§ 1180.20 - Guidelines and standards for conservation projects.

(a) Scope. The guidelines and standards in this document apply to all aspects of the IMLS conservation grant program including the submission of applications by museums for conservation grants, to the award, review and approval of such applications by IMLS, and to the carrying out of conservation grants awarded by IMLS.

(b) Applicability of regulations. (1) Except as otherwise provided in these guidelines, subparts A-C of this part, part 1180 of Title 45 CFR, (45 CFR 1180.1-1180.58) (IMLS Grants Regulations), as amended, including §§ 1180.35, 1180.41, 1180.45, 1180.48, and 1180.49, apply to the IMLS conservation grant program.

(2) Sections 1180.11(d) does not apply. A museum which applies for a conservation grant need not submit a long-range plan.

(3) Section 1180.16(b), which provides for the maintenance of a restricted account, does apply to conservation grants.

(4) Section 1180.18 (relating to maintenance of effort) does not apply.

(5) In addition to submitting the final report required by § 1180.17, a grantee must submit an interim report in accordance with a schedule set forth in the grant award document. An applicant that has received a prior conservation grant from IMLS the performance of which has not been completed may be required to submit an additional performance report or submit an interim report early.

(c) Definition. As used in these guidelines, the term conservation includes, but is not limited to, the following functions, as applied to art, history, natural history, science and technology, and living collections:

(1) Technical examination of materials and surveys of environmental and collection conditions;

(2) Provision, insofar as practicable, of optimum environmental conditions for housing, exhibition, monitoring, reformating, nurturing and transportation of objects;

(3) Physical treatment of objects, specimens and organisms, for the purpose of stabilizing, conserving and preserving their condition, removal of inauthentic additions or accretions, and physical compensation for losses; species survival activities; and

(4) Research and training in conservation.

(d) Applicants. Under the Museum and Library Services Act only a museum may receive a grant. (20 U.S.C. 9173(a)). See § 1180.3 of the IMLS regulations for the definition of “museum”. A museum may apply for and receive only one conservation grant under this program in a fiscal year.

(e) Types of conservation projects funded. IMLS considers applications to carry out conservation projects such as:

(1) Projects to develop improved or less costly methods of conservation, or to maintain or improve conservation with respect to one or more collections, including—

(i) Projects involving surveys of conservation needs and

(ii) Projects to establish or maintain optimum environmental conditions.

(2) Projects to conduct research in conservation (including developmental and basic research).

(3) Projects to conduct or obtain training in conservation (including training of persons for careers as professional conservators; training or upgrading of practicing conservators and conservation technicians in the use of new materials and techniques; and training of persons to become conservation technicians).

(4) Projects related to museum conservation needs not regularly addressed by other Federal funding agencies.

(5) Projects to meet the conservation needs of museums which are unable to maintain their own individual conservation facilities. Because grants are made only to museums, organizations which operate regional conservation centers but which are not museums are ineligible for a direct grant. However, a museum or a group of museums may use a grant to obtain services from such a center.

(6) Projects to conserve particular objects in a museum's collection (including plants and animals) or to meet the conservation needs of a particular museum (through such activities as the employment of conservators and the procurement of conservation services or equipment).

(f) Limits for Federal funding. (1) The normal amount of a Conservation Project Support grant will be established through a notice published in the Federal Register. Beginning in FY 1996, the normal maximum amount is $50,000. Unless otherwise provided by law, if the Director determines that exceptional circumstance warrant, the Director, consistent with the policy direction of the Board, may award a conservation grant which obligates an amount in Federal funds in excess of the normal maximum award. IMLS may establish a maximum award level for exceptional project grants for a particular fiscal year through information made available in guidelines or other material distributed to all applicants.

(2) A conservation grant is not included in the maximum amount which a museum may expect to receive from IMLS for a fiscal year, as set forth pursuant to § 1180.9 of the regulations. Therefore, a museum may receive, for example, a General Operating Support grant for the amount specified pursuant to that section and an additional amount for a conservation grant in a fiscal year.

(3) IMLS makes conservation grants only on a matching basis. This means that at least 50 per cent of the costs of a conservation project must be met from non-federal funds. Principles in applicable OMB circulars regarding costs sharing or matching apply. See, e.g., OMB Circular A-102, Attachment F.

(g) Application requirements; priorities; survey required in certain cases. (1) Application requirements in § 1180.11 (a), (b), and (c) apply. An application shall describe when, during the term of the grant, the applicant plans to complete each objective or phase of the project. Where appropriate, IMLS may require an applicant to submit a dissemination plan.

(2) The Director, by notice published in the Federal Register, may establish priorities with respect to all or part of the funds available to IMLS for conservation for a fiscal year among the types of projects specified in paragraph (e) of this section. If the Board establishes one or more types of projects as a priority for a fiscal year, applications proposing projects of that type (or types) are evaluated, ranked and (if recommended for funding) approved before applications proposing other types of projects.

(3) The Director may, to the extent appropriate, require (by instructions in the application materials) that an applicant which proposes a project to conserve particular objects must show that, prior to the submission of the application, it has carried out a general survey of its conservation needs and priorities and that the project in question is consistent with such survey. In exceptional circumstances, the Director may adjust this requirement, consistent with the policy direction of the Board. The Director may also (through such instructions) require an applicant for a conservation project to submit additional information, material, or undertakings to carry out the purposes of this part.

(h) Procedures for review of applications. (1) IMLS uses the procedures stated in this paragraph to review applications for conservation projects.

(2) IMLS evaluates all eligible applications for conservation projects in accordance with applicable criteria. (See paragraph (i) of this section.) The Director expects to use panels of experts to review at least a portion of the applications for conservation grants. Depending upon the number of applications received as well as other factors, the Director may also use field reviewers to evaluate applications before submission of applications to the panels. In addition, the Director may use technical experts to provide technical advice regarding certain applications. See generally § 1180.12 of the IMLS regulations.

(3) IMLS evaluates applications for conservation projects separately from applications for general operating support.

(i) Criteria. This paragraph sets forth the criteria which IMLS uses in evaluating and reviewing applications for conservation grants. Panelists and field reviewers are instructed to use only these criteria in the evaluation and review of these applications.

(1) The following programmatic criteria apply to the evaluation and review of conservation grants:

(i) What is the importance of the object or objects to be conserved? What is the significance of the object or objects to the museum's collection and/or audience?

(ii) What is the need for the project, including the relationship of the project to the conservation needs and priorities of the applicant museum as reflected in a survey of conservation needs or similar needs assessment?

(iii) What are the applicant's plans to use and maintain the anticipated results or benefits of the project after the expiration of Federal support?

(iv) Does the applicant plan to devote adequate financial and other resources to the project without inhibiting its ongoing activities?

(2) The following technical criteria apply to the evaluation and review of applications for conservation grants:

(i) What is the nature of the proposed project with respect to project design and management plan?

(ii) To what extent does the application exhibit knowledge of the technical area to which the conservation project relates and employ the most promising or appropriate methods or techniques of conservation? To what extent is the conservation project likely to use, develop or demonstrate improved, more efficient, or more economic methods of conservation?

(iii) Does the project have an adequate budget to achieve its purpose? Is the budget reasonable and adequate in relation to the objectives of the project?

(iv) What are the qualifications of the personnel the applicant plans to use on the project and the proposed time that each such person is obligated to commit to the project?

(j) Duration of grant. IMLS makes a conservation grant under this section for a period of not to exceed two years.

(k) Grant condition. An applicant which has received a grant in a prior fiscal year under the IMLS conservation grant program may not receive a grant in a subsequent fiscal year under this section until required reports have been submitted regarding the performance of the previous grant.

(l) Allowable and unallowable costs. (1) Section 1180.10 of the IMLS regulations, which applies to conservation grants, sets forth the rules applicable to determining the allowability of costs under IMLS grants and refers readers to the OMB circulars containing applicable cost principles which govern Federal grants generally.

(2) In general such costs as compensation for personal services, costs of materials and supplies, rental costs, and other administrative costs specifically related to a conservation project are allowable under a conservation grant in accordance with applicable cost principles.

(3) Costs of alterations, repairs and restoration to an existing facility are allowable when they are related to a conservation project under a conservation grant in accordance with applicable cost principles.

(4) Costs of equipment are generally allowable if related to a conservation project but do require the specific approval of the Director as indicated in the grant award document.

(5) A grantee may award a stipend to an individual for training in connection with a conservation project. Stipends and allowances may be paid at rates and under conditions established by the Director consistent with policies of other agencies in the Foundation or other agencies or instrumentalities of the United States providing comparable assistance with respect to conservation.

(6) Costs of new construction are unallowable. For example, a museum may not a use a conservation grant to construct a new building or an addition to an existing building to improve the environment in which its collections are housed.