Scottish heritage
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Partnership struck to invest half a million in resilient, sustainable future for Scottish heritage

Image: Stirling Castle, 2016 © Andrew Shiva (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Museums Galleries Scotland has partnered with Built Environment Forum Scotland and greenspace scotland to channel over £497,000 of National Lottery Heritage Fund support into improving resilience across the nation’s heritage sector.

Recent heritage sector feedback gathered by Museums Galleries Scotland highlighted an immediate need for support and strategic investment to develop sustainable business models, improve ways of working, and evidence the impact of heritage organisations within Scotland’s communities.

To deliver the tailored support required, the trio of organisations will embark on an 18-month project that aims to weave sustainability and resilience throughout the Scottish heritage sector, yielding both immediate and long-term results.

“The sector has shown remarkable resilience in adapting to changing circumstances, but after a decade of austerity and consequent public sector funding cuts, and now the impact of COVID-19, many organisations have told us that they are struggling to plan and invest to adapt to these new financial realities,” explains Lucy Casot, CEO of Museums Galleries Scotland.

Specialised training in the areas of board development, community engagement, financial planning, and business resilience will form the basis of the programme; all of which is only possible courtesy of the £497,300 from National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The programme has committed to support as many as forty organisations and upskill around eighty individuals within the sector, with every attendee receiving a bursary and travel costs to participate in the programme. Organisations interested in participating are encouraged to fill out the Expression of Interest Survey.