Sparks Ignition Grants for Libraries and Museums
The next competition is expected to have a December deadline for museums and a February deadline for libraries. The FY 2014 guidelines will be made available approximately 90 days before the deadline. Until then, stations are encouraged to use the FY 2013 guidelines as a reference.
Grant: Sparks! Ignition Grants for Libraries and Museums
Agency: Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
Deadline: The deadline was February 1, 2013.
Description: The Sparks! Ignition Grants for Libraries and Museums program is a special IMLS funding opportunity that encourages libraries, archives and museums to challenge existing assumptions about how they operate and the services they provide. These small grants support the deployment, testing and evaluation of promising and groundbreaking new tools, products, services or organizational practices. Applicants may propose activities or approaches that involve risk, as long as the risk is balanced by significant potential for improvement in the ways cultural heritage institutions serve their communities.
Successful proposals will address problems, challenges or needs of broad relevance to libraries, archives and/or museums, will test innovative responses to these problems and will make the findings of these tests widely and openly accessible. To maximize the benefit of federal investments, the Sparks! Ignition Grants for Libraries and Museums program will fund projects with the following characteristics:
- Broad Potential Impact – Applicants should identify a specific problem or need that is important to many libraries, archives and/or museums, and propose a testable and measurable solution to the problem. Proposals must demonstrate a thorough understanding of current issues and practices in the project's focus area and discuss the project's potential impact within libraries, archives and/or museums. Proposed innovations should be widely adoptable or adaptable.
- Significant Innovation – The proposed solution to the identified problem must offer strong potential for non-incremental, significant advancement in the operation of libraries, archives and/or museums. Applicants must explain how the proposed activity differs from current practices or exploits an unexplored opportunity and the potential benefit to be gained by this innovation.
An example of projects that might be funded by this program includes exploring the potential of highly original, experimental collaborations. The Sparks! Ignition Grants intentionally are designed to foster broad sharing of information about project findings. Successful proposals are expected to include innovative and well-rounded communication plans that exploit multiple media and technologies to share project information with targeted audiences.
Fit for public broadcasting: Only libraries, archives and museums are eligible to apply for this program, but IMLS encourages partnerships that extend project impact by leveraging the resources and efforts of all partners. Partnerships must be formalized in the early stages of projects, as a discussion of an applicant's partners and their roles must be included in the application. Stations that have relationships with local museums and libraries should consider partnering with them to create and implement a project with a broad scope and audience.
Eligibility: Applicants must be libraries, archives or museums. Specific definitions of eligibility are included in the program notice.
Anticipated funding: Grants will range from $10,000 to $25,000 for projects that begin on August 1, September 1, or October 1, 2013, and last for one year. Cost sharing is not required.
How to apply: Applications must be submitted electronically on Grants.gov. Because Grants.gov registration requirements may take some time to complete, all prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to begin the process as early as possible.
Resources:
Program notice
Program website
IMLS program staff will host two pre-application web conferences to learn more about the program, ask questions, and listen to the questions and comments of other participants. The webinars will take place on December 5, 2012 at 3:30 p.m. EST, and January 9, 2013 at 3:00 p.m. EST. Instructions for participating can be found on the Sparks! Ignition Grants website.
