The Industrial Heritage Support Officer (IHSO) project began in September 2012 and was managed by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust (IGMT) from 2012 to 2026. The National Trust took over the Ironbridge museums in March 2026, and employs the IHSO officer through a grant from Historic England (HE) via their National Capacity Building Programme. The project is run in partnership with the Association for Industrial Archaeology (AIA), who also provide funding.
A project steering group includes representatives from the Association of Independent Museums, ABTEM, Arts Council England, Canal & River Trust, English Heritage, National Lottery Heritage Fund, National Trust, Science Museum Group, and a project liaison from Historic England.
The IHSO project aims to support the c. 400 organisations in England that look after more than 600 protected, interpreted, and publicly accessible industrial heritage and archaeology sites through:
- Support and Promote Best Practice Through Face-to-face Support and Digital Media
- Support & Run Industrial Heritage Support Networks
- Support and Aid Strategic Leadership & Partnerships (including via online seminars)
- Gather Data on the state/condition/resilience of the industrial sites & project impact
You can engage with and follow the IHSO project, and the Industrial Heritage Networks, online in a variety of ways:
- via the project Facebook pages (facebook.com/IHSOengland/);
- by signing up for regular email alerts from the two project websites: com for funding & guidance and industrialheritagenetworks.com for stories & member news;
- and via social media – just search for @IHSOengland, and on LinkedIn (MikeNevell) and Instagram (ihso_england).
More information is available on the project’s website: IHSO
Industrial Heritage Networks 