FY 2011 Deadline:

February 1, 2011

Grant Amount:

$50,000–$1,000,000;

Collaborative Planning Grants:

• Level 1: up to $50,000
• Level 2: up to $100,000

Grant Period:

Up to three years for Project Grants. Up to one year for Collaborative Planning Grants.

Matching
Requirement:

1:1 for requests over $250,000, except research projects. Cost sharing of at least one-third is encouraged for requests under $250,000 and for research projects.

Program Contacts
for Libraries:

Charles (Chuck) Thomas, Senior Program Officer
Phone: 202-653-4663
E-mail: cthomas@imls.gov

Robert Trio, Program Specialist
Phone: 202/653-4689
E-mail: rtrio@imls.gov

Program Contacts
for Museums:

Helen Wechsler, Senior Program Officer
Phone: 202/-653-4779
E-mail: hwechsler@imls.gov

Tim Carrigan, Program Specialist
Phone: 202/653-4639
E-mail: tcarrigan@imls.gov

Program Overview
National Leadership Grants support projects that have the potential to elevate museum, archival, and library practice within the context of national strategic initiatives. The Institute seeks to advance the ability of museums, archives, and libraries to preserve culture, heritage, and knowledge, contribute to building technology infrastructures and information technology services, and provide 21st century knowledge and skills to current and future generations in support of a world-class workforce.

Successful proposals will have national impact and generate results—new tools, research, models, services, practices, or alliances—that can be widely adapted or replicated to extend the benefit of federal investment and that increase community access and participation. The Institute seeks to fund projects that have the following characteristics:

National Impact—Proposals should address key needs and challenges that face libraries, archives, and museums. They should expand the boundaries within which libraries, archives, and museums operate, show the potential for far-reaching impact, influence practice throughout the museum, archival, and/or library communities, and show support of current strategic initiatives in these fields.

Innovation—Proposals should demonstrate a thorough understanding of current practice and knowledge about the project area, and show how the project will advance the state of the art of museum, archival, and library service. Innovative projects can implement a new or significantly improved product, process, or program, or a new organizational strategy in museum, archival, and/or library service and practice.

Collaboration—While partners are not required in all National Leadership Grant categories, the Institute has found that involving carefully chosen partners with complementary competencies and resources can create powerful synergies that extend project impact. Proposals should show understanding of the challenges of collaboration and propose means for addressing them.

Applications for Project or Collaborative Planning Grants may be submitted in the following categories:

• Advancing Digital Resources: Support the creation, use, presentation, and preservation of significant digital resources as well as the development of tools to enhance access, use, and management of digital assets.
• Research: Support projects that have the potential to improve museum, archival, and library practice, resource use, programs, and services. Both basic and applied research projects are encouraged.
• Demonstration: Support projects that produce a replicable model or practice that is usable by other institutions for improving services and performance.
• Library-Museum Collaboration Grants: Support collaborative projects that address the educational, economic, cultural, and social needs of a community.

Project Grants
support fully developed projects for which the planning, literature search, and other preliminary research have already been completed.

Collaborative Planning Grants enable project teams from more than one institution to work together to plan a project for a National Leadership Grant. Awards are made in two levels:

• Level I Collaborative Planning Grants support activities required to fully develop ideas for a National Leadership Grant project among project partners and should result in such products as plans, prototypes, or proofs of concept, which could lead to a single, subsequent National Leadership Grant proposal.
• Level II Collaborative Planning Grants support workshops, symposia, or other convenings of experts with the purpose of fostering discussion and consideration of nationally important issues to libraries, archives, and/or museums. Grant-supported meetings are expected to actively engage their intended communities and produce white papers (and potentially other publications, print or digital) to be broadly disseminated.

Eligibility
Libraries that fulfill the general criteria for libraries may apply. See program guidelines for special conditions of eligibility for this program.

Museums that fulfill the general criteria for museums may apply. Public or private nonprofit agencies, organizations, or associations that engage in activities designed to advance museums and the museum profession may also apply. In addition, institutions of higher education, including public and non¬profit universities, are eligible.