Katas Raj Temples, Punjab, Pakistan, Credit: Ahmed Saqlain

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This funding call has been developed in consultation with the British Council in Pakistan and has taken into account the outcomes of scoping activities and training undertaken in Pakistan in 2022 and 2023. The aim of this funding round is to pilot the CPF model in Pakistan. As such, applications will need to respond to CPF criteria for funding, explained in the application guidance available for download from this page.

In this round, we expect to be able to award one project with a value of c.£500,000 and five projects with a value of c.£100,000. However, we will consider applications with grant requests of between £100,000 and £500,000.

How to apply

You can find the information about the funding, eligibility and how to apply in the expandable sections at the bottom of this page, but you should also read the application guidance for full information about what is eligible under this funding round. We will only progress expressions of interest to the next application stage if they meet our eligibility requirements and are likely to be competitive. Therefore, before submitting the Expression of Interest form, please:

Who can apply?

Lead applicants must be registered organisations based inside Pakistan, but can have partners from anywhere in the world.

  • Applications must benefit heritage and people inside Pakistan.

What can I apply for and when?

  • Grants available of between £100,000 - £500,000. We expect to award c. 5 projects with grant sizes of £100,000 and above and one project with a grant size of c.£500,000.
  • Funding is available for projects commencing in April 2024
  • Projects can run for any duration but must finish by the end of January 2025

What is the deadline for expressions of interest?

  • Deadline for Expressions of Interest is 22 October 2023
  • Those invited to make a full application will be informed by 3 November 2023
  • Deadline for full applications is 3 December 2023
  • Decisions will be made in January with projects starting in April 2024.

What kind of projects are funded?

  • Projects must include activities that safeguard cultural heritage for future generations. Projects must protect heritage from risks relating to conflict and instability and/or climate change (and related disasters)
  • Projects must include meaningful involvement of the local community, either through heritage protection activities, training or advocacy.

What does ‘Cultural Protection’ mean?

Cultural heritage includes many different things from the past that communities value and want to pass on to future generations, for example:

  • Archaeological sites and monuments
  • Collections of objects, books or documents in museums, libraries or archives
  • Historic buildings
  • Cultural traditions such as stories, festivals, crafts, music, dance and costumes
  • Histories of people, communities, places and events
  • The heritage of languages and dialects
  • People’s memories and experiences (often recorded as ‘oral history’).

Projects must protect heritage from risks relating to conflict and instability and / or climate change. Project activities include:

  • repairing, restoring and conserving heritage that is valuable to communities, making the heritage safer, more secure and more accessible
  • researching, mapping and documenting heritage to ensure that it is properly recorded, stored and more easily accessible for future generations
  • raising awareness of the value of cultural heritage in communities, as well as internationally and amongst policy makers
  • capacity building such as training, partnership building and knowledge exchange; to improve heritage protection skills as well as other core skills such as project management, advocacy and fundraising

What are the project outcome requirements?

For this round, the Cultural Protection Fund has three impact areas

Impact Area Outcome
Heritage
  • Cultural heritage at risk is better managed and prepared for potential threats.*
  • Local organisations and communities have increased capacity and/or resilience to care for and protect cultural heritage.
Society**
  • Local people have developed skills, potentially leading to increased professional or other opportunities.
  • The profile of people engaging with cultural heritage is more diverse with respect to gender imbalances, age, ability, sexuality, ethnicity and social/religious background.***
  • Local communities have a better understanding of their cultural heritage and value it more.
  • Local communities have played a more active role in protecting their cultural heritage or sharing it with others, potentially leading to increased social cohesion and a greater sense of well-being.
  • The local area is enhanced for the benefit of communities and visitors.
Economy
  • The local economy has been diversified.

*Required outcome for all projects.

**All projects must include at least one society outcome.

***Priority will be given to projects which aim to achieve this outcome where possible and appropriate.

We will be running two optional 1 hour information sessions to talk briefly about the requirements for this funding round and answer related questions you might have on Wednesday 11 October and Thursday 12 October Please feel free to attend one of our information session by clicking the links below. Please note the content at both sessions will be the same, so it is not necessary to attend both.

Option 1: Wednesday 11 October 2023 09:30AM BST/13:30PM PST - Click here to join the meeting

Option 2: Thursday 12 October 2023 09:30AM BST/13:30PM PST - Click here to join the meeting 

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Application documents

Applicants whose Expression of Interest (EOI) have been accepted and have been invited to submit a full application can access the Project budget and cashflow template below. You can also download the full application guidance below.

See also

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