Deadline: 11 June 2020
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Division of Preservation and Access is accepting applications for the Preservation and Access Education and Training program.
The purpose of this program is to support the development of knowledge and skills among professionals responsible for preserving and establishing access to humanities collections. Awards are made to organizations that offer national, regional, or statewide education and training programs that provide the staff of cultural institutions with the knowledge and skills needed to serve as effective stewards of humanities collections.
Thousands of libraries, archives, museums, and historical organizations across the country maintain important collections of books and manuscripts, photographs, sound recordings and moving images, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, art and material culture collections, electronic records, and digital objects. The challenge of preserving and making accessible such large and diverse holdings is enormous, and the need for knowledgeable staff is significant and ongoing.
The Preservation and Access Education and Training program supports activities such as:
- training offered by preservation field services, networks, and consortia, especially programs and activities targeting the needs of preservation and access practitioners at smaller libraries, museums, archives, and other cultural organizations;
- in-person and online continuing education opportunities that provide specialized or extended training in current preservation or access topics for staff responsible for the care of humanities collection; opportunities may be in the format of workshops, webinars, technical training, instructional series, postgraduate fellowships, apprenticeships, mentorships, and residencies;
- preservation and access-related educational initiatives that might include partnerships between academic and non-academic institutions; student financial support beyond tuition; curriculum development; speaker series, and travel, as well as fellowships or internships toward a master’s degree, such as library science, museum studies, and archival administration;
- educational initiatives for programs that grant graduate degrees in art conservation; student financial support beyond tuition, curriculum development, speaker series, and travel, as well as fellowships or internships toward a master’s degree in art conservation.
Education and Training projects may address any topic—fundamental or advanced—associated with the work of preserving and providing access to humanities collections. Projects should identify needs within a localized network of institutions at a state or regional level, or more broadly at a national level. Project topics may include, but are not limited to, current areas of special interest such as:
- emergency preparedness, response, mitigation, and recovery;
- culturally appropriate practices for collections from under-represented communities, including but not limited to Native American, First Nations, and Indigenous communities, and other activities that support the educational needs of preservation and access practitioners in diverse institutional, geographic, educational, and demographic settings;
- preventive conservation and sustainable preservation strategies; and
- preservation techniques and access solutions for audiovisual, digital, and time-based media.
Funding Information
- Approximately $2,200,000 is expected to be available to fund six recipients. You may apply for a ceiling amount of up to $350,000.
- Programs that grant graduate degrees in art conservation may apply for up to $250,000 in outright funds and up to $100,000 in federal matching funds for a period of performance of not less than three years and up to five years.
- Programs that grant graduate degrees in art conservation requesting the full $350,000 must submit a budget reflecting total project costs of at least $450,000 ($250,000 in outright, $100,000 in federal matching funds, and $100,000 in required cost share for the federal matching funds).
- The period of performance start date for all applicants may be no earlier than March 1, 2021.
Eligibility Criteria
- Private institutions of higher education
- County governments
- Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
- State governments
- City or township governments
- Special district governments
- Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=326038
