Our Work > Culture, Heritage & Reconciliation > Living Heritage, Shared Futures Programme
Living Heritage, Shared Futures
Bringing culture and heritage to life through participation, connection and shared experience
Living Heritage, Shared Futures supports projects that bring culture and heritage to life through participation, engagement and shared experience.
Across the communities we serve, heritage is deeply connected to identity, place and history. These stories are often complex, layered and shaped by different perspectives.
Through this programme, we support activity that creates opportunities for people to engage with culture and heritage in ways that are open, inclusive and rooted in place.
What this programme is about
This programme focuses on the animation of culture and heritage assets.
Animation means activity that brings places, stories, traditions and collections to life through participation, interpretation and experience — rather than physical restoration or capital development.
The programme supports activity that enables people to engage, reflect and connect, helping to build shared understanding over time.
What this programme is seeking to achieve
This programme is focused on change at the level of experience, participation and connection.
- It supports work that:
- increases participation in cultural and heritage activity
- enables people to engage with place, identity and shared history
- creates opportunities for dialogue, learning and different perspectives
- strengthens connections between people, communities and places
We recognise that this type of work often leads to qualitative and emerging outcomes, shaped by participation and shared experience over time.
Who can apply
We welcome applications from organisations delivering cultural or heritage activity within the communities we serve.
- This includes organisations that:
- manage or work with cultural or heritage assets, places or collections
- deliver creative or interpretive activity
- are rooted in and connected to their communities
Projects must be clearly connected to a cultural or heritage asset and demonstrate how people will be actively involved.
- What we are seeking to support
We are interested in projects that bring culture and heritage to life through participation and engagement.
- This may include:
- storytelling, interpretation or creative engagement
- exhibitions, events or performances
- projects that explore place, identity or shared history
- activity that opens up cultural or heritage spaces to wider participation
Projects must focus on experience and engagement, rather than capital works or physical restoration.
- What we do not support
The programme is unlikely to support:
- projects focused primarily on physical restoration, capital works or building development
- activity that does not involve public participation or engagement
- projects that are not clearly connected to a cultural or heritage asset
This programme is designed to support activity and experience, rather than infrastructure or one-off promotion.
How applications are considered
We are looking for applications that clearly show:
- what cultural or heritage asset the project is based on
- what activity will take place and how people will be involved
- how the project will create meaningful participation or engagement
- what people will experience or take away from the activity
Strong applications demonstrate clear purpose, thoughtful design and meaningful opportunities for participation.
- Application guidance
Before applying, we recommend reviewing the guidance on preparing your application and ensuring your proposal clearly focuses on participatory cultural or heritage activity.
Creating shared understanding
Reconciliation is part of how we think about this work, but it is not a separate requirement or a prescribed type of project.
We are interested in activity that creates opportunities for shared experience, connection and understanding — where this is appropriate to the work being delivered.
We see reconciliation as something that can grow through participation, dialogue and encounter over time, rather than something that is delivered as a single outcome.
This work is for everyone, creating space for people to engage with culture and heritage in ways that are open, inclusive and grounded in respect.