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Key Information

Funding activity

Capital

Grant range

Between £50,000 and £5 million

Eligibility
  • Non-national Accredited museums based in England, and/or 

  • Local authorities based in England who are responsible for maintenance of non-national Accredited museum buildings 

Key dates

The online Expression of Interest form will open on Grantium at 9am on Monday 9 May 2022. The deadline for submitting Expressions of Interest is 12pm (midday) on Friday 17 June 2022.

The full online application form will open on Grantium at 12pm (midday) on Monday 18 July 2022. The deadline for submitting a full application is 12pm (midday) on Friday 30 September 2022.

Decisions will be announced in March 2023.

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Aims and outcomes

This is an open-access capital fund targeted at non-national Accredited museums and local authorities based in England to apply for funding to undertake vital infrastructure and urgent maintenance backlogs which are beyond the scope of day-to-day maintenance budgets.  

The criteria for the Museum Estate and Development Fund have been set by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Arts Council England, Historic England (HE) and The National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF). The grants are administered, awarded and monitored by Arts Council England. Funding has been provided by DCMS. 

The impacts we expect this fund to achieve are that: 

  • Museums across England improve their core infrastructure by tackling their maintenance backlogs
  • Museums across England reduce the immediate risks to buildings, visitors, staff and collections due to improved core infrastructure  

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

  • Museums are more financially resilient and environmentally responsible by developing and implementing maintenance plans 
  • Environmental performance of buildings and equipment is increased, supporting the reduction in carbon emissions in the museum sector
  • Improvement in museums ability to offer independent access for disabled people and accommodation of diverse user needs 
  • Museums have strengthened their contribution to local community and regeneration by preserving landmark buildings and ensuring locally treasured collections are accessible by the public 

A package of the three capital funds made up of the Cultural Development Fund (CDF), Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND) and Libraries Improvement Fund (LIF).

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How to apply

How to apply

First things first: never applied to us before?

Find out about how we work >

Step 1: Read the guidance

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

You can download the guidance documents at the bottom of this page. We also offer the guidance in accessible formats such as Large Print, BSL and audio.

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 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 Monday 9 May 2022. The deadline for submitting Expressions of Interest is 12pm (midday) on Friday 17 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 12pm (midday) on Monday 18 July 2022. The deadline for submitting a full application is 12pm (midday) on Friday 30 September 2022.

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FAQs

Where can I watch the Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND) Round 2 applicant guidance webinar?

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

What is the deadline for full applications, if I am invited to apply?

The deadline for full applications is 12pm (midday) on Friday 30 September 2022. Please note that this is a change to the deadlines published in the guidance documents. We have made this change to allow more time for Historic England site visits, to ensure that applicants can use the information in the reports from these visits in their applications.

I applied to MEND in round one. Can I also apply in round two?

Non-national accredited museums who submitted an expression of interest or application in round one can apply to round two.

If you were awarded funding in round one then you cannot apply for additional funding for the same works. You can apply for a new phase of the project, but the activity must not have been included in your round one application and the budgets for the two projects (including partnership funding) must be entirely separate.

When must the activity take place?

Activity can start as early as 17 April 2023 but must start no later than 15 May 2023. The deadline to complete activities and claim final payment is 31 March 2026.

Will there be a webinar for round two of MEND?

The webinar for round two took place on 28 April 2022. You can watch the recording here.

How ‘recent’ does a recent condition survey need to be?

We do not anticipate that applicants will need to commission a new condition survey in order to be eligible to apply to MEND. It is best practice to undertake planned inspections and surveys at regular intervals every four or five years, so a report of this age or more recent would be acceptable. Due to recent inflation in the construction industry, however, we ask that the costs within your condition survey have been updated within the last two years, to ensure that your cost plan is as accurate as possible.

We have been invited to submit a full application, however our circumstances have changed since we submitted our Expression of Interest and we now need funding for different works. Can we apply for a different project or different amount?

You can only apply for activity outlined in your Expression of Interest (EOI), to the maximum amount you requested in the EOI. You should not apply for more funding or for activities that were not detailed in your EOI.

We recommend focussing your application on the most urgent aspects of the activities you outlined in your EOI.

I have been invited to submit a full application. Is there anything I need to be aware of regarding the application process?

  • Historic England will be in touch directly to arrange a site visit before you submit your application. 
  • Your costed condition survey should demonstrate the need for the work you are applying to us to complete. In place of a condition survey we can also accept relevant specialist reports as evidence.
  • Historic England will send a report based on their findings to applicants and will share it with us. Applicants are expected to use this report to inform their application. Once applications are received, Historic England will read them and comment on whether their advice has been followed.
  • If your building is leased, and if there is a break clause in your lease, then if your application is successful, we will need to establish a deed of variation before you are able to draw down your first payment. You may wish to begin a conversation with your landlord regarding this now as the deadline would be May 2023.
  • If your application is for over £1,000,000 you are asked to include proposals for how your project might be phased in your application. This would include providing a costed timeline, showing the most urgent works taking place first.

Our lease has a break clause. How do we address this in our application?

As set out in 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 have been 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.

We are not using RIBA Plan of Work stages for our project – how do we address this in our application?

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.

It is a requirement of the MEND fund that projects are ready to start by 15 May 2023 and that they are already at an advanced stage of development at the time of applying, hence the need to have completed at least RIBA Work Stage 3, or equivalent.

What can be used as partnership funding in terms of costs already incurred in the development to RIBA Work Stage 3?

If you have already incurred costs for external professional fees in the development of your project to RIBA Work Stage 3, you can count this expenditure as part of your partnership funding. Please note however that no other expenditure prior to award and starting the project can be considered as either an eligible partnership funding contribution or a direct cost covered by the award.

Can we use the grant for salary or other revenue costs?

No, only capital costs are eligible. We define capital expenditure as an amount spent to maintain, repair, or improve fixed assets that will be capitalised on your balance sheet.

The guidance states ‘general running costs or overheads such as, but not limited to, additional staffing and insurance’ will not be eligible for funding under MEND. Does this extend to staffing costs for managing the build project (for example, the appointment of a Project Manager)?

The exclusion of ‘general running costs or overheads such as, but not limited to, additional staffing and insurance’ refers to the general day-to-day running costs or overheads of the Museum and any additional staff recruited to take part in the day-to-day running of the Museum while the project is undertaken. 

If a Project Manager is recruited externally to manage the works proposed, their contribution would be categorised under ‘fees and charges’ as outlined in the Expenditure section of the guidance, which covers expenditures such as ‘legal or consultant fees’. Further, staffing and / or Project Management costs can be included provided they are time limited and are required to deliver the project.  However, this will need to be capitalised on the balance sheet if being paid for by this fund.

How recent must an access audit be to be supplied as a supporting document for MEND?

It is expected that Accredited museums will have undertaken an access assessment within the last five years. Accredited museums are required to have an up-to-date access assessment and policy, as well as demonstrable evidence of access planning (for example through a separate plan or within the forward/business plan).

Are there any other documents the Arts Council would accept alongside or in place of a Condition Survey for MEND

The MEND applicant guidance states that the costed condition survey ‘is a recent condition survey or relevant specialist report undertaken by an appropriately qualified professional’. It should support the proposed priorities and scope of works set out in your application.  

Other evidence to support the need for the proposed activity will be accepted in lieu of a costed condition survey if a costed condition survey is not appropriate to your project. In this case, any plan or document used to outline or demonstrate the need for the proposed project will be accepted, if a rationale is provided for its use.  

The MEND applicant guidance also provides further useful description around what we expect to see in a costed condition survey: Carried out on a regular basis, it considers the structure and condition of the property based on a detailed inspection of the building in order to establish its maintenance and repair condition at that time. It gives an indication of when future repairs, maintenance, decoration, and renewal of each part of the building should be anticipated.

Government Indemnity Scheme and MEND

If the Accredited museum making the application will take loans from National museums and galleries, we suggest you read the Government Indemnity Scheme guidance at project design stage to ensure that the GIS guidelines are met.

Please contact the Government Indemnity Scheme if the enquiry is not dealt with as part of this guidance.

Will there be future rounds of MEND?

We expect to run further rounds of MEND in the future and will provide updated information on this in due course. 

Where can we get more support or advice?

Contact our Customer Services team at the link below.

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

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. 

I submitted an EOI in round one but was not invited to submit a full application. Can I submit the same EOI for this round?

Yes, you can re-submit an EOI for the same project, but please read through the new guidance documents, available here, and ensure any changes are reflected in your EOI. 

What percentage of round 1 applicants were successful in obtaining funding?

The success rate for applications in round one was around 68%.

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

Yes, offline versions of the EOI and full application questions will be available on our website when the portals open. 

Do projects need to be at RIBA Stage 3 at EOI stage or only at full application stage?

At the point of full application submission, you must have completed RIBA work stage 3. At EOI stage, we appreciate that you may not yet have reached this stage, but you should be on track to do so by the point of application. 

Does this fund also cover digital infrastructure?

Yes, digital infrastructure does fall under the remits of this fund. However, the focus of this fund is on urgent maintenance works and repairs so applicants will need to present a strong case for why these works are essential. 

If you would like more advice, please refer to the applicant guidance or contact our customer services team, who can put you in touch with one of our Relationship Managers. 

Will the application be viewed as stronger if it has a higher match funding percentage?

A high percentage of match funding may strengthen your application and is one factor that may be considered in decision making. However, we appreciate that this is a difficult time for the sector and strong projects with the minimum amount of match funding will also be considered for funding.  

Following EOI 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. 

Can the application include costs to cover the hiring of space to house collections or for usual visitor facing activities while works are taking place?

This fund can only support activity that can be capitalised on your organisation’s balance sheet. This can vary slightly between organisations, depending on their own finance policies, so please seek advice from your finance team as well as the professional team working on your project.

Inflation and your MEND 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 MEND.

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.

Can we apply for National Portfolio Organisations (NPO) funding and/or National Lottery Project Grants at the same time as applying to the Museum Estate and Development Fund?

Applying to National Lottery Project Grants or NPO does not stop you from being able to apply for the Museum Estate and Development Fund, 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 Museum Estate and Development 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

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.

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