Planning Grants for Museums, Libraries, and Special Projects

The summary for the Planning Grants for Museums, Libraries, and Special Projects grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the National Endowment for the Humanities, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

Planning Grants for Museums, Libraries, and Special Projects: Planning Grants are used to refine the content and interpretive approach of projects in order to prepare them for implementation. Applicants should have already identified the key humanities themes and scholarship relevant to their project and consulted with a team of scholarly and programming advisors. The project should be based on sound scholarship, examine the subject analytically, and address a broad set of humanities themes. Projects should: * convey significant humanities ideas to the public; * use formats and programs creatively to engage audiences; * examine topics and ideas in a regional or national context; and * extend their impact by reaching beyond a local level, involving new audiences, or serving as models. Each project should be guided by a team of advisors whose expertise complements that of the staff of the institution applying for the grant. The project team should help refine the project's themes, incorporate a variety of perspectives, draw on relevant scholarship, and develop possible interpretive approaches. While scholars must be part of the project team, museum curators or educators, librarians, and others with experience and knowledge of the humanities or the project's technical aspects may also participate as consultants. Most competitive proposals have a range of consultants whose expertise is tailored to the particular needs of the project. Support is available for all activities connected with project planning, including: * meetings with advisers; * preliminary audience evaluation; * travel to collections or to other resources; * drafting of label and exhibition text; * preliminary exhibition and/or website design; and * general preparation of the associated programs and materials for dissemination. Planning Grants are available for projects in the following three categories: 1. Libraries and Archives Projects in Libraries and Archives make the collections of libraries and archival institutions accessible to the public through programs such as reading or film discussion series, traveling panel exhibitions, and lectures and public symposia. Support is also available for complementary components such as curriculum materials, brochures, and websites. Program sites should be regional or national. Digital or material dissemination of products, such as discussion brochures, teacher guides, or exhibition catalogs, is encouraged in order to inspire similar projects. Discussion programs should be thematically organized, led by qualified scholars, and should encourage multiple viewpoints. Collection development is not supported, except when modest acquisitions are necessary (e.g., multiple copies of texts for a group discussion). Training for scholars and staff is supported in cases where scholars or the organization's own staff may need special preparation. Public conferences, forums, and symposia relating to library or archival resources may be supported if both their content and publicity are aimed at public, not scholarly, audiences. Traveling, flat-panel exhibitions based primarily on library or archival collections should provide visually appealing and interactive experiences for visitors. Projects centering on exhibitions usually include companion public programs, including publicity materials for all venues and related curricular materials. Website projects should be based on sound scholarship and use an interpretive framework to explore a topic in the humanities. The application should identify prospective audiences, provide a strategy for engaging users, and describe plans for website publicity. 2. Museums and Historical Organizations Projects in Museums and Historical Organizations include interpretive exhibitions (both long-term and traveling), the interpretation of historic sites, and other complementary interpretive components, such as catalogs, public symposia, and websites. A project's design and interpretive approach should encourage active engagement with humanities ideas and questions rather than presenting factual information. Topics and interpretive themes should appeal to the interests and backgrounds of the project's target audience. Special attention should be given to the quality of the visitor experience. If possible, proposals should include plans for obtaining early audience evaluations. Applications for projects that offer new insights into familiar subjects and use innovative techniques, whether as part of the installation or through ancillary programs such as museum theater, intergenerational programs, or multimedia components, are welcome. Applicants are encouraged to create smaller, more portable versions of a larger exhibition for use in smaller museums and non-traditional venues. Applicants proposing a traveling exhibition should make plans for the exhibition to travel beyond the borders of a single state. Web-based exhibition projects should be based on sound scholarship, have strong humanities content, and provide users with an interactive experience. Projects should also include complementary public humanities programs. 3. Special Projects Special Projects are usually sponsored by organizations other than museums, libraries, and historical organizations. They typically use a combination of programming formats and reach broad regional or national audiences at diverse venues. Projects may include reading or film discussion series, lectures and symposia, as well as related exhibitions, publications, brochures, or websites. Applicants are encouraged to think creatively about non-traditional ways to engage audiences. Attention should be given to involving people who do not normally participate in humanities programs. The use of multiple formats, such as pairing a reading discussion program with a symposium, is encouraged. Projects should also use a variety of venues and geographic locations to engage a broad audience. Single-site projects are rarely supported unless they hold unusual promise as model programs. Applicants are encouraged to collaborate with programming partners, such as businesses, membership or professional organizations, or other institutions, as a way of promoting the humanities to new audiences. These kinds of partnerships can involve public programs at non-traditional sites (such as in the workplace) or more convenient times for targeted audiences (such as noontime discussion programs for people with lengthy commutes). Projects can also consist of standalone websites, CD-ROMs, and other digital formats. In order to be competitive, website projects must be more than an online collection of archival materials. They should contextualize and interpret ideas for the public in creative ways and have a clear plan for identifying and reaching their intended audiences.