We designed our Heritage 2033 strategy with bold ambitions to make a decisive difference for heritage, people and places. From reducing heritage identified as ‘at risk’ and supporting nature’s recovery, to increasing the diversity of heritage workforces and the financial and organisational sustainability of heritage organisations.

To do that – and more importantly, to understand how successfully we’re doing that – we designed a framework to measure the impact of Heritage 2033 and demonstrate progress towards our vision for heritage.

This has been, and will continue to be, an iterative process. Today we’ve published an impact summary that draws on data from our first full year of delivering funding under Heritage 2033, from February 2024 to March 2025.

What we’ve achieved so far

It’s still very early to report in depth on impact, as many of the projects we’ve funded in this period haven’t completed yet. And some, such as our landscape-scale and capital investments, will take some years to deliver. But the data we’ve collected so far shows promising signs that our grants are already making a real difference.

The 826 projects we examined are saving heritage, supporting place-based change, connecting more people to heritage and nature, and they’re boosting skills, environmental sustainability and diversity within the sector.

From saving a rare self-portrait by King Charles I’s court painter for public display, and ensuring heritage was at the centre of Bradford’s 2025 City of Culture celebrations, to turning species-rich farmland in County Fermanagh into a nature reserve, and providing training for under-served people in heritage woodworking skills, our funding is reaching across the UK and into a wide range of heritage sub-sectors.

Pleasingly, we also found that applicants understand and are taking into account our four investment principles, although there is room to see projects go further to protect the environment and develop organisational sustainability.

Our onward journey

I am delighted with what we’ve achieved so far, but I know there’s still a lot of work ahead to meet the long-term ambitions of Heritage 2033. Right now, we’re busy working behind the scenes to improve how projects share data with us – from the amount of jobs and volunteer roles created and the number of visitors engaging with heritage, to evidence on nature recovery, and boosting pride in place and financial sustainability.

Everything we learn will be folded back into our three-year delivery plans and we’ll also discuss the insights we gather with our partners. This will help us continue to be a broad and inclusive funder for heritage and adapt to contemporary and future challenges and opportunities.

And we’re committed to doing this in public, through sharing reports and articles like this on our website. We will be transparent about the impact we’re having and how, together, we’re achieving our vision for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future.