Built Environment Forum Scotland (BEFS) is pleased to announce that in partnership with Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS) and greenspace scotland they have been awarded £497,300 from National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF), to support major investment in building the resilience of the heritage sector.
The heritage 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 
highlighted that they are struggling to plan and invest to adapt to these new financial realities. There is an immediate need for support and strategic investment to help heritage organisations to develop sustainable business models, improve their ways of working, and evidence the impact of their role within Scotland’s communities.
The partnership will deliver an 18-month project that will provide Scotland’s heritage organisations and businesses with support through a programme of training that will build sustainability with immediate and long-term impacts on their organisations and the sector as a whole. Leadership is the overarching theme of the programme and there are four main areas of training in the programme, which have been identified through sector feedback: board development, community engagement, financial planning, and business resilience.
The programme has committed to support up to forty organisations and upskill up to eighty people within the sector. Each attendee will be paid a bursary and travel costs to attend the programme. The programme will be delivered in line with COVID-19 guidance.
MGS, BEFS, and greenspace scotland are national strategic organisations who work across all of Scotland’s 32 local authorities, supporting 300 voluntary built environment groups, 407 museums and galleries, and 180 parks/greenspace organisations and groups. They have come together to deliver this project based on a legacy of shared values and previous successful partnership working. The strength of the partnership lies in the active relationships held by the organisations with and across different sectors.
Organisations interested in participating in the programme are encouraged to fill out an Expression of Interest survey, which is designed to give a brief overview of the programme and capture interest at an early stage from heritage organisations. Full details of the programme will be announced later in 2020 accompanied by a range of information sessions. https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/JT8TXQ3
(Update provided by Museums and Galleries Scotland)
