Speaking at the Museum’s Association annual conference in Birmingham, Sir Peter announced that the current Transition funding, Start Up grants and Catalyst small grants will be combined in a new programme, with an increased upper limit of more than £100,000 and more time for the money to be spent.

This will help new projects get off the ground, build the capacity of existing organisations and help others make any structural changes necessary to meet future challenges.  To support long-term financial resilience, there will be a new opportunity to apply for funding to build endowments, with enough flexibility to support small and large organisations.

Sir Peter also announced:

• a third round of the popular Skills for the Future programme. HLF has previously invested £47million creating thousands of paid, practical training opportunities to bring new people into the workforce
• a new initiative offering substantial grants for projects that seek to make a real difference for young people
• recruitment of young people by HLF to help make decisions on applications

These plans are at an early stage, with more details to be announced ahead of expected launch in 2016. 

To read more from Sir Peter on today's announcements, see the Department of Culture, Media and Sport's blog.