organisation. In general, 50% of the grant’s value will be paid to you up front, with the remaining 50% being paid upon approval of the final report, except in circumstances where the Archives Revealed Team, in consultation with the grantee, deems that an alternative payment structure is necessary for the successful delivery of the funded activities.
Reporting, Evaluation and Knowledge Dissemination
Archives Revealed Cataloguing Grants require reporting on progress for the full project duration and, in order to understand the impact of projects, for three years following the grant’s completion. This means you will be required to submit reports for five years (up to two years during project delivery and three years following completion). Applicants should be aware of and able to commit to this timeframe before submitting an application.
Every applicant will be required to provide a project budget and a minimum of three delivery milestones, within their application. If funded, every project must provide The National Archives with a progress update on these delivery milestones, including an indication of any delivery risks or issues. Grantees will be expected to report at six-monthly intervals during the project’s implementation, then annually for three years following the award.
Grantees will be expected to take steps to address delivery issues or delays if they arise and to inform The National Archives as part of their regular reporting. It is possible that the Archives Revealed team may visit your project, during or after your grant (we will not visit applicants as part of the assessment process).
Grantees will also be required to provide an end-of-project report, summarising progress made against delivery milestones and a final project expenditure statement, based on actual expenditure. If final expenditure falls below the amount agreed in the Grant Funding Agreement, Archives Revealed may ask grantees to return any unspent funds at the end of the project. All grantees must ensure accurate financial accounting: spot checks and audits may be required of grantees. Archives Revealed will not cover the cost of any project spend above what has been agreed in the Grant Funding Agreement.
Grantees will also be required to demonstrate the benefits and key performance indicators (KPIs) that the programme is seeking to realise. Successful applicants will be required to provide evidence against these measures. While benefit and KPI reporting is compulsory for all applicants, performance against these indicators is for the purpose of measuring the impact of the funding programme only, and does not affect eligibility for the grant.
Evaluation of Archives Revealed will be carried out by an independent evaluator contracted by the programme team, who will be responsible for defining, assessing and (where appropriate) gathering data on behalf of the programme. Grantees should be prepared to engage regularly with and provide information to the evaluation team, as they build this evidence base – which we envision will also be useful for grantees’ own advocacy.
Archives Revealed seeks to build the skills and capacities of the whole of the archive sector, and to learn from the experiences of our grantees. Funded projects will be encouraged to contribute to knowledge creation and dissemination activities, including potentially writing case studies, participating in impact seminars and supporting the archive community through knowledge sharing and mentoring.
Our approach to monitoring and evaluation is informed by our vision: through our grant-making, we want to build evidence for investment in archives, celebrate grantees’ success, and advocate for the archives sector, while keeping our reporting requirements as flexible and accessible as possible.
Grant Conditions
All grantees will be required to comply with the Code of Conduct for Recipients of Government General Grants and all relevant legislation, as well as the monitoring and evaluation conditions outlined above. Further conditions may be outlined within the Grant Funding Agreement.
Your organisation must agree to follow a whistleblowing process to report if the dignity, safety, security and well-being of end users is not met.
All grantees are also required to behave ethically, following the Seven Principles of Public Life: The Seven Principles of Public Life – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and making sustainable choices to reduce your project’s impact on the environment.
All grantees will be required to make their catalogues available through The National Archives online catalogue, Discovery: Discovery | The National Archives. Guidance and training will be provided by the Archives Revealed team on how and when to do so during your project.
As a partnership programme supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, grantees will also be required to follow the Heritage Fund’s acknowledgement guidance, procurement good practice guidance, and digital good practice guidance. Further information on how to acknowledge Archives Revealed and its four funders will be provided to grantees when a grant offer is made.