I worked with the National Holocaust Centre and Museum, the only UK museum solely dedicated to preserving and commemorating the story of the Holocaust, as their National Lottery Heritage Fund Activity Planning consultant. I was one of a team of specialists who worked with the museum on its Stage 2 NLHF bid submitted in May 2022. I'm delighted to hear that the NHLF awarded the museum the full grant of £702,300 at its committee meeting in September 2022. The Activity Plan represents over half the value of the grant. 

In some ways this was the perfect project for me. In 18 years as a museum consultant I've written more Activity Plans than I care to remember and I've worked with the subject of the Holocaust pretty much consistently since 2009, including a three-year stint as curator and director of the Holocaust Centre North in Huddersfield where I curated the permanent exhibition. I have always been drawn to subjects that are perceived as 'difficult' or sensitive, in this case not just because the stories are emotionally devastating but because there is so much political resonance for the present. I was able to apply the knowledge and insight from that previous work to the National Holocaust Centre, working with them to engage new audiences with their important work and create new opportunities for participation, both on site from the museum's base at Laxton, Nottinghamshire, and online. It was a privilege to work with such an experienced and talented team of specialists including architects, business planners, project managers, landscape specialists and academic advisers. It was also great to have an opportunity to work with my long term collaborator Dr Tracy Craggs, an oral historian with specific expertise in Second World War and Holocaust interviewing, to deliver the Activity Plan. This is perhaps the most competitive funding environment I've ever experienced but we're delighted to have been able to help the museum along the road to reaching its ambitious long term vision.