It was established in February 1977 as the Museum Documentation Association (MDA) and re-launched as the Collections Trust in 2008.

Collections Trust helps museums capture and share the information that gives their objects meaning.

[3] Previous award winners include: 2012 2013 2014 The Collections Trust works on many projects that are funded by Arts Council England and by the European Commission.

It is currently managing 20m Euros worth of EC projects, including Athena Plus,[8] Digital Cultural Heritage Roadmap for Preservation (DCH-RP)],[9] EEXCESS,[10] EU Collections Competencies Project (EUColComp)],[11] Europeana Food and Drink[12] and Europeana Inside.

Collections Trust is one of three partners in the Museum Data Service, launched in September 2024.