Review of Young People Involvement in Heritage Lottery Fund Projects
January 2009
In 2008, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) North East regional office commissioned the Regional Youth Work Unit North East to review the involvement of young people in Heritage Lottery Fund projects. Previously, young people have been involved in number of areas of HLF funding. However, the Young Roots programme (which ran nationally for three years) provided the main opportunity for youth projects to develop heritage projects. A significant development within the Young Roots programme was the requirement for projects to be led by young people.
Following a reduction in their funding, HLF North East is faced with being able to offer only limited opportunities for young people to become involved in Young Roots projects, and would therefore like to encourage greater involvement of young people in other areas of their grant giving. HLF North East intend to use the findings from this review to identify ways in which they can use existing experience and knowledge to ensure the participation of young people in heritage projects.
Aims of the Review
• To collect information on the relative successes and limitations of Heritage Lottery Fund projects in the North East involving young people
• To gather information on the relative impact of these projects in the North East
• From the information gathered, assess the reason why projects have ultimately succeeded or failed
• To draw lessons from the review of the HLF programme, which will inform future grant making programmes within HLF
• To explore and delineate issues specific to the region in relation to the HLF programme
• To identify factors that support sustainability in existing projects
• To provide recommendations as to how relevance and sustainability may be ensured in future HLF grant programmes
