Architectural Heritage Fund

The brief

HDTs are doing brilliant work around the country and creating a diverse range of impact in their communities: from support for individuals in need through to changing longer term perceptions of a town or neighbourhood in order to bring in more external investment and footfall.

We were commissioned by AHF to provide practical support on all aspect of impact to their developing network of HDTs. 

What we did

We have much experience ourselves bringing heritage buildings back into productive and creative community use, and we track, communicate and evaluate the impact of this work in a wide range of ways. We therefore worked with HDTs in a range of practical ways, from helping them define the social value of their proposals and building projects to secure investment through to developing the way they communicate their impact to stakeholders.

Outcomes

We helped Heritage Development Trusts: 

• Secure external social investment for their projects
• Communicate their impact more clearly to stakeholders, therefore leading to new partnerships and development opportunities
• Build new partnerships with universities and researchers, tapping into expertise and resources that could shed new light on the difference they are making in a local area
• Devise and implement their own impact and monitoring frameworks, so they could articulate and track impact and value on their own terms, in ways that matter to them 

It was a privilege to work with AHF and the HDTs on this pilot programme. The work they are doing around the country is amazing and we learnt so much from them. When you bring an old building back to life you can change the fortunes of a community. The past matters to people and it can also be the spark for a better future. 

Find out more at https://ahfund.org.uk/