1.  INTRODUCTION

  The National Museum of Science & Industry (NMSI) comprises: the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television (NMPFT), Bradford; the National Railway Museum (NRM), York; and the Science Museum (SM), London. As a national museum, NMSI receives grant-in-aid from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

  This document summarises the relationship between the NMSI and the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) both as an advisory body and as an applicant for funds; assesses the HLF's current policy for distribution of funds; assesses the impact of the HLF on the heritage sector; and makes suggestions relating to the future work of the HLF.

2.  ROLE OF NMSI AS AN ADVISORY BODY

  Since the inception of the HLF, the NMSI has regularly provided specific advice under contract on particular cases, as well as general advice and guidance on policy issues.

  Most—but not all—cases involving science, industry and transport collections are sent to the NMSI for assessment. There have been more than 200 requests for advice to date. The advice given covers all aspects of the applications, under a series of headings provided by the HLF. However, the NMSI advice tends to focus on the heritage merit, the strategic context (especially in relation to heritage railway operations), the public benefits, and the technical viability of proposals.

  Most of the advice is provided by a relatively small number of staff within the Collections Division at the SM and at NMPFT/NRM. Altogether, 19 staff have acted as advisers. All requests for advice are routed through an External Affairs Coordinator at the SM.

  The provision of advice to HLF is carried out under contract, and is currently remunerated at £350 per day. The NMSI also receives an annual payment of £7,300 to cover non-specific case costs. All invoices to the HLF are issued from South Kensington.

  The income generated by the SM External Affairs Coordinator is used to pay for a part-time administrative assistant who works on the Museum's PRISM fund and other related activities.

  The NMSI also acts as a project monitor on a small number of cases. Usually, these are cases in which the PRISM fund is also involved and/or in which specialist technical expertise is required (eg, locomotive restoration).

 3.  ROLE OF NMSI AS AN APPLICANT FOR FUNDS

  The NMSI has been successful in applying for grants from HLF. The SM has received a grant of £23 million towards the cost of the Wellcome Wing at the Science Museum. This, the largest capital project in the NMSI's recent history, is the largest science-based "millennium project" in London. In addition, the NMPTF has received a grant of £6.081 million towards the cost of Imaging Frontiers, the major development of the NMPFT which is due for completion in the first half of 1999; and the NRM has received a grant of £2 million towards the costs of The Works, a new workshop, store and gallery on the site of the Museum's former workshop, together with a smaller grant to support the development of a Site Development Plan at York.

  The experience of working with the HLF on each of these projects through the HLF's approved monitors has generally been positive. While concern has been expressed by senior staff at the NMPFT concerning the overly bureaucratic nature of some monitoring, the experience with the Wellcome Wing at the Science Museum is that the monitors for both HLF and the Wellcome Trust have adopted a flexible and constructive approach to their role.

4.  HLF CRITERIA FOR DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS

  The NMSI wishes to make four main points about the way in which the HLF distributes its funds.

  First, in what may be regarded as its first phase of grant-giving, the HLF made a small number of very large awards. Since then, the emphasis has shifted to the provision of a rather larger number of small awards. While this is perfectly understandable and even inevitable, the NMSI believes that it will be important in future to retain an appropriate balance between smaller and larger awards. While smaller awards allow the HLF to support a wide range of initiatives across the country, larger awards enable it to make a significant contribution to major public works of a kind that were simply not possible before the creation of the National Lottery.

  Second, the NMSI believes strongly that the HLF should interpret its heritage remit broadly and generously, rather than narrowly and restrictively. For example, it is important that scientific and industrial heritage material (including recent and contemporary material) should be included within the HLF's remit. Unless this continues to happen, an important part of the nation's heritage will lack adequate support. Again, in the museum sector effective exhibitions of scientific and industrial heritage often require the use of interactive, multi-media displays. It is important that the HLF should regard such displays as appropriate subjects for funding.

  Third, electronic access is of ever-increasing importance to the work of museums and galleries. The NMSI would like to see due recognition given to the importance of this aspect of work in the heritage sector.

  Fourth, it is important that the HLF should keep under review the rules concerning matching funding. As the amount of money available from the lottery funds continues to increase, so too does the requirement for matching fundings from the private sector. It is important to the success of heritage projects that projects should be realistically funded, in terms both of total budgets and proportions of total budgets deriving from the HLF.

5.  IMPACT OF HLF ON THE HERITAGE SECTOR

  In a relatively short period of time, the existence of the HLF has become a key factor in the development of the heritage sector. The continuing availability of funds for capital projects in this sector is vitally important to the further improvement of quality, not only in the national but also in regional and local museums and galleries. There remain in the science and heritage area, in particular, a large number of collections that are urgently in need of improved storage, conservation and interpretation. There is no sign whatever of a shortage of potentially deserving projects in this area.

6.  RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE WORK OF HLF

  We recommend:

—  that an appropriate balance is maintained between larger and smaller capital projects;

—  that due recognition is given to scientific and industrial heritage (including recent and contemporary heritage) in the mix of HLF-funded projects;

—  that due recognition is given to the importance of multi-media (including interactive) display of collections;

—  that due recognition is given to the importance of electronic access to collections;

—  that steps are taken to ensure that realistic budgets are established, and that achievable levels of matching funding are required for funded projects.

December 1998