Full Cost Recovery Policy review

We would like to review a sample of grants from eligible applicants to gauge the overall take up of applying for full cost recovery since 2013 and test assumptions with stakeholders from the heritage sector in order to better understand how it is being used and whether or not our current guidance is fit for purpose in order to inform future policy.

The aim of the research is to review our FCR guidance and take up by grantees, and suggest changes, if necessary.

The research objectives are to: • Review a sample of 200 grants to applicants eligible to apply for FCR in order to establish the level of take up, the average percentage allocated in an applications overall budget for FCR and the sorts of costs a claim would typically cover. • Explore grantee perspectives on the importance of the Fund supporting FCR through our grant making, the ease of implementation and clarity of our current guidance.

We would also like to hear from grantees who chose not to use FCR where they could have claimed to understand the reasons why. • Explore grantee perspectives on potential alternatives to FCR with the objective of ensuring that our project funding takes reasonable account of their need to sustain their organisation (by covering an element of core costs). • Review and report on other funders, such as the National Lottery Community Fund, policy approaches to core costs and any literature currently available on full cost recovery in the voluntary and community sector. • Draw conclusions and make recommendations to the Fund on options around FCR and highlight any implementation issues, with recommendations for a favoured course of action.

THE FULL REQUIREMENT IS SET OUT IN THE ATTACHED ITT DOCUMENT.