Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND) Round 3

This is an open-access capital fund targeted at non-national Accredited museums and local authorities based in England to apply for funding to undertake vital infrastructure and urgent maintenance backlogs which are beyond the scope of day-to-day maintenance budgets.  

The criteria for the Museum Estate and Development Fund have been set by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Arts Council England, Historic England (HE) and The National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF). The grants are administered, awarded and monitored by Arts Council England. Funding has been provided by DCMS. 

The impacts we expect this fund to achieve are that: 

• Museums across England improve their core infrastructure by tackling their maintenance backlogs
• Museums across England reduce the immediate risks to buildings, visitors, staff and collections due to improved core infrastructure  

The outcomes we expect to see from recipients of this investment are:  

• Museums are more financially resilient and environmentally responsible by developing and implementing maintenance plans 
• Environmental performance of buildings and equipment is increased, supporting the reduction in carbon emissions in the museum sector
• Improvement in museums ability to offer independent access for disabled people and accommodation of diverse user needs 
• Museums have strengthened their contribution to local community and regeneration by preserving landmark buildings and ensuring locally treasured collections are accessible by the public 

How to apply

First things first: never applied to us before?

Find out about how we work >

Step 1: Read the guidance

Read the guidance in full, to make sure you are eligible before you start your application.

We also held a webinar to answer your questions about how to apply to Round 3 of MEND. You can re-watch the webinar here.

You can download the guidance documents at the bottom of this page. We also offer the guidance in accessible formats such as Large Print and Easy Read (below) and audio.  

Step 2: Register on Grantium and familiarise yourself with it

Before you can start an application you need to create a user account and applicant profile.

Please make sure that all the information in your Grantium profile is up to date before you apply.

Our Grantium guidance can help you get to grips with using the system.

Step 3: Any questions? Check our FAQs

Read the FAQs for the programme on the next sections of this page before you get in touch.

These pages are updated regularly, with all our latest information and FAQs.

Step 4: Expression of interest

The online Expression of Interest form will open on Grantium at 9am on 6 March 2023

 The deadline for submitting Expressions of Interest is 12pm (midday) on 21 April 2023.

Step 5: Making an application

If you are invited to submit a full application, the full online application form will open on Grantium at 12pm (midday) on 30 May 2023 The deadline for submitting a full application is 12pm (midday) on 18 August 2023

When must the activity take place?

Activity can start as early as 17 April 2024 but must start no later than 17 May 2024. The deadline to complete activities and claim final payment is 31 March 2027.

Will there be a webinar for round three of MEND?

We held a webinar for museums who have been invited to apply on 8 June 2023. You can watch a recording of it here.

How ‘recent’ does a recent costed condition survey need to be?

It is best practice to undertake planned inspections and surveys at regular intervals, every four or five years, so a report of this age or more recent would be acceptable. Due to recent inflation in the construction industry, however, we ask that the costs within your condition survey have been updated within the 12 months, to ensure that your cost plan is as accurate as possible.

If your application includes building services installations, then your costed condition survey should include these works. A second, buildings services-specific costed condition survey may be required if this is not covered in your initial costed condition survey.

We have been invited to submit a full application, however our circumstances have changed since we submitted our Expression of Interest and we now need funding for different works. Can we apply for a different project or different amount?

You can only apply for activity outlined in your Expression of Interest. You should not apply for activities that were not detailed in your EOI.

We understand that your project planning will be more developed by the time you submit your application, and there might be some slight variance in costs. Inflation may also mean that some costs have increased. To support you with your application, you can apply for up to 10% more funding in your application from the amount detailed in your EOI. This cannot be for any items of expenditure that were not included in your expression of interest, and you cannot exceed the £5 million maximum.

We recommend focussing your application on the most urgent aspects of the activities you outlined in your EOI.

I have been invited to submit a full application. Is there anything I need to be aware of regarding the application process?

• Historic England will be in touch directly to arrange a site visit before you submit your application.
• Your costed condition survey should demonstrate the need for the work you are applying to us to complete. In place of a condition survey we can also accept relevant specialist reports as evidence. These reports must contain costings.
• Historic England will send a report based on their findings to applicants and will share it with us. Applicants are expected to use this report to inform their application. Once applications are received, Historic England will read them and comment on whether their advice has been followed.
• If your building is leased, and if there is a break clause in your lease, then if your application is successful, we will need to establish a deed of variation before you are able to draw down your first payment. You should begin a conversation with your landlord regarding this now as the deadline would be May 2024.
• Due to the high demand for MEND, it is very likely that the panel will only support applications that focus on work that is highly urgent. Arts Council England reserves the right to make reduced offers at award stage (i.e. offering less funding than has been applied for) where, in its judgement, applicants have included work that is not highly urgent.
• If your application is for over £1,000,000 you are asked to include proposals for how your project might be phased in your application. This would include providing a costed timeline, showing the most urgent works taking place first.

Our lease has a break clause. How do we address this in our application?

As set out in the Guidance for Applicants, we require all leases to be in place for at least as long as our security requirements, which are dependent on the size of grant you are requesting. This means that we cannot accept leases with break clauses (as well as certain other clauses, detailed in our guidance). If your lease has a break clause you may be able to negotiate a Deed of Variation on the lease, to make sure it complies with these requirements.

You should begin this conversation with the building owner and / or your legal advisor at an early stage, as this will need to be in place prior to any grant funds being released. If you have been invited to submit a full application, we will ask you to provide a copy of your lease so we can check that it meets our requirements and provide instruction on any further action required.

Please note that if your application is successful and you are awarded funding, we will not make any grant payments until any lease issues are resolved.

We are not using RIBA Plan of Work stages for our project – how do we address this in our application?

RIBA design plans are not required for non-building projects such as the like-for-like M&E replacements. You may also not need to follow RIBA Work Stages if your project involves mainly smaller works, repairs, and service replacements.

However, if your project involves architectural changes or larger construction works, then it is likely you will. Please seek appropriately qualified advice to establish what is most appropriate for your project.

It is a requirement of the MEND fund that projects are ready to start between 17 April and 17 May 2024 and that they are already at an advanced stage of development at the time of applying, hence the need to have completed at least RIBA Work Stage 3, or equivalent.

What can be used as partnership funding in terms of costs already incurred in the development to RIBA Work Stage 3?

If you have already incurred costs for external professional fees in the development of your project to RIBA Work Stage 3, you can count this expenditure as part of your partnership funding, as support-in-kind rather than a cash contribution. Please note however that no other expenditure prior to award and starting the project can be considered as either an eligible partnership funding contribution or a direct cost covered by the award.

Can we use the grant for salary or other revenue costs?

No, only capital costs are eligible. We define capital expenditure as an amount spent to maintain, repair, or improve fixed assets that will be capitalised on your balance sheet.

The guidance states ‘general running costs or overheads such as, but not limited to, additional staffing and insurance’ will not be eligible for funding under MEND. Does this extend to staffing costs for managing the build project (for example, the appointment of a Project Manager)?

The exclusion of ‘general running costs or overheads such as, but not limited to, additional staffing and insurance’ refers to the general day-to-day running costs or overheads of the Museum and any additional staff recruited to take part in the day-to-day running of the Museum while the project is undertaken.

If a Project Manager is recruited externally to manage the works proposed, their contribution would be categorised under ‘fees and charges’ as outlined in the Expenditure section of the guidance, which covers expenditures such as ‘legal or consultant fees’. Further, staffing and / or Project Management costs can be included provided they are time limited and are required to deliver the project.  However, this will need to be capitalised on the balance sheet if being paid for by this fund.

How recent must an access audit be to be supplied as a supporting document for MEND?

It is expected that Accredited museums will have undertaken an access assessment within the last five years, though ideally more recently than this to give an up-to-date picture. Accredited museums are required to have an up-to-date access assessment and policy, as well as demonstrable evidence of access planning (for example through a separate plan or within the forward/business plan).

Are there any other documents the Arts Council would accept alongside or in place of a costed condition Survey for MEND?

The MEND applicant guidance states that the costed condition survey ‘is a recent condition survey or relevant specialist report undertaken by an appropriately qualified professional’. It should support the proposed priorities and scope of works set out in your application. 

Other evidence to support the need for the proposed activity will be accepted in lieu of a costed condition survey if a costed condition survey is not appropriate to your project. In this case, any plan or document used to outline or demonstrate the need for the proposed project will be accepted, if a rationale is provided for its use. 

The MEND applicant guidance also provides further useful description around what we expect to see in a costed condition survey: Carried out on a regular basis, it considers the structure and condition of the property based on a detailed inspection of the building in order to establish its maintenance and repair condition at that time. It gives an indication of when future repairs, maintenance, decoration, and renewal of each part of the building should be anticipated.

If your application includes building services installations, then your costed condition survey should include these works. A second, buildings services-specific costed condition survey may be required if this is not covered in your initial costed condition survey.

Government Indemnity Scheme and MEND

If your museum takes loans (or intends to borrow items) under Government Indemnity, we suggest you review the Government Indemnity Scheme Guidelines for Non-National Institutions at project design stage to ensure that the General security conditions and environmental conditions (Annex D) which apply under the Scheme are met. Please see the Guidelines on Arts Council England’s website. This also applies if borrowing loans from a UK National institution.

Government Indemnity Scheme guidance

Please contact the Arts Council Government Indemnity Scheme if the enquiry is not dealt with as part of this guidance.

Will there be future rounds of MEND?

We expect to run at least one further round of MEND.

We will provide updated information in advance of the next round launching.

Where can we get more support or advice?

If you need to contact us, email our Customer Services at Enquiries@artscouncil.org.uk.

Watch the recent webinar > 

Download the PowerPoint slides for the webinar below.