British Council: Cultural Protection Fund

Overview

What is the Cultural Protection Fund?

The Cultural Protection Fund is a fund that supports efforts to protect cultural heritage at risk.
The fund aims to help to create sustainable opportunities for economic and social development through building capacity to foster, safeguard and promote cultural heritage.
Grants are available to applicants working with local partners in one or more of the fund’s target countries: NB CPF is funded through Overseas Development Assistant grant which limits the fund to ODA countries.
The Cultural Protection Fund accepts applications from organisations globally, but applicants must either be based in or have a partner in one of the fund's target countries.

As part of their wider work in culture and development, they manage the Cultural Protection Fund in partnership with DCMS

The overarching objective of the fund is to help create sustainable opportunities for social and economic development through building capacity to foster, safeguard and promote cultural heritage. The CPF awards funding to projects which keep cultural heritage sites and objects safe, as well as supporting the recording, conservation and restoration of cultural heritage. It also provides opportunities to local communities for training and education, enabling and empowering them in the long term to value, care for and benefit from their cultural heritage.

Cultural heritage includes many different things from the past that communities value and want to pass on to future generations, for example:

archaeological sites and monuments
collections of objects, books or documents in museums, libraries or archives
historic buildings
cultural traditions such as stories, festivals, crafts, music, dance and costumes
histories of people, communities, places and events
the heritage of languages and dialects
people’s memories and experiences (often recorded as ‘oral history’)

Who can apply

Organisations can apply from anywhere in the world, but must be working in one of the fund’s target countries or states:

Middle East and North Africa (MENA) – Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen
East Africa – Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda

If you are not based in one of the above countries or states, you can apply but you must have a local partner where the project is taking place. Individuals and sole traders are not eligible to apply.

Applications must be submitted by one lead applicant organisation with up to eight partner organisations. Either the lead applicant or at least one of the partner organisations must be based in a country where project activity is taking place.
Applications must demonstrate intent to benefit one or more of the target countries as their main aim. If private owners or for-profit organisations are involved in a project, they expect the benefit to the social and economic development of the target country to outweigh any private gain.
If a grant is awarded, you will be required to accept the terms and conditions of their Grant Agreement. You are encouraged to read this document ahead of making your application – it is available to read on their website.
A lead applicant organisation can submit multiple expressions of interest under any given round of funding but may only submit one full application.
Sole traders are not eligible to apply. All applicants will be required to submit evidence of legal status and supporting documentation in English.

What can you apply for

Grant size and project duration

Applicants may apply for:

Large grants from £100,000* up to £2m
Funding is available for projects commencing in autumn 2022
Projects can run for any duration but at the latest must finish by the end of January 2025

*expressions of interest for small grants under £100,000 will be open in July 2022

Project Activities and Outcomes

The Cultural Protection Fund has three Outcome areas:

Heritage, Society and Economy.

Below lists the kind of impacts they expect your project to have and gives examples of eligible activities which should aim to achieve these outcomes.

Your project does not have to meet every outcome listed in the table, but all projects are required to include outcome 1 (cultural heritage safeguarding) and at least one society outcome.

Heritage - outcomes

Cultural heritage at risk is safeguarded for future generations.
- Example:
  - Documentation resulting in new or improved records of cultural heritage (tangible or intangible).
  - Physical work (e.g. repair or restoration) to bring tangible cultural heritage assets into better condition.
Cultural heritage at risk is better managed and prepared for potential threats.
- Example
  - Preparation of risk assessments and management plans.
  - Delivery of specific prevention, mitigation or preparedness measures as identified in a risk management plan, for example:
    - documentation and preparation of inventories
    - retrofitting of appropriate protection or monitoring systems (e.g. fire protection)
    - development of procedures or plans relating to response or recovery or other relevant procedures or plans
  - Actions to improve the integration of risk management plans for cultural heritage into relevant policies and plans at national, regional and/or local levels.
Local organisations and communities have increased capacity and/or resilience to care for and protect cultural heritage.
- Example:
  - Relevant training and partnership working for cultural heritage professionals, volunteers, civil services or first responders.
  - Recruitment of volunteers from within the local community to carry out roles identified in disaster risk management plans. • Preparation of business or fundraising plans.

Society - outcomes

Local people have developed skills, potentially leading to increased professional or other opportunities
- Example:
  - Training for local people in specific heritage skills or broader subjects relating to planning, fundraising, management and promotion.
  - Recruitment and training of new volunteers.
The profile of people engaging with cultural heritage is more diverse with respect to gender imbalances, age, ability, sexuality, ethnicity and social/religious background where appropriate.
- Example:
  - Activities engaging new or underrepresented audiences with cultural heritage.
  - Consideration of equality, diversity and inclusion principles in the design of project activities and outputs and the recruitment of participants.
  - Pro-active support to help people overcome barriers to participation.
  - Leadership and mentoring initiatives that encourage more diversity in senior cultural heritage sector roles.
Local communities have a better understanding of their cultural heritage and value it more.
- Example
  - Educational programmes or activities designed to help people learn about cultural heritage.
  - New interpretation (e.g. information panels, museum displays, smartphone apps, websites, etc) offering improved explanations for the public about cultural heritage.
  - Events or activities (e.g. festivals, talks or tours) providing wider opportunities to engage with cultural heritage.
Local communities have played a more active role in protecting their cultural heritage or sharing it with others, potentially leading to increased social cohesion and a greater sense of well-being.
- Example:
  - Events or educational programmes raising public awareness of the threats.
  - Public consultation events held as part of the risk management planning process.
The local area is enhanced for the benefit of communities and visitors.
- Example:
  - Rehabilitating historic buildings as affordable housing or for other community uses.
  - Providing new public spaces or for social or recreational use.
  - Improving the appearance of heritage sites.
  - Providing new opportunities for people to visit, use and enjoy heritage sites.

Economy - outcomes

The local economy has been diversified.
- Example:
  - Creation of new areas of economic activity related to cultural heritage (e.g. tourism Page 6 of 19 opportunities or development of local community enterprises based around cultural heritage, traditional products or skills).
  - Creation of job opportunities focusing on cultural heritage.

Eligible Costs

Your application should include all costs that will be directly incurred as a result of the project. Direct project costs include:

Heritage protection costs such as restoration and conservation work, equipment and materials, storage and removal and any labour relating to these activities
Staff costs: either new staff positions or paid time for existing staff where these are vital to the delivery of the project
Travel and subsistence costs: Economy class should be booked for air travel, and standard class for train travel. Travel costs by car should be based on the appropriate rate per mile in the given country. Subsistence costs e.g. accommodation and food costs should be in line with the organisation’s expenses policy where applicable.
Promotional costs such as costs for marketing and the distribution of marketing materials, or advertising on digital media platforms where appropriate.
Evaluation costs including collection, storing and analysis of data and production of evaluation reports including additional staff time or external consultants to deliver the work.
Professional fees: Paying an organisation or individual to deliver professional services, such as finance, legal or marketing services.
Overheads will be considered and approved on a case-by-case bases.

What is ODA?

The Cultural Protection Fund is classed as official development assistance (ODA). Official development assistance is a term coined by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to measure aid. Cultural Protection Fund projects are required to demonstrate that they are making a positive contribution to the social and economic development of one or more of the Fund’s target countries. They should aim to further sustainable development (development that is likely to generate lasting benefits for the population of the country to which it is provided) or improve the welfare of the population. They should not aim to promote the culture or values of the UK.

Ensuring your project is ODA compliant

The Cultural Protection Fund is designed to be in line with ODA outcomes. Projects contributing to the outcomes of the Fund are therefore likely to be ODA compliant. However, you should consider the following questions and ensure that you have addressed them in your answers in the Application Form:

Is the project addressing the social and economic development of the country in question?
Is your project contributing towards reducing gender inequalities?
Is there a development need that my project or activity is addressing?
What is the evidence of the need?
How will this project or activity be applied in the country?
What will the impact of my project or activity be, and who will benefit?
How will my project or activity contribute to sustainable development?
How will success or impact be measured?

For more details about ODA see:

Previous projects

Track grant Notes