Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS), Built Environment Forum Scotland (BEFS), and greenspace scotland welcome the 40 organisations who will participate in the 18-month NLHF funded Business Support Programme, ‘Surviving to Thriving’ (StT).

At a time when heritage organisations are facing a multitude of challenges caused by the pandemic StT plays a key role through collaboration across the museums, greenspace, and built environment sector, in supporting organisations to develop their resilience through sustainable business models.  With a focus on upskilling the heritage workforce across Scotland the programme invests in individuals and organisations, through building confidence and knowledge in business practice.

We are delighted that greenspace organisations such as ELGT, Beechbrae, Urban Roots and TCV (Scotland) are taking part in the programme along with groups from across the Heritage sector.

The programme will commence in April with BlueSky Experiences delivering the core training across the four strands of the programme: leadership, governance, business planning and local community engagement. City of Glasgow College will be providing additional skills-based training which will complement the core training. Axiom Consultancy have been appointed as programme evaluators.

Fiona Skiffington, Business Support Project Manager said:

“We are absolutely delighted to welcome the 40 organisations who join us for StT. Now more than ever it is vital to support the heritage workforce and organisations to develop business models and skills. Through the programme we are seeking to directly address the skills gap identified by the sector, and through investment in widespread workforce training we hope to support the sector to navigate the challenges of the pandemic and increase their resilience.”

Caroline Clark, Director Scotland of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said:

“Collaboration is critical in building a successful and resilient heritage sector as we come out of this crisis.  Thanks to players of The National Lottery, this initiative will facilitate cultural, built and natural heritage organisations to come together to develop their business models and support capacity building. We are delighted to be able to help the sector improve sustainability in this way as it has a crucial role to play in supporting Scotland’s economic recovery.” 

The programme will be delivered digitally for the time being and will move to face-to-face when possible (as per government guidelines). To enable full participation in StT eligible organisations will be awarded a community grant. Participants on the programme reach right across the heritage sector and the country, yet all are facing similar challenges caused by the pandemic, with many citing the programme as vital for increasing their resilience.

Helen Brown, Trust Manager, Water of Leith Conservation Trust said:

“We have many areas of our operation which will benefit from the support offered on the Business Support Programme, as grant support has reduced over the past decade building a sustainable approach to our income streams means we can continue to work with volunteers to conserve and enhance the Water of Leith, operate our Centre and community cafe and deliver our learning programmes. Charities have had to learn to adapt and become resilient to change especially this year, so we are excited to get started on planning a brighter future for our organisation.”