Applying to the BFI Skills Clusters Fund

About this fund
Check if you’re eligible
What you can use funding for
What your Skills Cluster needs to achieve
How to apply
What happens after you apply
Getting a decision
Conditions of funding

1. About this fund

These guidelines are for organisations that want to apply for funding to become a BFI National Lottery Skills Cluster or for a current BFI Skills Cluster to expand their geographical reach.

In line with our National Lottery Strategy and the associated Funding Plan 2026-2029, we have awarded a further £9m through the BFI Skills Cluster Fund to existing BFI Skills Clusters to continue delivery between 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029. These partnerships between industry, education, training providers and other skills organisations, develop clearer pathways to employment in below-the-line screen production roles for their area. There are seven Skills Clusters currently in receipt of BFI Skills Cluster funding.

We recognise that there are growing screen production hubs in other parts of the UK, which may be experiencing growth for a range of reasons, including due to interdisciplinary activity. For this reason we are making an additional £2.85m available for the period from 1 February 2027 to 31 March 2029 for areas of the UK that are not already supported by a BFI Skills Cluster, where there is evidence of forecasted growth in screen production and where skills gaps or shortages are prevalent. 

In order to be offered an award, you must be able to lead the development of below-the-line skills and workforce development interventions for your area. You will develop or build on existing partnerships with key regional and national stakeholders to continue creating visible, equitable, pathways into below the line roles, addressing local skills gaps and shortages that the commercial market cannot.

All activity funded through the BFI Skills Clusters Fund should deliver against the following outcomes of the BFI’s National Lottery strategy:

Primary outcomes

equitable and more visible routes into the sector for people of all ages (3.1)
people from under-represented groups across the UK can access the support they need to develop their careers and skills (3.2)
vital skills for the sector that cannot be delivered by the commercial market are developed (3.4)
evidence-based insight and analysis of the screen sector is readily available to all, supporting organisations and driving policymaking (4.3)

Secondary outcome

Workforce retention is improved through inclusive and supportive workplaces (3.3)

All proposed activity must also deliver against our three principles for National Lottery funding: equity, diversity and inclusion, UK-wide and environmental sustainability.

2. Check if you’re eligible

Your application should be submitted by a lead organisation on behalf of a cluster with local, regional and, where appropriate, national partners named on the application. These combined partners, representing a defined geographical area, will form a Skills Cluster.

Definition of a Skills Cluster

Skills Cluster applicants must, at a minimum, demonstrate local connections with:

active production bases, such as employers such as a broadcaster or studio
higher or further education providers
training providers
relevant industry stakeholders, which may include local government

The lead applicant

The lead organisation for the Skills Cluster should submit the application. You should list any key local, regional and national partners in your application. We will communicate directly with the lead applicant.

Your organisation must be legally constituted and centrally managed in the UK as one of:

limited liability company or partnership registered at Companies House
community interest company registered at Companies House
combined or local authority or statutory body
charity or trust registered with the Charity Commission (excluding UK universities and colleges)

In addition, you must deliver your programme on a not for profit basis.

Eligible areas

Your organisation must either be based in, or able to demonstrate a partnership approach to delivering activity in, one of the following areas of the UK:

East of England 
South West 
East Midlands 
South East (excluding Hertfordshire, Surrey, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire)

You don’t need to cover a whole region, you can just focus on a specific area where you can demonstrate growth. Existing Skills Clusters are eligible to apply to cover one or more of these regions if they can propose a credible plan for expanding their activity. They will need to demonstrate clearly that any new award would not be used for skills activity within those geographical regions that are already supported through the Skills Clusters Fund.

Individuals cannot apply. While higher education and further education institutions can – and should — be named partners on applications, they cannot be the applicant.

3. What you can use the funding for

You can apply for an award up to £900,000 for skills and training activity within the eligible areas to cover activity commencing in February 2027 and concluding by 31 March 2029.  

Activity for this period should focus on training for below-the-line production roles in film and TV, however you may also run initiatives that support skills development in games and immersive storytelling, for example where there is significant related production activity in the area or crossover with film/TV skills initiatives. Interventions should focus on scripted productions and narrative storytelling, however we recognise the overlap in skills in many scripted and non-scripted roles.We also encourage you to consider emerging technologies within your training interventions, particularly AI.

Evidence of local Skills needs

In your application you must tell us about:

skills shortages in your area — roles which cannot be filled due to the unavailability of people with the skills needed.
skills gaps in your area - existing workers that do not possess the range of skills needed to be deemed proficient in their role.

Within your application you may budget for additional research on skills gaps and shortages in your area, drawing on both quantitative and qualitative data, to enable your proposed programme to remain responsive to need. This can include understanding the existing makeup of the local screen production workforce and the interventions that are best placed to help build a representative workforce.

We expect your proposed programme to address evidenced skills need and for this to be at a scale that is proportionate, acknowledging that not all people who engage in the training provided through the programme will progress into directly related work.

We also expect you to set out how your programme will support the increased proficiency of existing workers in your area where a need is identified, and their progression into meaningful employment, defined as 840 hours within one year of them benefiting from a training intervention.

Those benefiting from your training and development opportunities should be representative of the local working population and may include:

new work entrants: those who are new to the world of work such as those who have recently left full time education (school, FE or HE) and have limited to no prior work-related experience (in any sector)
career changers: those who have worked in another sector but have not worked in the Screen Sector before and their prior experience has some to little relevance. Career Changers may progress quicker than New Entrants, as they have a range of transversal skills to build on, developed through prior work
career transferers: those who have worked in a related occupation or sub-sector but have not applied their skills in film and television previously. This can include those moving from unscripted to scripted content, and vice versa

Where broader industry factors mean that the number of local people out of work within the screen sector is increasing, we would expect activity to focus on retraining existing industry workers to fill skills shortages (as opposed to support for new entrants).

Activity can also support upskilling interventions to help address local skills gaps, where alternative skills and training interventions are not available, this means your activity must not duplicate what is already available through the commercial market and ScreenSkills.

What you’ll need to deliver

In your application, you’ll need to describe the specific activities you will deliver with the funding to meet your KPIs.

At a minimum, your deliverables must include:

training programmes and work placement opportunities for individuals hoping to start or progress their career in the screen sector
- for paid placement opportunities we encourage a co-investment model with a production to cover the cost of the allocated wage
targeted activity and training to support people from underrepresented backgrounds
higher and further education curriculum development
regional partnerships (between regional businesses, job centres, local public services, FE/HE education providers, and other BFI funded partners such as National Saturday Club and Film Academy)
steering group or panel meetings with your partners and where relevant, industry and education stakeholders
a web page that clearly communicates the Skills Cluster offer to target beneficiaries
an annual report bringing together qualitative and quantitative data that identifies skills gaps and shortages in your area and the scale of this need; it must include methods, data sources, employer insights and recommendations

If you’re an existing Skills Cluster applying to extend the geographical reach of your current offer you should propose deliverables that complement, not duplicate, your existing skills activity. Deliverables can be combined where it adds value, improves efficiency, or strengthens impact (for example, a single annual report covering both areas but ensuring that data for each area is clearly defined).

Depending on your local needs, you may also consider:

crew mapping and developing crew databases
crew networking and support services
careers education toolkits for FE/HE
train the trainer modules or resources for FE/HE
activity that responds to industry changes and emerging skills gaps and shortages, where there is clear evidence of need (you might include a flexible line in your budget that can be used in response to emerging needs)
industry-education events
activity that supports beneficiaries to access training, such as mentoring or pastoral support (this should not duplicate funding or support available through Access to Work or the Skills Bursary Fund managed by Screenskills)
Set Ready training, which may be undertaken via simulated productions
sustainability training, either as a standalone training intervention or embedded into other training interventions
training on AI, to better prepare beneficiaries for technological changes as part of occupation-specific training or as part of transversal skills development

You must also deliver case studies by March 2029 that amplify the range and impact of activity delivered by your Cluster. For example, this could include case studies that demonstrate:

training interventions were co-designed with employers to meet priority skills needs
industry and education stakeholders worked together to influence curriculum design
barriers to access and progression were addressed
new work entrants, career transferers and career changers were progressed into the industry through their local Skills Cluster
those working in the industry developed proficiency in their role because of the training intervention

Eligible costs

You can use this funding for project costs such as:

staff directly involved in delivering Skills Cluster programme activity, including partnership development and management
costs associated with research into and analysis of local skills gaps and shortages
specialist consultancy fees (for example, training advisors, monitoring and evaluation experts)
mentorships
marketing and promotion of Skills Cluster funded activity
managing a crew map for your region
costs associated with developing and delivering skills and training activity, including related events
contribution to overheads relating to the activity (at a reasonable level)

All costs must be at a level to maximise the public benefit and value for money of the fund.

Costs we cannot support

This fund cannot be used for skills activity for above-the-line roles. We define above-the-line roles as writing, directing, producing and acting.

Funds must not substitute or replace existing funding or income that would otherwise be available or be used to fund similar activity that can take place without an award. National Lottery funds are only awarded to applicants that demonstrate need and a clear public benefit from the activity. Our National Lottery Funding is project-based, time-limited funding, and you should not expect ongoing support beyond the term of any award made.

Examples of common ineligible costs are:

core costs for day to day running of your organisation not associated with the activity
staffing costs which are covered by other sources of funding
costs relating to an extension of ongoing work
capital expenditure
grants or loans to beneficiaries
film production costs
filmmaking projects, workshops or other ‘above the line’ training or project development
activity that is already specifically supported by another external source of funding
proposals that focus on other art-forms such as literature, dance on film, theatre, poetry film, opera or artists’ moving image
cost incurred prior to an offer of funding from us
promotional or other activity (information stands, printed brochures) which does not support environmental sustainability
expanding current, or piloting new, activity within a geographical area already supported by the Skills Cluster Fund

This list is not exhaustive, and we may tell you that other types of activity within your application cannot be supported by a BFI award or ask that you amend specific activities and associated budget allocations.

If you’re registered for VAT

Your figures should not include VAT that you can claim back.

If you’re not registered for VAT (or you are but cannot fully recover the VAT you incur on costs)

Your figures should include irrecoverable VAT. Grants we make are ‘outside the scope’ of VAT and should be listed in your accounts as a grant and not, for example, as a fee for any services supplied to the BFI. You should get financial advice from your own accountant or the relevant tax office.

Cashflow

Your application must be based on a single award from 1 February 2027 — 31 March 2029. If you are successful, funding will be cashflowed in-line with spend over your proposed project delivery timeline subject to:

satisfactory performance — you can continue to deliver your activity in line with your funding agreement and these guidelines
receipt and approval by BFI of routine reporting including progress against KPIs and costs to date
demonstration that you can remain financially viable through to the end of the funding term

Partnership funding

You’ll need to demonstrate an element of partnership support which can include cash or in-kind support. Partnership contributions demonstrate that there is genuine support for your project from your community, stakeholders, and other partners. We will not determine which sources of partnership funding are best suited to your project activity, this should be decided by you based on what you hope to achieve.

As a guide, we expect to see cash partnership funding at a minimum of 20% of the total project budget. Partnership funding does not have to be secured when you submit your application, but where it supports an essential element of the programme, it will need to be secured in advance of payment of any award from BFI and before the proposed project start date. Other BFI funds cannot be used as partnership funding and UK National Lottery Funding from another distributor must not be the only form of partnership funding.

4. What your Skills Cluster needs to achieve

Skills Clusters must build skilled local crew bases that are representative of the local population, attracting and supporting both indigenous and inward investment productions.

We would expect to see:

participants recording increased confidence and competency in their role
participants entering meaningful work
participants finding work close to where they live
participants from underrepresented backgrounds entering and staying in the workforce
employers or productions recruiting their crew locally

Key Performance Indicators

We will measure the success of the fund using the following Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). You will need to set targets in your application in line with the following:

number of beneficiaries, which can include those who want to work or progress into the sector and those who deliver training to others, engaged in accredited training, non-accredited training, apprenticeships, mentoring and broader skills support – outcome 3.1
percentage of beneficiaries from underrepresented groups engaging in the programme – outcomes 3.1, 3.2
number of beneficiaries recruited through Film Academy hubs – outcome 3.2
percentage of beneficiaries who work in the sector and meet the meaningful work requirement (840 hours) within one year of a training intervention, across accredited, non-accredited training, apprenticeships and broader skills support – outcome 3.1
percentage of beneficiaries who work in the sector and meet the minimum requirement (420 hours) within one year of a training intervention, across accredited, non-accredited training, apprenticeships and broader skills support – outcome 3.1
beneficiary satisfaction and confidence levels pre/post intervention, suitably measured – outcomes 3.1, 3.2, 3.3
number of adult (18+) beneficiaries engaged in careers events and outreach activities (DWP, colleges, community groups) focused on raising awareness of screen careers among underrepresented populations – outcome 3.1
programme reach online and through social media e.g. social media reach, event attendance, or website traffic – outcomes 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4
number of partnerships with regional businesses, job centres, local public services, local FE/HE, training providers and employers and specialist trainers/mentors – outcome 3.4
number of education and training providers who report making changes to provision based on engaging with the programme – outcome 3.4
percentage of partnership funding and in-kind resources secured for BFI funded Skills Cluster activity – outcome 3.4

BFI’s National Lottery strategy outcome 4.3 — evidence-based insight and analysis of the screen sector is readily available to all, supporting organisations and driving policymaking — will be achieved through the annual report of skills gaps and shortages.

You will need to have an effective plan for collecting the above data during the funding period. We will work with successful applicants to agree a plan for continuing to measure the longer-term impacts of Skills Cluster funding.

Equity, diversity and inclusion

All activity supported by our funding must address the BFI Diversity Standards. You are encouraged to develop targeted diversity and inclusion interventions based on knowledge of your regions and the particular barriers faced. If successful, you’ll need to report following the conclusion of your activity, evaluating how you’ve delivered the aims of the Diversity Standards in practice.

Your activity will contribute towards achieving our inclusion targets. Funded activity may include a focus on specific communities and demographics. It might also be designed in line with the needs of specific regions and nations. You’ll need to set your own targets based on what you want to achieve that’s appropriate to your region/nation, which should be informed by our Inclusion Targets above.

BFI Good Work programme

The BFI Good Work Programme for Screen supports the development and delivery of Good Work resources, advice, training and support to SMEs, including leaders, managers and heads of departments (HoDs), to help strengthen leadership and management practices, encourage a more formalised approach to hiring and professional development, and build more inclusive and productive workplaces.

Good work practices are essential to creating equitable pathways into the sector, building a representative workforce and retaining workers. Therefore, the BFI Skills Clusters are required to work in partnership with the BFI Good Work Programme, to aid the sector’s adoption of good work principles alongside modelling best practice approaches.

UK-wide

Our funding supports national, regional, and local activity to ensure that communities throughout the UK feel the benefit of the screen industries and culture. You’ll need to tell us where your proposed activity will be delivered and how this will support the BFI’s UK-wide principle. Your activity must respond to local skills gaps and shortages, supporting regional production hubs to meet their skills needs, as well as local communities, by providing opportunities via a clear pathway into jobs in the production sector.

Environmental sustainability

You’ll need to consider how you’ll apply environmental sustainability (ES) principles to the funded activity or your organisation more generally. This could include:

exploring environmental themes as part of the work, for example:
- programming
- training
- skills development
implementing good environmental practice for the project, for example:
- travel
- events
embedding sustainability within your organisation more broadly

Due to the range of organisations and activity that we fund, we’re not prescriptive about what you should focus on. For guidance, you can refer to resources on Sustainable Screen Resource Hub, which outlines good environmental practices.

If funded, you are required to report how you have applied the ES principles in programme delivery and more broadly. We’ll also signpost you to a range of tools, resources, and training opportunities to support you in making your BFI-backed project more sustainable.

5. How to apply

Your application

You should reflect the overall vision for the local screen sector, detailing where you are now, where you want to be in two years’ time and how you intend to get there. You must propose:

a robust plan for analysing and identifying local skills gaps and shortages within the geographical region you wish to represent, drawing on both quantitative and qualitative data
a programme of targeted training interventions that addresses the identified skills gaps and shortages, and scale of need, with strong potential to progress participants into meaningful employment and/or increase the proficiency of existing workers
a clear outreach and support strategy designed to remove barriers to access and contribute to building a more representative local screen sector workforce
a practical and collaborative approach to working with FE, HE, and other training providers, with the aim of influencing and informing industry-relevant curriculum development and creating clearer pathways between education and employment

Information you need to provide

The application form will ask you for some basic information including:

details of the lead contact and lead organisation (applicant)
the geographical area that your application represents (this must be within the East of England, the South East, the East Midlands or the South West)
the total activity budget and amount requested from BFI
a summary of your proposal (max 800 words)
how your proposal meets the stated primary and secondary Fund outcomes (max 800 words)
how your proposal addresses identified geographic need, in line with the National Lottery principle of funding ‘UK-wide’
how the proposal supports equity, diversity and inclusion and responds to the BFI’s Diversity Standards
your approach to environmental sustainability and net zero within the design of your activity

You will also need to attach a detailed proposal for creating and delivering your programme of activity, responding to the stated National Lottery Strategy outcomes and principles.

About your proposal

Your proposal must include the following sections:

Strategic leadership

a summary of the lead applicant and key partner organisations (1 side max)
your vision for what you want to achieve over the 27-29 funding period and how this will support building a representative and appropriately skilled workforce in your area (2 sides max)

Partnerships

a map of all partners and stakeholders, including their role in delivering the proposed activity (3 sides of A4 max)
a short description of each partner and stakeholder that shows alignment with National Lottery Principles and that they are committed to inclusivity, transparency, and delivering for public good
information on partnership funding and any in-kind support

Evidence led skills planning

your current understanding of local skills gaps and shortages in your chosen region, using quantitative and qualitative data, including the scale of need (3 sides max)
a plan for continuous and robust data review, ensuring responsiveness to changes in need. This must include partners who can support with skills analysis, data sources you intend to engage with, and mechanisms, such as planned employer surveys and steering groups, to gather further insights (3 sides max)

Delivery

proposed KPIs
a detailed delivery plan, setting out your proposed training interventions against the skills gaps and shortages you have identified, scaled to need (recognising that you are likely to train more people than will progress directly into employment in below-the-line production roles)
the timeline for delivery, including key milestones
an education partnership plan, detailing how you intend to work with FE/HE and other training providers, to review and inform existing curriculum to make this more relevant and responsive to industry need (2 sides max)
clear outreach and engagement plan for engaging target beneficiaries and removing barriers to access to meet KPIs

Organisational capacity and governance

governance structure and oversight mechanisms, including the role of a Board and any steering or advisory groups
your process for escalation of issues, should they arise in relation to delivery of the funded activity
details of your reporting systems, financial systems and controls, including sign off processes for quarterly reports

Value for money

narrative, linked to the proposed budget, that explains how you intend to deliver high quality outcomes relative to the available funding and how you will ensure you do not duplicate activity delivered through other skills and training programmes (500 words max)
a monitoring and evaluation plan that sets out how you will collect and collate the data required for reporting against your KPIs, including your proposed inclusion targets (max 2 sides A4)

Documents you need to provide

You will need to attach the following to your application:

an activity risk register
your organisational risk register
a detailed budget and indicative cashflow for your activity, clearly setting out the proposed use of BFI funds and the status of any partnership funding
your last set of independently certified / audited accounts. If more than 12 months has passed since the year-end covered in your last filed statutory accounts, please also provide draft accounts for the intervening auditable period as approved by your board (including both income and expenditure reporting and a balance sheet)
your organisation’s most recent budget and management accounts for the current financial year as approved by your Board (including both income and expenditure reporting and a balance sheet), as well as any subsequent budget reforecast since board approval was provided
budget/forecast for your organisation for financial years 2026 to 2029, accompanied by notes highlighting the assumptions made and key risks (for instance around renewal of funding from other sources)
your organisation’s current sustainability policy (or other relevant documentation)

Equality monitoring form

You may be asked to provide equality monitoring data relating to your organisation’s leadership or project staff at the point of application or during your project. The data you submit on this form will be confidential.

Submitting your application

To apply, you’ll need to create an account. You’ll then need to complete and submit the online application form. You can save your application and return to it when you need to. Make sure you complete all the sections as incomplete forms will be automatically ineligible.

For guidance about how to use our new BFI applicant portal:

Applicant guide for using the new portalPDF961 KB

Application form preview

If you have any questions when completing the application form email us: [email protected].

BFI National Lottery Skills Cluster application form previewPDF175 KB

Start your application

6. What happens after you apply

You’ll get confirmation we’ve received your application within two working days. We’ll request any additional information we may need within five weeks.

You’ll get a decision within 12 weeks.

You’ll be sent:

an email that your application is in progress
a unique ID number for your application

If we need more information

Once submitted, we will review your application and if necessary, may write to you or request to meet with you to obtain more information about your application. If we need additional information from you, it may take us longer to reach a decision on your application.

How your application is assessed

When assessing your application, we consider your demonstration of need for National Lottery funding and whether there is a clear public benefit to the proposed activity, along with the following:

BFI strategic outcomes

Applications must deliver against the following primary outcomes:

equitable and more visible routes into the sector for people of all ages (3.1)
people from under-represented groups across the UK can access the support they need to develop their careers and skills (3.2)
vital skills for the sector that cannot be delivered by the commercial market are developed (3.4)
evidence-based insight and analysis of the screen sector is readily available to all, supporting organisations and driving policymaking (4.3)

We will assess the strength of applications using the following criteria:

Strategic leadership (10%)

embedded within the region and can demonstrate that your lead and key partners have the relevant expertise
have a strong track record leading and coordinating regional screen-sector skills initiatives
have a coherent and ambitious vision for 2027 to 2029 that will support building an appropriately skilled and representative local below-the-line screen workforce in your chosen area

Partnerships (10%)

established and active partnerships with key stakeholders, who have clearly defined roles and are best placed to deliver the programme
partners demonstrate alignment with National Lottery principles and are committed to inclusivity, transparency and delivering for public benefit
Evidence of partnership funding and/or in-kind contributions, demonstrating value and buy-in

Evidence led skills planning (15%)

robust use of quantitative and qualitative data to identify skills gaps, shortages and future trends
a clear and credible plan for how ongoing data and stakeholder input will ensure this analysis is regularly updated and the programme is responsive to industry change

Delivery (25%)

KPIs are realistic and ambitious, measurable and align with programme aims
a programme of training interventions that maps to the identified skills gaps and shortages and the scale of the identified need. The offer is targeted, and training interventions comply with best practice approaches and definitions
a delivery plan that is achievable
a practical approach to working with FE/HE and training providers, with potential to influence curriculum design and careers guidance
effective and ethical approach to monitoring outcomes
an outreach strategy that clearly identifies target groups and includes thoughtful, specific approaches to removing barriers to work in the industry

Organisational capacity and governance (10%)

clear and credible structures for oversight and accountability, including Board and advisory groups
demonstrates robust internal systems for financial and performance monitoring, including sign-off processes and compliance with reporting requirements
how you have managed any previous BFI awards

Value for money (10%)

budgets are clear, well-justified, proportionate, and demonstrate effective use of partnership contributions (cash or in-kind)
the proposal outlines how outcomes will be maximised relative to funding and how any duplication of any existing provision will be avoided
strong monitoring and evaluation framework that aligns with KPIs and inclusion targets; includes practical methods for data collection, analysis, and feedback loops

Risk (10%)

Comprehensive risk register provided with clear owner(s) and mitigation strategies.

Commitment to the National Lottery funding principles (10%)

‘UK-wide’, equity, diversity and inclusion’ and ‘environmental sustainability’.

We may share parts of your application with other BFI teams or external consultants to help us assess it.

How we’ll prioritise applications

We prioritise funding for proposals that are:

closest to the fund’s objectives and outcomes
we think will have the biggest impact on developing the local screen production workforce
offer value for money
use an evidence-based approach to addressing local skills gaps and shortages
clearly demonstrate a commitment to supporting the BFI’s UK-wide, EDI, and environmental sustainability ambitions

Awards will be made in accordance with the scale, ambition, and reach of each proposal. This means we may offer you an award that is different in value to the amount of funding you applied for.

Identity checks

We undertake due diligence assessments of the applications we are recommending to our decision-making committee for funding. We will request the personal address and date of birth of the CEO or Managing Director of the organisation applying. We will use this data to run an identity check. Our request for this information is not an indication or confirmation of funding and you will be informed separately of the funding decision on your application. This is not a credit check. We will be unable to submit your application to our decision making committee until we have received your completed form.

Lottery Finance Committee consideration

Following assessment of each application, funding recommendations will be made to the BFI Lottery Finance Committee. This is the final stage of the funding decision process. All applicants will be informed in writing of the decision on their application.

7. Getting a decision

If you’re successful, you’ll:

receive a written offer of funding either by way of an extension of the existing funding agreement or on an updated version of our standard conditions of funding
need to sign the offer of funding and return it to the BFI within 21 days

Your offer of funding will set out details of how you’ll receive the funding, how to use it and how we expect you to report to us.

Read the general conditions of National Lottery funding and the section below on specific Skills Cluster conditions to funding to find out what you will have to do if you are offered an award.

If you’re unsuccessful

We may have turned down your application because we determined that the proposal:

did not sufficiently meet our funding objectives and outcomes
did not demonstrate a strong enough commitment to one or all of the following principles: equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), environmental sustainability and UK-wide
was too ambitious for the budget
did not demonstrate enough relevant experience
was not yet developed enough
was not evidence-led
did not demonstrate sufficient continued need for National Lottery support (for example, could be financed by other means)
did not meet with the BFI Diversity Standards

Feedback on an unsuccessful application

If we had a meeting with you to discuss your application, you can ask for feedback on your application. We will keep the data and supporting materials you sent to us in line with our records retention policy.

We welcome your feedback on the application process and how we might improve it. Email us: [email protected].

8. Conditions of funding

If we offer you an award, in addition to the General Conditions of National Lottery Funding, the following conditions will apply:

You will be required to report on progress against all KPIs on a quarterly basis and attend annual performance reviews. Each report will need to include a narrative update, details of beneficiaries and attendance, any requested changes to plans against your approved application, update on KPIs, updated activity risk register and cost reporting against budget.
You may be asked to attend routine or specific meetings with BFI colleagues to discuss progress and will be required to take part in evaluation of the Fund by the BFI (or its contracted party).
You will be required to work collaboratively with our relevant BFI departments and partners, including other BFI Skills Clusters, ScreenSkills and national screen agencies, when marketing the opportunities available through the activity.
You will be required to share resources, data insights, data reports and learning between partners across the Places Fund and with Skills Clusters, as facilitated by BFI.
You will be required to provide a copy of any resources that are developed under the funded activity to the BFI and ensure any resources developed using National Lottery funding are made publicly available – for example, any research or data collection in relation to skills gaps, shortages, or crew mapping – both during and for a period of at least 2 years after the term of the funding agreement.
Where you have included unsecured partnership funding within your budget, you will need to provide updates on securing this finance to the BFI (normally as part of your performance reporting but, where such partnership funding is intrinsic to delivery of the activity, as a pre-condition to the funding agreement). The BFI may elect to withhold or withdraw your award if you are unable to secure the level of partnership funding required to deliver the activity as planned, or require that you submit revised plans and budget showing how the activity could be delivered without the planned partnership funding.
You will need to adopt safeguarding provisions for protecting children and vulnerable adults and ensure that data on all participants in and beneficiaries of the Skills Cluster activity can be shared with BFI in compliance with UK data protection legislation.
You will be required to gain BFI approval for any marketing or related materials for your funded activity, in line with branding guidelines that the BFI will provide to you.
You will be required to work with our designated cultural sustainability partner to assess your environmental impact. Further guidance and support will be provided to you once the award period begins.

The BFI National Lottery Funding Plan 2026-2029 has been developed based on predicted income from future National Lottery ticket sales that would fall due to BFI. In the event that receipts to BFI are lower than predicted we may have to make reductions across all funding plan programmes. The amount of funding that we can make available for the later years may therefore be impacted by the ongoing availability of National Lottery funds at predicted levels. If we have to reduce funding for any year, we will endeavour to ensure that we provide sufficient notice and work with you to modify plans accordingly.