Deadline: 12-Jan-24
The U.S. Embassy in Bangkok and Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the U.S. Department of State are pleased to announce the call for proposals for the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) 2024 Grants Program Funding Opportunity.
Since its inception in 2001, AFCP has helped preserve cultural sites, cultural objects, and forms of traditional cultural expression in Thailand and around the world. Cultural heritage endures as a reminder of the contributions and historical experiences of humanity. By taking a leading role in efforts to preserve cultural heritage, the U.S. shows its respect for other cultures. AFCP-supported projects include the restoration of ancient and historic buildings, assessment and conservation of rare manuscripts and museum collections, preservation and protection of important archaeological sites, and the documentation of vanishing traditional craft techniques and indigenous languages. AFCP project strengthen civil society, encourage good governance, and promote political and economic stability around the world.
Funding Information
- Under the AFCP Grants Program, the minimum funding available for individual projects is US$10,000 per project and the maximum amount is US$500,000 per project.
Project Activities
- 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. Special consideration will be given to proposals with a focus or that include a component on intangible heritage. 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 analog 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)
- Specific to the AFCP 2024 Grants Program annual competition, proposals for projects that directly support one or more of the following will receive additional consideration:
- Directly support U.S. treaty or bilateral agreement obligations.
- Directly support U.S. policies, strategies and objectives.
- Support disaster risk reduction for cultural heritage in disaster-prone areas, or post-disaster cultural heritage recovery.
- Partner, connect with, or feed into public diplomacy programs.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible project implementers are reputable and accountable non-commercial entities that can demonstrate they have the requisite capacity to manage projects to preserve cultural heritage. This 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.
- Potential implementing partners must be registered and active in the U.S. government’s System for Award Management (SAM) to receive U.S. federal assistance. If the concept notes is advanced to Round 2 and the anticipated implementing partner has not registered itself in SAM, the embassy will work with them to initiate the registration process so that the registration is active in the event the project is ultimately selected for an award.
For more information, visit U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Thailand.