§ 1180.78 - Technical training and implementation grants to museums.

(a) Purpose of program. The Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services makes two-part grants under this subpart to assist those who work in museums (paid or volunteer) to obtain training in technical areas of museum operations and to implement the training to improve museum services to the public.

(b) Eligibility. (1) To be eligible to apply for a grant under this subpart, a museum must:

(i) Be a public or private nonprofit institution that is organized on a permanent basis for essentially educational or aesthetic purposes; and

(ii) Care for, and own or use tangible objects, whether animate or inanimate, and exhibit these objects to the public on a regular basis through facilities which it owns or operates, and

(iii) Have at least one staff member, whether paid or unpaid, full-time or part-time, whose primary responsibility is the acquisition, care or exhibition to the public of objects owned or used by the museum; and

(iv) Be open and providing museum services to the general public on a regular basis; and

(v) Be located in one of the fifty States of the Union, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, or Palau (until its compact of free association is approved.)

(2) A museum must have an operating budget for the fiscal year immediately preceding the deadline to which the museum applies of no more than $250,000 exclusive of non-cash support.

(3) Museum includes (but is not limited to) the following institutions if they satisfy the provisions of this section:

(i) Aquariums and zoological parks;

(ii) Botanical gardens and arboretums;

(iii) Nature centers;

(iv) Museums relating to art, history (including historic buildings and sites);

(v) Natural history, science and technology, planetariums, and specialized subject.

(4) A museum that receives a grant for training and implementation under this subpart for a fiscal year may not receive another grant under this subpart for the same or subsequent fiscal years.

(5) Preference for funding will be given to a museum that has not received any grants from the Institute within two years of the deadline to which it applies over funding for a museum that has received a grant from the Institute within two years of application.

(c) Applicability of other regulations. The following sections in part 1180 do apply to grants for training and implementation under this subpart: Sections 1180.3(d), 1180.4, 1180.5(c)-(e), 1180.6, 1180.10, 1180.11(a)-(b), 1180.16(b), 1180.30-34, 1180.36-37, 1180.39, 1180.42-44, 1180.47-48, 1180.51-57, part 1183, part 1185.

(d) Application requirements. (1) An applicant under this subpart must submit an application in such time and such manner, and containing such information, as requested by the Institute.

(2) An applicant must submit with its application financial information for its most recently completed fiscal year for which satisfactory information is available and projected financial information for the fiscal year(s) that includes the time of the grant period.

(e) Procedures and criteria for review of applications. (1) To evaluate applications and determine the amount of their awards, the Institute rates competitive applications under the criteria stated in paragraph (e)(2) of this section. Normally, these applications are evaluated by field reviewers, panels of experts, or both. The Director may also use technical experts in the review of applications.

(2) This paragraph sets forth the criteria the Institute uses in evaluating and reviewing applications for technical training and implementation grants under this subpart. Evaluators are instructed to use only these criteria in the evaluation of these applications.

(i) Does the museum demonstrate its importance to the community it serves?

(ii) Is the type of training requested appropriate to the purpose or mission of the museum?

(iii) Are the costs requested to obtain the training reasonable and necessary?

(iv) Is the training needed at the museum?

(v) Is the staff member(s) (paid or volunteer) identified to receive the training the appropriate person(s) within the museum's organizational structure?

(vi) Does the individual(s) identified for training demonstrate at least a two-year commitment to the museum field?

(vii) Does the museum demonstrate a commitment to implement the training?

(f) Allowable costs. (1) A museum may use a grant under this subpart for expenses to obtain training in areas of museum operations and for activities to implement the training.

(2) Funds may be used to pay for registration or tuition fees for training courses or workshops. Individual(s) may use the grant funds to pay for a course that is part of a degree-granting program only for non-credit such as to audit the course.) Funds are generally not intended to support attendance at association annual meetings unless a specific training session or workshop is part of the meeting (or as a pre or post conference activity). A course of study that is identified by clearly and specifically named sessions that are part of an annual meeting program and that clearly and specifically address the area of training need will be considered.

(3) Funds may be used for travel to and from training activities and expenses incurred during travel, such as housing and meals.

(4) Funds may be used to purchase instructional materials.

(5) Funds may not be used to pay the salary of the person(s) receiving the training. The time the staff member(s) expends to obtain the training and to implement the training is considered a matching, in-kind contribution to the grant activities.

(6) Funds may not be used for consulting fees. (In special cases where training is not available otherwise, the Institute may consider an individually designed training agenda that includes the use of a consultant clearly serving as a trainer to the applicant in specific areas of museum operations.)

(7) Funds may be used to purchase supplies, materials, and equipment for areas of museum operations for which training was received.

(8) Funds may support additional travel as needed to implement training (eg. travel to libraries, archives, etc. to document collections).

(g) Conditions of participation. Following the completion of the training activity the museum must submit an implementation plan to the Institute for review before implementation funds are released. The implementation plan must indicate the time frame for implementation activities, the personnel involved, the activities to be completed, where the activities will take place, and the costs for implementing the plan.

(h) Form of assistance: Limitation of amount. (1) The Director makes payments to a museum under this subpart in advance.

(2) The amount of the grant to a museum will be determined by the Director, in accordance with the policy direction of the Board, regarding the maximum amount available for each part of the grant. The amount of the grant will be subject to the availability of funds.

(i) Reporting requirements. The museum receiving a grant for training and implementation under this subpart must submit a final financial and narrative report that evaluates the success of the applicant in meeting the stated goals and any plans to continue activities in the area of training.

(j) Limitation on number of applications. A museum may submit only one application for each deadline.

(k) Duration of grant. (1) Grants made under this subpart generally permit the grantee to use the funds for a period of up to 24 months from the start of the grant period. The grantee may use grant funds during the period specified in the grant document unless the grant is suspended or terminated.

(2) If the grantee needs additional time to complete the grant, the grantee may apply for an extension of the grant period without additional funds. The Director may approve this extension at his or her discretion.