Records at Risk Fund Launched

The BRA has worked in partnership with The National Archives (TNA) and the Archives and Records Association to launch the Records at Risk Fund, a new collaborative pilot fund to support urgent interventions to save physical and digital records facing immediate peril across the UK.

The fund has been created in response to the increased risk of vulnerable collections being lost or dispersed in the wake of the pandemic. In 2020, TNA awarded grants from the government’s ‘COVID-19 Archives Fund’ and this new partnership programme builds on that experience. The Records at Risk Fund will continue to focus on records unprotected by legislation, such as the archives of businesses, charities and individuals, and will help organisations that do not have the resources to respond to collections at immediate risk for any reason.

Limited funding is available but applicants will be able to apply for funds of up to £5000, which will help cover the costs of a range of urgent activities needed to transfer vulnerable material to safe custody. These activities could include transporting and temporarily storing the records, purchasing conservation and packaging materials, or emergency conservation work such as decontamination. Successful applicants could also use their grants to carry out an on site appraisal of the records at risk or to gain expertise from a freelance consultant.

Find out more on TNA’s Records at Risk Fund webpages.