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Research: Funding for Activities that Research and Survey the Historic Environment
Grants for research activities related to the historic environment sector, including scientific and technical conservation, surveys and investigations, toolkits and guidance, and also the archiving and publication of Historic England grant-funded research.
Levels of funding
Grants under our Research activity typically range from £5,000 to £50,000 depending on the type of work involved and the nature of the project. Complex projects can sometimes be awarded grants of up to around £200,000 where they are particularly strong in terms of need and meeting our priorities.
What types of research activity does Historic England fund?
We fund marine and terrestrial research in the following areas:
Conservation, management and foresight projects that enable the sector to manage the historic environment now and in the future. This includes innovative scientific, technical and conservation research to help the sector mitigate and address future impacts.
Strategic assessment, survey, and characterisation research and thematic surveys of building types, sites or places, including aerial survey. These provide baseline information which will allows the sector to protect and manage heritage assets.
Audience, stakeholder and sector research and intelligence. These are projects which consider how people manage, value and interact with our historic environment, and the impacts of government and wider policies on heritage.
Strategic research and emergency funding for asset based ‘rescue’ archaeology. These are projects which realise the research potential of nationally important sites at risk which are discovered outside the planning process, comprise exceptional unforeseen discoveries found during development inside the planning process, or which will secure and consolidate nationally important archives. Read more about emergency funding
Guidance and sector support projects, research strategies, reference resources and heritage information infrastructure.
Ensuring that research funded through Historic England grants is made available to the public. This can be through digital dissemination, publication (monographs and journal articles), and digital and physical archiving. Please note that publications and archives which are not products of Historic England grant-funded research are not usually a priority for funding.
Are there any research activities that Historic England does not fund?
Yes, we do not fund the following activities:
- PhD activities or students enrolled in, or intending to enrol in, higher education courses. Find information on our separate AHRC-funded Collaborative Doctoral Partnership scheme
- National amenity societies statutory consultation
- Projects without a defined end date
There are also other types of expenditure that we do not provide grants for. Read more about ineligible expenditure.
I meet all the eligibility criteria and additional criteria for the activity that I need funding for. Does that mean I will be successful and awarded a grant?
No, unfortunately we are unable to fund everyone who meets our criteria. We have a set amount of funding available each year and assess each application against how well it meets our grant priorities and Historic England’s wider strategic plan. Applying for a grant is a competitive process.
Ready to find out if a Historic England grant might be suitable for your project?
Please complete an EOI form for our grants team to assess.
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