Future Funding is an Arts Council England funded programme delivered by Libraries Connected to support public libraries to develop the skills, abilities and knowledge necessary to take a proactive approach to diversifying and increasing their income. The aim of the programme is to help library services to actively develop and deliver income generation strategies for their services.  

We are now inviting expressions of interest for participation in the Future Funding Training Programme beginning in January 2023. The programme has been designed to support Heads of Library services and Commercial or Business Development Leads who will have the understanding and responsibility for income generation as well as the responsibility for delivery of library services. 

The training was developed with a Pathfinder Group drawn from ten library services across England to ensure it aligns with library needs and interests, and then tested more fully with 3 pioneer cohorts of 35 participants. In addition to understanding the principles of income generation for libraries, participants explore the ethical implications and highlight areas of concern to create a qualification framework to help assess income generation opportunities. Content focusses on key areas to support development of commercial skills and facilitate library services capability to generate income. 

There are a total of 36 places available to create three cohorts. The programme, delivered entirely online, between January and August 2023, will consist of: 

• Eight workshops of approximately 4 hours each 

• Eight mentoring sessions, up to 1.25 hours each 

• Preparation and follow-on activities. 

The time commitment is a maximum of 3 full days per month (including the above). Workshops are roughly monthly, with dates for all sessions shared in advance. Participants will receive a workbook and supporting resources. 

Please note that it is essential you are able to commit the required time, attend all workshops and mentoring sessions and complete all activities. 

How to access the programme 

The cost is £2,000 but it is FREE for any of our member library services in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. 

We are taking a slightly different approach to allocating places this year as we are keen for people to know as soon as possible about places given the time requirement from January onwards. There are three cohorts of 12 people, and we will be allocating and confirming places on a rolling fortnightly basis - so do get your expressions of interest in as soon as you can. 

To register your interest, please complete this short registration form:  
https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=r9vV9dsSwUWk3C7Ro-snEQF_8iZewmVAqyUcH40oUhNUMUNCQk1QQTJDMUJBQlZHNU5RQ1hMMkQzSi4u.