ACE reopens Capital Investment Programme

Arts Council England’s (ACE) Capital Investment Programme is opening for a second round.

The programme, designed to help cultural organisations adapt buildings, equipment and other assets, will provide grants from £100,000 to £750,000, with up to £20m ringfenced for distribution.

Expressions of interest open today (6 June) and will close on 3 July. Applicants invited to apply will have from 25 July to 3 October to submit their full bid on Grantium, with decisions currently scheduled for early April next year.

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ACE will deliver a webinar on Friday (9 June) to give potential applicants an opportunity to ask questions.

The first round of ACE’s Capital Investment Programme shared £22.7m between 66 organisations. Organisations that received funding there, or in previous editions of ACE’s Museum Estate and Development Fund, Cultural Development Fund or Libraries Improvement Fund, are not eligible to apply to this latest round.

Physical and digital capital

ACE says it expects to support a mix of physical and digital infrastructure projects of varying sizes, subject to the quality of proposals it receives.

Guidance on the funder’s website says digital projects could include, but are not limited to, using technology to produce, distribute and exhibit cultural content.

Meanwhile, examples of physical projects ACE would support include focusing on improving accessibility or reducing environmental impact of a building.

Eligibility criteria states chosen programmes must start by 31 March 2025 and end no later than 31 March 2027.

As part of its assessment of applications, ACE says it will consider how each project addresses all of its four Investment Principles.

Guidance on the funder’s website says it expects the application round to be competitive and advises organisations to implement a contingency plan should they be unsuccessful.