The National Lottery Heritage Fund has announced that £1m worth of Digital Skills for Heritage funding is available across the UK, to help equip heritage groups with digital volunteers following demands from the sector for digital innovation last year.
The Digital Attitudes and Skills for Heritage survey 2020 concluded that there was a need to develop digital skills across the UK heritage sector. It explained how digital innovation can make the sector more resilient and creative in the future which helped secure the funding.
The National Lottery is helping the heritage sector bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic and will invest in developing ‘at distance’ digital volunteers. The ‘at distance’ volunteers have fewer constraints placed upon them based on time and location.
Ros Kerslake, CEO of The Heritage Fund, commented: “Digital volunteering can help open doors for all involved, keeping more of us connected to heritage. Organisations will benefit from the time and support of volunteers, and volunteers will be able to share and develop their skills while supporting the heritage they love.
“It’s a win-win situation for everyone and we are delighted to launch this fund, thanks to National Lottery players.”
There is an acknowledgement that volunteering has mutual benefits for both the organisation and the volunteer. The Heritage Fund claims there are health and wellbeing benefits to the volunteer, whilst the organisations benefit from the increased digital capacity.
Applications for the scheme opened today and heritage groups can apply until September 27.
