Image Sales Research

Tender description

The Historic England Archive is one of the largest publicly accessible archives in the UK and the biggest dedicated to the historic environment. It is maintained by the HE Archive team and is based in Swindon. The Archive Team is responsible for the management, care and dissemination of the Archive, a collection of 12 million archive items. We hold many major collections of national importance covering archaeology, architecture, social and local history. The archive collections include photographs, drawings, plans and documents In 2008/9, English Heritage set up an E-commerce project with the aim of testing the potential for selling images through 3rd parties with already established, specialist audiences. It was also seen as a way of testing the resource requirements of supplying images and data to a 3rd party and the desirability of our collections and images for third party suppliers. During 2016, the Archive has carried out an internal review which aimed to deliver the following; • A clear understanding of the value and purpose of the Archive within Historic England • An achievable plan to increase access • An indication of the scope and means to increase income and external funding As a result of this review we are now looking for a consultant to carry out research to help us understand our position in the market place and to identify opportunities which have the potential to generate income for us.