Biroul de Diplomatie Publica al Ambasadei SUA anunta ca accepta propuneri de proiecte pentru Fondul Ambasadorial pentru Conservarea Obiectivelor Culturale (AFCP) Editia 2021.

AMBASSADORS FUND FOR CULTURAL PRESERVATION 2021

 

U.S. EMBASSY TO ROMANIA – CULTURAL HERITAGE CENTER – U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

 

Application Guide

1. Summary: The U.S. Embassy to Romania and the Cultural Heritage Center (“the Center”) in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) are pleased to announce the start of the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) 2021 Grants Program.

a. The Center is combining the small and large grant programs into a single program. Pending availability of funds, awards will range from $10,000 to $500,000.

b. To ease the administrative burden on embassies and potential grantees, the Center is dividing the application process into two rounds and reducing the amount of information required up front. The first streamlined round will collect project ideas from embassies in the form of concept notes, due November 18, 2020.

Concept notes, including photographs, should be send in high level proficiency English, at the following e-mail address: alexandrescui@state.gov.

If applicants will not receive confirmation e-mails within 24 hours, they should call the following phone number 0721 288 797, between 10 – 17 hrs.

In Round 2, the Center will invite embassies with promising ideas to submit full project applications, due March 8, 2021.

2. AFCP Program 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 respect for other cultures.

AFCP projects strengthen civil society, encourage good governance, and promote political and economic stability around the world.

3. Competition Format: Beginning with FY 2021, the Center is combining the AFCP small and large grant programs into a single program. The Center will select from proposed projects among them using a process with two rounds. During Round 1, embassies will submit concept notes focused on the public diplomacy objectives that may be accomplished through the proposed projects. Embassies invited to participate in Round 2 will flesh out the technical aspects of the proposed projects and submit full applications. Awards will range from $10,000 to $500,000. The Center anticipates funding 30 to 40 projects.

4. AFCP 2021 Application Guide: Refer to this AFCP 2021 Application Guide for additional information on country eligibility, program funding areas, project design assistance, concept note and application requirements, ineligible activities, unallowable costs, and the application review process.

5. Eligible Countries: The AFCP 2021 Grants Program is open to embassies in countries based on ranking in the 2019 U.N. Human Development Index.

The eligible countries for the AFCP in FY 2021 are:

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua & Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Comoros, Congo (Democratic Republic of the), Congo (Republic of), Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal,

Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Note: Embassy Antananarivo may apply for Comoros; Bridgetown for Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines; Colombo for Maldives; Dakar for Guinea-Bissau; Libreville for Sao Tome & Principe; New Delhi for Bhutan; Port Louis for Seychelles; Port Moresby for Solomon Islands and Vanuatu; Suva for Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, and Tuvalu.

6. 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:

a. Anastylosis (reassembling a site from its original parts);

b. Conservation (addressing damage or deterioration to an object or site);

c. Consolidation (connecting or reconnecting elements of an object or site);

d. Documentation (recording in analog or digital format the condition and salient features of an object, site, or tradition);

e. Inventory (listing of objects, sites, or traditions by location, feature, age, or other unifying characteristic or state);

f. Preventive Conservation (addressing conditions that threaten or damage a site, object, collection, or tradition);

g. 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);

h. Stabilization (reducing the physical disturbance of an object or site).

7. Sites and Objects Having a Religious Connection: The establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution permits the government to include religious objects and sites within an aid program under certain conditions. For example, an item with a religious connection (including a place of worship) may be the subject of a cultural preservation grant if the item derives its primary significance and is nominated solely on the basis of architectural, artistic, historical, or other cultural (not religious) criteria.

8. 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.

Potential implementers must have a unique entity identifier, such as a DUNS number, and be registered and active in SAM.gov to receive U.S. federal assistance.

Embassies must vet potential implementers for eligibility, suitability, and reputable performance in cultural preservation or similar activities and ensure the potential grantees are able to receive U.S. federal assistance.

9. Round 1 Concept Note Requirements (Deadline: November 18, 2020): Prospective implementers will submit to the U.S. Embassies/Public Diplomacy Departments completed concept notes by Wednesday, November 18, 2020, 11:59 p.m.

 

Each concept note submitted must include:

a. Project basics, including working title, anticipated project length (in months), location/site, and project cost estimate (amount requested from AFCP; in U.S. dollars);

b. Project implementer information, including name of the institution, name of the project coordinator, e-mail address, website and SAM registration status;

c. Project purpose that summarizes the objectives, proposed activities, and desired results;

d. Five (5) high quality digital images (JPEGs) or audiovisual files that convey the nature and condition of the site, collection, or tradition and show the urgency or need for the proposed project (collapsing walls, water damage, etc.).

 

8. Round 2 Full Application Requirements (Deadline: March 8, 2021)

9. Ineligible Activities and Unallowable Costs: AFCP does not support the following activities or costs, and the Center will deem applications involving any of these activities or costs ineligible:

a. Preservation or purchase of privately or commercially owned cultural objects,

collections, or real property, including those whose transfer from private or commercial to public ownership is envisioned, planned, or in process but not complete at the time of application;

b. Preservation of natural heritage (physical, biological, and geological formations, paleontological collections, habitats of threatened species of animals and plants, fossils, etc.);

c. Preservation of hominid or human remains;

d. Preservation of news media (newspapers, newsreels, radio and TV programs, etc.);

e. Preservation of published materials available elsewhere (books, periodicals, etc.);

f. Development of curricula or educational materials for classroom use;

g. Archaeological excavations or exploratory surveys for research purposes;

h. Historical research, except in cases where the research is justifiable and integral to the success of the proposed project;

i. Acquisition or creation of new exhibits, objects, or collections for new or existing museums;

j. Construction of new buildings, building additions, or permanent coverings (over archaeological sites, for example);

k. Commissions of new works of art or architecture for commemorative or economic development purposes;

l. Creation of new or the modern adaptation of existing traditional dances, songs, chants, musical compositions, plays, or other performances;

m. Creation of replicas or conjectural reconstructions of cultural objects or sites that no longer exist;

n. Relocation of cultural sites from one physical location to another;

o. Removal of cultural objects or elements of cultural sites from the country for any reason;

p. Digitization of cultural objects or collections, unless part of a larger, clearly defined conservation, documentation, or public diplomacy effort;

q. Conservation plans or other studies, unless they are one component of a larger project to implement the results of those studies;

r. Cash reserves, endowments, or revolving funds (funds must be expended within the award period [up to five years] and may not be used to create an endowment or revolving fund);

s. Costs of fund-raising campaigns;

t. Contingency, unforeseen, or miscellaneous costs or fees;

u. Costs of work performed prior to announcement of the award unless allowable per 2 CFR 200.458 and approved by the Grants Officer;

v. International travel, except in cases where travel is justifiable and integral to the success of the proposed project or to provide project leaders with learning and exchange opportunities with cultural heritage experts;

w. Individual projects costing less than US $10,000 or more than $500,000;

x. Independent U.S. projects overseas.

10. DUNS Number and SAM Registration: An implementing partner must have

a unique entity identifier (UEI), such as a Dun & Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, a NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) code, and be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) prior to receiving U.S. federal assistance.

The DUNS, NCAGE, and SAM.gov processes can take days or weeks, especially for non-U.S. applicants. Applicants may acquire DUNS numbers at no cost by calling the dedicated toll-free DUNS number request line at 1-866-705-5711 or by requesting a number online at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform.

Non-U.S. based applicants may request a NCAGE code at

https://eportal.nspa.nato.int/AC135Public/scage/CageList.aspx. SAM.gov is the official, free on-line registration database for the U.S. government. SAM.gov replaced the Central Contractor Registration (CCR), the Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA), and the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) in July 2012. SAM.gov collects, validates, stores, and disseminates data in support of federal agency acquisition and grant award missions. Registration in SAM is free: http://sam.gov.

For supplementary information and extra support in obtaining SAM, DUNS, NCAGE, please write to e-mail alexandrescui@state.gov.

AFCP application guide 2021