Does your organisation need to make a step change?
Join our Network Academy Cohort online this autumn!
Between September and December 2025 a brand new Network Academy cohort of community heritage leaders will embark on an online, co-designed learning and development journey.
The online programme will raise the skills of members to improve their organisation’s delivery, resilience and engagement, enabling them to secure funding and be more successful with their projects.
The topics that will be covered are:
- Fit for funding (including effective bid writing)
- Developing your organisational strategy
- Diversifying your income streams
The cohort will work on real-life issues that participants are experiencing and there will be plenty of reflection and action-planning time built-in.
Who is it for?
Leaders (staff or volunteers) of organisations with ambitions to make a step change in their effectiveness, emerge from a period of dormancy, develop new partnerships, engage new groups of people, grow their earned income, have a bigger impact on their town/city or take on new projects.
Organisations must be Network or Network Plus level members. Connect level members can apply, but must upgrade their membership if their application is successful.
How will it work?
The programme will be open to a cohort of 28 people from 14 member organisations (2 people per organisation) and will be delivered online between September and December 2025. The application form will open on 18th July and closes at 9am on 3rd September. There will be an initial co-design session in September before the programme starts in October and by the end of the programme participants will have developed their capabilities, widened their support network and created an action plan for their organisation.
The application
The application form will open on 18th July and closes at 9am on 3rd September. We will try to ensure that there are participants from all four nations, and that there is a good mix of small and large, staffed and volunteer-led organisations represented. In our experience, participants value collaborating with peers from a wide range of backgrounds. Successful applicants will be notified by email on the 4th and 5th of September.
Price
This opportunity is only available to Network or Network Plus level members who will pay £100 total for two spots. Connect level members can apply, but must upgrade their membership if their application is successful.
2 bursaries are available for organisations that may be experiencing financial difficulties. Please complete the form, but email us separately to tell us why the ticket price would be a barrier.
Important dates
18th July 2025 – application form goes live
3rd September 2025 (9am) – application form closes
4th/5th September 2025 – successful applicants are notified by email
23rd September 2025 (1-3pm) – online co-design session with 2025 cohort
2nd October 2025 (time TBC) – First online session
16th October 2025 (time TBC) – Second online session
The November and December dates will be decided at the co-design stage. We anticipate around 8 online sessions, depending on the result of the co-design session) and participants will be required to commit to actively participating in each of the events.
The programme
The programme will be administrated by the Heritage Network team and delivered by Cwmpas which is a development agency working for positive change across the UK, promoting digital inclusion, social justice, and a fairer, greener economy.
Apply nowDeadline 9am, 3rd September 2025.
