The Towards a National Collection (TaNC) Program has announced the launch of the Environmental and Sustainability strand of the National Research Infrastructure for Cultural Heritage (N‑RICH) Prototype project.
Funded through the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Infrastructure Fund Preliminary Activity grant awarded to the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and delivered by the TaNC Program in partnership with AHRC, the two-year N-RICH Prototype represents a significant investment in strengthening the UK’s cultural heritage research infrastructure.
The Environmental and Sustainability strand addresses growing concern around the environmental and financial impacts of long-term digital preservation, helping organizations balance sustainability with preservation risk and operational realities.
“We at N-RICH are excited about this work,” says Anna-Maria Sichani, Senior Researcher, Towards a National Collection. “As digital practices and long-term preservation in cultural heritage collections raise urgent environmental and financial challenges for institutions and communities, this strand will deliver an evidence-based approach to balance sustainability with the realities of infrastructure development.”
To deliver the Environmental and Sustainability strand, a selection of GLAM organizations will work with experienced consultants from InformU Solutions and Preserve Together to create a catalogue of digital preservation processes. These processes will be benchmarked to assess their environmental and financial impacts, producing an evidence base that the digital preservation community has long called for.
The resulting framework will offer:
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Clear data on the carbon impacts of long‑term digital preservation
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Practical guidance for Digital Preservation and IT teams
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Tools to support policy development, procurement, and long-term planning
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Insight into balancing sustainability with preservation risk and financial sustainability
The N‑RICH Prototype aims to lay the foundations for a national research infrastructure that will support and connect the UK’s cultural heritage collections. The Environmental and Sustainability strand forms a key component of this work, investigating how digital preservation practice can be made more sustainable without compromising the stewardship of cultural heritage assets.
Read more about the N-RICH project: N-RICH Prototype | Towards a National Collection