As the British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund marks its tenth anniversary, the team is preparing to launch a new funding call.
Once the call is live, organisations will be able to apply for grants up to £500,000 to deliver multi-year cultural heritage protection projects in the following countries: Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, and Yemen.
Lead organisations that are not based inside CPF’s target countries must be working with local partners where the activities are taking place.
To be competitive, projects must demonstrate potential impact across three key areas:
- Heritage – Cultural heritage will be in better condition, more prepared and better understood.
- Society – Societies will be stronger, more inclusive and more resilient as a result of the project.
- Economy – projects will lead to increased opportunities and benefit for people and places.
The application process will begin with a call to submit an ‘expression of interest’ where only selected applicants will be invited to make a full application.
When reflecting on past funding rounds, Stephanie Grant, CPF Director, said: ‘We know that the need for protecting cultural heritage at risk is greater than ever, and the demand for these upcoming calls will be very high. We’ve learned from the last ten years of operation that the most impactful projects are informed by and designed around the needs of communities. We are looking forward to receiving a diverse range of applications and we will support as much as we possibly can.’
When the funding round is launched in the week of 22nd June 2026, the CPF website will include:
- the full details of the criteria, eligible activities, and application process.
- information on upcoming online information sessions delivered by the CPF team in early July. These sessions will be recorded and aim to guide applicants through the process and answer any questions.
Please note that the Cultural Protection Fund will be unable to respond to individual enquiries before then.
Want to be the first in the know? Subscribe to our CPF Bulletin to know exactly when our next funding round is launched.
