Access to Historical Records: Major Initiatives (Preliminary) | PRELIM 202102

Opportunity Information: Apply for PRELIM 202102

Access to Historical Records: Major Initiatives (Preliminary) is a National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) grant opportunity under the National Archives and Records Administration that is meant to expand public access to major U.S. historical records collections. The program focuses on projects that measurably improve how people discover, use, and benefit from historical records, with the broader goal of strengthening understanding of American democracy, history, and culture. This particular announcement covers the preliminary proposal stage for the Major Initiatives category, meaning organizations first submit a short, required initial application and, if selected, are later invited to submit a full proposal.

The NHPRC is especially interested in projects centered on early American legal records, including colonial, territorial, county, early statehood, and tribal proceedings that help document how the nation’s legal systems developed over time. That said, the program is not limited to legal materials. Eligible collections can include paper documents and photographs, as well as born-digital materials and analog audio or moving image formats. The main emphasis is on large-scale, high-impact work that materially increases online or other forms of public access, rather than small or routine processing activities.

The types of projects this opportunity supports include digitizing significant historical records (or closely related collections) held by a single institution and making the digitized materials freely available online; improving access to born-digital records that may otherwise be difficult for the public to use; building new, free virtual collections by drawing together related records from multiple institutions; and developing new tools, methods, or approaches that make it easier for users to find and work with historical records. Collaborative efforts are explicitly encouraged, particularly when they unite related materials from different repositories. Projects that solve widely shared problems in the field and produce approaches that are replicable and scalable tend to be more competitive. The program also encourages applicants to involve the public in meaningful ways as the work is carried out, rather than treating outreach as an afterthought.

This is a discretionary grant program (CFDA 89.003) with a preliminary proposal deadline of February 25, 2021, under Funding Opportunity Number PRELIM-202102. Applicants who submit preliminary proposals are told whether they are invited to submit a full application by April 23, 2021. Award periods can range from one to three years, and NHPRC-funded work cannot begin earlier than January 1, 2022. Individual awards are expected to range from $100,000 to $350,000, with up to five grants anticipated and up to $1,000,000 total projected funding for the category. Grant recipients must acknowledge NHPRC support in publications and other products created with grant assistance.

Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations and institutions (including 501(c)(3) organizations), colleges and universities (public or private), state and local government agencies (including county and city or township governments), and federally acknowledged or state-recognized Native American tribes or groups. The program requires cost sharing: NHPRC will fund no more than 50 percent of the total project cost in this Major Initiatives category, meaning the applicant must cover the remaining share through cash and/or eligible contributions. The applicant match can include direct costs, indirect expenses counted as part of the applicant contribution, in-kind support, eligible third-party non-federal contributions, and income earned directly by the project. At the same time, NHPRC funds cannot be used for indirect costs (per 2 CFR 2600.101), so any indirect cost amounts must be placed on the cost-share side of the budget rather than charged to the federal portion.

To apply, organizations must meet standard federal registration requirements, including maintaining an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) throughout the submission and award process and providing a valid DUNS number in the application (noting that the announcement points applicants to SAM.gov guidance and user materials). A complete preliminary proposal package must include three core components: the Application for Federal Assistance (Standard Form 424), a project narrative, and a budget. Submissions missing any of these required pieces will not be considered, and applications consisting entirely of activities that NHPRC deems ineligible will not be reviewed. Applicants are also directed to consult NHPRC’s published guidance on what the Commission does and does not fund, and to note that a separate NHPRC program, Access to Historical Records: Archival Projects, exists with different requirements and award sizes.

• The National Archives and Records Administration in the humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Access to Historical Records: Major Initiatives (Preliminary)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 89.003.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 01, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 25, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $350,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for PRELIM 202102

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: