Media and Cultural Section, U.S. Embassy, Bangkok, Thailand   Announcement The U.S. Embassy in Bangkok and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State are pleased to announce the 2016 call for proposals for the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation.   The Fund was established to help countries preserve their cultural heritage and to demonstrate U.S. respect for other cultures.  Since its inception in 2001, the Fund has helped preserve cultural sites, practices, and objects that are historically or culturally significant in Thailand and around the world.  Project amount must be more than US$10,000.  Ceiling on amount of individual project is US$200,000.  In year 2015, awards ranged from US$32,500 to US$200,000.  The deadline for submitting applications is December 31, 2015.   In general, proposals may be submitted in support of the following three types of projects:

1. CULTURAL SITES includes (but is not limited to) historic buildings and archaeological sites.  Examples are restoration of an ancient or historic building, preservation of an archaeological site, or documentation of cultural sites in a region for preservation purposes.

 

1. CULTURAL OBJECTS AND COLLECTIONS from a museum, site or similar institution and includes archaeological and ethnographic objects, paintings, sculpture, manuscripts, and general museum conservation needs.  Examples are conservation treatment for an object or collection of objects; needs assessment of a collection’s condition and strategies for improving it; inventory of a collection for conservation and protection purposes; the creation of safe environments for storage or display of collections; or specialized training in the care and preservation of collections.

 

1. FORMS OF TRADITIONAL CULTURAL EXPRESSION includes traditional music, indigenous languages, and ancient crafts.  Examples may involve documenting and audiovisual recording of traditional music and dance forms as part of a traditional expression and making the information and recordings available, or support for training in the preservation of traditional applied arts or crafts that are threatened by extinction.

  Specific to this year’s competition, proposals for projects that meet one or more of the following criteria will receive consideration: (1) Directly support U.S. treaty or bilateral agreement obligations, such as cultural property protection agreements; (2) Support the preservation of inscribed World Heritage sites; (3) Support risk reduction and disaster preparedness for cultural sites and collections in seismically active and other disaster-prone areas; and (4) Engage women, youth, or under-served communities.   Eligible project applicants are reputable and accountable non-commercial entities, such as non-governmental organizations, museums, ministries of culture, or similar institutions and organizations that are able to demonstrate that they have the requisite experience and capacity to manage projects to preserve cultural heritage.  AFCP encourages cost sharing and other forms of cost participation.  There is no minimum or maximum percentage of cost participation required for this competition.  When cost sharing is offered, it is understood and agreed that the applicant must provide the amount of cost sharing as stipulated in its proposal and later included in an approved agreement.  Cost sharing may be in the form of allowable direct or indirect costs.   AFCP will NOT support the following activities and costs, and applications involving any of the activities or costs below will be deemed ineligible: (1) 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; (2) preservation of natural heritage (physical, biological, and geological formations, paleontological collections, habitats of threatened species of animals and plants, fossils, etc.); (3) Preservation of hominid or human remains; (4) Preservation of news media (newspaper, newsreels, radio and TV programs, etc.); (5) Preservation of published materials available elsewhere (books, periodicals, etc.); (6) Development of curricula or educational materials for classroom use; (7) Archaeological excavations or exploratory surveys for research purposes; (8) Historical research, except in cases where historical research is justifiable and integral to the success of the proposed project; (9) Acquisition or creation of new collections for new or existing museums; (10) Construction of new buildings or permanent coverings (over archaeological sites, for example); (11) Commissions of new works of art or architecture for commemorative or economic development purposes; (12) Creation of new or the modern adaptation of existing traditional dances, songs, chants, musical compositions, plays, or other performances; (13) Creation of replicas or re-creation of cultural objects or sites that no longer exist; (14) Relocation of cultural sites from one physical location to another; (15) Removal of cultural objects or elements of cultural sites from the country for any reason; (16) Digitalization of cultural objects or collections, unless part of a larger clearly defined conservation effort; (17) Conservation plans or other studies, unless they are one component of a larger project to implement the results of those studies; (18) Cash reserves, endowments or revolving funds; funds must be expended within the grant period (up to five years) and may not be used to create an endowment or revolving fund; (19) Costs of fund-raising campaigns; (20) Contingency, unforeseen, or miscellaneous costs or fees; (21) Costs of work performed prior to announcement of the award, unless allowable and approved by the grants officer; (22) International travel, except in cases where travel is justifiable and integral to the success of the proposed project; (23) Travel or study outside the host country for professional development; (24) Individual project costing less than US$10,000; (25) Independent U.S. projects overseas.   Suggested guidelines for proposal preparation and information to be provided are below.  Each project proposal must be in English and should be emailed to bangkokpd@state.gov For more information, please contact Ms. Kanchalee Jitjang, Cultural Specialist, Media and Cultural Section, U.S. Embassy Bangkok, at tel. 02-205-4597, 02-205-4625, 02-206-4623, or bangkokpd@state.gov  For additional information about the Fund, please visit the AFCP website http://eca.state.gov/cultural-heritage-center/ambassadors-fund-cultural-preservation   The U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) 2016   SUGGESTED INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN PROPOSALS All information Must Be Submitted in English  

• Project Basics, including title, project dates, AFCP focus area;
• Project Applicant Information (name of organization, address, phone, fax, mobile, e-mail, website);
• A Short Description of the Organization;
• Project Location;
• Proof of Official Permission to undertake the project;
• Project Summary;
• Project Purposes that summarizes the project objective and desired results;
• Detailed Project Activity Description that presents proposed tasks in a chronological order;
• Project Time Frame or Schedule that lists the major project phases and milestones with target dates for achieving them. Note that applicants may propose periods up to 60 months (five years). Projects must begin before September 30, 2016, and conclude no later than September 30, 2020;
• Project participant information, specifically an estimated number of non-U.S. and U.S. participants and estimated number of primary and secondary participants, as well as resumes of the proposed project director and other primary project participants;
• Statement of Importance highlighting the historic, architectural, artistic, or cultural (non-religious) values of the cultural site, collection, or form of traditional expression;
• Statement of Urgency indicating the severity of the situation and explains why the project must take place now;
• Statement of Sustainability outlining the steps or measures that will be taken to maintain the site, object, or collection in good condition after the AFCP-supported project is complete; or in the case of forms of traditional cultural expression, to preserve and disseminate the documentation, knowledge, or skills gained from the project;
• Detailed Project Budget in US$ (no less than US$10,000) demarcated on one-year budget periods *2016, 2017, 2018, etc.), that lists all costs in separate categories
• Personnel
• Fringe Benefits
• Travel (including Per Diem)
• Equipment
• Supplies
• Contractual
• Other Direct Costs
• Indirect Costs
• Cost Sharing
• Other Funding Sources
• Justification for any anticipated international travel costs (if any)

 

• Budget Narative explaining line by ling how costs are estimated (quantity x unit costs, annual salary x percentage of time spent on project, etc.) and unique line items;
• Attachments and Supporting Documents including, at a minimum and REQUIRED, five (5) high quality digital images in JPEGs or audio-visual files that convey the nature and condition of the site, object, or form of expression and, in case of a site or object, show the urgency or need for the proposed project (such as collapsing wall, water damage, worn fabric, broken handle, etc.), any historical structure reports, conservation needs assessments, and other planning documents compiled in preparation for the proposed project;
• Other organizations you applied to with the same project and status of your application