Expert’s Choice
Angela Graham, archive manager, East Anglian Film Archive ( eafa.org.uk)
If you are a member of a family history group undertaking a project, then you may find this new site helpful. The recently launched Past Forward ( past-forward.co.uk) is funded by The National Archives at Kew’s Sector Sustainability Fund, now
called Networks for Change ( nationalarchives.gov. uk/archives-sector/finding-funding/collaborateand-innovate/networks-for-change-fund). In short, Past Forward provides advice for groups who wish to apply for funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and other similar sources. It was developed by a network of record offices and archives in the east of England, and aims to highlight the professional services that are available from many record offices and archive services.
Past Forward shares tips for the planning and delivery of projects, highlighting how record offices and archives can support community or family history groups. There is a separate section on using film archives since there are often additional choices to be made when using moving image material, as well as issues around licensing and copyright clearance. The website stresses the need to plan a project carefully before making the leap to applying for funding, and to contact your local archive at an early stage. It’s really important to get help identifying costs, so that these can be added to any application. Finally the site’s contacts page provides a list of the participating offices and archives across the east of England, although keep in mind that the advice here is applicable to groups located anywhere in the UK.