Funding available

Details of the funding available are yet to be confirmed.

Funding covers

Any UK-based digitisation project, provided in the form of TownsWeb Archiving’s digitisation and software services of equivalent value.

Funding covers the digitisation of:

• Bound books
• 35mm slides
• Photographs
• Microfilm
• Microfiche
• Index cards
• Maps
• Plans
• Posters/artwork
• Registers
• And other two dimensional materials

Part of the grant may be used to fund:

• Transcription of metadata
• OCR (optical character recognition) data capture

Funding does not cover

• Projects that do not involve at least some element of image capture
• On-location digitisation at client’s premises
• Audio-visual digitisation projects
• 3D digitisation projects
• Cataloguing of entire collections
• Pure digitisation training
• Purchase of digitisation equipment
• Salaries for project staff
• Archive website design/build
• Setup of Digital Collections Management System

Judging criteria

Our judging panel includes John Chambers (ARA), Jo Blyghton (Archive Consultant), and Paul Sugden (TWA), who will assess each application across four primary areas:

• Heritage need: Heritage value, uniqueness and importance of the collection.
• Social/community impact: How local people and communities will benefit from the collection.
• Research value: Whether academic, social historians, genealogists, or other researchers.
• Improved accessibility: Such as platforms, preservation and website access.

Further guidance can be found in the Grant Application Form.

Judging panel

Applications for the TWA Digitisation Grant will be assessed and the winning applicants chosen by our panel of three judges.

Who can apply?

Any UK based:

• Public, private & charity archives
• Business/corporate archives
• Public & private libraries
• Museums
• Galleries
• Institutions and organisations that have applied in previous years (even if the application is for the same collection/ project).

Note: We currently do not accept applications from:

• Private individuals with personal collections
• Digitisation/scanning bureaus

Closing date and how to apply

Details of the closing date and how to apply are yet to be confirmed.

Contact

Please email any TWA Digitisation Grant queries to [email protected]