Biroul de Diplomatie Publica al Ambasadei SUA
anunta ca accepta propuneri de proiecte pentru Fondul Ambasadorial pentru
Conservarea Obiectivelor Culturale (AFCP) Editia 2021.
Prima etapa de inscriere pentru AFCP 2021 este una
nesperat de usoara, in comparatie cu anii precedenti, dar in acelasi timp
definitorie pentru sansele de a trece in etapa a doua. Pentru aceasta etapa,
institutiile culturale interesate nu mai au obligatia de a trimite un pachet
intreg de documente si formulare financiare, ca in anii precedenti, ci doar o
asa-numita nota de concept in format Word.
Toate amanuntele necesare transmiterii notei de
concept se regasesc in documentul anexat.
Fondul Ambasadorial pentru Conservarea Obiectivelor
Culturale sprijina conservarea, an de an, a obiectivelor de genul:
cladiri istorice si situri arheologice, obiecte si colectii culturale/de
patrimoniu, obiecte arheologice si etnografice, picture, sculpturi,
manuscrise, muzica traditionala, mestesuguri etc.
Termenul limita de trimitere a proiectelor este 18
noiembrie 2020 inclusiv.
***
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.
