The U.S. Mission to South Africa is calling for proposals for projects to preserve cultural heritage. Intentions to submit a proposal are accepted until December 10, 2015.  Shortlisted institutions will be invited to submit final and complete proposals by January 15, 2016.  

The U.S. Embassy South Africa and the Cultural Heritage Center of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. State Department are pleased to announce the 2016 call for proposals for the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) Competition.

The AFCP competition for South Africa aims to preserve cultural sites or objects and museum collections of historical or cultural significance to South Africa. This award is considered to be an important contribution to the preservation of world cultural heritage.  Individual awards can range from $10,000 to $200,000.  This call for proposals is divided into two phases: letter of intent due December 10 and final proposals from shortlisted institutions due January 15.

Phase 1:  The deadline to submit a letter of intent to submit a proposal is Thursday, December 10, 2015.  The letter of intent can be submitted through the Public Affairs Offices in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town or Durban.  The letter of intent should include the title, project dates, and a short description of the project. The Public Affairs Office will evaluate the statements of intent and invite qualifying projects to submit complete proposals.

Phase 2:  The Public Affairs Office will invite shortlisted institutions to submit final proposals by January 15, 2016.  Final Proposals must be submitted in English in electronic format to the following email addresses: Amy Christianson, ChristiansonAL@state.gov and Sheila Goodgall GoodgallSE@state.gov ; Subject: The Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation 2016.  The main project proposal document should be in Microsoft Word format but attachments can be sent as jpeg or pdf files.

Application Requirements:

AFCP gives top priority to project activities that are appropriate and in keeping with international standards for the preservation of cultural heritage.  These activities may involve:

• Cultural Sites, such as, but not limited to, historic buildings and archaeological sites;
• Cultural Objects and Collections from a museum, site, or similar institution – that include, but are not limited to, archaeological and ethnographic objects, paintings, sculpture, manuscripts and general museum conservation needs; and
• Forms of Traditional Cultural Expression, documentation and audiovisual recording of traditional music and dance forms for preservation and eventual dissemination, indigenous languages, or support for training in the preservation of traditional arts or crafts in danger of extinction.

Special priorities of 2016 competition: 

• Directly support U.S. treaty or bilateral agreement obligations, such as cultural property protection agreements;
• Support the preservation of inscribed World Heritage sites;
• Support risk reduction and disaster preparedness for cultural sites and collections in seismically active and other disaster-prone areas; and
• Engage women, youth, or under-served communities.

Eligible Projects:  AFCP defines eligible project applicants as reputable and accountable non-commercial entities, such as non-governmental organizations, museums, ministries of culture, or similar institutions and organizations that are able to demonstrate that they have the requisite experience and capacity to manage projects to preserve cultural heritage.

Non-Eligible Projects: AFCP will NOT support the following activities or costs:

• Preservation or purchase of privately or commercially owned cultural objects, collections, or real property, including those whose transfer from private or commercial to public ownership is envisioned, planned, or in process but not complete at the time of proposal submission;
• Preservation of natural heritage (physical, biological, and geological formations, paleontological collections, habitats of threatened species of animals and plants, fossils, etc.);
• Preservation of hominid or human remains;
• Preservation of news media (newspapers, newsreels, radio and TV programs, etc.);
• Preservation of published materials available elsewhere (books, periodicals, etc.);
• Development of curricula or educational materials for classroom use;
• Archaeological excavations or exploratory surveys for research purposes;
• Historical research, except in cases where the research is justifiable and integral to the success of the proposed project;
• Acquisition or creation of new exhibits, objects, or collections for new or existing museums;
• Construction of new buildings, building additions, or permanent coverings (over archaeological sites, for example);
• Commissions of new works of art or architecture for commemorative or economic development purposes;
• Creation of new or the modern adaptation of existing traditional dances, songs, chants, musical compositions, plays, or other performances;
• Creation of replicas or re-creation of cultural objects or sites that no longer exist;
• Relocation of cultural sites from one physical location to another;
• Removal of cultural objects or elements of cultural sites from the country for any reason;
• Digitization of cultural objects or collections, unless part of a larger, clearly defined conservation effort;
• Conservation plans or other studies, unless they are one component of a larger project to implement the results of those studies;
• Cash reserves, endowments, or revolving funds (funds must be expended within the award period [up to five years] and may not be used to create an endowment or revolving fund);
• Costs of fund-raising campaigns;
• Indirect costs or operating expenses, i.e. expenses incurred during the day-to-day operational activities of an organization, such as office rent, utilities, license fees, and other costs for administrative time, services, or materials not directly related to performing project work;
• Contingency, unforeseen, or miscellaneous costs or fees;
• Costs of work performed prior to announcement of the award;
• International travel, except in cases where travel is justifiable and integral to the success of the proposed project;
• Travel or study for professional development;
• Individual projects costing less than $10,000;
• Independent U.S. projects overseas.

PHASE 2:  FINAL PROPOSALS

Those institutions invited to submit final project proposals must include or address the following:

Project Basics, including title, project dates, AFCP focus area, and other top-level information;

Project Applicant information, including contact information, DUNS Number, and SAM registration

Applicants requesting $25,000 or more in federal assistance must have a Dun & Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) prior to submitting applications.  Applicants may acquire DUNs numbers at no cost by calling the dedicated toll-free DUNs number request line at 1-866-705-5711 or by requesting a number online at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform.  SAM is the official, free on-line registration database for the U.S. Government.

The Project proposals must include or address the following as required by State Department federal assistance regulations:

1. Full and complete Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424), including Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424A), Assurances for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424B), and, if applicable, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL);
2. Project Basics, including title, project dates, and AFCP focus area;
3. Project Applicant information, including contact information, DUNS Number, and SAM registration status (see Section 19 below);
4. Project Location;
5. Proof of Official Permission to undertake the project;
6. Project Purpose that summarizes the project objectives and desired results;
7. Project Activities Description that presents the project tasks in chronological order;
8. Project Time Frame or Schedule that lists the major project phases and milestones with target dates for achieving them (NOTE: Applicants may propose project periods of up to 60 months [five years]; projects must begin before September 30, 2016, and conclude no later than September 30, 2020);
9. Project Participant Information, specifically an estimated number of non-US and US participants and estimated number of primary and secondary participants, as well as resumes of the proposed project director and other primary project participants;
10. Statement of Importance highlighting the historic, architectural, artistic, or cultural (non-religious) values of the cultural site, collection, or form of traditional expression;
11. Statement of Urgency indicating the severity of the situation and explaining why the project must take place now;
12. Statement of Sustainability outlining the steps or measures that will be taken to maintain the site, object, or collection in good condition after the AFCP-supported project is complete; or, in the case of forms of traditional cultural expression, to preserve and disseminate the documentation, knowledge, or skills gained from the project;
13. Detailed Project Budget, demarcated in one-year budget periods (2016, 2017, 2018, etc.), that lists all costs in separate categories (Personnel, Fringe Benefits, Travel [including Per Diem], Equipment, Supplies, Contractual, Other Direct Costs, Indirect Costs, Cost Sharing); indicates funds from other sources; and gives a justification for any anticipated international travel costs (templates available upon request from the Center);
14. Budget Narrative explaining line by line how costs are estimated (quantity x unit cost, annual salary x percentage of time spent on project, etc.) and unique budget line items;
15. Attachments and Supporting Documents including, at a minimum and REQUIRED, five (5) high quality digital images (JPEGs) or audiovisual files that convey the nature and condition of the site, object, or form of expression and, in the case of a site or object, show the urgency or need for the proposed project (collapsing wall, water damage, worn fabric, broken handle, etc.), any historic structure reports, conservation needs assessments, and other planning documents compiled in preparation for the proposed project;
16. Rationale for U.S. support, written by the embassy, explaining: 1) why it is in the interests of the U.S. government to fund the project and; 2) how it relates to Integrated Country Strategy (ICS) goals, existing bilateral agreements, or other U.S. foreign policy objectives;
17. Media and Outreach Plan, written by the embassy, describing how it intends to highlight and amplify U.S. government support for AFCP programs through existing print, electronic, and social media platforms;
18. Monitoring Plan, written by the embassy, describing how it intends to monitor project progress and grantee performance;
19. Risk Assessment, completed by the embassy, evaluating the risks posed by applicant or project).

Submissions:

Intentions to submit a proposal are accepted until December 10, 2015 and must be submitted through the Public Affairs Offices in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town or Durban.  Shortlisted institutions will be invited to submit final and complete proposals by January 15, 2016.  Final proposals must be submitted in English in electronic format to the following email addresses: Amy Christianson,ChristiansonAL@state.gov and Sheila Goodgall GoodgallSE@state.gov ; Subject: The Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation 2016.  The main project proposal document should be in Microsoft Word format but attachments can be sent as jpeg or pdf files.