Deadline: 6-May-23
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Division of Preservation and Access is accepting applications for the Preservation and Access Education and Training program.
This program supports training programs that develop knowledge and skills among professionals responsible for preserving and establishing access to humanities collections. NEH will issue awards to organizations that offer national, regional, or statewide education and training programs that provide staff of cultural institutions with the knowledge and skills they need to serve as effective stewards of humanities collections.
Purpose
- This program supports projects that develop and implement educational programs for professionals who preserve and provide access to humanities collections. Such materials include but are not limited to paper-based, photographic, archaeological, ethnographic, artistic, audiovisual, digitized, and born-digital collections. Advancing long-term access to these materials for scholars, students, and the public requires skilled professionals from varied backgrounds and communities working in organizations large and small.
- NEH makes awards in this program to organizations that offer national, regional, or statewide education and training programs across the pedagogical landscape for current or emerging professionals. Projects may be at any stage, from early curriculum development to advanced implementation, and projects may include partnerships with academic or non-academic institutions.
- Preservation and Access Education and Training applicants are encouraged to address one or more of the following areas of special interest:
- Audiovisual and Digital Heritage: Activities that teach skills meant to address the preservation or access challenges faced by materials at risk of obsolescence.
- Diverse Practitioners: Activities that reach, encourage, or prioritize participation from people with backgrounds and identities that are underrepresented or underserved in the preservation and access field.
- Diverse Collections: Activities that teach culturally appropriate, equitable, inclusive, and community-engaged practices that serve collections from underrepresented communities.
- Emergency Preparedness: Activities that prepare professionals–particularly in areas of the U.S. and its jurisdictions at high risk for sea level rise, extreme weather, flooding, wildfires, or other natural disaster–to mitigate potential hazards and respond to and recover from disasters.
- Environmental Sustainability: Activities that teach techniques that limit collections stewards’ impact on the environment.
- Recent Developments: Activities that teach new or recently updated preservation or access-related standards, methodologies, tools and equipment, or workflows.
- Smaller Organizations: Activities that reach and train staff from smaller libraries, museums, archives, and historical and cultural organizations.
Funding Information
- All other applicants may request up to $350,000 in outright funds, or a combination of outright and matching funds, not to exceed $350,000. This includes direct and indirect costs.
- NEH anticipates awarding approximately $2,700,00 among an estimated 10 recipients.
- If your program grants graduate degrees in art conservation, you may request a period of performance of three to five years.
Project Activities
- Project activities must support one or a combination of the following programmatic areas:
- field services, networks, or consortia that offer training and educational resources and services to professionals
- continuing education opportunities that provide professionals with extended or specialized training in new or current preservation and access topics
- student and early career programs focused on building skills in preservation and access for cultural heritage collections. Programs may occur at either academic or nonacademic institutions, and programs must be for individuals preparing to pursue, attending, or recently graduating from master’s programs. Such master’s programs include, but are not limited to, art conservation, library and information science, archival administration, and museum studies.
Eligibility Criteria
- To be eligible to apply, your organization must be established in the United States or its jurisdictions as one of the following organization types:
- a nonprofit organization recognized as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
- an accredited institution of higher education (public or nonprofit)
- a state or local government or one of their agencies
- a federally recognized Native American Tribal government
- If your organization is eligible, you may apply on behalf of a consortium of collaborating organizations. If NEH selects your proposal for funding, you will be programmatically, legally, and fiscally responsible for the award.
- To be eligible, you must make substantive contributions to the success of the project and must not function solely as a fiscal agent for another entity.
- Individuals and other organizations, including foreign and for-profit entities, are ineligible.
For more information, visit Preservation and Access Education and Training.