Epiacum POP (Planning Our Partnerships) is a £48,000 project funded through the Heritage Lottery Fund’s new Resilient Heritage programme. It is running between May 2017 and spring 2018.
For several years Epiacum Heritage has struggled financially, moving from one grant funded project to another and only the belief and generosity of volunteers has kept it alive. Fundraising activities have maintained a small core fund to pay for site and event insurance and provide a few events.
Now this project means Epiacum Heritage Ltd will be able to move forward with stronger finances, governance, and partnerships, achieving better conservation and larger audiences through a coherent visitor offer and volunteer programme. There are three main targets we need to achieve:
- a Research Framework and Conservation Plan, to consolidate all the existing pieces of archaeological, biodiversity and historical knowledge and set out an agenda for active research;
- an Audience Development Plan, to help engage more new people with the heritage of the Epiacum landscape; and
- a 5 year Business Plan, to ensure that the organisation is strong and we generate enough income to maintain the site and deliver our research and activity ambitions.
The foundation of our collaborative approach is to grow operational partnerships with agencies and other local businesses and develop the number and skills of core volunteers.
We want to be effective and influential, offering life-long experiential learning and participative activity programmes. These will build on ongoing academic and community based research into Epiacum’s historic landscape, which is distinctive because of the 3000 years of human habitation evident here.
If you have any helpful suggestions, we’d love to hear from you. Email us on info@epiacumheritage.org or visit the contact us page to leave us a message. Suggestions we received during our Diamond Conference include:
- curious questions we can use in the Research Framework;
- offer from B&B on Hadrian’s Wall to become a ‘Corporate Friend’;
- joint promotion with other local visitor attractions; and
- invitations to speak at Newcastle based life-long learning group.
Please let us know your ideas. Contact us.
We will publish our Research Framework and events programme on this website as soon as they are ready. Friends of Epiacum will find out first, before public release. Find out how to join here.
We are very grateful for the HLF funding which will provide dedicated staff time and reduce the financial risk for the organisation while we tests the market and approach for new income generating activities, alongside developing strategic plans. Our ambition is to strengthen the organisation, be less reliant on grant funding, and be meaningful and memorable for more people.
