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welcome to the institute of museum and
library services webinar museums for

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america grant program fiscal year 2023
information session

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my name is mark feidel and i am pleased
that you could join me today and that

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you are interested in preparing an
application for the imls museums for

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america grant program
our goal in this presentation is to

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provide specific information about the
museums for america grant program and

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make some recommendations that you may
wish to consider when preparing your

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application
since this is a pre-recorded webinar and

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you won't have the opportunity to ask
questions feel free to contact me or any

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of the other staff in the office of
museum services to seek answers to your

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questions or to discuss a project idea
the staff contact side is shown later in

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this webinar

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this is one of a series of pre-recorded
webinars designed to help you find the

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information you need to create a
competitive application for imls museum

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funding
choosing a funding opportunity for

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fiscal year 2023 was pre-recorded and is
available as a video and as a pdf of the

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sides plus as a transcript on our
website at the link identified here in

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that webinar we cover the imls vision
mission and strategic plan with an

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emphasis on how they influence our grant
making

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we also address institutional
eligibility provide a quick overview of

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all of our funding opportunities how to
find information online with the focus

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on our website and we cover the two
places you must be registered in order

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to apply for an imls grant
we strongly recommend that you view this

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webinar to get the complete picture of
preparing and submitting a competitive

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application to the museums for america
program

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in addition to this museums for america
webinar we are providing pre-recorded

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webinars for all of our museum grant
programs you can find links to these on

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the program landing pages on our website

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before we jump into the details excuse
me we are often asked about number of

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applications and funding success rates
so here are the figures for the just

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completed fiscal year 2022 museums for
america grant cycle

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as you can see with just under 23
million dollars available we were able

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to fund over 37 percent of the
applications we received

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in this presentation we'll be addressing
the following topics

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mfa program goals characteristics of
successful mfa projects

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eligibility requirements for museums
important dates and times

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the questions of how much and how many
project categories

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allowable and unallowable costs what you
can and cannot include in your project

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application components application tips
the review process and imos staff

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contact information

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museums for america or mfa is our
largest grant program

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receiving the largest number of
applications each year and the one

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through which we make the largest number
of awards

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the overall goal of the program is to
support activities that strengthen the

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abilities of individual museums to serve
their publics

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this might be through activities that
reflect museums as active resources for

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lifelong learning
as institutions important in improving

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the well-being of their communities or
as good stewards of the nation's

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collections
mfa is all about what your museum needs

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in order to better serve your public
it may well be exactly the same as what

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the museum across town or in a
neighboring state needs and that's okay

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the important thing here is that our
support should help you make a local

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impact

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with this focus on supporting the
individual museum what are the

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characteristics of successful museums
for america applications there are four

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and successful projects exemplify all of
them well

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as you prepare your application then you
should keep these characteristics in

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mind
it has been our experience that an

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unfunded application and one that is one
that has failed to deliver convincingly

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on one or more of these so it is wise to
think about how to structure your

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application to show how your project
will be strong in each

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institutional impact
the project addresses a key goal

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identified in the institution's
strategic plan

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in-depth knowledge
the project design reflects a thorough

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understanding of current practice and
knowledge about the subject matter

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project based design
the work plan consists of a set of

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logical interrelated activities tied
directly to addressing the key need or

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challenge
demonstrable results the project

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generates measurable results that tie
directly to the need or challenge it was

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designed to address

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let's talk about eligibility
requirements for museums

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to be eligible to apply museums must be
either a unit of state or local

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government or be a private non-profit
organization that has exempt status

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under the internal revenue code
be located in one of the 50 states of

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the united states of america or
affiliated territories

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use a professional staff and by that we
need at least one full-time professional

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or the equivalent level of effort from
part-time staff

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be organized on a permanent basis for
essentially educational or aesthetic

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purposes
own or use tangible objects either

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animate or inanimate care for these
objects and exhibit these objects to the

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general public on a regular basis
through facilities that it owns or

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operates
please note that our statute requires a

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museum to be open to the public at least
120 days a year in order to be eligible

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for funding
for more details on each of these points

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please take a look at the eligibility
information in the museums for america

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notice a funding opportunity

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here are important dates relating to mfa
applications

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applications must be received through
grants.gov by 11 59 pm eastern time on

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november 15 2022
the date is non-negotiable

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the timestamp is auto-generated by the
grants.gov system and we have no ability

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to override it
we will say this over and over again but

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start early and submit your application
early

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that way if you encounter a difficulty
of any kind when submitting your

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proposal you'll have some time to
resolve the problem and resubmit

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mfa awards will be announced in august
2023 and mfa projects must be scheduled

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to start on the first day of september
2023.

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please make sure that everyone involved
in preparing your grant application is

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aware of these dates

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regarding how much money you may request
there is only one option in mfa

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all requests must be between five
thousand and two hundred fifty thousand

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dollars including both direct and
indirect costs

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if you ask for less than 5 000 or more
than 250 000

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your application will most likely be
rejected and not reviewed

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requests to museums for america must
have at least a one-to-one non-federal

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cost share
cost share can take a number of forms

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among them are cash staff time volunteer
time third-party contributions grants

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from foundations and support from state
or local government

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costcar cannot come from other federal
sources

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in terms of how many applications you
may submit there is no limit to the

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number of applications you can file in
response to the fiscal year 2023 funding

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announcement for museums for america
however as you consider the option to

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submit more than one application we urge
you to think more about the capacity of

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your organization to manage multiple
federal awards at once

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we have made reference several times to
projects here so let's take a minute to

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consider just exactly what that means
the project management institute has a

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good definition
which is a temporary endeavor undertaken

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to create a unique product service or
result

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they go on further to explain that a
project is temporary because it has a

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defined beginning and end in time and
therefore defines scope and resources

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and a project is unique in that it is
not a routine operation but rather a

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specific set of operations designed to
accomplish a singular goal

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we recommend that you keep this
definition in mind as you conceptualize

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your imls project
think of it as a temporary non-routine

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set of activities which collectively
have a beginning and an end in time a

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defined scope requiring specific
resources which are designed to

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accomplish a specific singular goal

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with the concept of project in mind
let's turn to project categories

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second to choosing to apply to the
museum for america grant program this is

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likely to be the most important decision
you make about your funding application

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as you can see here there are three
options

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lifelong learning community engagement
and collection stewardship and access

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you will find these three areas
described under the goals of the mfa

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program and the notice of funding
opportunity

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you will select your project category on
the museum program information form

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so why is your decision about which
project category to choose so important

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for one thing your application will be
reviewed by museum professionals who

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have experience and expertise in these
general categories

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and for another
your application will be competing

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against others who have chosen the same
category

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in short the entire review process
incorporates an assumption that your

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project aligns with the category you've
identified

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so it's an important choice

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so let's take a look at what kinds of
activities a project in each of these

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categories might include in this and the
two slides that follow the objectives

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provide a list of the types of projects
that fit within the goal

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and the goals correspond to the mfa
program categories

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a project in lifelong learning might
include but is not limited to design and

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fabrication of an exhibit program
development for all types of audiences

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creating interpretive plans media
training for teachers partnerships with

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schools or out-of-school audiences
professional development opportunities

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for museum staff or program evaluation
as you plan your project in this

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category we strongly recommend starting
with the concept of learner at the

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center and build around it
spend time really thinking through who

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your learners in this project are and
what their needs are

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it's not likely going to be out of
everybody so who is it really

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what do they want to learn what do you
want them to learn and what's the best

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way to achieve that goal
we'll get to the whole idea of problems

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and needs in a few minutes but a major
takeaway here is to be focused on

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identifying your audience and thinking
about how you're going to serve them

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a community engagement project is likely
to include activities that contribute

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directly to your institutions
functioning as an essential partner in

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addressing community needs
as you scan this list you'll see the

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word community in nearly every entry
simply saying you plan to be welcoming

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to your community where you plan to
serve your community is not likely to be

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enough
reviewers should be able to see clearly

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that you have involved members of your
community in planning your project and

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that you'll continue to involve them in
its implementation and evaluation

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so if your project involves exhibitions
or interpretive programs how do you know

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if your project fits best within
lifelong learning or community

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engagement
which category should you pick

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we suggest that you consider whether or
not your intended exhibitions or

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interpretive programs require the input
of community partners to co-create the

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content
or if your museum's curatorial staff

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will drive the content internally
if it is the former then community

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engagement is probably the best category
to select and if it is the latter then

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lifelong learning would be an
appropriate one to select both

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approaches are legitimate and both are
fundable

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ultimately it's your choice
what's important is that you choose one

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and write your application that way

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our third project category is that of
collection stewardship and access and

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this includes just about anything you
need to do for and with collections

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except acquire them
we are very open to projects that have

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multiple components configured in ways
that make sense for you

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one project might consist of cataloging
taking digital photographs and updating

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database records while another might
combine digitization activities with

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rehousing
we invite applications for projects that

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involve preparing to mitigate the impact
of natural and man-made disasters on

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collections and collections information
this might be planning and training in

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emergency preparedness
developing networks for response

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executing strategies for recovery and or
developing resilience and preparation

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for the next time
we also support conservation projects of

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all kinds
general detailed and environmental

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surveys as well as treatments and
environmental improvements and you are

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welcome to incorporate aspects of
training and or collections management

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into these projects if doing so make
sense for your

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institution it's important to note that
in this project category we encourage a

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step-by-step progressive approach to
collections work including conservation

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this means assessing needs
creating a prioritized list of

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activities and following through by
doing the most important things first

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before we close our discussion on
project categories we want to mention

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our guidance for projects that could
belong logically in more than one

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sometimes it's tough to choose and you
might be tempted to think that the best

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strategy would be to align with more
than one two or maybe even three

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we advise against that for several
reasons

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the project categories have different
goals and we expect the projects aligned

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with each will address different
problems use different approaches and

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we'll measure success in achieving the
intended results in different ways

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so how can you choose the best category
for your project here are three things

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we suggest you try
think carefully about what is in the

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center of your project
is it the learner will people who engage

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with you as a result of your project
let's say to create a new exhibition and

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related programming acquire new
knowledge develop a skill

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experience a change in attitude about
the subject of your exhibit

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or is it the community that's in the
center of your thinking

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is your project one that will address an
important community need and require

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engaging a number of community members
and are you doing it because you believe

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your museum can make a difference
or is your project about the collections

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will your project result in a better
managed better cared for and more

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accessible set of objects
a second way to go about this might be

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to think about who you want to review
your application

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if you apply under lifelong learning we
will put your application in front of

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museum educators exhibits professionals
interpretive specialists and

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professionals with deep experience in
understanding how people learn in museum

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environments
would you rather be we put it in front

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of a combination of experts in civic
engagement and social justice community

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outreach and collective impact
if that sounds right then it may push

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you toward community engagement
and if you apply under collection

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stewardship and access you can be
confident that your application will be

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reviewed by some combination of
registrars collections managers

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curators conservators or collections
information specialists if that seems

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appropriate then this is most likely
your best choice

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our most important advice is to choose
one project category

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study the instructions for preparing an
application as well as a review criteria

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for that category and write your
proposal accordingly as always if you

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have questions call the imls staff to
discuss them

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we'll turn now to types of allowable and
unallowable costs for your project

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be careful when preparing your proposal
to only include allowable costs in your

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federal funding request and any cost
share you choose to provide

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including unallowable costs can hurt
your chances of getting positive reviews

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and being recommended for funding
we'll go through some common expenses

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that are allowable and unallowable but
for details you'll want to consult the

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federal regulations that govern federal
awards

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we call these two cfr 200 for short but
the full title is title 2 subtitle a

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chapter 2 part 200 uniform
administrative requirements cost

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principles and audit requirements for
federal awards

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i know that sounds like a mouthful but
these regulations contain important

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guidance that all federal grant
applicants and recipients should be

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aware of
they are available online in a

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searchable format via the us government
publishing office website listed on this

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screen
a particular interest for this topic of

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allowable or unallowable costs is
subpart e cost principles a small

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section of which is shown on the right
side of this slide

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in the mfa notice a funding opportunity
on page 17

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we provide a partial list of the most
common examples of allowable costs as

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listed here
these costs may be part of what you ask

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imals to pay for with federal funds or
what you will pay as for as part of your

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cost share
again the rules about allowability apply

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to both so when completing your project
budget be sure to check that all the

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costs you include whether grant funds or
cost share are allowable

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you are required to explain all of your
proposed expenses in your application

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budget justification

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on pages 17-18 of the mfa notice the
funding opportunity we also provide a

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list of generally unallowable costs
again both for ims funds and for cost

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share
these costs may not be part of what you

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have imos to pay for nor can they be
part of what you will pay for as part of

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your cost share in fact unallowable
expenses can't show up anywhere in your

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proposal
as you prepare your application it's a

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good idea to compare your list of
proposed expenses against these lists of

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allowable and unallowable costs and
against the appropriate set of cost

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principles
if after that you have specific

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questions please contact us and we'll be
happy to help

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next up are application components
your application will consist of a

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series of individual documents and it's
very important to make sure you prepare

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and submit everything you should
these application components fall into

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three categories and museums for america
the first is that of required documents

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all applications must include the
documents listed here omission of even

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just one might result in your
application's rejection

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also important to note are page limits
if you exceed the page limit specified

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in the notice of funding opportunity we
must remove the extras before your

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application goes out for review
that means your reviewer may well see a

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paragraph or a sentence end in mid-air
and will consider will wonder about your

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organizational skills and your
attentiveness to detail

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we often see this with resumes so if you
are requesting resumes from staff

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outside contractors or consultants
please make sure they are two pages

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maximum
so

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make sure your content fits into the
page limit specified and make sure the

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number of pages holds when you convert
your document to a pdf

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the second category of application
components is that of conditionally

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required documents
some applications must include one two

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or even all four of these and it's your
job to figure out which are required for

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yours
if you are applying as a non-profit then

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you must include your proof of nonprofit
status issued by the internal revenue

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service we will not accept the letter of
state sales tax exemption as proof of

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nonprofit status
if you are using a federally negotiated

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indirect cost rate in your budget
you must include a copy of your final

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rate agreement
if you will create digital products

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during the course of your project then
you must complete and submit a digital

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product plan
if you are requesting support for

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conservation treatment then you must
include detailed condition reports and

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or formal conservation treatment
proposals

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just like the required documents
omission of even one might result in

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your application's rejection
please note that the term digital

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product includes digitized and born
digital content resources or assets and

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software if you are creating any of
these types of materials you must

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00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:04.720
include the form with your application

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the third group of application
components is supporting documents and

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here is a partial list of examples
supporting documents are optional you

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may choose some or none
we urge you to make good decisions here

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and include those that will supplement
your proposal this is not the place to

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introduce brand new information rather
as the name suggests they should lend

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support to your project justification
work plan and intended results that

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you've already spelled out in your
application narrative

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for example have you identified a
partner whose involvement is key to the

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project's success
if so a letter of support or commitment

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00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:42.880
would go a long way to reassuring
viewers reviewers that they are on board

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and the project will succeed
pictures can help give reviewers who may

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00:20:47.600 --> 00:20:51.039
not be familiar with your institution
programs collections or community a

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00:20:51.039 --> 00:20:54.000
better idea of what you're describing
within your narrative

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00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:57.120
and vendor quotes or equipment
specifications show you've done some of

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00:20:57.120 --> 00:21:01.280
the lego work and getting appropriate
estimates for project costs

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00:21:01.280 --> 00:21:04.480
we recommend that you be respectful of
your reviewers time and avoid any

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temptation to include hundreds of pages
of extraneous material that is not

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directly relevant to your project
being judicious really does work to your

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benefit as supporting documents can make
or break an application

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include what is important and helpful
and stop there

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let's turn to two specific documents
that

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00:21:25.360 --> 00:21:28.400
that are very important about which
applicants seem to have the most

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questions
first is a strategic plan summary

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00:21:32.320 --> 00:21:35.440
as you read the mfa notice of funding
opportunity you will see frequent

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00:21:35.440 --> 00:21:38.799
references to strategic plans or
strategic goals

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imls wants to help you achieve your
goals and indeed we've seen that one of

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the characteristics of a successful mfa
project is addressing a key need or

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challenge that faces your museum and
whose resolution is identified in your

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strategic plan
we ask for a summary of your plan no

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more than two pages
so that reviewers will be able to

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understand how your proposed project's
activities will further your

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institutional goals and objectives
to verify its legitimacy we ask that you

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indicate when and by whom the plan was
approved for some institutions this

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00:22:08.240 --> 00:22:11.360
might be the board of trustees for
others it might be someone or a group

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00:22:11.360 --> 00:22:16.080
representing the authority for a
division or a department

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00:22:16.080 --> 00:22:19.200
use a narrative format for your
strategic plan summary

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00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:22.559
although infographics and cleverly
designed imagery might be just a thing

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00:22:22.559 --> 00:22:26.320
for communicating your strategic plan to
some audiences it typically doesn't work

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well for our reviewers
these two pages are all they have and

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00:22:29.760 --> 00:22:33.120
they tell us they will find a
well-constructed thoughtful written

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00:22:33.120 --> 00:22:36.960
summary the best way to confirm
connections to your project make it easy

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00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:40.679
for them to see them

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the federal government recently added a
new requirement for all federal awards

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agencies are now required to measure the
performance of awardees

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the performance measurement requirement
is different from project evaluation

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00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:56.559
which is typically included in your
project proposals

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00:22:56.559 --> 00:23:01.039
performance measurement tells us how
good a job you did as a federal awardee

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00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:05.440
it helps optimize understand manage and
improve our grant programs and the

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assistance we provide to applicants and
awardees

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and it helps us inform internal
stakeholders imls leadership key staff

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00:23:13.360 --> 00:23:18.000
and programs grants management and
finance and external stakeholders

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00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:22.240
legislative and oversight committees
media and the public about our grant

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making
project evaluation by contrast is all

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about your project intended results or
outcomes

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the prompts that help you write your
narrative which we will talk about in a

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moment will guide you through a
discussion of your evaluation methods we

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ask what you need your with what needs
you are addressing and what associated

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results do you want your project to have
how you will track progress toward

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00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:48.799
achieving your intended results and how
the knowledge skills behaviors and or

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attitudes of your target audiences will
change as a result of your project

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so let's turn now to our focus on
performance measurement and how we will

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ask you
to plan for it and report on it

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in the notice of funding opportunity we
provide a sample chart which applicants

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may but are not required to use
on the left side of the chart are four

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commonly used performance measures that
imls has adopted for this effort

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effectiveness
the extent to which activities

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contribute to achieving the intended
results

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efficiency
how well resources such as funds

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00:24:25.120 --> 00:24:29.360
expertise and time are used and costs
are minimized while generating maximum

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value for the target
group how well the activities meet the

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00:24:33.600 --> 00:24:38.080
requirements and expectations of the
target group also known as quality

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timeliness the extent to which each task
activity is completed within the

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proposed time frame
across the top are the information

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points we're asking you to use in your
statements with examples for each

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for instance
with data we will collect our listed

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counts costs weights volumes
temperatures percentages and hours as

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well as qualitative observations
opinions and feelings

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for each performance measure we provide
a couple of examples addressing issues

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00:25:06.400 --> 00:25:09.520
that might turn up in library museum
projects

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00:25:09.520 --> 00:25:12.320
our intent was to make it easy for
applicants to see the relationship

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00:25:12.320 --> 00:25:15.600
between this request and the project
they are proposing

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the blank space is where we suggest
applicants write their own performance

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measure statements and the chart is
constructed such that it can expand to

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allow as much space as needed
we are looking for one statement for

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00:25:25.840 --> 00:25:28.960
each required performance measure you
may provide more than one statement per

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00:25:28.960 --> 00:25:32.400
measure if you wish we do limit the
performance measurement plan to two

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00:25:32.400 --> 00:25:34.799
pages

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00:25:37.679 --> 00:25:41.840
now let's talk about the narrative of
your proposal you have seven pages to

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00:25:41.840 --> 00:25:45.279
cover three very important issues and
the notice of funding opportunity

395
00:25:45.279 --> 00:25:48.799
provides lengthy guidance on what the
narrative should cover

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00:25:48.799 --> 00:25:53.360
first is the project justification
what need problem or challenge will your

397
00:25:53.360 --> 00:25:57.919
project address and how is it identified
describe how you have used demographic

398
00:25:57.919 --> 00:26:01.919
information economic circumstances
condition assessments and other relevant

399
00:26:01.919 --> 00:26:06.159
data from reliable sources to define the
need problem or challenge and develop

400
00:26:06.159 --> 00:26:10.080
the scope for the project
who is the target group for your project

401
00:26:10.080 --> 00:26:12.640
and how have they been involved in the
planning

402
00:26:12.640 --> 00:26:16.240
target group refers to those who will be
most immediately and positively affected

403
00:26:16.240 --> 00:26:19.600
by your project
identify the number of individuals in

404
00:26:19.600 --> 00:26:24.880
the target group or in each target group
if you identify more than one

405
00:26:24.880 --> 00:26:28.559
who are the ultimate beneficiaries for
this project

406
00:26:28.559 --> 00:26:32.080
beneficiaries refers to those who are
likely to be aided in the long term by

407
00:26:32.080 --> 00:26:36.080
your project they may or may not be the
same as your target group

408
00:26:36.080 --> 00:26:39.120
identify the number of individuals who
will benefit from your project in the

409
00:26:39.120 --> 00:26:42.880
long term if reliable and defensible
accounts are possible

410
00:26:42.880 --> 00:26:46.000
otherwise describe the characteristics
of the beneficiaries you expect to be

411
00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:49.760
served eventually by your project

412
00:26:51.360 --> 00:26:55.200
in section e of the notice of funding
opportunity under review criteria you

413
00:26:55.200 --> 00:26:58.320
will find a list of questions that
reviewers are asked to consider when

414
00:26:58.320 --> 00:27:02.640
they review your proposal it is a good
idea to refer to these as you craft your

415
00:27:02.640 --> 00:27:06.240
narrative to be certain that you are
providing reviewers clear solid

416
00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:08.640
information
you will see that they are they

417
00:27:08.640 --> 00:27:11.760
correspond fairly directly with the
prompts you are given to write your

418
00:27:11.760 --> 00:27:14.240
narrative

419
00:27:15.840 --> 00:27:18.720
one of the prompts in the project
justification section of the narrative

420
00:27:18.720 --> 00:27:22.320
is the identification of the need
problem or challenge your project

421
00:27:22.320 --> 00:27:28.240
addresses it is foundational in your
application so keep these points in mind

422
00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:31.039
the federal government wants its
investment to result in something

423
00:27:31.039 --> 00:27:34.240
getting better
as you define your need problem or

424
00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:37.679
challenge articulate what will get
better as a result of your project as

425
00:27:37.679 --> 00:27:41.520
precisely as possible
will someone learn something develop a

426
00:27:41.520 --> 00:27:45.840
skill change or attitude
will members of your community be better

427
00:27:45.840 --> 00:27:50.320
able to work together to solve problems
will collections be better cared for

428
00:27:50.320 --> 00:27:54.559
will their lifespan be extended
will access your collections and the

429
00:27:54.559 --> 00:27:58.640
information surrounding them be expanded
identify why it is important that this

430
00:27:58.640 --> 00:28:03.679
particular change happens
own your problem definition carefully in

431
00:28:03.679 --> 00:28:07.679
clear succinct terms
and gather and present data that support

432
00:28:07.679 --> 00:28:10.720
your problem definition

433
00:28:12.480 --> 00:28:15.679
if the project justification section was
the y

434
00:28:15.679 --> 00:28:20.799
the project work plan section is where
you identify the who what when and how

435
00:28:20.799 --> 00:28:24.559
who will do what activities when and
using what resources

436
00:28:24.559 --> 00:28:27.360
you should explain how you will track
your progress toward achieving your

437
00:28:27.360 --> 00:28:31.279
attended results and what you'll do if
you need the correct course

438
00:28:31.279 --> 00:28:35.279
we also ask you to think about risks
that are inherent in your particular

439
00:28:35.279 --> 00:28:39.520
project and to tell us how you've taken
that into account in your planning

440
00:28:39.520 --> 00:28:42.799
i'll say more about that in a few

441
00:28:42.840 --> 00:28:46.559
minutes again
this is a list of questions in section e

442
00:28:46.559 --> 00:28:49.520
of the notice of funding opportunity
that reviewers are asked to consider

443
00:28:49.520 --> 00:28:53.200
when they review your proposal so make
sure your narrative is answering these

444
00:28:53.200 --> 00:28:56.200
effectively

445
00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:02.720
your work plan will be built on
activities so it's important to be clear

446
00:29:02.720 --> 00:29:06.720
about just what an activity is
an activity is something that someone

447
00:29:06.720 --> 00:29:10.480
does it has a beginning and an end just
like projects

448
00:29:10.480 --> 00:29:12.960
and you know when you finished it
because it doesn't need to be done

449
00:29:12.960 --> 00:29:16.480
anymore
an activity is not a goal a result or an

450
00:29:16.480 --> 00:29:20.960
outcome rather it is something you do as
part of striving to achieve those

451
00:29:20.960 --> 00:29:23.840
aim for a reasonable level of
granularity in identifying your

452
00:29:23.840 --> 00:29:26.840
activities

453
00:29:27.919 --> 00:29:31.520
we also ask you to think about risks
that are inherent in your particular

454
00:29:31.520 --> 00:29:35.120
project and to tell us how you've taken
that into account in your planning

455
00:29:35.120 --> 00:29:38.640
think of it as answering the question
what if

456
00:29:38.640 --> 00:29:41.840
there is no checklist of risks but every
project has them

457
00:29:41.840 --> 00:29:45.360
the best proposals will show that you
are aware of them and have thought

458
00:29:45.360 --> 00:29:48.799
through a plan for dealing with them
look at your activities and think about

459
00:29:48.799 --> 00:29:52.399
what could go wrong
focus on the ones where your experience

460
00:29:52.399 --> 00:29:56.240
your own or that of your your group
tells you yes that could happen and

461
00:29:56.240 --> 00:29:59.360
identify steps you would take in
response

462
00:29:59.360 --> 00:30:03.279
imls knows things go differently than
expected we just want you to prepare by

463
00:30:03.279 --> 00:30:07.679
identifying implementable options
here are some examples of risk that

464
00:30:07.679 --> 00:30:12.080
might be part of a project for which you
might seek mfa funding

465
00:30:12.080 --> 00:30:15.520
a project may be dependent upon
fundraising to generate the cost share

466
00:30:15.520 --> 00:30:18.799
but it's not complete by the time the
application is submitted what will the

467
00:30:18.799 --> 00:30:22.159
institution do if that money is not
available by the time the project gets

468
00:30:22.159 --> 00:30:25.120
underway
a project may be structured around

469
00:30:25.120 --> 00:30:28.559
university interns who will be selected
and trained according to well thought

470
00:30:28.559 --> 00:30:31.600
out processes
what will happen if one or more interns

471
00:30:31.600 --> 00:30:36.320
drops out what's the plan for replacing
them mid-project

472
00:30:36.320 --> 00:30:39.279
a project involving re-housing
collections into new museum museum

473
00:30:39.279 --> 00:30:42.640
quality collection storage furniture
might run into delays in preparing the

474
00:30:42.640 --> 00:30:46.880
space or in the delivery of the cabinets
what happens to the collection items

475
00:30:46.880 --> 00:30:49.520
then
how will the institution ensure that

476
00:30:49.520 --> 00:30:54.559
they remain safe and secure
a project depends on your community

477
00:30:54.559 --> 00:30:58.799
partners to achieve success but one
partner drops out mid-project

478
00:30:58.799 --> 00:31:02.440
what do you do now

479
00:31:04.640 --> 00:31:07.760
the third section of your narrative
should be devoted to articulating your

480
00:31:07.760 --> 00:31:11.679
project's intended results
this section is your chance to convince

481
00:31:11.679 --> 00:31:14.720
the reviewers that your project will
result result in something getting

482
00:31:14.720 --> 00:31:17.279
better
the need or problem you identified in

483
00:31:17.279 --> 00:31:20.399
your project justification will be
addressed directly and it will be

484
00:31:20.399 --> 00:31:25.120
diminished or eliminated all together
we ask you to tell us what data you will

485
00:31:25.120 --> 00:31:28.799
collect and report in order to measure
your project's success

486
00:31:28.799 --> 00:31:32.559
if your project will generate tangible
products and most do

487
00:31:32.559 --> 00:31:35.519
here's the opportunity to describe them
and make the case that they will be

488
00:31:35.519 --> 00:31:38.559
useful
and last but not least we ask that you

489
00:31:38.559 --> 00:31:41.679
tell us how you will sustain the benefit
of the project

490
00:31:41.679 --> 00:31:44.960
how will this improvement that you
propose to make continue once your grant

491
00:31:44.960 --> 00:31:47.840
is over

492
00:31:48.480 --> 00:31:51.919
again here is a list of review questions
that reviewers are asked to consider

493
00:31:51.919 --> 00:31:55.200
when they read and score the project
results section of your narrative

494
00:31:55.200 --> 00:31:58.399
these are found in section e of the
notice of funding opportunity

495
00:31:58.399 --> 00:32:02.559
all of your results should tie back to
your need problem or challenge you may

496
00:32:02.559 --> 00:32:06.880
well experience tangential benefits and
or positive outcomes but make sure you

497
00:32:06.880 --> 00:32:10.559
identify them as in addition to and not
instead of your original intended

498
00:32:10.559 --> 00:32:15.840
results reviewers are likely to see that
as a disconnect

499
00:32:17.840 --> 00:32:21.200
we often hear that defining intended
results and success measures is

500
00:32:21.200 --> 00:32:26.320
challenging for applicants so it's worth
spending a bit of time on this here

501
00:32:26.320 --> 00:32:29.120
let's think back to the questions we
referenced a couple of slides ago when

502
00:32:29.120 --> 00:32:32.159
we talked about defining the need
problem or challenge that your project

503
00:32:32.159 --> 00:32:35.919
is addressing
if you said someone will learn something

504
00:32:35.919 --> 00:32:39.440
how will you know
if your problem relates to related to

505
00:32:39.440 --> 00:32:42.480
segments of your community being better
able to work together

506
00:32:42.480 --> 00:32:44.559
how will you know when that has been
achieved

507
00:32:44.559 --> 00:32:48.159
if collections will be better cared for
how will you be sure and how will you

508
00:32:48.159 --> 00:32:51.120
measure better
if you're digitizing to expand

509
00:32:51.120 --> 00:32:54.720
accessibility how will you know when
you're done with it

510
00:32:54.720 --> 00:32:58.880
this focus on results and measuring
success in meaningful ways is not new

511
00:32:58.880 --> 00:33:02.640
there has been a tremendous amount of
work done on ways to measure success

512
00:33:02.640 --> 00:33:05.840
for you as an applicant though we
encourage you to consider using a logic

513
00:33:05.840 --> 00:33:11.640
model to explain your intended results
and your plan for achieving them

514
00:33:12.159 --> 00:33:16.240
many mfa applicants use logic models and
reviewers appreciate their conciseness

515
00:33:16.240 --> 00:33:18.720
and focus
there are many excellent resources

516
00:33:18.720 --> 00:33:23.120
available to help you construct a logic
model and among these are imls's shaping

517
00:33:23.120 --> 00:33:28.480
outcomes a free online course developed
in partnership with indiana university

518
00:33:28.480 --> 00:33:32.080
purdue university of indianapolis
it is available at

519
00:33:32.080 --> 00:33:35.080
www.shapingoutcomes.org

520
00:33:36.399 --> 00:33:39.840
and it is customized to meet the needs
of museum applicants

521
00:33:39.840 --> 00:33:43.360
there are downloadable worksheets and
numerous examples that you are likely to

522
00:33:43.360 --> 00:33:46.799
find relevant to your own work

523
00:33:48.159 --> 00:33:52.480
so to recap your narrative has three
sections project justification

524
00:33:52.480 --> 00:33:57.200
project work plan and project results if
you have seven pages for it

525
00:33:57.200 --> 00:34:01.760
the sections are all equally important
write clearly address what we ask you to

526
00:34:01.760 --> 00:34:06.159
address and keep an eye on those review
criteria we're telling you here exactly

527
00:34:06.159 --> 00:34:09.040
what the reviewers will look for so make
it easy for them to find it and

528
00:34:09.040 --> 00:34:11.679
understand it

529
00:34:13.119 --> 00:34:16.720
at this point i'd like to share a few
tips based on our experiences with the

530
00:34:16.720 --> 00:34:22.079
mfa application submission process each
year first off you must submit your

531
00:34:22.079 --> 00:34:27.200
application online through grants.gov
imos does not accept applications by

532
00:34:27.200 --> 00:34:31.280
mail or email
in order to register with grants.gov you

533
00:34:31.280 --> 00:34:37.520
must have an active sam.gov registration
and unique entity identifier number

534
00:34:37.520 --> 00:34:41.440
so make sure your registrations for both
of these sites are complete your

535
00:34:41.440 --> 00:34:45.359
accounts are active and that any
necessary passwords are current

536
00:34:45.359 --> 00:34:49.200
these registrations expire periodically
so do not wait until it's time to hit

537
00:34:49.200 --> 00:34:52.960
the submit button to check on them
you should coordinate with any other

538
00:34:52.960 --> 00:34:57.760
staff members such as your authorized
organization representative who may hold

539
00:34:57.760 --> 00:35:01.280
the accounts and passwords you'll need
to submit

540
00:35:01.280 --> 00:35:07.440
both the sam.gov and grants.gov websites
have robust help features and faqs

541
00:35:07.440 --> 00:35:11.040
if you run into technical issues with
either of these sites you should reach

542
00:35:11.040 --> 00:35:15.280
out to their help desk and request a
tracking case or ticket number in order

543
00:35:15.280 --> 00:35:18.560
to document your issue and attempts at
resolving it

544
00:35:18.560 --> 00:35:22.000
failure to have activesam.gov or
grants.gov registrations by the

545
00:35:22.000 --> 00:35:26.240
application deadline is not an excuse
for submitting a late application

546
00:35:26.240 --> 00:35:30.440
so again start early

547
00:35:33.359 --> 00:35:37.040
important to know
our regulations state clearly that we

548
00:35:37.040 --> 00:35:40.960
can make grants only to eligible
applicants that submit complete

549
00:35:40.960 --> 00:35:44.960
applications including attachments on or
before the deadline

550
00:35:44.960 --> 00:35:48.160
so here are some tips to help you do
just that

551
00:35:48.160 --> 00:35:53.040
start early you've already done that by
participating in this webinar

552
00:35:53.040 --> 00:35:56.640
become familiar with grants.gov's
workspace it has many good features

553
00:35:56.640 --> 00:36:00.320
including upfront validation which
allows you to connect to correct errors

554
00:36:00.320 --> 00:36:04.400
prior to submission and the opportunity
to collaborate with others in creating

555
00:36:04.400 --> 00:36:07.119
your application

556
00:36:07.359 --> 00:36:12.240
consider starting with the workspace
overview and check out the tutorials

557
00:36:12.240 --> 00:36:16.400
do your background research make it easy
for the reviewers to see that you are up

558
00:36:16.400 --> 00:36:19.359
to date and know what you're talking
about

559
00:36:19.359 --> 00:36:23.440
revisit the mfa notice a funding
opportunity frequently and follow the

560
00:36:23.440 --> 00:36:28.000
narrative outline it provides
use headings subheadings or numbered

561
00:36:28.000 --> 00:36:32.640
sections in your narrative to make it
easy for reviewers to read

562
00:36:32.640 --> 00:36:36.320
avoid generalities acronyms and jargon
the people who will review your

563
00:36:36.320 --> 00:36:39.760
application are experts but they may not
be totally familiar with your particular

564
00:36:39.760 --> 00:36:44.400
fields shorthand make it easy for them
to understand what you mean

565
00:36:44.400 --> 00:36:49.119
check your spelling grammar and math it
counts with reviewers

566
00:36:49.119 --> 00:36:51.760
an advantage to starting your
application early is that you can ask a

567
00:36:51.760 --> 00:36:55.200
colleague to review everything with
fresh eyes before you submit

568
00:36:55.200 --> 00:36:59.359
ask them to act like a reviewer who's
seeing this for the first time

569
00:36:59.359 --> 00:37:02.800
be sure your application is complete
check it against the table of

570
00:37:02.800 --> 00:37:06.640
application components in the notice of
funding opportunity

571
00:37:06.640 --> 00:37:10.720
submit to grants.gov early so you can
correct any errors and avoid any trauma

572
00:37:10.720 --> 00:37:14.400
created by technology challenges

573
00:37:16.320 --> 00:37:19.599
this is the general schedule of events
to show what happens to your application

574
00:37:19.599 --> 00:37:22.640
once we receive it
imless staff will review it for

575
00:37:22.640 --> 00:37:26.160
completeness and eligibility and you
will hear from us by email if there are

576
00:37:26.160 --> 00:37:30.320
any problems
from february through june

577
00:37:30.320 --> 00:37:33.680
your experienced and knowledgeable peers
will provide scores and comments based

578
00:37:33.680 --> 00:37:37.440
on the criteria outlined in the mfa
notice a funding opportunity

579
00:37:37.440 --> 00:37:42.000
an imls staff will examine your budget
your financials and your track record

580
00:37:42.000 --> 00:37:46.079
with past and current grants
we then prepare materials for the imls

581
00:37:46.079 --> 00:37:52.320
deputy director for museums and the imls
director by law the imls director is

582
00:37:52.320 --> 00:37:55.280
charged with the authority and
responsibility to make final award

583
00:37:55.280 --> 00:38:00.720
decisions and this happens in july
in august we will notify you by email of

584
00:38:00.720 --> 00:38:03.440
the award decisions and provide the
scores and comments created by the

585
00:38:03.440 --> 00:38:08.000
reviewers
on september 1st 2023 funded projects

586
00:38:08.000 --> 00:38:10.400
begin

587
00:38:12.000 --> 00:38:16.079
thank you very much for your interest in
imls and the museums for america and we

588
00:38:16.079 --> 00:38:19.040
hope you have found the information in
this webinar helpful

589
00:38:19.040 --> 00:38:22.720
here is a listing of the names email
addresses and direct phone numbers

590
00:38:22.720 --> 00:38:25.680
program staff and the office of museum
services who are answering questions

591
00:38:25.680 --> 00:38:29.040
about music themes for america
we encourage you to

592
00:38:29.040 --> 00:38:32.800
contact us with any questions you might
have about what you've heard or seen in

593
00:38:32.800 --> 00:38:36.480
this webinar or in the online mfa
materials

594
00:38:36.480 --> 00:38:40.960
we'll be very happy to help
so with that we wish you good luck and

595
00:38:40.960 --> 00:38:45.880
we look forward to seeing your
application in november

596
00:38:48.880 --> 00:38:50.960
you