Libraries Improvement Fund Round 2

This fund will enable library services across England to invest in a range of projects to upgrade buildings and technology so they are better placed to respond to the changing ways people are using them.  

The criteria for the Libraries Improvement Fund have been set by the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Arts Council England. The grants are administered, awarded, and monitored by Arts Council England. Funding has been provided by DCMS.   

The aims of this fund is to: 

• Enable libraries to develop more flexible, more commercial spaces 
• Increase and improve digital access within communities 
• Connect libraries to their communities 
• Increase potential for transformation 
• Increase library use  
• Increase sustainability of libraries 

The outcomes we expect to see from recipients of this investment are:  

• More community groups using library space 
• Increased number of users accessing collections and services 
• Increased users accessing makerspace technology 
• More revenue taken in commercial income 
• Increased number of PCs/devices available to users 
• Fewer libraries running outdated operating systems  
• Extension of available hours 
• Increased number of co-located services 

First things first: never applied to us before?

Step 1: Read the guidance

Read the guidance in full to make sure you are eligible before you start your application.

We also held a webinar to answer your questions about how to apply to Round 2 of our Libraries Improvement Fund. You can re-watch the webinar here.

Step 2: Register on Grantium and familiarise yourself with it

Before you can start an application, you need to create a user account and applicant profile. Please note that new Grantium profiles can take up to ten working days to be approved.

Expression of interest for the fund will open on Grantium at 9am on 23 May 2022.

Please make sure that all the information in your Grantium profile is up to date before you apply.

Our Grantium guidance can help you get to grips with using the system.

Step 3: Any questions? Check our FAQs

Read the FAQs for the programme on the next sections of this page before you get in touch.

These pages are updated regularly with all our latest information and FAQs.

Step 4: Expression of interest

The online Expression of Interest form will open on Grantium at 9am on 23 May 2022. The deadline for submitting Expressions of Interest is 12pm (midday) on 27 June 2022.

Step 5: Making an application

If you are invited to submit a full application, the full online application form will open on Grantium at 9am on 13 July 2022. The deadline for submitting full applications is 12pm (midday) on 13 September 2022.

Decisions will be announced in February 2023.

Last updated: 17 May 2022

Where can I watch the Libraries Improvement Fund Round 2 applicant guidance webinar?

We held a webinar to answer applicants’ questions about the fund and how to apply. 

When must the activity take place?

Activity can start as early as 1 March 2023 but must start no later than 1 June 2023. The deadline to complete activity and claim final payment is 31 March 2026.

Can a Local Authority submit an individual application and be a partner on a consortium bid?

Yes, this is possible. However, there are some things you must consider if doing so:

• Do you have enough capacity and infrastructure to manage two separate capital projects? Capital projects can be costly, time-consuming, risky, and can impact your day-to-day activities. If applying for two separate projects, you may need to demonstrate that this risk has been considered and appropriately mitigated.
• Are costs duplicated across the applications? We are unable to fund the same activity twice, to ensure responsible spending and to have as wide an impact as possible. So, the two applications would need to be for separate projects or costs.
• We are aiming to achieve a balanced portfolio of funded projects across geographic spread, amounts requested, project type, and strategic fit (with our 10 year strategy, Let’s Create),. As such, we may be able to only fund one of the projects in which you are involved to ensure we can support projects that benefit other areas and communities.
• Is one application reliant on the other being successful? This could be seen as a risk to the project and reduce the likelihood of success of one or both projects.

We’re an NPO, can we apply?

Applications must come from Local Authorities, but so long as an NPO contributes towards the LA’s statutory library function they can be a beneficiary of a grant from LIF.

Can software and licenses be included as part of a LIF grant?

Yes, software and licenses count as digital infrastructure which is one of the two main types of project we expect to support through LIF, along with investment in physical spaces. 

These costs can only be included for the duration of the project as defined in your application (up to 31 March 2026 at the latest) and only if your organisation’s policy allows it to be capitalised on your balance sheet. This is a restriction of the type of capital funding used for this programme.

You will need to demonstrate how you plan to cover these costs beyond the length of the project.

We are a Community Managed Library. Can we apply?

The lead applicant must be an English local authority. They must submit the application on behalf of a library service in England (as defined by the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964). Local authority library services can include libraries that are owned and run by the authority, mutual, or other structures that are commissioned by the authority, community managed libraries (CMLs), or any other library provision. The library service must contribute to the authority’s statutory provision under the 1964 Act.

Other organisations are welcomed as project partners but may not apply without a local authority as the lead applicant.

We have multiple libraries in our service that want to apply. Do we need to apply together or separately?

Applications can be made for one or multiple branches. You can combine these into one application or apply separately if you wish.

What counts as a building project?

We use the necessity of Statutory Consent (for example, planning permission) to define a building project under our terms, but in general, it’s any project that includes structural work to refurbish, improve, or extend existing library buildings to make them more flexible, accessible, and safer, with greater commercial potential.  

If your project is simply for the purchase and/or installation of equipment, furniture or other assets, this is not a building project.

We are not using RIBA Plan of Work stages for our project. Can we still apply? 

RIBA design plans are not required for non-building projects such as the purchase and installation of equipment or software. You may also not need to follow RIBA work stages if your project involves mainly smaller works, repairs, and service replacements. 

However, if your project involves architectural changes or larger construction works, then it is likely you will. Please seek appropriately qualified advice to establish what is most appropriate for your project.

My library service has multiple sites which are leasehold. Which lease do I need to provide or use for this application?

The lease for the site(s) at which the project takes place. 

Our lease has a break clause. Can we still apply? 

As set out in Section Four of the Guidance for Applicants, we require all leases to be in place for at least as long as our security requirements, which are dependent on the size of grant you are requesting. This means that we cannot accept leases with break clauses.

If your lease has a break clause you may be able to negotiate a Deed of Variation on the lease to make sure it complies with these requirements. You may wish to begin this conversation with the building owner and/or your legal advisor at an early stage, as this will need to be in place prior to any grant funds being released.

If you are invited to submit a full application, we will ask you to provide a copy of your lease so we can check that it meets our requirements and provide instruction on any further action required. 

Can I use our Library profile on Grantium to apply to LIF?

Applications for LIF should come from Local Authorities, as this is who we will have funding agreements with and whose bank account we would pay into.

However, if your Library is a part of the Local Authority and you already have a profile set up, you can use this profile to apply provided that the Organisations’ Legal Name and Bank Account Name fields are those of the Local Authority.

The bank account name should be the name the account is set up in, e.g. “XX Borough Council” not “HSBC” or “Natwest” etc.

If your Library is not part of the Local Authority, you cannot make a direct application and applications should come directly from the Local Authority.

Will there be future rounds of LIF?

We currently have a further £10.5 million of funding confirmed for the following two financial years. The timeline for the next round will be announced in the future. 

Will Building Regulations permissions have to be gained before the application goes in or can they be obtained later?

Ideally, permission would be granted before applying, but we understand this won’t always be possible. In this case, we would note this as a potential risk during the assessment and it would be mitigated by a payment condition either at first or second payment, should the application be successful. It should be included in your risk assessment and activity plan.

We applied in Round 1. Can we reapply? 

Unsuccessful Round 1 applicants can apply for a new project, or reapply for the same project, but we would expect them to take on any feedback from Round 1. You can request your assessment via Customer Services if you have not yet seen this. 

If you were successful with a project in Round 1, you can still apply for a different project in Round 2. However, we may prioritise other applications that have not yet been successful to LIF, and/or that benefit other geographical locations. If you do decide to apply again, we would also need assurance that measures are in place to manage two separate LIF grants concurrently.

Can we apply for National Portfolio Organisations (NPO) funding and/or National Lottery Project Grants at the same time as applying to Libraries Improvement Fund Round 2?

Applying to National Lottery Project Grants or NPO does not stop you from being able to apply for the Libraries Improvement Fund Round 2, or vice versa. However, you should make sure that applications do not duplicate or are not reliant on each other as:

• NPO/Project Grants are not able to be used as match funding for Libraries Improvement Fund projects
• any unsuccessful applications could pose a major risk to the delivery of other projects and there is no guarantee of success. Be sure to have fully considered this, and if you choose to proceed at risk, detail those risks (including your plans to mitigate them) in the relevant applications
• we unable to consider two applications for the same activity, as this poses a risk of ‘double funding’ a project

Is feedback available for applicants who were not successful in Round 1 of LIF?

Yes, if you submitted a full application in round one but were not successful in obtaining funding, we can provide you with an assessment of your application. 

 

Detailed feedback is not available for those that submitted an unsuccessful Expression of Interest (EOI) in round one, but we may be able to arrange a conversation with one of our Relationship Managers. 

Please contact our customer services team to discuss this further. 

Should we still apply if our Library is not in a Priority Place or Levelling Up for Culture Place? How likely is it that our bid will be successful?

Within the decision making process, we will consider four balancing criteria to ensure a good spread of funded projects and to differentiate between proposals that are considered fundable. Geography is one of these four criteria. Within this, we will look at the geographical location of the project and the type of local area that will benefit, including with reference to the Arts Council’s Levelling Up for Culture Places as well as the Priority Places in London. 

However, this is not the only criteria we consider, we also consider risk, project type and how well the project fits with our 10-year strategy Let’s Create, as well as the overall strength of the application. It is likely we will fund a range of project types that span geographic areas that include Priority Places, as with Round 1.

Is it possible to view offline versions of the Expression of Interest and full application questions?

Yes, offline versions of the Expression of Interest and full application forms will be available on our website when the portals open. 

Following Expression of Interest submission, can the scope of the project or the amount of grant requested change at full application stage?

You can only apply for activities outlined in your Expression of Interest, to the maximum amount requested in the EoI. You should not apply for more funding or for activities that were not detailed in the EoI. Whilst some small changes are inevitable, you should contact us if your project increases in scope between the EoI & Application stages.

Inflation and your LIF application

Inflation levels in the construction industry are rising at the moment, and we need applicants to ensure that they have taken this into consideration when they are writing their application for LIF.

We strongly advise all applicants to seek professional advice on this element of their budget. Arts Council England will not increase grants once awarded, so if inflationary increases mean that applicants do not have enough funds to complete their project, they will need to source additional funding elsewhere to complete the works outlined in the funding agreement. It is not possible to reduce the scope of works post-award due to rising inflation. Please see our terms and conditions for more information about grant-holder obligations under the funding agreement and agreed programme of works. To avoid this issue, we suggest working with your professional team to calculate a realistic, future-facing figure for your expenditure.

It is important that in your application you show clearly what your inflation figure is, and how it has been calculated. Please be aware that inflation should be considered as separate from general contingency and should be represented separately in your application. This will help us to understand your budget and the appropriateness of your figures.

Certified Income and Expenditure statements: 

Income and Expenditure statements must be certified by an independent, qualified accountant. This will likely be a chartered accountant. If not certified by a chartered accountant, Income and Expenditure statements can be certified by those qualified through the Association of Accounting Technicians, so long as the AAT member is fully qualified (either MAAT or FMAAT) and is an AAT Tier 1 Licensed Accountant. 

Further information on the AAT website here.