Catalogue description Millennium Commission: Grants Database (PROFESA)

Hardware: The client hardware was Dell Optiplex; the server hardware was Dell Power Edge.

Operating System: Client: Dell Optiplex running MS Windows 2000 Professional. Server: Dell Power Edge running MS Windows 2000. The system comprised four modules:

• The Client module containing the operating system design.
• The Server module containing data files .
• The Reporter module used to run reports and queries.
• The Reporter_Server containing reports and queries available to users.

Application Software: Microsoft Access 2003

User Interface: Each user of the system had a local copy of Client (and where appropriate a local copy of Reporter). Users' profiles defined which of the three sections they could access.

Logical structure and schema: PROFESA was a relational database system. The core data was held in the table MAIN which contained a single record format for all record types. Any parent type could generate child records. Parent and child records were contained in the same table, differentiated by the field MAINid. 47 secondary data tables, supported by 14 link files, comprised the remaining structure.

How data was originally captured and validated: Data was originally entered and updated by Millennium Commission staff. Each user of the system was assigned a profile which determined which of the three sections of the system they could access (Awards, Festivals or Projects), and whether their access was read-only or update. All facilities were accessed through a single main switchboard screen. Further details on data management are available in the PROFESA User Manuals, which can be found by way of the dataset documentation catalogue.

The Grants Database was dynamic, in the sense that updated information about grants could be entered on the system via the regular updates received by the Millennium Commission from the Award Partners, thereby overwriting data previously received.

The Grants database was owned and transferred by the Millennium Commission. The Commission was established in 1993 by the National Lottery Act. It convened for the first time in February 1994 and was one of the bodies that distributed proceeds from the National Lottery. Unlike the other distributing bodies, the Commission was created as a temporary organisation, with a specific short-term objective aimed at funding projects to celebrate the end of the second millennium and the start of the third.

The Commission was created and regulated by the Government, but classed as an independent body. The Millennium Commissioners were individuals entrusted with the core decision-making powers subject to the ongoing advice offered by the Commission staff. Commission staff assisted projects throughout the grant-giving process by monitoring progress and offering guidance. Commissioners were in turn updated about the ongoing achievements of individual projects.

In August 2001, the National Lottery ceased to distribute income to the Millennium Commission under the terms of an Order approved by both Houses of Parliament in December 2000. Up until its dissolution on 30 November 2006, the Millennium Commission continued to distribute grants and complete projects in addition to fulfilling its role of protecting the legacy of the millennium celebrations.

The Millennium Commission allocated over £1.3 billion in grants of up to 50% of the cost of over 200 projects on nearly 3,000 sites throughout the United Kingdom. Schemes ranged in size from such things as the Eden Project in Cornwall and the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff to small, community-based developments such as village halls and local parks.