173 major grants have been awarded since the National Lottery launched. 100 of these bigger individual projects are now finished and have been looked at as part of an in-depth study - HLF Major Grants – The first 100 - to review the benefits of the investment.

HLF’s CEO, Carole Souter, launching the research at the Association of Independent Museums (AIM) Conference, said: “20 years was the perfect time to take a fresh look at what HLF’s biggest investments have delivered. Since 1994, we have made grants of as little as £3,000 and as much as £30m. This range of funding is vital to make sure we can support projects that reach all parts of the heritage and engage small community groups as well as great national institutions. Thanks to National Lottery players, over £1.6billion of HLF money has been invested in truly life-changing major projects. We’ve seen the transformation of the Mary Rose Museum, the creation of a new building at Imperial War Museum Duxford and the reinvention of other great heritage favourites such as Stonehenge, ss Great Britain and Bletchley Park.  What makes these projects stand out is a strong vision, robust leadership and an ability to successfully navigate organisational change.”

Key findings in the Major Grants research include:

• The total value of HLF funding for the 100 competed Major Grants was £1bn, complemented by a further £2bn in partnership funding
• Seven of the 10 most popular visitor attractions in England were supported by an HLF Major Grant: the British Museum; National Gallery; Southbank Centre; Natural History Museum; Science Museum; the V&A and Somerset House
• There were 65 visitor attractions in total: 23 in London; six in Manchester; three in Liverpool; two in Edinburgh; two in Glasgow; two in Bristol and one each in Brighton, Cambridge, Canterbury, Cardiff, Chichester, Exeter, Falmouth, Harrogate, Hull, Leeds, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Portsmouth, Reading, Sheffield, Swansea and Worcester
• Around 94m visits are made each year to the visitor attractions that received these Major Grants – up by 53m since before the projects took place – a 130% rise. The biggest increases in visits were from families and young people
• Local tourism businesses are receiving an extra £480m in revenue as a result of these increased visits - creating an extra 9,600 new jobs
• HLF funding has created 2,536 new jobs within 46 of the funded organisations – a rise of 23% on staffing levels from before the Major Grants took place. The biggest increases were in areas of visitor services and learning / community outreach work
• Forty-nine organisations extended their work with schools, as a result of their Major Grant, and 58 new education spaces have been created including classrooms, lecture theatres and training rooms.

‘Heritage 100’

The 100 projects looked at within the research include: Glasgow’s Riverside Transport Museum; Kennet & Avon Canal; the Natural History Museum’s Darwin Centre; Stonehenge: Big Pit: National Mining Museum of Wales; The Whitworth in Manchester; and ss Great Britain, Bristol. 

Paul Owens, Managing Director of BOP who undertook the research, added: “The impact of the Major Grants programme goes far beyond repair and renovation. Our research shows that HLF’s investment over the past twenty years has wrought a transformation in the state and fortunes of the sector. Heritage assets of all shapes and sizes have been re-conceived, re-invented and opened out to the public, attracting larger, more diverse audiences. There are important lessons here about vision leadership and management which should be carried into the next phase of the Major Grants Programme.”

[quote=Carole Souter, Chief Executive of HLF]"The sector can build on these success stories and take advantage of the lessons learnt."[/quote]

HLF Major Grants have also enabled institutions to address topics that were previously ignored or hidden. Britain’s role in the slave trade is examined in the Museum of Docklands, and the Holocaust in galleries at the Imperial War Museum. Bletchley Park had been hidden for a different reason: the code-breaking of the Second World War and throughout the Cold War was kept a secret on grounds of national security. Only once that intelligence gathering ended, at Bletchley, did the importance of its heritage emerge.

The research also found the following benefits from undertaking major projects:

• better governance and team work
• greater learning, outreach and public engagement
• improved customer care
• increased income from a wider range of sources – from philanthropic giving to retail and catering operations as public funding was declining
• trading income and admission charges increased

The future of HLF Major Grants funding

Carole Souter continued: “The sector can build on these success stories and take advantage of the lessons learnt. We’re determined that the ground-breaking renewal in heritage that National Lottery funding has facilitated will continue and in a way that makes absolutely sure many more people get to experience the benefits of our heritage. It’ll be those people who will see it thrive into the future. I think we might look back in another 20 years and see this as a pivotal time for heritage organisations and a moment when the question becomes less ‘what can the funder do for us?’ and more ‘what can we do for our community?’”

Notes to editors

• Methodology consisted of in-depth structured interviews with the CEO and/or Chair of 86 heritage organisations and an online survey to collect data on wider impacts
• An extensive Major Grants Flickr Gallery is available
• The full essay of findings and detailed case studies is available at HLF Major Grants – The first 100 page
• Join the conversation on Twitter at #LoveHeritage
• BOP Consulting is an international research and strategy firm focusing on culture and heritage. BOP works with its clients to understand their markets, plan their businesses and measure their impact. The firm has extensive experience of undertaking impact studies for a wide range of organisations – from individual culture and heritage organisations to funding bodies and government agencies. More information is available at the BOP Consulting website
• HLF awards Major Grants funding once a year. First-round applications and all supporting materials must be received by 1 December 2015 for a decision in April 2016
• On 20 May 2015, HLF announced major grants of almost £100m to nine sites, including Jodrell Bank, the British Library and Derby Silk Mill