ABSTRACT
One of the less well-known activities of the Science Museum is its stewardship of the Grant-in-Aid Fund. Established in 1973, the Fund assists non-national museums throughout England and Wales with up to 50 per cent of the costs of buying, moving or conserving items of local historical significance-something that would otherwise be beyond their means. Although the money to pay grants from the Fund is channelled through the Museums and Galleries Commission (MGC), it is at the Science Museum that individual applications are considered and referred to whichever curator has specialist expertise in the relevant area. Staff from other national museums are sometimes consulted for their opinion on grant applications. Applicants also have the opportunity to benefit from advice on the repair and conservation of the objects that they propose to acquire with the help of their grant. If for any reason a grant cannot be offered, the Science Museum is frequently able to lend an item from its own collections to help a provincial museum complete its displays. Having accepted from the MGC the delegated role of administering the Grant-in-Aid scheme in this way, the Science Museum has been able to widen its responsibility for pastoral advice and support to smaller museums with science and technology collections throughout the country.
