Contents
1. Overview
If you’re unable to start or develop your career in screen heritage for financial reasons, we can support you with bursaries. A Screen Heritage Fund individual skills bursary is a grant to remove the obstacles to getting into the screen heritage sector or progressing your career once you’re in. The Fund exists to support the UK screen heritage sector and to ensure that people, including under-represented groups, across the UK can access the support they need to develop their careers and skills.
We want to support the screen heritage sector in developing skills needed for the future, including in digital, environmental sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion. You can apply for money to cover costs that relate to work and continuing professional development, such as training fees, associated accommodation and travel, care and disability access costs. We can support you to engage with national and international training and professional development opportunities, attend conferences, formal networking meetings and other events, take short courses, go on a sabbatical to take up short term screen heritage work or learning somewhere else, or access mentoring or coaching that isn’t otherwise available to you.
2. Who can apply for a bursary
You can apply for a bursary if you:
- Currently work in the UK screen heritage sector, or can demonstrate your intention to work in it (for example, through detailing previous actions you have taken to seek work in the sector)
- Are eligible to work in the UK
- Are 18 years old or above
- Have a UK bank account
For the purposes of these guidelines, when we refer to screen heritage sector we mean the preservation, conservation, cataloguing and making accessible, freely to the general public, the UK’s screen collection (which includes any moving image or audio-visual format but excludes paper or other static form, sound and/or music).
If you want to access training together with colleagues from the same organisation, you will need to apply for Organisational Skills funding.
3. What you can use the funding for
This programme exists to support the screen heritage sector in the UK and bursaries will only be offered for activity that demonstrates long-term value to that specific sector. If you are seeking bursary support for work within the screen industries more generally then please refer to the ScreenSkills Bursary Fund.
Maximum funding available for each eligible applicant is £10,000 per year.
Types of eligible costs include, but are not limited to:
- Accommodation and subsistence expenses demonstrably relating to the training or short-term work
- The costs of care support for yourself, or for people for whom you have caring responsibilities.
- Disability access support relating to taking up work or training opportunities in the industry. These should be costs beyond those relating to any reasonable adjustments you request of an employer and which they can reasonably be expected to support
- An allowance where the applicant takes unpaid leave during the provision of the training
- Subsistence when travelling for career development activity when not provided by an employer or course provider
- Training costs for short-term training courses (this means no more than three months in duration)
- Travel for training or short-term work
- Membership fees of screen heritage sector professional associations if they are required to access training or other development opportunities
- Bespoke coaching
- Bespoke training
Our contributions would be capped as follows:
- accommodation per night (for major city or overseas): £150
- accommodation per night – regional UK: £135
- travel including flights: economy only, no flights within mainland UK and no taxis unless related to an access requirement
- subsistence (food): £40 broken down into the following:
- Breakfast: £10
- Lunch: £10
- Dinner: £20
This aligns with general conditions attaching to the use of public funding and we will not cover costs of first-class travel or accommodation, hospitality or general subsistence.
We will review all of the costs you are seeking support for, and if we are interested in supporting your application, may ask you to make adjustments to your budget including removing or reducing specific lines.
4. What we cannot fund
This Fund cannot:
- provide bursary funding for training which has already been subsidised in full by your employer.
- provide bursary funding for full-time or part-time undergraduate or post-graduate courses or for any costs related to undertaking higher education.
- help you with debts or general living expenses (for example, rent/mortgage, utility bills, taxes, vehicle purchases or upkeep).
- cover costs which should be paid for by an employer, such as accommodation or travel costs for training provided by the employer.
- cover training costs for which Government funding is available at the point you wish to undertake the training, such as support through the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (applicable from 2025 onwards).
- consider speculative requests, where the intended use of the funding you are seeking is unclear or does not fully match the eligible costs listed above.
- give retrospective funding. You must apply for any costs before the activity you are seeking funding for begins – make sure to allow at least eight weeks for us to consider your application.
- cover the costs of tickets to sector events or conferences which do not have a clear training element.
- cover the purchase of alcohol, or any hospitality costs beyond those necessary for subsistence while undertaking a training event.
5. How to apply
The BFI Screen Heritage Fund is open year-round, and we accept applications on a rolling basis. We will need to know why you need assistance now. We recommend that any training or professional development work opportunity starts within three months of your application. If it occurs later than that, please consider applying closer to the start date to ensure our bursaries get to those who need them first.
If you are applying for a bursary to attend a training course, please complete your application to us no earlier than three months from when the course commences.
If you’re currently studying a full/part-time degree or equivalent, we advise that you wait until you graduate before applying for a bursary. This is so that bursaries are allocated to people who are available to take up full-time work as soon as possible, should positions become available.
We aim to take a decision within six weeks of receiving your application. If we need additional information from you, it may take us longer to reach a decision.
Make sure to allow at least eight weeks between your application date and the start date of your training / development opportunity.
Completing your application
You will need to create an account to make your application online.
You can save your application and return to it later.
Please make sure to complete all the sections – incomplete forms will be automatically ineligible.
You can view a PDF preview of the application form below.
Information you need to provide – Application form
When applying for a bursary, you will need to provide:
- Evidence of your costs (please see Costs evidence section below)
- Your CV, clearly describing your experience in the screen heritage sector to date, or the experience that you are building on as you seek entry into the screen heritage sector
- A personal statement explaining how the funding you are seeking will help you in your screen heritage career. A strong personal statement is key to a successful application. When writing yours, please consider that:
- We want to support individuals from groups currently under-represented in our industry. If this is you, you can decide whether or not you are comfortable discussing this in your statement
- Bursaries are there to remove financial obstacles to career development. We only support those who can’t afford to pay the costs themselves. Please explain why you need financial support and any other avenues you have explored already to secure the amount of funding you are seeking
- If you have been adversely affected by the cost-of-living crisis and are able to demonstrate that you have had to divert funds away from your continued professional development, please let us know. We cannot support costs for general living expenses but we recognise that the crisis has impacted people’s ability to invest in themselves
- Our funds can only be used to support those working in or trying to find work in screen heritage. If you are trying to move into screen heritage, please explain which industry you work in now; what you have done so far to move into screen heritage sector; how you think your current skill set suits the needs of the screen heritage sector; and how the activity you are asking us to support will support your intended career move
- Tell us your next steps beyond the funded activity, should you secure our financial support. We need to see how the bursary relates to your broader career development plan
- The application form will also ask you to declare your current income tax band
Costs evidence
Accommodation
If you are seeking support for accommodation:
- A direct website link to your chosen accommodation
- A breakdown of costs
If you need accommodation, travel or subsistence to attend training that you are also asking us to support a participation fee for, please make one bursary application for all related costs.
Disability access support
When the BFI uses the term disability we are inclusive of disabled, deaf, and neurodivergent people. If you’re applying for disability access support you will need to provide:
- A description of the type of support you require
- A breakdown of costs
Please note we can only support access costs where they enable you to take up work or training opportunities in the industry, and where these are not the responsibility of an employer. Below are some examples of things we could offer support for. If you’re unsure if your request is eligible, please contact us before you complete your application.
- Assistive technology
- BSL interpreters
- Costs towards equipment to enable you to carry out your work, where funding is not available via other means, from your employer, or in the required timeframe
- Travel costs where the travel will enable you to take up short term work or training opportunities
Care
If you’re applying for the costs of care support for yourself to attend training or take up a short-term work opportunity, you will need to provide:
- The name of your carer
- Your carer’s contact details
- Proof of a DBS certificate
- Link to your carer’s professional website (if applicable)
- A breakdown of costs
If you are applying for care costs for people for whom you have caring responsibilities, in order to enable you to undertake a skills opportunity, you will need to provide:
- Details of your caring responsibilities
- A breakdown of costs
- The relevant carer’s contact details
- Proof of a DBS certificate
- A link to the relevant carer’s professional website (if applicable)
If you need support with care to attend training that you are also asking us to support a participation fee for, please make one bursary application for all related costs.
Subsistence
If you’re applying for subsistence while attending training or a professional development opportunity (including a work placement) that requires travel away from home – where subsistence is not provided by the venue or training provider – you will need to provide a breakdown of costs. If you need subsistence support to attend training that you are also asking us to support a participation fee for, please make one bursary application for all related costs.
Training
If you’re applying for a training course you will need to provide:
- The name of your chosen training course(s) – you must identify the course you want to attend and apply for a bursary specifically for that course
- The name and address of the training provider
- Evidence of the training opportunity and its cost, including a direct link to or a copy of the course outline
- The training dates
Please note that we cannot provide bursary funding for retrospective payment of training costs, nor do we accept liability for your costs should you decide to attend a course before we have informed you of our decision.
Travel
If you’re applying for travel costs to attend training you will need to provide:
- Evidence of the travel costs (e.g. a link or photo)
- A breakdown of costs
Please note: we will consider applications from those seeking funding towards travel associated with taking up training or short-term work opportunities. If you have been funded for accommodation, we cannot consider funding to cover travel between your accommodation and the training site unless you have disability access needs. Travel costs can only be to and from your home and the training site, or to and from your home and your accommodation, not back and forth between your accommodation and the training site.
In line with our environmental principles, we expect people to use public transport whenever possible. We will support standard class rates only. We cannot support air travel within or between England, Scotland and Wales, and encourage rail travel to any European training events that can feasibly be reached by train. You can seek the cost of this train travel from us, and we understand that it may be more expensive than the equivalent flight.
If you need to use your own transport we will contribute at the following rates:
- 45p per mile (by car)
- 24p per mile (by motorbike/scooter)
Standard class/economy rates only (rail and air).
All vehicles must be fully road-legal and we reserve the right to ask for copies of insurance, MOT and driving licence.
If you need to travel to attend training that you are also asking us to support a participation fee for, please make one bursary application for all related costs.
Bespoke training/coaching
If you’re applying for bespoke coaching/training you will need to provide:
- A written statement explaining the purpose of the training or coaching, how it will be used, why it is not available by other means and why it will help you professionally
- A company-headed letter/e-mail from the provider outlining the training or coaching plan
- A quotation from the provider for the cost of the training or coaching
Other costs
If you’d like to apply for support with any costs not covered above, you will need to provide a description and breakdown of costs and let us know why you need this support.
6. What happens after you apply?
How your application is assessed
When assessing your application, we will consider:
- Your demonstration of need for financial support; bursary funds can only be awarded to applicants who demonstrate a compelling case for support
- The potential impact of the bursary on your professional development, and the potential benefits to the screen sector overall
- Any barriers you may face to access or inclusion in the screen heritage sector, or in your specific role or grade, for example because of where you live or because you are part of an under-represented group
- Whether you are working full time, or hoping to work full time, in the screen heritage sector in the near future
- The impact of the cost-of-living-crisis on your ability to invest in your own training and development
Assessment
Applications will be reviewed by an internal assessment panel that will include the BFI Screen Heritage Fund team and colleagues from the BFI Skills and Workforce Development team. We may also share parts of your application with other BFI teams or external consultants to help us assess it.
Funding recommendations will then be shared with the BFI Lottery Finance Committee for decision.
Finance Committee Consideration
Following assessment of each application, we will make funding recommendations to the BFI Lottery Finance Committee. This is the final stage of the funding decision process.
When you can expect to hear from us
Applications are assessed within six weeks. If we need additional information from you this may delay assessment of your application.
Getting a decision
If you’re successful
- You will receive a written offer of funding
- You will need to sign the offer of funding and return it to the BFI within 14 days
Your offer of funding will set out details of how you’ll receive the funding, how to use it and how we expect you to report to us.
If you’re unsuccessful
We may have turned down your application because we determined that the proposal:
- Did not sufficiently demonstrate your need for financial support
- Did not demonstrate potential long-term value to the screen heritage sector
- Was not yet developed enough
We will keep the data and supporting materials you sent to us in line with our records retention policy.
Feedback
We will do our best to offer feedback on unsuccessful applications. However, we’re a small team and can’t guarantee it. We always welcome your feedback on the application process and how we might improve it.
7. Condition of funding
If you are offered funding, you will receive an agreement from BFI setting out the terms and conditions of the offer, which must be accepted within two weeks of the date of issue. The terms and conditions will incorporate the General Conditions of National Lottery Funding for successful applicants. The agreement will explain what further information we may need such as a copy of formal identification and proof of a UK bank account. Please note that we use anti-fraud systems to verify your identity. This process forms part of the application process and will be carried out before any funding is released to successful applicants. Funding will be paid directly into your personal bank account in instalments with the final instalment subject to you completing a report on your activity, including a narrative report and cost report. Please note that you are responsible for payments to third parties and BFI will not accept responsibility for transferring funds to third parties.
If you are awarded a bursary, you must invest your funding in line with your approved application.
If any of the following apply then you are legally required to return all awarded funding to BFI:
- Your application was filled in dishonestly or with incorrect or misleading information;
- In carrying out the funded activity you act dishonestly or negligently,
- any purchased item is returned,
- any planned activity cancelled,
- you fail to attend part or all of the activity being supported by the bursary (without reasonable cause),
- if whilst carrying out the activity you act in such a way as to damage the reputation of the BFI or your behaviour falls below the standards reasonably expected of a professional in the industry.
If you receive bursary funding, BFI will follow up with you, at intervals, to ensure that funding is being used as agreed and, after completion of the funded activity, to monitor how that bursary support has helped your career progression.
8. Help with your application
If your circumstances aren’t covered by our guidelines, if you have any questions about access needs, need advice and support with your application or would like to give us feedback, contact us at screenheritagefund@bfi.org.uk. We’d be happy to set up a phone or online call if needed.