Our grants priorities

Our priorities link directly to 'Our Past, Our Future', Scotland’s strategy for the historic environment.

They focus on what we’d like to achieve with our funding in six key strategic areas. We do not expect your project to deliver against all six priorities, but it should deliver strongly against at least three.

The historic environment brings real benefits to people and can make a positive difference in their lives. Through our grants, we want to help more people connect with, enjoy, and learn about the historic environment, whether in person or online.

Your project could meet this priority in many ways. For example, you might offer volunteering opportunities, run learning programmes, hold open days or events, or create new interpretation materials or educational resources.

You might also support communities to research or record their local heritage so they can better understand and celebrate it. Or you may be carrying out your own research, such as archaeological work, to deepen and share knowledge about the historic environment.

Research shows that engaging with the historic environment can improve people’s wellbeing. If this is one of your project goals, you should plan to evaluate participants' wellbeing after taking part using appropriate methods.

We also encourage applicants to think about how their activities can reach a wider range of people. This could involve engaging new audiences, or people from diverse social backgrounds, ethnicities, ages, or abilities. We are particularly keen to see opportunities for young people included in project plans.

Communities play an active role in shaping their local historic environment, using their heritage to build a strong sense of place. Our grant funding can help communities invest in the historic places that matter to them, creating vibrant, sustainable and successful places to live and work.

Your project could support this priority in many different ways. For example, your community group or local business might be bringing an unused historic building back into use, creating new spaces for living, working, entertainment or recreation. You may also be helping communities improve how historic sites are used, accessed or presented, giving more people the chance to enjoy local heritage and lead healthy, active lives.

Our funding also wants to help communities build the skills and confidence they need to care for their historic environment. This could include developing new knowledge about maintaining historic sites, or helping community groups strengthen their ability to manage heritage assets through training, mentoring, advice or new resources.

Scotland’s historic places are an important part of our communities, and we need to use and protect them so they can be enjoyed in the future. To support this, your project will focus on repairs or consolidation work. This may involve full conservation repairs, or in some cases, temporary measures to keep at-risk heritage safe.

Resilience can also be improved through small changes that help historic buildings cope with climate change. When possible, repair work should use traditional, preferably local, materials so these skills and materials continue to be available.

If your project focuses on intangible heritage—such as stories, traditions or skills—these should be recorded or passed on to others to help keep them alive.

Your project may also improve how the historic environment is managed in the long term, for example by creating maintenance plans, carrying out research or recording, or developing new tools, techniques or technologies.

This priority can also involve strengthening organisations that care for or promote historic places, where it clearly supports our long‑term outcomes.

The historic environment can play a key role in tackling the climate emergency and supporting Scotland’s move towards a greener future.

Your project may contribute to this by repairing a historic building so it is weather‑tight, more energy‑efficient, and protected for years to come.

If your project brings community services or facilities into an existing historic building, this can reduce the need for new construction and help cut carbon emissions. It may also shorten travel distances for local people, supporting more sustainable communities.

Your project might also involve research or innovation that helps improve the energy efficiency of historic buildings, or draws on past knowledge to find modern solutions to climate challenges.

Our grants play an important role in supporting skills development so that Scotland’s historic environment can continue to be properly cared for, maintained and promoted.

Your project will use our funding to help close skills gaps in the heritage sector. You can refer to the Skills Investment Plan for Scotland’s Historic Environment, local skills audits or our Guidance For Skills Projects to understand which skills shortages might be addressed by your work. Training might include apprenticeships, continuous professional development (CPD), volunteer training, or building your organisation’s ability to offer long‑term training.

If your project is larger, we expect you to include training opportunities where possible, and to consider local people to help address local skills shortages. If you provide apprenticeships or similar training, you should also think about how your project can support a more diverse workforce and create positive job opportunities, especially for young people.

Our grants make an important contribution to local economies by regenerating historic assets and areas, promoting tourism and leading to job creation.

To achieve this priority, your project will be able to show that local economies have been boosted as a result of our grant investment. This could be by bringing vacant historic buildings back into productive use, helping to encourage enterprise in the area, or by creating new jobs to staff a repaired historic site or as part of the supply chain for a grant-aided project.

On a wider level, your project may be generating increased income for local businesses by attracting new visitors or users to the area. You will also be able to show that our funding has attracted extra investment in the historic environment, increasing the impact of our grant.

You will be able to demonstrate that the benefits generated by your project will be sustainable and inclusive. For example, you must provide evidence in your grant application confirming the actions you will take to adopt/demonstrate a commitment to equalities and the Scottish Government’s Fair Work First principles. You will also have considered how to maximise benefits for local communities and manage the impacts of changes such as increased tourism.