COVID-19 Archives Fund Grants Awarded

18 Mar 2021 01:52 PM

Today, The National Archives announced the successful applicants who have received funding from the COVID-19 Archives Fund. 25 archives from across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have each received up to £50,000 from the fund.

The fund, which was allocated £500,000 from HM Treasury, will allow archives to secure physical and born-digital records that are at risk of being dispersed or lost. This government support comes at a time when many organisations are struggling to deal with issues related to their collections which have arisen as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said:

“It is so important to protect our nation’s history for future generations to learn from and enjoy.

“I am pleased that this funding will help preserve collections across the length and breadth of the Union for years to come and I thank The National Archives for their work on this project.”

Jeff James, Historical Manuscripts Commissioner and Chief Executive and Keeper, The National Archives said:

“We cannot underestimate the importance of this funding and the support it gives to the successful archives. Records which were under threat will now be saved and preserved allowing future generations to research and learn from them. This is a very practical demonstration of our support to the wider archive sector.”

The fund was open to both recognised collecting institutions and other archival custodians and will help them safeguard their vital records or re-home other vulnerable collections. The government grants will offset some of the practical costs of the planned interventions, such as storage, conservation, transport and expertise.

A full list of the recipients of this funding can be found here.