History in the Making 2024

Guidance

Date of Issue: 16th July 2024

ABOUT THE GRANTS

What is History in the Making?

History in the Making is a programme that enables underrepresented young people (aged 13-25) to research, discover and mark local histories. It’s about giving young people a sense of belonging by exploring local identity and immersing them in local stories. Each project we fund will create a place marker to celebrate where these stories took place and share them with the whole community. Youth voice is at the heart of History in the Making. Our own panel of Young Advisers help decide who gets funded and the organisations we fund will be experienced in youth co-production.

The aims of the programme are as follows:

Young people will feel an increase in wellbeing; with increased skills, confidence, pride in place and a sense of belonging.

Young people will feel more connected to their historic environment and the history of their local area.

Local stories that have been overlooked will be recognised, revealed and celebrated for the benefit of local communities.

We have opened this scheme nationally, but please be aware that there are geographical criteria that could affect the eligibility of your application (see page 9).

Who and what are we looking to fund?

We fund projects that are co-created, where young people aged are at the heart of decision making. Projects must take place outside of a formal learning setting. We welcome joint applications (for example, heritage organisations may want to partner with youth groups) but at least one of the partners must have a proven track record of working with local young people outside of school. The young people you work with must be from a Levelling Up Level 1 are (see page 9). Although the Government has now confirmed Levelling Up is no longer used as a term, we are using the categorisation as a way to help us prioritise applications according to need. If you are unsure if your area is aa eligible priority place please contact HPCPCalls@historicengland.org.uk. Successful applicants will be expected to deliver their project from start to finish including delivery, installation of the place marker(s) and completion of programme evaluation.

We are looking to fund around 15 projects of between £10,000 and £15,000 across England.

What do we mean by underrepresented young people?

This programme is aimed at engaging young people from the priority audiences targeted in our inclusion strategy. These are:

Young people who are disadvantaged by their social and/or economic background or circumstances, or by where they live.

Young people from the global majority e.g. young people who are Black, Asian, dual-heritage, and/or from a minoritised ethnic group

Young people who identify as LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, +).

Disabled young people.

Neurodivergent young people.

What do we mean by place markers?

Each project will be required to produce a physical place marker in a publicly accessible space that commemorates and celebrates the stories, people or events that the young people have been exploring. Beyond plaques and information boards (although these may also be outputs), we invite you and the young people you work with to come up with a creative marker that feels right for their local history and their community. Though we don’t necessarily expect these markers to last hundreds of years, we’d like them to remain a part of the community for as long as possible, so we’re not looking for temporary installations.

Place markers could be:

an installation or artwork in, and of, itself e.g. a mural, a sculpture, a community bench etc.

or

an engaging panel or plaque that triggers other content via links or QR codes e.g. audio tours, videos or other creative responses.

For inspiration, check out previous History in the Making projects here: https://historicengland.org.uk/campaigns/help-write-history/history-in-the-making/.

Please bear in mind that gaining permission to put your place marker on, or near, certain public buildings can prove challenging. Please take this into consideration when planning and applying.

What do we mean by co-creation?

When we talk about co-creation, we mean:

That young people must be involved in planning, producing and shaping the outputs of the projects.

That projects are built around mutually beneficial relationships between young people, facilitators and contributors.

Where everyone involved plays an active role and their expertise is treated equally

Where the process is valued as highly as the product.

That everyone involved can feel proud.

There are lasting legacies for those involved.

If you have already decided the focus, means of delivery and outputs of your project without any input from young people, your application will not be successful.

Budget and scale

You can apply for up to £15,000. Please note that applying for a smaller amount won’t increase your chances of success. The overall strength of the project is the key factor. Larger grants will likely require new research or the creation brand-new partnerships. Smaller grants may have an existing project or piece of work that acts as the basis for the project e.g. you may already have a group that’s achieved something similar and want to create follow-on activity.

Timescales

We know that successful co-production and youth work takes time, so you have up to 18 months to complete your project. You may want to take the full 18 months to recruit and develop a cohort of young people, but if your project is more suited to a shorter timescale e.g. maybe it takes place intensively over the school holidays, that’s also fine with us. Your project must be delivered between 1st January 2025 and 1st July 2026.

New to heritage?

Are you experienced at working with young people, but less experienced in heritage? We recommend you collaborate with an organisation that does have access to this kind of knowledge. For example, try speaking to local museums, libraries, archives, local history societies or historians.

HOW TO APPLY

Flow chart

1. Check you're elligible 2. Read all the guidance 3. Complete the application form 4. Complete the budget spreadsheet 5. Submit your application

ELIGIBILITY

Who can apply?

All organisations are eligible to apply including community interest groups, charities and local authorities. Individuals can apply if they are registered as sole traders.

The young people you work with must be based in an ’eligible priority place’ in England.

We are especially interested in applications from groups that are not heritage organisations but can deliver heritage projects. While we are happy to fund proposals with links to established heritage institutions, we are especially interested in funding youth-led projects.

Please note these grants are not designed to fund reinterpretation of museum collections, but rather are to fund projects to uncover people’s stories in relation to buildings, places or sites. The buildings or sites do not need to be listed by Historic England for applications to be eligible for a grant.

Please note: applications from Bradford will not be eligible as we’re running a discrete programme in the city in collaboration with Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture.

Successful applicants must:

Be based in England.

Be able to evidence working closely with and co-producing with young people outside of a formal learning environment.

Understand the barriers underrepresented people may face.

Have the capacity to deliver the work.

Take part in evaluation within the project timeline, including documenting the process through photography and/or video, and facilitating participant surveys. Historic England will evaluate across the projects but will ask grant recipients to collect data on our behalf.

Take responsibility for installing and maintaining the place marker where necessary.

Have an up-to-date safeguarding policy.

Have the support of the Local Authority and/or building owner for your place marker, if a site is already identified.

It is important that all projects inspire and empower audiences by representing a wide group of people and supporting diversity and inclusion values. For more information on Historic England’s approach to equalities, diversity and inclusion head here.

Notes on filling in the application form

General language use

Your application will be read and assessed by our panel of Young Advisers. They want to read applications that speak to them as young people. Rather than using language that you think might appeal to ‘Historic England’, use language that you know will resonate with the young people you work with. We don’t care about perfect grammar and spelling. We want you to communicate an exciting, deliverable project with young people at its heart.

Supporting link

Use this section to add a link to any work that you’ve done that you believe supports your application. This could be a link to website, a YouTube video, or a Google Drive containing relevant files. We’re particularly interested here in seeing and hearing from the young people you work with. We won’t have time to look at everything you’ve ever done, so send us something short and snappy. Please make sure links are active and permissions enabled as we won’t have capacity to chase you up if they don’t work.

Task list

Please add the key tasks that make up your project along with the members of staff (or partners) responsible, the number of days each stage will take, and the date each task will be completed. Tasks may include things such as ‘Recruit young people using local networks’, ‘Deliver tour to Industrial Heritage Museum’, ‘Run first photography workshop’. It should look something like this:

Task No	Task Details	Staff	No Days	Completion date*
1	Community participant recruitment and co-created project design	Project manager (PM) and community leaders (CL)	PM 15 CL 15	February 2024
2	Research: identifying sources in local archives	Researcher	30	March 2024
3	Recruit community artist	Community group	10	April 2024

Risk log

Please add any potential issues or risks which may impact delivery of your project. This shows us that you have considered the barriers your project may face and have strategies to overcome them. Please note: this is not a risk assessment for the sessions you plan to run.

Completing the budget

Please complete budget in the format provided.

We do not require match funding, but partnership funding or in-kind/volunteer contributions are encouraged. Please don’t add contingency to your budget. Possible contingencies should be identified in the risk log and necessary funds can be requested later via Historic England’s Variation Request process.

How will we assess your proposal?

Your proposal will be assessed by our panel of Young Advisers as well as by Historic England staff.

Assessment criteria for proposals will be based on:

The applicants’ expertise in working with young people.

How the project seeks to celebrate overlooked history to inspire participants and audiences.

The extent to which young people will be involved in the process and the impact on their wellbeing and skills development.

Realistic and achievable methods which will deliver the aims and outcomes (including the Place Marker itself).

Realistic costs, timescale, and value for money.

Demonstrable commitment to inclusion and diversity, and considerations of accessibility.

The potential of the project to achieve outcomes that deliver public value.

Extra support

Need help applying for a History in the Making grant? Not sure if your project is a good fit? We’ll be running two online sessions where we’ll be giving an overview of the programme, running through the application process and fielding your questions about your projects. Please note: due to expected demand, we won’t be able to go into great depth with each of your projects, but we do hope to answer any burning questions you may have. To book a session, please click on the link below. Please note: both sessions are the same so you only need to book one.

Support Session 1, Thursday 1st August 4pm-5pm

Book here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/history-in-the-making-application-support-session-1-tickets-940311596297?aff=oddtdtcreator

Support Session 2, Monday 19th August 4pm-5pm

Book here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/copy-of-history-in-the-making-application-support-session-2-tickets-940430652397?aff=oddtdtcreator

For general questions about the project including the application process and deadlines please get in touch:

HPCPCalls@historicengland.org.uk

Unfortunately, telephone calls cannot be arranged due to the volume of interest anticipated.

If you would like this document in a different format, please get in touch.

Timetable

Projects can start as soon as a funding agreement has been signed.

Proposals must be submitted by midnight 2nd September 2024

2nd September 2024	Deadline for submitting proposals
Mid October-Mid November 2024	Successful applicants notified, comments and revisions to proposals if necessary
Mid October-Mid November 2024	Unsuccessful applicants informed*
1st January 2025-1st July 2026	Project delivery (inc. ongoing evaluation)

*Please note: We aim to fund 15 projects, which means this fund might be very competitive. Due to the volume of applications we expect to receive for this fund, it’s unlikely we’ll be able to provide detailed feedback to unsuccessful applicants.

Contact information

If you have any queries, please contact HPCPCalls@historicengland.org.uk.

Carbon Literacy Training

Historic England is supporting organisations that are committed to environmental sustainability and working towards net zero. We would like all our grantees to consider their carbon emissions (and how they can be reduced) in the projects that we fund.

To assist you in this we would also like to offer the opportunity for a member of your organisation to attend a free place on one of our Heritage Carbon Literacy Courses (if they have not already done so). Please do not include any costings for the Carbon Literacy Course in your budget, this will be paid for separately by Historic England if you are successful.

Additional information

Eligible priority places

To be eligible for a History in the Making grant, the young people you work with must live in one of the following places:

Barking and Dagenham	Folkestone and Hythe	Mansfield	Southend-on-Sea
Barrow-in-Furness	Forest of Dean	Mendip	St. Helens
Bassetlaw	Gateshead	Middlesbrough	Staffordshire Moorlands
Birmingham	Gloucester	Newark and Sherwood	Stockport
Blackburn with Darwen	Gosport	Newcastle upon Tyne	Stockton-on-Tees
Blackpool	Gravesham	Newham	Stoke-on-Trent
Bolton	Great Yarmouth	North East Lincolnshire	Sunderland
Boston	Harlow	North Lincolnshire	Swale
Bradford*	Hartlepool	Northumberland	Tameside
Burnley	Hastings	Nottingham	Tendring
Bury	High Peak	Oldham	Thanet
Canterbury	Hyndburn	Pendle	Torbay
Chesterfield	Isles of Scilly	Peterborough	Torridge
County Durham	Kettering	Preston	Trafford
Derby	King's Lynn and West Norfolk	Redcar and Cleveland	Wakefield
Derbyshire Dales	Kingston upon Hull, City of	Richmondshire	Walsall
Doncaster	Knowsley	Rochdale	Wellingborough
Dover	Leeds	Rossendale	Wigan
Dudley	Leicester	Rother	Wolverhampton
East Lindsey	Lewes	Rotherham	Worcester
East Northamptonshire	Lincoln	Sandwell	Wyre Forest
East Staffordshire	Liverpool	Scarborough
Eastbourne	Luton	Sedgemoor
Erewash	Manchester	South Tyneside

*Applications from Bradford will not be eligible as we’re running a discrete programme in the city in collaboration with Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture.

Project evaluation

If you are successful your role will be to gather data before, during and after the project. Historic England will confirm the nature of the data and timetable for collection before projects are underway. Historic England staff will be available to advise and support this data gathering.

We would also like to highlight that your project will be an opportunity for us to evaluate and develop our own understanding and learning of how we mark and commemorate significant places.

You will be contacted by us or our evaluation partners to participate in a data gathering exercise or for feedback. This is intended to be light touch and not burdensome on you or your projects. We will provide any necessary training to grant recipients as appropriate.

Acknowledging your grant

We will be discussing how we can reflect Historic England’s funding of this programme through branding, with each grant recipient. There is an expectation that you will acknowledge your funding and allow Historic England’s logo to appear on public information and marketing material relating to the place marker. You must also include a ‘Funded by the UK Government’ logo.

We ask that you share the news of your project and our funding with the public and key stakeholders. We encourage grant recipients to publicise their projects by reaching out to the media, promoting on social media (e.g. Twitter, Facebook) and contacting your local MP. All of this information will be provided to you if you are a successful applicant.

We encourage you to do this both during your project and afterwards, to celebrate what you have achieved.

Please note

The Historic England Media Team will be making a public announcement about the organisations that are successful in receiving grant funding. If you are offered funding and plan to share the news externally about your grant, please do not do so before this announcement. We will let you know about dates and plans so that we can coordinate, and cross promote.

Management and reporting arrangements

Grants will be administered via standard Historic England funding agreements.

Please note all contractors funded by Historic England must be IR35 compliant. This means that contractors should be able to demonstrate that the correct tax is paid, and that National Insurance Contributions are attributed correctly.

Please note, should your proposal be successful, it is Historic England’s standard anti-fraud procedure to ask any new payee to provide us with confirmation of the bank details that funds are to be paid into on a document issued by the bank, such as a paying-in slip or a bank statement with any sensitive information redacted.

Grant administration, reporting and monitoring requirements

Grants will be administered by the Historic England Grants Team. Project Assurance and routine monitoring of standards, progress and expenditure will be undertaken by a Historic England Project Assurance Officer (PAO) who will also provide grantees with guidance throughout the project, but applicants should note the PAO will not manage the project. All proposals should include a named individual who is ultimately responsible for grant recipient project delivery.

Individual reporting structures will be decided depending on the length and the grant value of the project. You will be expected to produce highlight/progress/risk reports at appropriate points throughout the project as detailed in your agreement. We will also expect you to keep accurate financial records of spend against budget and to submit an end-of-project report which includes evaluation and lessons learnt. Historic England will provide templates for these reports.

Copyright

Ownership and copyright of project outputs will rest with the creator, however Historic England will be granted an in perpetuity, royalty free licence to use or sub licence project outputs. Terms of licencing will be agreed on contracting, and are expected to cover a range of uses including:

Promotion of the project by Historic England online, via social media and in print.

Promotion of the project through the media .

Model release forms will be required for anyone taking part in video, audio recordings or photography in line with GDPR regulations. Forms will be supplied by Historic England and need to be completed and submitted with the final outputs.

How will these grants support Historic England’s work?

Please note, this section is just for information. We do not expect you to address each of these areas in your application.

As well as directly aligning with our statutory remit to promote the public’s enjoyment of, and advance their knowledge of, heritage and the historic environment, these grants will help to support our Inclusion, Diversity and Equality Strategy Wellbeing Strategy and our upcoming Active Participation strategies strategy.

This work also supports Historic England’s Future Strategy and Corporate Plan and will deliver against all three of the focus areas: Thriving Places, Connected Communities and Active Participation.

Here are some other ways in which these grants will help to address our corporate priorities. They will:

Help heritage sector organisations to work better with communities.

Build knowledge and skills in communities.

Extend our audience reach.

Increase our relevance and brand awareness.

Create case studies for sharing our knowledge and informing new ways of working.

Help us to continually evolve ways of sharing our work and inspiring people to take action.

Reflect society’s diversity in Historic England programmes and projects.

Help people to make unique memories in the historic environment through participative experiences.

Engage people to see the historic environment as an important part of our everyday lives, and to get involved.