Today, the Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) is delighted to share an evaluation report summarising the research findings of RF Associates, which demonstrates the impact of AHF grant and loan programmes in Scotland during the five-year period from April 2019 to March 2024.
Made possible with funding from Historic Environment Scotland, the William Grant Foundation, and The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the AHF provides grants, loans and other non-financial elements of support for sustainable community-led heritage regeneration projects in Scotland.
The AHF is considered “small but mighty”; despite having only two full-time dedicated staff members based in Scotland and a small UK-wide team, its work reaches across the country supporting heritage-led regeneration projects - many of which have varied end uses creating real social and economic impact.
Between April 2019 and March 2024, the AHF offered £2.4M of grant funding across all parts of Scotland, to a total of 193 different non-profit organisations, supporting 201 different built heritage regeneration projects, and made loan offers totalling more than £3M to 15 organisations.
Below is an infographic showing some more facts and figures from the last five years of the AHF's grant and loan programmes in Scotland.
Stakeholders and beneficiaries alike state that the AHF provides important early-stage funding that can be difficult to achieve otherwise, acting as a catalyst and enabling projects to develop and leverage further funding. They also positively perceived our long-term commitment to communities and organisations, and the way that we provide ongoing support, advice, and additional grant and loan funding, often across the project’s lifespan. This support was recognised to help projects remain viable and resilient when they faced unexpected challenges in their project delivery.
Building on data collected through the AHF’s 2020-23 Evaluation Framework, this new report provides an analysis of our Scotland programmes and the wider impacts that our work is having within the Scottish heritage sector. It incorporates case studies, along with key findings from surveys undertaken among our grant and loan beneficiaries and sector partners and stakeholders.
Looking to the future, the report also considers how the current offer of these support programmes can be improved with the help of additional funding and resources.
Matthew McKeague, CEO of the Architectural Heritage Fund, said: “We are really pleased to be sharing this report based on a piece of independent evaluation that highlights the significance of the work of our grant and loan programmes in Scotland between April 2019 and March 2024. As the report shows, the funding from our partners has enabled us to support a vast range of heritage-led regeneration projects across the country, creating tangible social and economic impact. We plan to work to expand on the current offer so that even more of Scotland’s communities can generate social and economic benefits from their heritage assets."
The full report is available here: Scotland Programmes 2019-24 Evaluation Report.
