Projects Grant Funding Round

A fast-track bidding round is opening for grants to be used for heritage skills training projects at Commonwealth heritage sites  Mission

The Commonwealth Heritage Forum (CHF) is a UK registered charity which enables the sharing of expertise, research and best practice in building conservation. One of our major objectives is to help people from communities with educational and economic disadvantages find creative solutions for heritage at risk, sustainable regeneration, skills development, education and youth training across the Commonwealth, the UK overseas territories and the wider Anglosphere.

In April 2022, Her Majesty’s Government granted the CHF the unique right to preface the name of our Commonwealth Heritage Skills Training Programme with the appellation ‘Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee’. The Programme was launched on 19 May 2022 at Marlborough House by Baroness Scotland, the Commonwealth Secretary-General.

Funded by the Vinehill Trust, under the terms of the Commonwealth Coronation Agreement, signed in June 2023, the CHF manages the £12.26 million Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Commonwealth Heritage Skills Training Programme. The programme supports the training of people in all aspects of heritage conservation and craft-related skills. The aim is to enable them to save the heritage of all periods that they value and support the role of conservation in sustainable development.

In addition to our other activities, we are committed to implementing practical projects for trainees at up to twenty Commonwealth heritage sites at risk. A key objective is to establish regional training hubs in the Caribbean, Africa and the Indian sub-continent alongside practical manual training projects in a wide range of Commonwealth countries. The programme is open to all eligible countries, but we particularly welcome applications from Central and Southern Africa, the Pacific and UK Overseas Territories.

Where professional consultants or practices are appointed to carry out research, analysis, specialist training workshops or site-based projects, the appointment will usually be tendered to appropriately qualified practices, organisations and individuals to ensure best value for money.

Eligible works include the provision of matching materials, physical works to safeguard integrity and status and the repair or restoration of historic fabric that facilitates heritage skills training. Items include stonework, brickwork, tiles, slates and shingles, thatching, lime mortar, plasters and renders, stucco, ironwork, traditional carpentry and joinery, woodcarving, frescoes and murals, stained glass, encaustic tiles, terracotta, earth buildings and mortars.

We will consider:

• essential works to historic buildings, monuments and structures at risk
• area-based strategies for historic places at risk, including heritage trails

We will not consider:

• intangible shared heritage
• running costs
• routine repair and maintenance costs
• heritage crafts unconnected to the physical repair of buildings and structures
• buildings in private ownership where there is no public access
• new buildings, extensions, services or internal facilities (e.g. electrical works, and plumbing).

On-site projects and costs will be made on the basis of actual rather than indicative costs (i.e. if spend turns out to be less than is budgeted, payments will cover the actual rather than the budgeted figure). Detailed invoices will be required prior to payments being made. Funding will not be increased to accommodate overspend or any extra elements that are added to the project once it has started.

International funding transfers can be subject to extensive time-consuming checks and balances to minimise the risk of fraud and money laundering. Applicants are advised to anticipate this, plan ahead accordingly and ensure that invoices, bank details and relevant codes should be checked for strict accuracy to reduce the risk of delays. Where necessary, we will make an early advance payment to proven partners to ensure that cash flow is maintained throughout the project.

Consultancy fees for the management of any project will normally be on a fixed fee basis and should be set out within the initial grant submission. They should usually be no greater than 10% of the total project costs.

Our various training programmes are set out below. A key qualifying criterion is that trainees should be drawn from communities with educational and economic disadvantages to offer a unique opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills which they might otherwise be unable to access.

Our support is flexible and can be tailored to meet local needs and circumstances. Options include:

• training schools and courses in the UK and overseas for eligible students
• expert classroom and site-based training workshops in host countries led by UK or Commonwealth master trainers
• funding Heritage Champions and internships to support local initiatives at recognised overseas heritage agencies and institutions

Where…