Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation 2021 (Djibouti)

Deadline: 21-Nov-20

The U.S. Embassy in Djibouti and the Cultural Heritage Center (“the Center”) of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs are pleased to announce the 2020 call for proposals for the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) Grants Competition.

This year the Center is implementing several changes to the program during this cycle including combining the small and large grants program into a single program, and dividing the application process into two rounds and reducing the amount of information required upfront.

Objectives

The Department of State established the AFCP in 2000 at the request of Congress (Conference Report 106-1005 accompanying H.R. 4942).
At the time, the Senate noted that the preservation of cultural heritage “offers an opportunity to show a different American face to other countries, one that is non-commercial, non-political, and nonmilitary.”
The projects recommended for funding advance U.S. foreign policy goals and show respect for other cultures. Cultural preservation is effective public diplomacy that resonates deeply with opinion leaders and local communities, even in countries where ties may be otherwise limited.
AFCP projects strengthen civil society, encourage good governance, and promote political and economic stability around the world.

Funding Information

Number of awards anticipated: each implementer may submit Up to two separate awards;
Award amounts: awards may range from a minimum of $10,000 to a maximum of $500,000;
Program Performance Period: Proposed programs should be completed in 60 months or less.

Funding Priorities

Some of the most impactful AFCP projects have been designed as part of a greater PD programming arc promoting specific U.S. policy goals and host-country or community objectives. Accordingly, in FY 2021, ECA and the Center will give preference to projects that do one or more of the following:

Directly support U.S. treaty or bilateral agreement obligations;
Directly support U.S. policies, strategies and objectives in a country as stated in the Integrated Country Strategy or other U.S. government planning documents;
Support disaster risk reduction for cultural heritage in disaster-prone areas or post-disaster cultural heritage recovery;
Support conflict resolution and help communities bridge differences; or
Partner, connect with or feed into other ECA or public diplomacy programs.

Funding Areas

The AFCP Grants Program supports the preservation of archaeological sites, historic buildings and monuments, museum collections, and forms of traditional cultural expression, such as indigenous languages and crafts. Appropriate project activities may include:

Anastylosis (reassembling a site from its original parts);
Conservation (addressing damage or deterioration to an object or site);
Consolidation (connecting or reconnecting elements of an object or site);
Documentation (recording in analogue or digital format the condition and salient features of an object, site, or tradition);
Inventory (listing of objects, sites, or traditions by location, feature, age, or other unifying characteristic or state);
Preventive Conservation (addressing conditions that threaten or damage a site, object, collection, or tradition);
Restoration (replacing missing elements to recreate the original appearance of an object or site, usually appropriate only with fine arts, decorative arts, and historic buildings);
Stabilization (reducing the physical disturbance of an object or site).

Eligible Project Implementers

The Center defines eligible project implementers as reputable and accountable non-commercial entities that are able to demonstrate they have the requisite capacity to manage projects to preserve cultural heritage.
Eligible implementers may include non-governmental organizations, museums, educational institutions, ministries of culture, or similar institutions and organizations, including U.S.-based educational institutions and organizations subject to Section 501(c)(3) of the tax code.
The AFCP will not award grants to individuals, commercial entities, or past award recipients that have not fulfilled the objectives or reporting requirements of previous awards.

Application Review Process

The Center will conduct its review process in late 2020 and early 2021. It will review and select Round 1 project concept notes and full project applications (Round 2) in consultation with the regional bureaus and taking into consideration the program objectives, funding areas and priorities, ineligible activities and unallowable costs, and other application requirements. The Center may deem concept notes and full applications ineligible if they do not fully adhere to AFCP 2021 Grants Program objectives, requirements, and other criteria stated herein.

Concept note review and selection (Round 1): In consultation with the regional bureaus, ECA and the Center will determine which project ideas advance to the Round 2 application stage based on the following criteria:
- Anticipated preservation and public diplomacy impacts;
- Potential contributions to U.S. foreign policy;
- Potential contributions to host-country or community objectives and aims;
- Adaptability and sustainability of program implementation despite COVID.
Regional bureau input will include guidance to ECA and the Center on how it prioritizes and ranks proposed projects from the countries in its region. The Center may forward concept notes to other State Department or federal agency personnel with relevant experience for advisory peer review. The Center may identify specific projects as candidates for additional or enhanced project design. On or around January 13, 2021, the Center will notify embassies of the Round 1 results and invite a subset to submit full project proposals to Round 2.
Full application review and selection (Round 2): The Center will review and rate the full project proposals to confirm the feasibility of the projects, ensure outlined activities and budget lines support stated goals, validate monitoring plans and identify any remaining shortcomings, questions or concerns. The Center will then convene a review panel to recommend applications for funding.
Full application rating scheme: The Center will rate full applications using the following point-based system:
- Purpose, Description, and Importance (20 points max);
- The rationale for U.S. Support (20 points max);
- Embassy Media and Applicant Outreach Plans (15 points max);
- Support for wider host country or community objectives (5 points max);
- Maintenance Plan (15 points max);
- Budget and Budget Narrative (15 points max);
- Supporting Materials (resumes, images, etc.; 10 points max);
- Innovative integration, collaboration, or coordination with other ECA and public diplomacy programs (additional 10 points max).