Abstract
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) distributes money from the National Lottery to heritage. Since 1995 the HLF has given some £3 billion to 15,000 projects. As a small organization with a relatively large remit, applied research has been critical to the work of the HLF, helping it set priorities, make decisions and evaluate its programmes. Key research issues include: defining the needs of the heritage, the best means of evaluating projects and programmes, and capturing the economic and social benefits of heritage. Young people can be a difficult audience for heritage funders to reach, and it is shown how evaluation informed a dedicated new programme. The example of its support of parks shows how a need identified through research became a priority for the HLF, and has since been taken up by government. Finally, the HLF has developed a distinctive approach based on a very open concept of what heritage is and means to people. Research into public attitudes to heritage has been central to this. The DCMS cites 23 other agencies as working alongside the HLF (DCMS, 2003b, p. 6). These presumably include the national bodies who deal with the historic environment (such as English Heritage, Historic Scotland and Cadw in Wales), the natural heritage (such as English Nature or Scottish Natural Heritage) and the countryside (the Countryside Agency), and those involved with issues such as collections (Museums, Libraries and Archives, MLA) and new design (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, CABE). The Lottery will be reviewed in the lead up to the licence review in 2009 and inevitably questions will be asked about the future of funding. In another context, the Secretary of State has asked how it is possible to capture the value of culture. In common with organizations who deal with sports, art and culture, the HLF needs to capture the benefits of funding in a way that makes sense to both politicians and the public. Doing this depends upon robust research.
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