AIM Biffa Award Announce New Round Of ‘History Makers’ Funding

AIM Biffa Award Announce New Round Of ‘History Makers’ Funding
AIM Biffa Award Announce New Round Of ‘History Makers’ Funding

Who is your History Maker? Celebrate your museum’s historical figures with a grant of up to £75,000 through the AIM Biffa Award History Makers Programme. Round 2 is now open for AIM members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

AIM Biffa Award have just launched the second round of funding to be released through the ‘History Makers – People who shaped our world’ programme. Funded by  Biffa Award with support from the  Landfill Communities Fund, the programme will provide AIM member museums and heritage sites with grants of up to £75,000.

This round of funding will support the creation of new exhibitions which will enable the public to learn about and be inspired by the lives and achievements of extraordinary, historical figures who have made a significant impact on the industrial, scientific, commercial or social history of the UK, shaping the world we live in today. Successful applicants will contribute to a ‘virtual trail’ linking the projects and making them accessible to people across the UK.

The programme is open to AIM members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, whose sites are in geographic proximity to Biffa operations and licensed landfill sites, as required by the Landfill Communities Fund. An expression of interest form of no more than 200 words must be submitted as soon as possible and no later than 2 October 2017 for panel review. The final deadline for full applications is 31 October. 2017.

Successful applicants will be required to complete their projects by April 2019 and to create a strong marketing plan to promote their projects and funding locally and nationally. Full information on how to apply is available at: AIM Biffa Award History Makers Programme

Kat Tudor, Community Learning & Volunteer Officer at the Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust, who were successful in Round 1 said:

“We applied for the AIM Biffa Award History Makers Grant because we had two prominent engineers that were under represented in our Visitor Centre here at the Clifton Suspension Bridge. John Hawkshaw and William H Barlow completed the building of the bridge in 1959 as a memorial to Brunel, without them the bridge would not be here today. Both engineers have been very influential within the wider engineering world working most notably on the Severn Tunnel, Suez Cannel and St Pancras Station.

When it came to applying for the award, we felt that the criteria met our ambitions as a centre, we had already gathered relevant information about our history makers- this definitely made the process smoother. The AIM team were also just at the end of the phone or email to give guidance and advice, which was extremely helpful!

Through the AIM Biffa Award History Makers Grant, we will now be able to give our visitors a better understanding of the history of the bridge, the engineers behind it, and present new objects from our collection. The additional information will not only be displayed on interpretation boards, but will support a new interactive which will be a great tool for education workshops.

We would encourage anybody who has a history maker that they feel is under represented to apply for the grant, as it is a great opportunity to tell their story!”

Key Dates For Applicants

 2 Oct 2017 Expression of Interest (EOI) deadline – but the sooner the better

31 Oct 2017 Application Deadline

Jan 2018 Application results and conditional offers made

Mar 2018 Terms of conditional offer met

April 2018 Formal offer and project start

April 2019 Project completion

The assessment panel is chaired by Bill Ferris OBE DL, Chief Executive of Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust and includes members of AIM Council and independent experts from the museum community, including Diane Lees CBE, Director General of Imperial War Museums.

For full application information, please visit: AIM Biffa Award History Makers Programme

Photo: Courtesy of London Transport Museum who were successful applicants in Round 1 of the History Makers Programme

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