The British Library's Endangered Archives Programme offers approximately 30 grants each year to enable researchers to locate vulnerable archival collections, arrange their transfer wherever possible to a suitable local archival home, and deliver digital copies into the international research domain via the British Library. These grants are the primary means by which Arcadia contributes to the urgent task of identifying, preserving and making accessible such archival collections before they are lost forever. There are three main types of grant:

• Pilot projects investigate the potential for and/or feasibility of a larger grant. A pilot can also be a small digitisation project. They should last for no more than 12 months and have a budget limit of £15,000.
• Major projects gather, digitise, and make available material. This type of grant may also relocate the material to a more secure location/institution within the country. These projects usually last 12 months and no more than 24 months. They have a budget limit of £60,000.
• Area grants may be awarded for larger-scale projects. They are similar to a major grant, but larger in scale and ambition. Applicants must demonstrate an outstanding track record of archival preservation work and be associated with an institution that has the capacity to facilitate a large-scale project. The EAP will award a maximum of two area grants in this round. They can last for up to 24 months and have a budget limit of £150,000. It is important that you contact the EAP office if you are considering applying for this type of grant. Proposals that have not been discussed with EAP staff ahead of the closing date are unlikely to be successful.

During 2019, the programme will offer an additional type of grant:

• Rapid response grants may be used to safeguard an archive that is in immediate and severe danger. These grants are intended for the situations in which the time scale of the standard EAP decision process could result in extensive damage to the material. These grants will be accepted on a rolling basis. They must last for less than 12 months and have a budget limit of £15,000. This type of grant will be available for the first time in 2019 and EAP anticipates awarding a small number of such grants during the first year.

Applications

The call for applications under Round 15, corresponding to 2019, was launched in late September 2018. Preliminary applications should be submitted by 19 November. Following an initial review, a subset of applicants will be invited to progress to the second stage and submit a detailed application in February 2019. For additional information about the application process, please visit https://eap.bl.uk/grants